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Two Arrested in Duke Rape Investigation; Donald Rumsfeld Meets With Military Analysts; Online Hit List?; President of China Visits U.S.

Aired April 18, 2006 - 13:58   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The gloves come off and the handcuffs come out. Police in Durham, North Carolina, today arrested two members of the Duke University lacrosse team. And defense lawyers quickly took the offensive.
CNN's Alina Cho is following a rape case that's unfolding fast.

What's the latest, Alina?

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, defense attorneys have spoken to CNN, Kyra, and they've come out with a possible timeline. So, we're getting some insight into the defense's side of the story. Here's what they are telling us.

Essentially, they are saying that the two suspects who have been charged in this case were not even at the party where the alleged rape happened on the night in question. And they say they have proof of that.

They say a cab driver drove one of the suspects to an ATM machine where there was a camera which took a photo of the suspect. And presumably, Kyra, that photo was time-stamped. They also tell us that the other suspect was at a restaurant on the night in question, and right now they are gathering up witnesses to try to prove that point.

PHILLIPS: So, that's what's happening, then. Is that the latest with regard to how these court proceedings will go down, then, gathering these witnesses?

CHO: Well, of course, they're going to be doing that as we move forward. But I can tell you that there was a lot of activity, Kyra, in the building behind me today.

Just this morning, there was this first court appearance. Now, one of the suspects, to be clear, Reade Seligmann, waived his appearance. He posted bond.

But the other suspect, Collin Finnerty, was physically in court this morning. He posted bond as well, but, nonetheless, he was at this hearing in person. It lasted less than five minutes.

He essentially signed a waiver saying he did not need a court- appointed attorney. Then the superior court judge, Ronald Stevens (ph), announced the next court date, which is May 15th, a little less than a month from now. And that, by the way, Kyra, is the deadline for the D.A. to present his evidence to the defense.

PHILLIPS: Now, how did the arrests occur? Didn't it happen, like, at 4:00 in the morning?

CHO: That's right, very early this morning. Just -- just around 5:00 this morning local time, Kyra.

Both of the suspects were led to the county jail in the same squad car. They got out one by one. The first suspect, Seligmann, got out. He was wearing a yellow shirt and jeans. Finnerty was wearing a jacket and tie.

A reminder. Both are sophomores at Duke University, both on the lacrosse team, of course.

Once they got inside the jail -- and, by the way, they made no statements when they went in -- once they got inside, they were processed, booked, as we often say. They were fingerprinted and photographed. They also appeared before a local magistrate who posted the bond of $400,000 each, by the way.

And as I mentioned, both posted bond. They are free until their next court appearance next month.

PHILLIPS: Do we have any idea who paid the $400,000 for each student? Was it parents?

CHO: Well, one of the parents, we know, was there at the court with the defense attorneys for one of the suspects this morning, Kyra. And that is for suspect Reade Seligmann. Unclear about the second suspect at this time. We are still trying to work on that information.

I can tell you, you know, as you well know, there was a lot of question yesterday when the indictments came down, why only two players? Why not three? Because as you well know, the alleged victim has said that she believed it was three lacrosse players that raped her on the night of March 13th.

Well, the D.A. finally came out with a statement this morning, basically saying that he wanted to arrest three players, Kyra. He simply did not have evidence -- enough evidence, rather, to charge a third. He was continuing his investigation. No word on when that third charge might come, if ever.

PHILLIPS: Alina Cho, thanks so much.

Well, it's a briefing, a brainstorming session, damage control, or maybe it's all of the above. Right now, Donald Rumsfeld is meeting with military analysts at the Pentagon. The sit-down was set up amid growing calls for the defense secretary to step down.

CNN's Barbara Starr joins me now with the latest.

Barbara, we watched the Pentagon briefing. A lot of questions from reporters. It seemed that he took that opportunity to basically talk about his career and what he's done within the past five years specifically.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Kyra. The bulk of the briefing was indeed devoted to Don Rumsfeld talking about his accomplishments and the accomplishments at the Pentagon during his tenure here. There was minimal time for questions from reporters, perhaps by design. The secretary indicating that he had absolutely no intention of resigning.

