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Iraqi Television Exhibiting Anti-American Sentiment; Wildfires Growing in South Florida; President Bush Set to Meet With Mexican and Canadian Leaders; Italy Offers Asylum to Christian Convert
Aired March 29, 2006 - 14:58 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: It's the top of the hour. You're watching LIVE FROM.
We want to get straight to Carol Lin. She's working a developing story for us out of South Florida -- Carol.
CAROL LIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kyra.
I just got some fresh information in on this fire that is burning right around the Florida Turnpike at Okeechobee Road. Take a look at these dramatic pictures. You can see how close this brush fire is to the turnpike. And I'm told now that this is about 35 acres that you're looking at right now that's on fire, and that the northbound lanes of the Florida Turnpike at Okeechobee Road have been shut down because of this large brush fire.
This was right before they managed to turn that -- shut down that turnpike. It has been turning since 11:00 this morning, Kyra.
And, apparently, this is the driest March on record. Just over one inch of rain has fallen this month in Miami.
But let's double-check that with Bonnie Schneider.
She's watching this story from the CNN Weather Center -- Bonnie.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, Carol, you're right.
It has been very dry in Miami, not to mention the fact that it's also warm and windy. We have had very warm temperatures. And today is going to be a hot one, with a high forecasted about 81 degrees.
And, already, at this early hour, we have current temperatures in the Miami-Dade area right in the 70s. The winds have picked up a bit. The Miami wind gusts are now at 18 miles per hour. North and west of Miami, where that fire is burning, also, it's pretty windy. That's not too far from the Weston area, checking in at 77 degrees. So, the temperature's on the way up. The winds are strong.
And, as you can see by our real-time information, they're coming out of the southeast. Normally, that would bring a little bit more of a moist flow, when it's coming in off the ocean. But, today, we're really looking at warm, dry conditions. And, with the Everglades so close by, there's plenty of area for fires to keep going once those flames get sparked and get going -- Kyra. LIN: That's right. And it's -- Bonnie, it's already 3:00 in the afternoon. So, they're entering the magic hour. As the land heats up, it's likely to get windier over the next couple of hours.
Kyra, you and I have covered brush fires in Southern California. We know that this is entering a critical time for -- for firefighters. Fortunately, no homes threatened here, Kyra. And they have managed to shut down the turnpike, though it looks like there are cars out on that highway.
PHILLIPS: It -- you know, and we have driven those highways and watched how nobody will get off the road. It's pretty amazing.
LIN: Well, look, they're even pulling over.
PHILLIPS: Yes, to watch.
LIN: See?
PHILLIPS: Of course.
LIN: Yes, just to watch, as the -- you know, the -- it's the smoke, actually -- not so much the threat of fire, but the smoke that shut down the Florida Turnpike.
So, hopefully, those drivers realize that...
(LAUGHTER)
LIN: ... this is a situation that can turn on a dime in the next couple hours, and they need to get away from the side of that road.
PHILLIPS: Well, it's pretty amazing pictures when you just see the breadth of where that smoke is going, coming from WFOR.
Carol Lin, thanks so much.
LIN: Sure.
PHILLIPS: President Bush leaves for Cancun this afternoon -- no spring break vacation, though. He's headed to a summit with the leaders of Mexico and Canada.
Immigration is expected to top the agenda. And he's leaving town just as the immigration debate heats up on Capitol Hill.
For more, let's join CNN congressional correspondent Dana Bash.
It should be an interesting time, Dana.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: No doubt.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: No doubt. It already is, Kyra. We expect that debate to start at some point later this afternoon -- all of the emotion, the protests that we have seen, especially over the past week, likely going to spill now on to the floor of the United States Senate.
But what will be most interesting to watch is how the split among Republicans over exactly what to do over the 11 to 12 million illegal immigrants will be on full display.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BASH (voice-over): On one side, Republicans who say illegal immigrants broke the law, get taxpayer benefits without paying taxes, and allowing them to stay sends exactly the wrong message.
SEN. GEORGE ALLEN (R), VIRGINIA: I think if you reward illegal behavior, you will get more illegal behavior.
BASH: Prosecute, this hard-line GOP camp says, and tighten Americans borders, even with a wall, if necessary.
Then, the other side of the Republican immigration divide, including the president: those who say illegal workers should be able to stay in the U.S. legally, because they're doing jobs Americans won't do.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: We have to recognize that, for several generations, people have made America home, and we have accepted the benefit of their labor.
BASH: But, like anything in politics, there are shades of gray. Senator John Cornyn is a Texas Republican searching for a middle ground. He says illegal immigrants should be able to work in the U.S. legally, but only if they return to their country of origin first.
(on camera): How worried are you about the deep divide within your own party over this issue?
SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R), TEXAS: I really am not worried about it. I think it's actually healthy.
BASH: You think it's healthy?
CORNYN: I...
BASH: In an election year, it's healthy for the Republicans to be divided?
CORNYN: Well, you know, that's the problem in America. We're always having elections.
