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NSA to Brief Congress on Wiretapping Program; New England Towns Keep Eye on Dams; Doctors Warn of Drug Resistant Disease; Karl Rove Meets with Congressional Leaders on Immigration

Aired May 17, 2006 - 13:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
The White House decides more members of Congress need to know about those NSA wiretaps.

Immigration battle: advocates plan another march on Washington as debate heats up on Capitol Hill.

New Orleans burning: choppers dropping huge loads of water on the fire near the city's convention center. LIVE FROM starts right now.

After saying no for five months and not much else, the Bush administration has decided to brief both congressional intelligence committees about NSA eavesdropping. The nomination of the NSA's former boss to head the CIA may have something to do with it.

CNN congressional correspondent Andrea Koppel now joins me with the latest -- Andrea.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Kyra. We are now on the eve of those Senate confirmation hearings for General Michael Hayden, scheduled to get under way tomorrow afternoon.

And suddenly yesterday we got word that both the Senate and the House intelligence committees, the full committees, would be getting a briefing, which is supposed to start in about an hour, with the current head of the NSA, General Alexander.

Now Democrats, who, as you said, have been asking for this move for the last five months, welcomed it. But at the same time, they questioned just how much of this was politically motivated, with the hearings starting tomorrow for General Hayden, or how much was a genuine attempt by the administration to keep Congress informed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MINORITY LEADER: I must acknowledge that the Senate needs more information on these programs and the role that the president's played in this. I appreciate very much the step forward to allow all members of the intelligence committees to know what's going on or attempt to get to know what's going on.

It's important for anyone in this chamber and for the administration to recognize that this briefing on this single issue is very necessary but not sufficient for the American people to have confidence that their government is not only protecting them from terrorists but also respecting their constitutional rights.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOPPEL: Now, during tomorrow's hearing for General Hayden, most of the questions, as you might imagine, is going to focus on the NSA's warrantless wiretapping program, which he helped to develop when he headed up the NSA. It will also focus on that story last week that said that the NSA was collecting the phone records of millions of Americans.

That said, Kyra, both Democrats and Republicans that I've spoken to are expressing optimism that General Hayden's nomination will go through, will pass through the Senate Intelligence Committee. In fact, one Democratic aide said that the -- specifically, the Hayden nomination is not in any jeopardy.

If that's true, then next week, towards the end of the week, you can expect the Senate to have an up or down vote on the nomination, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Andrea, we'll be taking those confirmation hearings live right here on CNN. I'm sure we'll be talking a lot tomorrow throughout the day. Thanks so much.

Well, it's a long way from May to November, but Republicans hope you'll remember what's about to take place at the White House. President Bush is about to sign the $70 billion tax cut package that Congress approved last week.

In a boost for investors, it extends a 2003 tax cut on capital gains and dividends for another two years, until 2010. It also extends protections for millions of middle class households from the alternative minimum tax. And while it may pay political dividends, the GOP says its main purpose is to stimulate the economy.

Democrats say it gives to the rich while adding to the deficit. We're going to bring you the signing live as soon as we see the president, later this hour.

The rain has stopped. Not so, the strain, though. Towns across New England still have to wait for rivers to go down before they can mop up and shore up. CNN's Dan Lothian on the phone now from Massachusetts.

Dan, where exactly are you and what's it like there?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're in Amesbury, Massachusetts, where we don't have a problem here of the water out in the streets and so forth, but what the problem -- the focus continues to be here is on a dam on the Powow River. Because, at least according to the engineers who have been looking at this now, ever since the storm really started raging over the last weekend, they believe it's a little bit unstable, and there's the concern that it will give way. And beyond that, that perhaps some of the stone walls right in front of the dam will also crumble, going down the chute, backing up, and then causing catastrophic flooding in the downtown region.

So people remain out of their homes and businesses -- about half of the downtown area has been evacuated. And what they're doing now is, they brought in a large excavator-type vehicle. They will be moving around some large boulders that will be brought in by truck, dropping them in front of the dam. And what they say that they hope it will do is divert some of the pressure away from the walls, take away the concern of potentially having all that debris go down and flood the downtown area.

PHILLIPS: You know, there's been a lot of talk with these National Guard troops headed to the border, Dan. Will they be able to respond to national disasters? Have you seen any members of the National Guard out there?

LOTHIAN: I have not seen any out here today, but certainly over the last few days. I mean, ever since we started covering this story, every town that we went to that had extensive flooding, you saw a lot of National Guard troops. In fact, in Peabody, where we began this odyssey, it was just surrounded by National Guard troops.