The one thing he did say in addressing his critics was he kept talking about the fact that in his view it was hard for people to accept change in the military, and he said he understood that. But then went on, again, to detail these accomplishments. And, of course, when asked if he planned any type of resignation, he was truly the political operative himself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: The president knows as I know that there are no indispensable men. "The graveyards of the world are filled with indispensable people." No, he knows that I serve at his pleasure, and that's that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: "That's that," the secretary says. And, of course, earlier in the day, President Bush, in the Rose Garden, saying that he was the decider, decider in chief, if you will, about Don Rumsfeld, and Don Rumsfeld would continue to serve in his cabinet.

But clearly, one of the growing questions in Washington, there is no doubt, is how the Republicans are taking all of this with the approach of the mid-term elections and whether there will be some growing political Republican call on this matter if they feel the midterm elections are at risk. But that is certainly not being discussed here in this building -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Barbara, what do you know about the generals that are meeting with Rumsfeld right now? What's the purpose of this? And, are all these generals pro-Rumsfeld and is anyone going to challenge him?

STARR: Well, this is said to be about a group of 16 generals and other retired people who serve as military analysts for news organizations. They do have these types of meetings fairly routinely, but we are told by our sources that this particular meeting, in fact, was organized last Friday at the height of the controversy, called for today so that they would have a chance to brief these generals about the success in Iraq, about what they consider the military achievements to be in Iraq.

But do expect to see a lot of tough questions, perhaps, in that meeting, because for all of the statements about military success in Iraq, there is a very serious matter at hand, Kyra, of course, as you well know. There is no new national unity government in Iraq, there is no new prime minister in Iraq four months after the election. And even today at that news conference, General Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the militias have got to be brought under control.

So, there's lots of very serious business ahead in Iraq, totally separate, if you will, from the political firestorm here at home.

PHILLIPS: Barbara Starr, live from the Pentagon.

Thanks, Barbara.

About his current troubles, Rumsfeld told a radio interviewer, "This, too, will pass." But just in case, he might take comfort in the past, his own and that of his predecessors.

Here's a CNN fact check.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice over): Donald Rumsfeld is both the oldest and youngest man to serve as defense secretary. He was the oldest when confirmed in 2001 and the youngest in the history of the office during his first stint as defense secretary under President Gerald Ford from 1975 to 1977.

Now 74, Rumsfeld is by no means the first defense secretary to come under fire because of an unpopular war. Of the five defense secretaries to serve during the Vietnam War, three were the target of harsh criticism from politicians and the public because of their war policies: Robert McNamara, Clark Clifford and Melvin Laird.

The controversial defense secretaries didn't start with the Vietnam War. Established in 1947, the office has had its share of men with strong personalities. Perhaps none more so than Vice President Dick Cheney. He was defense chief during the first Gulf War, serving under President Bush's father.

By law, all defense secretaries must be civilians, a principle set forth in the nation's Constitution. The founding fathers created the forerunner of the defense department, the Department of War, in 1789.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Now a potential gag order in that stomach-turning case in Oklahoma. Attorneys for Kevin Ray Underwood want a judge to block both sides from talking about the horrific killing of 10-year-old Jamie Rose Bolin. Police say that Underwood bludgeoned and suffocated the child and planned to eat her body. The girl's remains were found in a tub sealed with Duct tape in a closet in Underwood's apartment.

Yesterday, the judge entered a not guilty plea for Underwood, whose court-appointed lawyers blame police and prosecutors for drawing nationwide attention to the case.

Keep him or let him go? A judge in Aruba will decide today whether there's a reason to hold on to a man arrested Monday in the case of Natalee Holloway, the Alabama teen who disappeared from a graduation trip almost a year ago. An Aruban newspaper identifies the man has 19-year-old Geoffrey Van Cromvert (ph). He hasn't been charged and is not necessarily a suspect in the Holloway case. Aruban law allows someone to be held for questioning for as long as eight days with a judge's approval.

Online registries of sex offenders, they're meant to protect kids. But one state's list is taken down to protect offenders.

CNN's Carol Costello reports on two killings in Maine and concerns across the nation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It started early on Easter Sunday, about 3:30 in the morning in Milo, Maine, the dogs at Joseph Gray's house start barking. His wife sees a shadowy figure at the front door. Two shots ring out. Inside, 57-year-old Joseph Gray falls to the floor dead.

Five hours later, some 20 miles away, 24-year-old William Elliot answers his door, more shots ring out. Elliot becomes victim number two.