BASH (voice-over): One irony is that many conservatives fiercely oppose a new guest-worker program, because they felt burned on the issue by their hero, Ronald Reagan. Twenty years ago, he signed amnesty for some illegal workers, then didn't stop the flow of more illegal immigrants. And conservatives cringe that some Republicans are aligned with their nemesis, Massachusetts Democrat Ted Kennedy.
SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: The president deserves credit for talking about these issues. He comes from a border state, so, he understands them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: And, if we just look at the way the Senate is going to take up this issue, it really underscores those deep divisions.
They're actually going to be talking about two measures at the same time, on the one hand, something sponsored by the Senate majority leader, Bill Frist, which really only focuses on the issue of border security, and then a measure that was passed on Monday by the Senate Judiciary Committee, which does deal with the temporary worker issue. It allows illegal immigrants to stay legal in the U.S., work towards -- on a path towards citizenship. How this will all turn out in the end is really anybody's guess -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Dana Bash, live on the Hill, thanks so much.
Well, when Americans talk about illegal immigration, the debate centers on jobs and securing the nation's borders. But, for thousands of people in Latin America, it's also a story of desperation and danger. It includes, literally, riding the rails on what some call the train of death.
CNN's Ed Lavandera reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The trail of desperation starts here, in Chiapas, Mexico. These rail lines have been described as a graveyard without crosses.
SONIA NAZARIO, AUTHOR, "ENRIQUE'S JOURNEY": They call it "El Tren de la Muerte," "The Train of Death."
LAVANDERA: Tens of thousands of Central American migrants hop trains heading north on this 1,200-mile journey from Chiapas to border towns like Nuevo Laredo. they will battle bandits who rob and rape. They will go hungry and thirsty for days. And, out of exhaustion, some will fall off the trains. Thousands have died.
NAZARIO: Many of them die silently alongside the rails. They bleed to death.
LAVANDERA: Sonia Nazario says the journey is hell. She knows, because she rode the train, reporting for her book titled "Enrique's Journey," the story of a teenaged boy who rode the train.
NAZARIO: They risk losing arms to the train, losing legs to the train, losing their life, but they're willing to take that risk. LAVANDERA: We asked Nazario to be our guide through Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.
NAZARIO: Once you get this far north, the stakes are very high.
LAVANDERA: Nazario took us to a shelter in this border town. It's where we meet 18-year-old Narden Garero (ph). He spent the last month walking and riding the train through Mexico. He left Honduras with $10. Bandits robbed him of that. Some days, he only ate tortillas people would throw on his train -- all this to reunite with his father, who he hasn't seen in two years.
He says: "Having a father is the most marvelous thing in the world. I think about him all the time. He loved me so much when we were together."
Nazario says, the economic and personal desperation of their lives drives them to attempt this dangerous journey. And she warns, more will keep coming.
NAZARIO: It grows every year, and it's growing because of the desperation in these home countries, where people just cannot feed their children. And, so, they see it as the only way to be able to do that.
LAVANDERA: When night falls on the shelter in Nuevo Laredo, this group of migrants rest and pray. They survived the most treacherous part of their journey, but they're still far from the promised land.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And the immigration battle tonight on "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT." Lou's in Mexico. It's a Broken Borders" special report, starting at 6:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.
It has been a bizarre week, so far, in the case against Zacarias Moussaoui. He stunned the court by testifying that he was to fly a 747 jetliner into the White House on September 11. And, later, we learned that he offered, at one point, to testify for the government against himself.
Today, another pivotal part of the process for the self- proclaimed al Qaeda agent.
Kelli Arena, our justice correspondent, is in Washington -- Kelli.
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, the big headline is, is that things actually went the way we expected them to. There's a shocker.
The prosecution and the defense both issued closing arguments -- jurors listening very intently in that courtroom. The government's basic argument was this: that Moussaoui lied with lethal intent, and that his lies resulted in at least one death on September 11, that his lies were as much a part of the plot as anything else (AUDIO GAP) he admitted right in court what his role in 9/11 was going to be.
He said: The defendant had all the information we needed to take action.
The defense, of course, argues that: Moussaoui is a liar. You can't believe anything that he says, that there was never any evidence that he had any contact with any of the hijackers. There was never any evidence that there was supposed to be a fifth plane.
He says: What this government needs are jurors who have watched "The Wizard of Oz" all the way through and still believe that there's a wizard.
As you know, Kyra, the jurors are supposed to decide that the government proved, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Moussaoui's actions led to the -- to the death of at least one person on September 11. Right at this moment, there has been a -- there was a break. Then, the judge is going to instruct them on how to proceed.
And, soon after that, we believe that they're going to start deliberating in this case. And, in the next couple of days, we -- we should have a ruling.
PHILLIPS: All right. Kelli Arena, we will be talking again. Thanks so much.
Well, there's no place like Rome. Italy offers asylum to Christian convert, Abdul Rahman, even as the Afghanistan parliament votes to detain him to review his death-penalty case.
CNN's Alessio Vinci has more now from Rome.
It sounds like a very narrow escape, Alessio. Why Italy?
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN ROME BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Italian officials have said all along that they wanted to make sure that Italy showed its indignation, that they want to make a gesture.