And in part, perhaps, that is the reason why we didn't see a lot of incidents where people, you know, went into the water and got stranded. There were some of those, but they kept a lot of the public from venturing into some of these dangerous areas and potentially getting hurt.

PHILLIPS: Now also, as you and I have talked about, of course, in the past, all the dams that exist in these various areas. Are mayors and residents still keeping an eye on other dams like the Spicket River Dam in Methuen and the dam in Lawrence?

LOTHIAN: They are indeed keeping an eye on those dams. And you know what this has done is renewed the whole controversy over is enough being done to shore up these aging dams? Do some of them need to be torn down? Do we need to levy more fines on the private owners who hold these dams?

The whole debate now has been renewed. And then, in addition to all of this, where is the money going to come from? Certainly, there's going to be a lot of money that's needed just to help in the cleanup effort here. There's tens of millions of dollars. And so others are asking the question, where is the money going to come to deal with this?

But certainly, it's something that all agree needs to be dealt with, because every time you have major rainfall, there is that scare, that concern that these dams could buckle.

PHILLIPS: And the governor, Mitt Romney, spoke yesterday live, Dan. As a matter of fact, you and I were talking when he came to the mic. And we didn't hear anything at that moment about emergency funds for the state. Have you heard anything since then about emergency moneys getting to the people?

LOTHIAN: We have not heard anything yet about what is specifically going to be done. He did say that he will take care of people who have been hurt or have any extensive damage from this storm.

But what we did hear is that the governor does plan to call on the federal government for assistance, and certainly that is something, at least based on what we've seen here on the ground, that will be needed.

PHILLIPS: Dan Lothian, thanks so much.

LOTHIAN: OK.

PHILLIPS: In a city that knows disaster, a disarming sight now. Smoke poured into the sky above New Orleans this morning. But things weren't as bad as they looked. The fire was huge, but it was coming from an abandoned riverfront warehouse that was being torn down anyway. No one was hurt, and the cause of the fire is a mystery right now.

A cruise ship mystery in the Caribbean. Daniel DiPiero, a passenger from Ohio, was last seen Sunday. He was on the Mariner of the Seas when an on-board camera showed him leaning on a rail just after 2 in the morning on Monday.

The Coast Guard says that the weather is bad. That, and rough seas could make searching for him tougher. If they don't find him, the FBI will take over the investigation.

A U.S. aircraft carrier is sinking off the coast of Florida. Sounds like earth shattering news, doesn't it? But it is important, but it's not what you might think. The USS Oriskany is sinking for environmental reasons.

Hundreds of veterans of the Oriskany service in Korea and Vietnam are watching what will be the largest manmade reef in the world. The ship, built in 1944 -- or the carrier, rather, built in 1945, is as long as three football fields. Navy divers are using explosives right now to sink her. It's expected to take several hours for the carrier to take its final 200-foot voyage.

Microscopic super bug. Its bite can be pretty deadly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JONATHON JACOBS, NEW YORK PRESBYTERIAN, WEILL CORNELL: Every time we use antibiotics inappropriately, they see what we can use against them and the resistant ones tend to flourish.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: MRSA is out of the hospital and maybe in your neighborhood. Dr. Sanjay Gupta puts it under the microscope, when LIVE FROM returns. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: How do you make a bad bug worst? Well, this one started out as a sometimes deadly bacteria that lurked in hospitals, preying on people who were already sick, already weak and already vulnerable. Now it's spreading outside hospitals, striking healthy people and defying treatment.

CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta investigated for "A.C. 360."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For April Frans, it began with small, mysterious bumps on her skin. She had no idea where they could have come from; no recent scrapes or scratches could explain them. But soon they grew to become painful boils on her legs.

APRIL FRANS, MRSA PATIENT: I was embarrassed to go to the doctor, because I thought they would tell me it was an STD.

GUPTA: A possible sexually transmitted disease, but she was happily married, not at high risk. Her doctors first concluded that she had a simple staph infection. Treatment was simple: drain it, clean it and take antibiotics.

But it simply didn't work, and it was only the beginning of what would be a two-and-a-half-year ordeal. April's mysterious ailment only got worse. During that time, she gave birth to her son, Owen. She continued to develop painful new boils every month, some as big as golf balls.

FRANS: I've been through about 20 doctors. Most of them diagnosed it with ingrown hair, a spider bite, acne.

GUPTA: All of them wrong, all mistaken diagnoses. It wasn't until last November when April's condition was finally identified. Its true name, community-acquired Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. It's a long name for a brand-new kind of illness or bug, if you will, one that doctors know surprisingly little about.