NANCY BOND, WILLIAM ELLIOT'S NEIGHBOR: Well it's terrible any time but, you know, especially on a holiday or Easter. Supposed to be about resurrection, not death.

COSTELLO: Police say the only connection so far between the two victims is this, both were listed on Maine's sex offender registry.

SGT. STEPHEN PICKERING, MAINE STATE POLICE: Nothing like this has ever happened since I've been working. But nothing surprises me anymore either.

COSTELLO: Police believe the suspect in both shootings, 20-year- old Stephen Marshall, a Canadian, used the state's sex offender Web site to find information on the two victims and more than two dozen other sex offenders. Maine's registry provides names, pictures and addresses of more than 2,200 sex offenders throughout the state.

MICHAEL VAUGHN, MAINE STATE REP.: It sets them up. It makes them sitting ducks. They have a name and their face on the Internet.

COSTELLO: The online registry was taken down during a day long, three state manhunt for Marshall. The manhunt ended Sunday night. Police had tracked Marshall to Boston. He was on a bus.

As police entered the bus, another gunshot. Marshall had shot himself in the head. The D.A.'s office says he had a laptop and two handguns. News of the shootings has other registered sex offenders concerned they, too, could be on someone else's hit list.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're all at risk. But some people do feel like we're threatening to their kids or themselves, so they have to act upon us.

COSTELLO: Carol Costello, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: The earth shook and fires raged. One hundred years after the great quake in America, are we prepared for the next one? We're going to talk with a man who oversaw the government's response to 350 disasters.

Stay with LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Name one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history, and Hurricane Katrina comes to mind. But 100 years ago, it was the great quake that destroyed a city and horrified the country. San Francisco is marking the anniversary with memorials, exhibits, and even a parade, all of which have many people thinking about the next big one and whether it makes sense to live in disaster-prone areas.

CNN's Chris Lawrence reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Almost like clockwork, disaster strikes again and again. Same cities, same furious weather.

SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D), CALIFORNIA: We keep putting homes in plains that you know are going to be inundated with water.

LAWRENCE: That's Senator Dianne Feinstein talking about torrential rains that flooded northern California.

(on camera): Are there certain places we just shouldn't live?

SIMON WINCHESTER, AUTHOR: I'm afraid there are. And I think New Orleans is one of them.

LAWRENCE (voice over): Simon Winchester says a city under sea level doesn't make sense. The same goes for a bay area built on fault lines, or desert towns so dry they have to import water. He's written about the 1906 earthquake that destroyed San Francisco.

WINCHESTER: Everyone in California is in this blissful state of denial. An earthquake? Well, it might happen.

LAWRENCE: Winchester says Europe is littered with the ruins of once great cities.

WINCHESTER: And I wouldn't be surprised if in 100 or 200 years' time if you looked at a map of America you'll see the ruins of New Orleans, the ruins of Tucson, the ruins of some towns in southern Florida where we simply should not have built cities. And we'll just look at them as tourists and say, how crazy for people to have lived there.

LAWRENCE: Yet, millions of people keep moving to coastal communities, from south Florida to San Francisco.

FRED STUDER, SAN FRANCISCAN: We built in an impossible place. You know, the bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge was built so that people could go back and forth between these two impossible places. But the fact that the quality of life is just so spectacular just far outweighs the impossibility.

LAWRENCE: There are signs all over the city to remind residents what's coming next century, next year, next week.

ANNEMARIE CONROY, DIRECTOR, EMERGENCY SERVICES: A major rupture of the Hayward Fault would cause catastrophic damage throughout San Francisco and also throughout the East Bay.

LAWRENCE: Annemarie Conroy runs the Office of Emergency Services. She recently revamped its entire plan to better deal with a disaster.

CONROY: For San Francisco, it's not a question of if. It's a question of when.

LAWRENCE (on camera): In fact, experts say some time in the next 25 years there's a 62 percent chance that another big quake will tear apart the Bay area, and they're telling people to stock up on enough food and supplies to last three days. That's about how long they'll be on their own until help arrives.

Chris Lawrence, CNN, Berkley, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, my next guest says the great quake is a great reminder the country needs to better prepare for a catastrophe. Former FEMA director James Lee Witt is the national co-chairman of protectingamerica.org. He joins me live, of course, from San Francisco.