The Italian foreign minister, Gianfranco Fini, has said all along that he was going to make sure that the death sentence would not be carried out.
And, of course, the pope intervened himself. He issued a letter and an appeal to the president of Afghanistan -- of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, asking for the release of Abdul Rahman. So, I think all these factors put together made Italy the best place perhaps for Abdul Rahman to arrive.
And, indeed, the Italian government today issued that invitation. And Rahman actually is already here in Italy.
PHILLIPS: So, Alessio, will he be forced to lead a secret life?
VINCI: Well, for the time being, he is under police protection and an Interior Ministry guard.
He will officially request the asylum tomorrow, on Thursday. After that, of course, he will have to be careful, to begin with. But I think, judging from the reaction of the Muslim community here -- at least here in Italy, he will not have to lead a secret life.
Eventually, in about one month's time, he will receive official papers. He will be able to work and live here legally. And I think he will have a -- just a regular, normal life.
PHILLIPS: So, talk to me about the Muslim converts there in Italy. I wanted to ask you about the Muslim community. But, yet, you said there's actually a very interesting side to the Muslim converts.
VINCI: Well, the -- the -- the Muslim community here is not that large.
It's about, officially, 500,000 people. Perhaps, unofficially, you go up to close to one million, still, less than, you know, around 1 percent of the total population here. And that's half of European average -- less than half of European average. So, the Muslim population here is not that big.
Out of that 500,000, according to recent figures, for example, you know, only half of them attend church -- attend a mosque regularly. You know, 60 percent of the people questioned in a recent poll say that it's up to the women, for example, to decide whether or not they should wear a veil. So, it's a -- quite a moderate society here.
At the same time, we heard from Muslims here that a lot of them who have come here have converted to Christianity. And, obviously -- obviously, they don't like to say it openly, but there are quite a bit of them.
Within the Muslim community, many Muslim women actually married Christians, or Catholics, if you want. And -- and they still are part of the community. So, I don't really think that the Muslim community here will react the way, perhaps, they have reacted in -- in Afghanistan. So, I think that he will certainly have a normal life. And, as one leader here put it to me, you know, the conditions here are ideal for Abdul Rahman.
PHILLIPS: Alessio Vinci, live from Italy, thanks so much.
Let's get straight to Carol Lin, following the brush fires in South Florida for us.
Carol, what's the latest on those live pictures?
LIN: Kyra, the latest situation is now that this brush fire, which has already shut down the northbound lanes on the Florida Turnpike, is now threatening I-75.
You're looking at live pictures here right now. And that black smoke tells you this fire is not going to be out any time soon. So, they have slowed the traffic on the southbound lanes of the turnpike. They're letting some traffic through. But the northbound lanes are shut down, not only because of the threat of fire, but primarily the black smoke blowing.
Bonnie Schneider, over at the CNN Weather Center, was saying, the winds are gusting at about 18 miles an hour. And, Kyra, it's likely to pick up in the next couple of hours, as the situation on the ground literally heats up.
PHILLIPS: All right. We will keep following it. Carol Lin, thank you so much.
LIN: You got it.
PHILLIPS: Well, straight ahead, what has no regard for political borders and exists only for inspiration, peace, and love? It's that universal language, music -- still to come on LIVE FROM, the harmonies of the East, the audiences of the West. It's a good meeting.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, whoever first described music as the universal language got it exactly right. Nothing in our history so well transcends political belief, social lines, or international ideology.
Music reflects the human condition, but it can't be locked up, or dominated, or denied its freedom. It may be the most universal power in existence today.
My guest knows all of that very well. Hafez Nazeri Grew not only grew up the son of one of Iran's most celebrated performers. He's also an accomplished musician and writer on his own.
Hafez, welcome. Nice to be...
HAFEZ NAZERI, IRANIAN MUSICIAN/POET: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: ... with you.
NAZERI: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Your father has actually been referred to as the Pavarotti of Iran.
NAZERI: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: Has that been hard, to -- to live up to that?
NAZERI: Well, no, my father is a very special musician, you know? Not just musically -- spiritually, he's like -- he's a very special person. And I think that he's -- in Iran, even in Iran, they always call him say (SPEAKING FARSI) I said in Farsi. And, so, yes, I think the -- I think it was in "The Christian Science Monitor" that they call him Iran's Pavarotti for his concert in Morocco first.
PHILLIPS: Well, and they call him a -- a Persian master. And you're right there with him.
But he started -- and -- and we are going to talk about how the two of you joined forces.
NAZERI: OK.
PHILLIPS: But he started by taking poems, Rumi's poem.
NAZERI: Sure.
PHILLIPS: Of course, everyone loves Rumi's poetry in -- in Iran. I even found a -- a piece. I -- I'm a big fan of Rumi.
NAZERI: Really?
PHILLIPS: This one called "Remembered Music."
And the last part of it says: "Oh, music is the meat of all who love. Music uplifts the soul to realms above. The ashes glow. The latent fires increase. We listen and are fed with joy and peace."
NAZERI: Wow.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: And that's exactly what you and your father do through your music.
NAZERI: Yes.