FRANS: I've had some doctors say, well, it's serious and other doctors say everybody has it.

GUPTA: Confused by the mixed messages, April took her diagnosis and went in search of facts. She learned her super bug, MRSA, could be lethal. While the vast majority of patients will develop skin infections, at least six percent will suffer from serious effects from the disease, such as infections of the blood, bone or muscle, pneumonia, even death.

Take a look at this CT scan. You can see part of this man's abdominal wall had to be removed after it was destroyed by the infection. It is only treatable by rarer, often more expensive antibiotics. In many cases, IV lines and isolation are required. Similar antibiotic resistant staph infections were once found only in hospitals, where antibiotics are used in abundance. Now these new kinds of MRSA are spreading fast, even in people who rarely use antibiotics. For medical researchers, it's an urgent challenge.

DR. SUSAN RAY, DIVISION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES, EMORY: We don't know how it's made the jump. The germ developed this resistance in the community and separate from the hospital.

GUPTA: One theory points to the misuse of antibiotics.

JACOBS: I don't think the spread of MRSA is surprising at all. Every time we use antibiotics inappropriately, they see what we can use against them. And the resistant ones tend to flourish.

GUPTA: And new strains with ominous names, such as USA 300, can spread quickly. Interestingly, people could be carriers and infect others without showing any signs of illness themselves.

Outbreaks have been reported in prisons, daycare centers, military barracks, gyms and locker rooms: places where people live in close quarters and potentially have poor hygiene and broken skin.

RAY: How is MRSA spread? We'd like to know for sure so that we can stop it. Having active skin lesions is probably the most important risk factor for spreading to others.

GUPTA: No doctor can tell April if she'll ever be truly cured. But she tries to contain the MRSA by washing her hands, wiping down surfaces, spraying disinfectant on doorknobs and toys. But despite her disinfecting rituals at home, her 1-year-old developed boils. He was hospitalized for three days.

FRANS: My friends couldn't come over without wearing a gown and a glove to hold my son, which was very hard for me.

A spot.

Actually, what went through my mind at that point was it was all my fault.

GUPTA: In fact, experts say spreading this new kind of staph super bug is common among families.

RAY: These are not parents that are neglecting their children or doing a bad job. This is just a very strong germ.

GUPTA: So how did April get infected in the first place? No one knows. Both her husband and their older child, 7-year-old Cathy, have been tested. Doctors say it didn't come from them.

FRANS: It's kind of hard because I don't really know what it is. You know, there's no, really, answer on what causes it or how I got it.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting. (END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And Dr. Sanjay Gupta is part of the team covering the world for "ANDERSON COOPER 360" weeknights at 10 Eastern.

The battle, immigration reform. The battleground, Washington. From Capitol Hill to the White House to the streets, all sides are out in force today. The Senate resumes the debate on the controversial bill. White House big gun Karl Rove tries to win over conservative critics. And immigrant advocates plan to march on the capital -- or march on the Capitol, I guess, in just a few hours, I'm told.

Let's take you straight to the White House, though, where our Ed Henry just came out of the briefing -- Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Kyra.

If this is not a full-court press, it's at left a half-court press from this White House, after the president's prime-time address on Monday. The president, tomorrow, heading to Yuma, Arizona, to get a briefing from some Border Patrol agents. He'll also be touring with the Arizona Governor Napolitano. He'll be also speaking with the media, and trying to get the word out, some of the same principles he put out there on Monday, about tightening the border but also having this guest worker program to deal with the nearly 12 million illegal immigrants already here in the United States.

And as you mentioned, the president's top gun, Karl Rove, went to Capitol Hill today, closed door meeting of about a half hour with House Republican members of Congress, pressing the president's case. Tony Snow a couple minutes ago commented on Rove's perception of how it went when he came back to the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: It was respectful. People were obviously having exchanges of views on things. But I also think what members of the House appreciate is that the president said, "OK this is where I stand." It gives people a basis for which to proceed.

Because the House and Senate, provided the Senate does pass a bill, are going to have to sit down and reconcile their differences. The president can play a very important role on that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Now Tony Snow is basically saying that Karl Rove's read was that the move was pretty optimistic. The White House feels good that maybe some House Republicans may come along.