Great to see you James Lee.

JAMES LEE WITT, FMR. FEMA DIRECTOR: You too.

PHILLIPS: Well, 1906, boy, we learned a lot from that earthquake, didn't we?

WITT: Yes, we did.

PHILLIPS: Let's be specific.

WITT: Well, I think one of the things, you know, the 1906 earthquake, versus the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, which was pretty damaging, but the 1906 earthquake had 30 times more energy. Think about that.

And you had 400,000 population, lost over 3,000 lives, with 225,000 homeless. So, with the amount of people that live here now versus back then, with the buildings and businesses and homes, you know, it could be catastrophic.

PHILLIPS: And we've already...

WITT: And the...

PHILLIPS: I'm sorry. Go ahead.

WITT: The estimates show in the models that's been run that it could be a $400 billion event.

PHILLIPS: Oh, my gosh, $400 billion. So we're already talking -- it's not what or the fact that this may happen, it's going to happen again. And I know that this also leads you into thinking about other natural disasters, other areas of the country.

So, whether it's San Francisco or the Gulf Coast or some other area that is of high threat, we all have to be more prepared. And that is what you've been talking about, and you are making new proposals on a regular basis.

Should we get right into it and talk about protectingamerica.org and what exactly you're proposing and sort of unravel it?

WITT: Well, I think so.

One of the things that -- what we're trying to do, Admiral Loy and I are co-chairing protectingamerica.org, building a coalition of partners from emergency managers, firefighters, private industry, because our concern is, what's happening today we have to change, because when you look at Katrina and you look at what happened in Mississippi and Louisiana and Texas and Alabama, and you look at the cost of that, it's probably going to be $200 billion. And that's taxpayers' dollars.

And the problem we have is seeing the recovery efforts that are taking way too long. And what we're seeing now is insurance is -- particularly from local agents and smaller companies and other companies -- you know, the cost of insurance is getting sky high. People can't afford it.

And in California alone, you only have one out of seven homes that are insured in earthquake insurance. Only 14 percent. And so, what we're trying to do is to help and support states to build a catastrophe fund similar to what Florida did in each state. And that the governor and the state would manage that fund that would come from premium dollars.

And a percentage of that fund would be used for mitigation, prevention, public awareness, public education. But the ultimate goal is to not only make insurance more available, to make it affordable with lower deductibles -- because in California right now earthquake insurance, you're looking at deductibles that are $30,000.

PHILLIPS: So, under this national catastrophe fund -- I see what you're saying about insurance. That makes perfect sense. But let's back up just for a second and talk about how much these disasters cost, because we saw the outpour, the generous -- I mean, all the people donating money and all the organizations, but we saw how that money wasn't spent well.

I mean, now we're doing the stories on the blue tarps that should have cost, what, $5, and they were charging $100 for blue tarps.

WITT: Yes.

PHILLIPS: I'm probably not getting the numbers exactly correct, but so many things were -- businesses and things that were necessary to survive were costing way more than they should have.

So, how are you proposing that this money gets to where it needs to be efficiently and effectively and not -- we don't want to see it wasted.

WITT: No, absolutely not. And that's -- and that's the importance of letting the governor and a board that he or she selects to manage it, that it is spent wisely and it goes to -- by legislation that's passed by the state legislators, and that it is managed well and it does help in the recovery. Just like Florida.

You know, Florida put in after Hurricane Andrew a catastrophe fund that supported the insurance and the recovery efforts. The thing of it is, after the four hurricanes two years ago, it almost wiped their fund out.

So, it -- but the other significant part of this is that each state develop and build their own catastrophe fund by legislation. Then we need a national fund on a national level, because say we had a catastrophe in California, and say that we had an earthquake that cost $400 billion, and it overwhelmed the fund. If there is a back-stop (ph) fund on the national level that then they could draw off of, then you're helping people to rebuild faster by the insurance paying for it, because it can recover much faster that way. Because the federal programs, the FEMA programs -- and you've seen this and I have, too, many times, they are not there to replace everything people lose. They will only help put a roof over a family's head or help them with temporary housing for 18 months.

PHILLIPS: You've got to look ahead.

WITT: You do. You have to look ahead, and we have to change this. And we have to get out of this repair-damage-repair cycle in a way that people can recover.