This is very interesting to mention that, when my father start to sing Rumi's poetry 35 years ago, we really didn't have any example of Rumi's in Persian traditional music. So, in the time that he started to sing Rumi's, everybody would say, why is singing Rumi's?
Now you see that -- how he really helped to introduce Rumi to the West, you know? And now everybody sings Rumi. And, like, you know, it's a different -- completely different concept right now.
PHILLIPS: That's amazing. So, it's sort of the poetry and the music combined.
Well, you and your father do that now. You have taken traditional Persian music. Yet, you identify with so many people here in the West. I mean, you sell out everywhere you go.
NAZERI: Yes.
PHILLIPS: How -- how have you been able to -- to unify the cultures?
NAZERI: Yes. So, as I -- I try to -- I have tried to integrate similar element, musical element of the West and East together, and make them unified, means that I -- I integrate the similar point, and I created a new music that, when you listen to it, you hear the root of Persian traditional music, but it has different language.
So, I try to kind of expand -- you know, expand the music. And I'm very lucky, because my father, since I was very, very young, he was always emphasizing me that: You have to find your own path. You have to find your own truth, and not to be a follower. So, that's really always -- it was in my mind.
And I was always trying to create something that we -- we haven't had in Persian music, you know?
PHILLIPS: Let's listen to a little bit.
NAZERI: Sure.
(MUSIC)
PHILLIPS: Wow. Powerful.
Tell me about the sitar. You -- you actually brought it for me. How did you learn how to play this? Is it hard to play? Tell me about this instrument.
NAZERI: Well, playing any instrument is very hard.
This instrument is very old. It's a sitar. It has four strings. And you play it with one finger. It sounds like...
(PLAYING SITAR)
NAZERI: It sounds -- it sounds sometimes like -- I play it in different way in Persian traditional music. It's...
PHILLIPS: How do you play it differently?
NAZERI: Because I -- as you know, Persian -- Persian traditional music is most...
PHILLIPS: Don't they usually hold it up?
NAZERI: No.
PHILLIPS: No?
NAZERI: They play it like this.
PHILLIPS: Oh, OK. All right.
NAZERI: Yes.
And, then, the Persian traditional music, you know, it's a monophonic music. It's always one line. So, I tried -- one of the things that I try to do is to bring harmony to this music. So, that's why, whenever I play sitar, it's very different from the other Persian traditional masters.
I -- I have been lucky to have grown up in a family that, you know, always, I had all the Persian masters. They came to our house. They played. So, see, the instrument, they were my toys. So...
(LAUGHTER)
NAZERI: Seriously, yes.
PHILLIPS: You didn't have a G.I. Joe.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: You had the sitar.
(LAUGHTER)
NAZERI: Yes. I have sitars. And I play four other instruments besides of sitar.
But, these days, mostly, I play sitar. So, in the concert that you saw, I play sitar, and I sing. I compose the music. And...
PHILLIPS: Now, you talk so much about peace and love. And, if you think of Rumi's poetry, it -- it's so -- it's about the spiritual side of life, very much.
But, politically, it's a tough time with Iran...
NAZERI: Yes.
PHILLIPS: ... and the United States right now.
Do you ever get political? Does your music somehow help with the political situation?
NAZERI: Well, I -- I wanted to -- I wanted to think beyond political, because the music is a, you know, universal language.
And, in the music, I -- in my music, I really try to send a message of love and peace to the universe, and especially this time of the world, you know, that God knows what is going on.
Anyway I -- I have my group, which has been -- we are four -- six musicians from four different country and nation and different cultures. So, I have them next to me. And we are all performing a music. And we're saying that: Look at us. We can play. We can sit next to each other from four different nations and say one thing to the world, that this is our love and peace to the world. And...
PHILLIPS: Which very much represents your name, Hafez, another beautiful Persian poet...
NAZERI: Yes.
PHILLIPS: ... who said Allah's poetry was inspired by God.
NAZERI: Yes.
PHILLIPS: It's very interesting. I -- I can see your dad's plan here. It's working out...
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: ... with the music and the spirituality and the culture, yes?
NAZERI: Yes. That's -- yes, I'm very lucky to have my father. As I told you, he's like my mentor -- more than just a teacher or, you know, and...
PHILLIPS: So, where -- are you -- you're touring across the United States now?
NAZERI: Yes. Actually, our tour has finished. The last concert was in Boston last Sunday.
And, you know, the tour is finished for this time. But I'm working on a project called the Rumi Symphony Project, which we're going to present next year. And it's a very big project that is -- as you -- you might know, Rumi's 800th birthday is next year, 2007. And we are celebrating.
PHILLIPS: Isn't that amazing, 800th birthday?
NAZERI: Yes.
PHILLIPS: So, you're celebrating that?
NAZERI: Yes, because my father is the -- you know, because of him, we are -- I'm going to invite, like, many famous musicians around the world. And, in one night, again, the same thing -- we're going to perform and send our love and peace to the world with Rumi's poetry. And it's called the Rumi Symphony Project.
PHILLIPS: Oh.
All right. Make sure you give us the date.