That doesn't really square with what one of our congressional producers, Deirdre Wallace, was hearing from some of the Republican members of Congress after the meeting. They were, with a smile, saying maybe Karl Rove is being a little optimistic. They just don't see a lot of House Republicans coming over to the White House side on that guest worker program. A lot House Republicans, conservatives want to stick, want to stick with just get tough on the border, leave out the guest worker stuff -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Tell you what, Tony Snow, been pretty -- it was a pretty busy first day. The second day, any other drama to add to the mix?

HENRY: No. You know, day two of the Tony Snow show, if you will. A lot less people here today than yesterday.

I want to note how much power you have, Kyra Phillips. Yesterday, we were talking about how a Democrat had called me and said, you know, it looked a little tacky when he had a paper coffee cup on the podium with the presidential seal. Today, Tony Snow put it on the podium when he started and then, with a smile, pulled it off the podium and put it underneath and said something like, you know, who says I don't listen to advice? So I think -- I think people are watching you.

PHILLIPS: Why don't you get him a CNN mug? That might just be perfect.

HENRY: I know, instead of a paper cup. You know, he was also joking a lot -- he's lightening the mood a bit. But also, he's pushing back pretty hard, trying to, you know, in a serious way -- really push back for the administration on issues like immigration, the NSA domestic surveillance program. He's somebody obviously who obviously has those skills from radio and TV, and the White House is hoping that he'll put them to use, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Ed Henry from the White House. Thanks, Ed.

HENRY: Thank you.

PHILIPS: Want to update you now on that New Orleans warehouse fire that we had some pretty amazing pictures. But it definitely wasn't as bad as what we had thought.

This is actually an abandoned warehouse on the riverfront. We're being told that the fire is out. They were able to attack it from the air and the ground.

The fire actually began at the Orange Street wharf and then it sort of extended to the Market Street wharf if you know that area right down there, on the-- on the river. And you can see that -- this is earlier video before the helicopters were able to drop water on the blaze and the firefighters battling it from the streets.

But it's out. That's the good news. Not sure how it started. Still working that. But nobody was injured. It was abandoned. That's the good news.

All right. We're also monitoring Wall Street. The markets dipping pretty low. We're LIVE FROM the New York Stock Exchange straight ahead.

The news keeps coming. We'll keep bringing it to you. More LIVE FROM coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Let's get straight to homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve with some developing news out of Washington.

Jeanne, what do you have for us?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, a native of Taiwan has pled guilty to being a covert agent for the People's Republic of China and trying to purchase and export to China an F-16 aircraft engine, 75 Black Hawk helicopter engines, cruise missiles and air to air missiles it the cruise missile in question, the AGM-129, is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and is equipped with stealth technology. U.S. officials are calling this one of the most significant Chinese arms smuggling cases in years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIE MYERS, ASSISTANT HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: I think that case is a very serious case. It certainly -- the persistence of this individual and the particular items that he was trying to obtain are of great concern. These type of cases are also very high priority for ICE and we are pleased that he is being brought to justice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: Officials say Ko-Suen Moo of Taipei, Taiwan, allegedly tried to buy his way out of jail after his arrest with a $500,000 bribe. That according to government official. He has not yet been sentenced but faces significant jail time and fines.

FBI director Robert Mueller said today that U.S. government resources have been redirected to deal with the problem of Chinese theft of American military technology in the U.S. and overseas, a problem he characterized as being of, quote, "substantial concern" -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Jeanne, do we know anything else about this man, his background?

MESERVE: The only thing we learned is he apparently was an employee of Lockheed Martin in Taiwan, worked for the company for 10 years in Taiwan, in a pretty high-ranking capacity. This, according to government officials. We're after more (ph) -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Jeanne Meserve, thanks so much.

We're going to take a quick break. More LIVE FROM right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL MCCARTNEY, MUSICIAN: She has made a stance from the word "go," and she doesn't use fur or leather in any of her collections. And actually, these boots Heather has on...

HEATHER MILLS, ANIMAL ACTIVIST: These boots, they look like leather that I've got on and they're not. They're just a plastic.

MCCARTNEY: They're fake leather.

MILLS: They're just a fake leather.

MCCARTNEY: These boots are made for walking, Larry. And one of these days, you know it's going to happen.

MILLS: I'll walk right over you

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: All right, well, can't say she didn't warn him. We don't know who reached for the eject button first. But the bottom line is ex-Beatle Paul McCartney and his second wife, Heather Mills, are just so yesterday.

CNN's Becky Anderson joins me from London with more on the split.

What happened, Becky?

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, I'm here outside of what is or certainly was the home of Sir Paul McCartney and Heather Mills. It seems they have decided, though, to go their separate ways. We won't be seeing them here together at this home in St. Johns Woods in London again.