PHILLIPS: Former FEMA director James Lee Witt, protectingamerica.org. Really some interesting ideas on there.

We appreciate your time, sir.

WITT: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, under fire every day. U.S. Marines in Iraq face a daily array of bullets, mortars and unbreakable tension. Coming up on LIVE FROM, we're going to take you to the heart of the war zone.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All this week, CNN continues it's year-long look into the future, your future. This month, we focus on transportation, and today we're traveling through the underwater world with CNN's Miles O'Brien.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GRAHAM HAWKES, FOUNDER, HAWKES OCEAN TECHNOLOGIES: It's like going to another planet. It's a totally different thing that anything you can experience on land.

We've just got this tiny little surface layer of water in the ocean that we can actually go and explore. The problem with scuba, you've got to watch that gauge all the time and suddenly I'm out of air and I have to come back up.

Every time we go a little deeper, we find a whole new layer of life. The question is what else is down there? I'd love to see the day when we have readily accessible vehicles that allow us to go down and spend some time with the fish in deeper water.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): So would a lot of others. Yet the mysteries that lie deep beneath the surface of the sea have been out of reach for most of us. But maybe not for long. Imagine a private submarine that could take you well beyond the limits of mask, fins and scuba tanks.

HAWKES: I'm right alongside of a manta ray.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): Graham Hawkes, founder of Hawkes Ocean Technologies, has created a vehicle that can fly through water.

HAWKES: And the Wright Brothers really did that a hundred years ago. But we're taking that into this big deep blue space.

O'BRIEN: Built like a jet, these winged submersibles dive more than 1,500 feet, with speeds up to 12 knots.

HAWKES: But in terms of filming and studying animals, it's going to be a whole new ball game. You can put on a big suction cup on the front and try and grab animals out of the water.

O'BRIEN: But you don't have to be a marine biologist to get in on the fun. Hawkes' flight schools let amateurs become deep sea explorers. And Hawkes' ultimate goal? To reach the deepest depths of the ocean, about 37,000 feet below.

HAWKES: Just Google this planet and you'll see it's all blue. Our future lies with understanding and exploring the oceans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: The White House takes down a help wanted sign, but might put up more. Today, President Bush picked U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman to become White House budget director, replacing Josh Bolten, who just became White House chief of staff.

Just yesterday, Bolten warned the staff to get ready for more changes. He says he want to refresh the West Wing, which even many supporters say has been struggling.

(MARKET REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Hu's in Seattle? Right. The president of China begins a whirlwind visit to Washington state. President Bush awaits in the other Washington. Details coming up on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Being under fire in Washington is one thing. In Iraq, it's far worse. CNN's Arwa Damon is with U.S. marines in Ramadi, getting and sharing a hair-raising look at war.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, let's call the Swiss cheese building. That's what we call it. The one that's blown.

(CROSSTALK)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In Iraq, the real fire fight is between the troops and insurgents.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's more.

DAMON: A world away from the political battle now raging at the Pentagon. Here there is no talk of Rumsfeld, no talk of retired generals. This is active duty.

(on camera): This is a complex attack. Mortars were fired, followed by what U.S. marines initially believe to be a suicide car bomb and then a sustained gun battle for a couple of minutes. This is a normal occurrence for this location in downtown Ramadi. Attacks like this happen on a daily basis, sometimes four or five times a day, lasting anywhere from 30 seconds to hours long.

(voice-over): The next moment at the governor's compound are hectic. Platoon Commander Lieutenant Carlos Getts (ph) puts two phones to his ears, trying to figure out exactly what is going on. He's supplying ammunition to the fighting positions almost as fast as marines are firing it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, Nada (ph)!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to the right. Move it!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What? DAMON: The attack coming from all directions. Quick reaction forces respond, firing two main tank rounds into a mosque where they say they were receiving heavy fire.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the main tank going off. It's (BLEEP) gone, (BLEEP) gone.

DAMON: The gunfire ends. A victory smoke is lit up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good afternoon, America!

DAMON: Celebrations down below.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't need the Greeks, we don't need the Battle of Stalingrad, man. We got the battle of Ramadi right here in modern times, baby. Stalingrad ain't got nothing on us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Moving.