NAZERI: Oh, sure.
PHILLIPS: We want to visit you again.
NAZERI: Definitely.
PHILLIPS: Hafez, thank so much.
NAZERI: Thank you very much.
PHILLIPS: Merci. NAZERI: Oh, thank you.
PHILLIPS: Happy new year, too.
NAZERI: I just wanted to thank everybody, all the, you know, audience, that they have been really, really supporting me. I'm very thankful to everybody for supporting the young musician, and...
PHILLIPS: We can see why.
NAZERI: Thank...
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: Thank you, Hafez.
NAZERI: Thank you very much.
PHILLIPS: Well, straight ahead, we are going to talk to senior U.N. correspondent Richard Roth about a developing story, oh, with regard to Iran.
Actually, we are going to get Richard right now.
From Persian music to the politics.
Richard Roth, what do we know?
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Well, moments ago, the five permanent, veto-carrying members of the U.N. Security Council finally reached agreement on the first U.N. response in the Iran nuclear simmering crisis.
They have been bogged down in details -- one side, Russia, China, the other side, U.S., Britain and France. They now have a statement that they are hoping the rest of the Security Council will adopt later today, which tells Iran they have to suspend uranium enrichment and really have to comply with the International Atomic Energy Agency in 30 days.
U.S. Ambassador John Bolton, Kyra, saying, the ball is in Iran's court. They have got 30 days now to act -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: So, in 30 days, we will know specifically what the outcome could be, possibly sanctions? Any other activity?
ROTH: Well, that would be too soon for sanctions. But you will get a reading on whether Tehran wants to cooperate with the international community on Iran.
There still could be side negotiations between the Europeans and Iran. There's still a lot that can happen here. China and Russia are still opposed to sanctions in principle. That may be a fight down the road. Tomorrow, in Europe, Condoleezza Rice and foreign ministers from Russia and the other permanent five powers will also meet, plotting strategy ahead -- on the road ahead on Iran. This is just the first action in what may be a long game ahead.
PHILLIPS: Richard Roth, live from the U.N. -- thanks, Richard.
Straight ahead: on the lam one day, in handcuffs the next -- the capture of Liberian warlord Charles Taylor. Where is he now and where is he headed?
LIVE FROM is on the story -- details just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
PHILLIPS: The first total solar eclipse in years sparked total amazement around the world today. It had telescopes and crowds of people gazing toward the sky, from Brazil, to the Middle East, to China.
Temperatures plunged, and street lights flickered on, as the sun disappeared behind the moon for about minutes. The International Space Station provided this stunning view of the huge shadow creeping along the planet. This rare heavenly alignment, it lasted -- well, it last happened, rather, in 2003.
(MUSIC)
PHILLIPS: I want to kind of keep that music going, Scottie (ph).
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: This one could upset the Apple cart.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: Apple Corps Limited, founded by the Beatles, is suing Apple Computer, finded -- founded, rather, by Steve -- Steve Jobs over, what else, well, the name Apple. Apple Corps says that Apple Computer violated a 15-year-old agreement when it put the Apple name on its iTunes online music store.
Now, in this case of one bad Apple, well, is it spoiling the bunch?
Let's check in with Ali Velshi in Washington.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You...
PHILLIPS: A lot -- a lot of play on apple there. Sorry.
VELSHI: We -- that was excellent. You -- you...
PHILLIPS: That was a mouthful.
VELSHI: You know, you and me, we talk a lot about -- about Apple and iPods and stuff. And I understand you have one now?
PHILLIPS: Well, you got me hip -- you got me hip to the iPod.
VELSHI: Yes, right.
PHILLIPS: My mom gave me a -- a Nano after our little discussion there.
VELSHI: She really jumped ahead getting you the Nano. I mean, should have started you slowly. But here's the thing: so we all kind of know that the company that owns the Beatles tunes and gets the royalties every time they're played and a new record released is Apple Corps, is what it's called.
And we all know that iTunes is Apple Corporation and the iPod. I don't really think a lot of people are confused by those two things. But Apple Corps says that back in the -- not says, that in the early '90s, they've been battling with Steve Jobs over the use of the logo Apple.
Back in the '70s and '80s when Steve Jobs was starting up Apple, he was a big fan of The Beatles. And he was said to name his company as a tribute to The Beatles. Well that kind of grew old for the company that owns The Beatles songs, and in 1991, these two companies settled up. And the deal was, Apple can use its logo for its computers, but it shouldn't get into the music business.
And specifically the deal shouldn't distribute music on discs or whatever method you distribute music. Well along comes iTunes and Apple Corps, The Beatles Apple says, "You know, you guys have made an agreement. You're not going to get into this business of music. Now, you can't have a music business that's associated with the name Apple because we're a music business associated with the name Apple."
And there's a court case in London. It started today. And The Beatles' Apple is sueing the iPod Apple, saying "We want you to stop associating iTunes with the name Apple and give us some money for it."
PHILLIPS: Oh my goodness. Now another side note, isn't it true that The Beatles never wanted anything sold song by song? They always wanted...
VELSHI: Yes, they want their albums.
PHILLIPS: .... yes, they want -- so it's not -- so we probably won't be able to buy one or two of our favorite songs at any point in the future and download, right?
VELSHI: And you're probably definitely not going to get them on iTunes. So that's the other problem, it's a whole rights situation. But yes, there's a few sort of issues that have been -- that are at play here. Because The Beatles, obviously one of the most popular bands in history, one of those that would be downloaded quite often if you could download them on iTunes. So that will probably come out of this case, as well, what final decision will be going on with that. PHILLIPS: So, Ali, they're so famous. The ones that are still around get plenty of money, so do all the other people that reap the benefits. Why is this even an issue?
VELSHI: Yes.
PHILLIPS: I mean, cater to the fans, right?
VELSHI: It kind of strikes me that this is a -- there will be some settlement out of it. There will be some clarification in the law about it. And Apple Corps, The Beatles Apple, will get some money out of the whole deal, probably in a settlement.
I really think -- it will be interesting to see what the judges say because it is a legal case. But I fundamentally don't think you could interview 10 people on the street and I don't think they would tell you that -- they could probably tell you that Apple Corps is related to The Beatles beacuse that's a relatively well-known fact.
And they can probably tell you that Apple Computer owns iPod and iTunes. I don't think anybody's going to think they're the same company, and that's what it comes down to. I mean, their logo -- they both have the logo that's an apple. You know, apples -- somebody said apple to me today, I'm not sure whether I'd think first of the fruit or first of The Beatles or first of Apple Corporation, Apple Computer.
PHILLIPS: Or the computer.
VELSHI: It's a confusing, muddy case, but it's interesting because between The Beatles and iPod, you pretty much cover lots of people. Everybody knows one of them.
PHILLIPS: We'll see you as we get closer to the closing bell.
VELSHI: You know what my big piece of news -- my big piece of business news is later, we can talk about that?
PHILLIPS: What's that?
VELSHI: Hooters Air is not going to be offering scheduled flights anymore.
PHILLIPS: Oh no. Are you disappointed?
VELSHI: No. I'm surprised it lasted this long.
PHILLIPS: Really?
VELSHI: Yes, I like to know that my airline is in the business of flying airplanes, primarily. More on that later.
PHILLIPS: Ali Velshi, I'll talk to you a little bit later. All right, I've got to get serious now.
An elite university, the campus in an uproar over rape allegations. You probably heard this story. DNA tests ordered on 46 athletes. Radical -- or racial tensions actually growing in this college town now. We'll have more on that story straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Straight to Carol Lin, working another developing story for us. Hi, Carol.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Busy day, Kyra. Do you remember the D.C. sniper, John Muhammad? He was convicted and sentenced to die in Virginia. But he's got another trial coming up in Maryland. And it turns out that a judge has ruled that he is competent enough to stand trial and also represent himself.
Now, get this headline out of "The Associated Press," Kyra -- "Psychotic Muhammad not competent to stand trial." But that's actually not true. He is going to stand trial. And he's going to represent himself. Despite a Yale University psychiatrist who interviewed John Muhammad twice, really considered him brain dysfunctional and said that he suffers from schizo-affected schizophrenia.
Now apparently Muhammad has refused to help his attorneys, his public defenders, saying he, quote, "can't share his secret defense strategy," Kyra. But it looks like that today's hearing is resulting in the fact that he has competence. And not only that, he's going to have a big say on how he's going to defend himself.
PHILLIPS: Wow. All right. What else do I say to that, but wow? We'll never forget that story.
LIN: The news keeps coming.
PHILLIPS: Yes, no kidding. We'll keep bringing it to you. Carol Lin, thanks.
Well scratch one war lord from the wanted list. Charles Taylor nabbed trying to sneak out of Nigeria, his home away from home these past few years. The former Liberian strongman was whisked back to his homeland, turned over to the United Nations and bundled offer to neighboring Sierra Leone. He'll be under lock and key there waiting trial. Taylor's accused of supporting rebel forces during that country's long civil war and faces 17 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Nigeria's president says that he feels vindicated now that Taylor has been captured. It happened just hours before the president went to the White House to meet with President Bush. Nigeria's leader told reporters anyone who suggested his country looked the other way when Taylor slipped away, owes him an apology.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OLUSEGUN OBASANJO, PRESIDENT, NIGERIA: I do not agree that we are -- we have been negligent in the way we handle Chuck Taylor. If we have been negligent, then Chuck Taylor would have got away, he would not have been arrested.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Praise Nigeria for its quick action to track down Taylor and help restore peace to that region of Africa.
Words in Washington, bullets in Baghdad. Gunmen burst into a trading company in an upscale neighborhood this morning. They shot and killed eight workers, five men and three women. Six guards were wounded.
A police source says the gunmen, dressed like Iraqi police commandos, drove up in cars, like the ones used by the Iraqi interior ministry. Deadly and daily violence, the Iraqis see it on the streets, on T.V., all around them.
But in their minds, who's the real bad guy? The insurgent or the American soldier? Our Nic Robertson found some disturbing answers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: On government-run Al-Iraqiya T.V. Sunday night, gruesome pictures of men killed in a fire fight, nothing new for Iraqi viewers used to daily violence.