DAMON: Security patrols launched in the area are described as being more intense than face-to-face combat. For these men, bringing each other back alive is mission accomplished, no matter what the public in America may be saying.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know what we got to do. We know what we're doing. You know, it's a job you got to do. And, you know, we sacrifice all we do for people back home and hope that they appreciate that.

DAMON: All these men know, the fight will be back again, no matter who stays or goes inside the Pentagon.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Ramadi, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, the leader of the world's most populous country has a date with the world's richest man. Chinese president Hu Jintao arrived in Washington state last hour for a four-day visit to the U.S. Tonight he'll dine at the home of Microsoft chairman Bill Gates. Mr. Hu will also meet with government and business leaders before leaving Washington state for Washington, D.C. tomorrow. He meets with President Bush at the White House on Thursday.

Hu's visit comes at a time when many in the West are uneasy about China's newfound political and economic clout. CNN's Kitty Pilgrim has a report you may have first seen on "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): China. Spending tens of billions on its military buildup, and supports the most heinous rogue nations in the world, propping up the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il, embracing the anti-U.S. rhetoric of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, supporting strongman Robert Mugabe's regime in Zimbabwe, defending and supporting Sudan, and also giving support to the regime in Burma.

JOHN TKACIK, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: China has pretensions of becoming the new -- another new world superpower, and all of those countries around the world that have been harassed are now told by the Chinese, you don't have to worry about being pressured by the United States. We will back you up.

PILGRIM: The State Department plans on complaining when the Chinese president visits this week.

SEAN MCCORMACK, STATE DEPT. SPOKESMAN: In as much as China tries to reinforce negative behaviors among other countries around the world, whether that be Iran or elsewhere, then, of course, we will raise those issues with -- with China.

PILGRIM: The Pentagon is more blunt. In this year's Quadrennial Defense Review, it names China as a potential military rival. "China has the greatest potential to compete militarily with the United States."

The QDR also points out the secrecy of China's military buildup, stating, "The outside world has little knowledge of Chinese motivations and decision-making... supporting its military modernization." Adding, "The pace and scope of China's military buildup already puts regional military balances at risk."

CURT CAMPBELL, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: They are not interested in promoting democracy for obvious reasons, and their primary interests right now are to secure access to energy and raw materials that allows the great Chinese engine of growth to continue.

PILGRIM: The United States takes a soft tone with China, calling for it to become a stakeholder in the world community.

Kitty Pilgrim, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: You can catch "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" weeknights at 6:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

Ever yell out loud for a traffic light to change already? Maybe you'll sympathize with the guy in the white SUV. Sick of being red- faced, he went for the green. You'll see what the boys in blue did when LIVE FROM speeds ahead right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: See, everybody in B control was dancing now. The word of the day in Texas, conserve. It's another hot one. Power companies are urging customers to use as little electricity as possible. They are trying to avoid a repeat of yesterday's want repeated blackouts when temperatures topped 100 degrees. Adding to the problem, 15 percent of the power supply is off line for maintenance, and four power plants are shut down temporarily. (WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Led in the foot and feathers in the head. A teacher is caught going more than 100 miles per hour on a North Dakota interstate near Fargo after eating the scofflaw's dust day after day. A fellow driver tipped off the cops. Sure enough Heather Joe Smith's car whizzed right past an officer who clocked her at 102 miles an hour. It costs her $135 and 10 out of 12 points on her license. Smith doesn't even own the car. It belongs it a teacher's group that employs here.

We've all been there running late, stopped at an intersection, waiting, waiting, waiting for that red light to change. A Colorado driver decided to take traffic into his own hands, and give himself the green light. Reporter Mitch Jelniker of CNN's affiliate KMGH has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MITCH JELNIKER, KMGH CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Longmont city officials knew something was up when traffic was backing up at one of its major intersections.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our department director noticed it one day, and so when he called me I looked at my logs and we had an emergency vehicle go through.

JELNIKER: A closer look with an intersection video camera showed something quite different.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was a white Ford Ranger going through every day.

JELNIKER: So Olsen staked out the intersection and got further proof.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here he is on March 23rd. That was Thursday and this is Friday.

JELNIKER: The motorist was using a mobile infrared transmitter, which tripped the traffic lights in his favor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is kind of where you can see it stuck to the windshield there.