But unusually for this TV channel, set up with U.S. funding, the tone for the first time turning virulently anti-American. The station reported U.S. troops alone were responsible, in its words, for killing worshipers at a mosque. And it persisted with that claim long after a U.S. military statement said the deaths came in a raid, led by Iraqi special operations forces, and the target was not a mosque.
MAJ. GEN. PETER CHIARELLI, CMDR. MULTI-NATION CORPS IRAQ: What the Iraqis should be so proud of is the performance of their Iraqi security forces. It was Iraqi security forces that conducted this operation.
ROBERTSON: The operation, according to Chiarelli, freed an Iraqi dental technician being held for a $20,000 ransom. It also killed 16 terrorists. and netted weapons and bombmaking material.
(on camera): But this incident doesn't stand in isolation. Increasingly, Iraqis are taking a negative view towards U.S. troops. More and more Iraqis appear willing to believe rumors and conspiracy theories, however improbable, to explain the violence around them.
(voice-over): "I blame the Americans," he screams. This angry reaction from a Sunni, when a bomb left outside his mosque killed five worshipers after Friday prayers.
"Americans came and tied us up," claims this mosque guard. Even though no U.S. troops were there, and the most likely explanation of the attack was continuing sectarian violence, no one here disputes the popular theory Americans are responsible.
At a recent Shia religious festival, tens of thousands of pilgrims chant "Americans Out." Their protest is carried live on the TV station owned by the most powerful Shia politician in Iraq, Abdul Aziz Al Hakim, and he does nothing to discourage them. But just a few days later, in a CNN interview, Hakim said he considers the U.S. a partner of the Iraqi people.
Despite such mixed messages, General Chiarelli remains upbeat about the fallout from the Iraqi special forces raid.
CHIARELLI: We were very, very happy with the reaction inside Baghdad today. And we were very, very happy with the reaction of the Iraqi people, outside Baghdad. We were engaging with them, ensuring that they understood our side of the story.
ROBERTSON: With so many Iraqi media outlets, and the streets so overtly hostile to the U.S. presence, that job may be getting much harder.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: So far, 2,324 U.S. servicemen and women have sacrificed their lives in the war in Iraq. We salute these fallen heroes and bring you some of the names and faces behind the numbers.
Twenty-two-year-old Army Corporal Nyle Yates III was killed on March 16th. He came under small arms fire by enemy forces in Beiji, Iraq. Yates grew up in Lake Odessa, Michigan.
Navy Culinary Specialist Regina R. Clark told a reporter she was headed to a hot spot in the war. She said that's scary, but I'm ready. The 43-year-old reserve mess cook was also a Desert Storm veteran. Clark was killed when a car bomb went off near her convoy in Falluja.
Twenty-three Marine Second Lieutenant Almar L. Fitzgerald is remembered for his deep smile and love for video games. The young officer, known as "Fitz," always told his enlisted men that he wanted them to learn their job so well that they could run the patrols and he'd be out of a job. At Christmas, he sent his mom a couple hundred dollars so she could visit her sister during the holidays. His face lit up when he told a fellow marine that story. Fitz was killed in February by an improvised explosive device near Ramadi.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Let's get straight to Carol Lin, working a number of stories for us. A sentence just in. Right, Carol?
LIN: Yep. An American-born young man has been sentenced to 30 years. This after he was convicted of nine counts of conspiracy which included conspiracy to assassinate the president of the United States. David Ensor did a report on Ahmed Abu Ali, who apparently had a taped description of what he was planning to do.
He said that because of his hatred of the United States for what he felt was support of Israel against the Palestinian people, he wanted to do something dramatic, like assassinate the president. All of that on videotape. He apparently was sworn to al Qaeda and he had an elaborate plan to kill the president.
Now, he was supposed to be sentenced back in February, but that sentencing was delayed because the court wanted to know if any of the controversial NSA wiretapping was involved in trying to gather information about this young man. So, he could have gotten anywhere from 20 years to life. The judge came back with 30 years.
Kyra, we're also following a developing story out of Florida right now. We know that the Florida Turnpike is being threatened and parts of I-75 are being threatened by a brush fire.
On the telephone with us right now is Lieutenant Pat Santangelo. He's with the Florida Highway Patrol.
Lieutenant, we understand about 40 acres are on fire right now, and that some of the lanes have been closed on the turnpike. What is the situation?
LT. PAT SANTANGELO, FLORIDA HIGHWAY PATROL: Right now, we have the Florida Turnpike closed from Miramar, Florida, to around Central Dade County, Florida. We have...
LIN: North and southbound lanes? North and southbound lanes now?
SANTANGELO: Yes, ma'am. We have a wall of smoke going across the expressway. On Interstate 75, which intersects right south of the turnpike, we have one lane southbound, closed. We have the flames actually about 50 feet from the roadway on I-75, but the wind is our friend right now and is keeping visibility good on I-75.
LIN: Lieutenant, how serious is this situation? Because it looks like, from our live pictures, that that fire is getting awfully close to the highway.