JELNIKER: Police confiscated the device and he fined the driver 50 bucks. A computer upgrade to see this doesn't happen again will cost Longmont a lot more.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's about $75,000.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a lot of money to be spending to change things.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it should be a little bit stronger penalty for the man and I think it's wrong. I'm sorry that it takes longer for him to get to work, but he should get up earlier.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's a lot of money, and only a $50 fine. That's relatively cheap. I'm not sure that's a real deterrent.

JELNIKER (on camera): Longmont alone. Fort Collins had to upgrade their system last year because of this problem. In fact, the Department of Transportation says there are more than 25,000 intersections nationwide which use this system, a system designed for emergency vehicles and not you and me. In Longmont, I'm Mitch Jelniker, Seven news.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead. Entertainment news with Sibila Vargas. What's on tap?

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: A blockbuster director qualifies for the U.S. Olympic team and the Hollywood baby boom, well it continues. I'll have those stories and more when LIVE FROM returns.

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PHILLIPS: All right, we're not making any judgments here, but we may have found something even less productive than playing video games, watching other people play video games. The biggest organized video game league is moving to cable television this fall. Major League Gaming has a deal with the USA Network for seven hour-long episodes. So who knew there was actually professional video gaming?

China goes Hollywood as it plans the 2008 Olympics, two mommies expecting one set of twins, and the original cast of a Broadway hit gather for a "Rent" party.

It's our turn to go to Hollywood. Entertainment correspondent Sibila Vargas. "Rent" is one of my favorites, so I can't wait to hear about this, Sibila.

VARGAS: Me too.

PHILLIPS: Yes, it's great music.

(CROSSTALK)

VARGAS: Well, Hollywood heavyweight Steven Spielberg has officially made the U.S. Olympic team. His qualifying event, you ask? Filmmaking, of course. No, it's not a new Olympic sport. Spielberg has signed on to help design the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2008 Olympics, which will be held in Beijing.

Heading the project is fellow director Zhang Yimou, who's film credits include "Hero" and "House of Flying Daggers." Yimou has agreed to take a two-year break from filmmaking so he can focus his full attention on the larger than life ceremonies that will be seen all around the world. Can't wait for that. Well, singer Melissa Ethridge and wife Tammy Lynn Michaels will soon have a new focus of their own. The couple have announced that Tammy is pregnant with twins. On Melissa's Web site they say, quote, "they are thrilled to announce that Tammy is pregnant and expecting our twins sometime around this fall. To answer the obvious question, we used an anonymous donor from a bank."

While the twins are the first children for the couple children together, it's not their first foray into parenting. Ethridge shares custody of two children from a previous relationship. The couple asks only for well wishes and that no gifts be sent, please. They say anything that is received will be donated to a local women's shelter.

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VARGAS: I know you know the words for this, Kyra, but you're not going to sing it for us. From Broadway to the big screen then back again. The original cast of the hit musical "Rent" is reuniting once again. The one-time reunion will take place April 24th in honor of the show's 10th anniversary.

The special benefit concert will feature a modified presentation of music from the groundbreaking show. Proceeds from the event will benefit of the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation, which is named after "Rent's" late creator, Jonathan Larson.

Coming up tonight, a movie star raped at gunpoint and beaten beyond recognition. Now she has to face her rapist face to face to make sure he stays behind bars forever. Her amazing story of survival and how she is thanking Oprah Winfrey for being alive.

"SHOWBIZ TONIGHT," 7:00 Eastern and 11:00 Pacific on CNN Headline News -- Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: Wow, that grabbed our attention. All right. Sibila Vargas, thanks so much.

The third hour of LIVE FROM is straight ahead, so stay with us.

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VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: If you're planning on driving to your summer vacation destination, you can expect to be paying for at the pump this year. To get the details, you can log onto CNNMONEY.com.

The Energy Department predicts the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded will be $2.62, which is 25 cents more than last summer. And some say, that is a conservative estimate.

So, if you must drive, there are some quick steps you can take to put yourself in the driver's seat. Use cruise control during long stretches on the highway, and you'll save in the long-run. Park in the shade when possible to keep your car cool, so you won't have to crank up the A.C. Also, avoid accelerating or breaking too hard. You may win as the first one to race out at the green light, but lose in gas mileage. You can find more tips at CNNMONEY.com/gas. For the .com desk, I'm Veronica de la Cruz.

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