SANTANGELO: Well, right now, it's a major inconvenience. You know, we really try not to close the roads unless it's extreme emergency. And at this moment, the benefit of keeping the road open, is -- it's really not worth it. So we're trying to give people information to take alternate routes right now and stay away from the area.
LIN: Lieutenant, thank you very much for the latest on that information. Kyra, it's approaching rush hour, so this is not an easy decision for the highway patrol to make. But that situation is heating up. These dramatic live pictures of this purely black smoke now, right around the Florida turnpike.
PHILLIPS: All right. Carol Lin, thanks so much.
The news keeps coming. We will keep bringing it to you. More LIVE FROM next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: Allegations of rape, admissions of a lapse in judgment and an entire team's season put on hold, all stem from reports of a party gone seriously wrong in North Carolina. Those reports are rocking Duke University and its lacrosse team. No one has been charged. But as Carol Costello reported, more than 40 members of the team turned over DNA samples.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD BRODHEAD, PRESIDENT, DUKE UNIVERSITY: I have decided that future games should be suspended until there is clear resolution of the legal situation.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): That declaration from Duke University's president, follows an alleged gang-rape of an exotic dancer by three members of the university's lacrosse team. The question, which ones? So far, team members have refused to answer questions.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We want the members of the Duke lacrosse team to come clean.
COSTELLO: The woman says she and a friend were hired to dance at a private bachelor party. And she was pulled into a bathroom by three men, beaten, choked and raped. The woman is black. All but one member of the team is white.
It's bringing simmering racial tensions in the city of Durham to a boil, especially in the wake of a 911 call from someone who walked by the party.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I saw them come all out like a big frat house. And me and my black girlfriend are walking by. And they called us (INAUDIBLE).
COSTELLO: Forty-six players have been swabbed for DNA. And Durham's district attorney is awaiting the lab results. He says he believes a rape did occur and that soon the students will start talking.
MIKE NIFONG, DISTRICT ATTORNEY: My guess is that some of this stone wall of silence that we have seen may tend to crumble once charges begin to come out.
COSTELLO: Last night, Duke's president said he, too, was determined to get answers.
BRODHEAD: Physical coercion and sexual assault are unacceptable at any setting and will not be tolerated at Duke.
COSTELLO: Carol Costello, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Time now to check in with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. He's standing by in "THE SITUATION ROOM" to tell us what is coming up at the top of the hour.
Hi, Wolf.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: ...thought to be wheels up from Andrews Air Force Base heading to Mexico. We're live in Cancun, as he confronts the issue that divides his own party, namely immigration. We're covering all sides of the story, including my interview with Senator Ted Kennedy. That's coming up.
Plus, dirty lobbyist. He was a corrupting force on Capitol Hill. Now, he's going to prison. Will some elected officials be joining him anytime soon?
And Democrats rolling out their plan on national security in Iraq. But do Americans trust them to get the job done? Journalists on the front lines, as well, NBC News' David Bloom. He died covering the war in Iraq. Coming up, I'll speak with his wife, Melanie. All that, Kyra, coming up right at the top of the hour.
PHILLIPS: We look forward to it. Thanks Wolf.
The closing bell and Ali Velshi with some news on Maytag and Whirlpool straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Four p.m. Eastern, closing bell time on Wall Street.
Ali Velshi, good to see you.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you, Kyra.
I don't do a lot of laundry. I live in Manhattan, so I get it sent out. But, you know, I hear that Whirlpool and Maytag are both big in the appliance industry.
PHILLIPS: They're huge.
VELSHI: Well, the government of the United States has approved the merger. Whirlpool planning to take over Maytag. The Justice Department has said they don't see it as being a big problem. There was of course some concern that it would be an antitrust situation. The company would be too big. It would squash competition.
These companies have said, look, there are a lot of companies around the world that make washing machines and appliances. And these days with, you know, competition and things coming in from everywhere, not much chance that they'll be able to price fix by doing that. So the government says go ahead with the merger, and we will see those two companies becoming on at some point in the very near future, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. I know that you didn't find that nearly interesting as Hooter's air.
VELSHI: There's a Hooter's air story. Yes, Hooter's air is going to become an airline that basically just caters to groups and charters, as opposed to having scheduled flights. I wasn't entirely sure they had scheduled flights until I was in an airport several months ago, and I actually saw like people boarding, you know, with a ticket. I guess they go to Florida a lot.
PHILLIPS: Big golf time. The guys take Hooter's Air to take their golf trips, like, I think, it is Myrtle Beach.
VELSHI: Well, they went and upset some people because they were canceling flights around Christmas and some people were upset. You know, I fly on airlines, as I mentioned, that are in the business of flying places exclusively.
Kyra, good to see you.
PHILLIPS: Good to see you. Have a great rest of the day.
VELSHI: We will talk to you later.
The markets are closing right now. That is the closing bell you hear. The Dow closing 63 points higher to 11,218. The Nasdaq up a strong 33 points to 2,337.
Let's take it over to Wolf Blitzer, who is in "THE SITUATION ROOM."
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