And in an ironic twist of fate, the former Beatle who penned the hymn to companionship and happiness, "When I'm 64", is indeed 64 next month, but he will be spending that birthday on his own. As I say, in the statement today, they have decided to go their separate ways.

What went wrong, Kyra? Well, many people and certainly the tabloids here suggest that Heather Mills resented living with Paul McCartney. He was more famous than she was.

She is former model. She lost her leg in an accident and does an awful lot of charity work. She wanted to be in the limelight. He didn't. He's retiring effectively from that.

Others, including Stella McCartney, the daughter of Paul McCartney, is said to have called her an arch manipulator. She doesn't, it seems, get on with the family. But we know today that she may not have to going forward, because this marriage is over -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Becky Anderson, bringing us up to date on the big split. Thank you.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

PHILLIPS: They say Americans have the wrong idea about Iran, and so they went there to prove it, just ahead.

Beyond the political rhetoric. U.S. peace activists look for common ground with the people of Iran.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: So what's Saddam Hussein got to smile about? The ex- Iraqi leader grinned today after the judge scolded a defendant in their crimes against humanity trial in Baghdad. Defense witnesses have been testifying for the past two days. The chief judge is considering a request from Hussein to testify on behalf of his former vice president. Hussein and seven others are on trial. Court reconvenes on Monday.

Also in Baghdad, another big step toward a permanent government. The prime minister-designate told parliament today that he'll present his cabinet for lawmaker's approval this weekend.

Iran says no nukes from Europe. Iran's president says that his country isn't looking for incentives to drop his uranium-enrichment program, even if they includes a so-called light-water nuclear reactor. That's said to be an idea floated by Britain, France and Germany, aimed at blunting Iran's homegrown nuclear research. Light- water reactors are harder to use for weapons production, which Iran has always said, it's not its goal anyway. Tension between Iran and the west is nothing new, but some Americans hope to ease it, using only their passports, visas and open minds.

Here's CNN's Aneesh Raman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In this ancient Iranian city of Isfahan, just past a street musician, playing what could be described as Persian bagpipes, Iranians who travel here in droves to see relics of their past, today find themselves walking by a modern marvel, a group of Americans. These Americans are sightseers themselves with a purpose, 23 interfaith peace activists who call themselves the "Fellowship of Reconciliation," who paid their way to come to Iran for a 12-day visit.

Twenty-eight-year-old New Yorker Melissa Van put preconceptions aside.

MELISSA VAN, FELLOWSHIP OF RECONCILIATION: When I decided to come, everybody was really afraid for me, oh, you're going to get killed.

RAMAN: She hasn't. Instead, she and the others have relished their spontaneous encounters with average Iranians. They fear war is on the horizon, that the U.S. should talk to Iran about its nuclear concerns.

But is this an elaborate protests against President Bush?

VAN: I think this is beyond the particular president and the particular situation right now. I think for a long time there has been a lot of misunderstanding between the two countries. RAMAN: Melissa is putting her impressions on a blog about how Iranians openly complain that signs like this give Americans the wrong impression of their country.

VAN: Most Iranians are concerned that people in the U.S. will think of them as terrorists, as ignorant, as people living in trees, and they want to really dispel that myth.

RAMAN (on camera): At night, Isfahan goes from ancient to much more modern. It is Iran's second city. And we've come to track down the Americans who are having some authentic Persian dinner just down the street there.

(voice-over): Inside, it's not a given that Americans stand out. Isfahan is a tourist draw for many foreigners, those who can get visas, a place where worlds collide over the kabobs.

VAN: You know, there's a sense that they're so much different, and I don't think that that's true. I don't think there's that much difference.

RAMAN: Melissa's is a group hoping dialogue can emerge between the U.S. and Iran. But getting governments to compromise, they know, is far more difficult than getting people to connect.

Aneesh Raman, CNN, Isfahan, Iran.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Well, back here in the United States, it's a short-term answer raising a long list of questions: sending National Guard troops to the border. Will it stretch them to the breaking point? I'll talk to the man in charge, Lieutenant General Steven Blum heads the National Guard bureau. We'll have an exclusive interview with him next hour on LIVE FROM.

Also straight ahead, the body, the blood and the ballyhoo. Even before "The Da Vinci Code" officially hits theaters, some Catholics are already seeing red. We'll have more on the controversy next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Opie takes on Opus Dei and all hell breaks loose, as director Ron Howard sends his "Da Vinci Code" to the big screen. Will the controversy assume biblical proportion?

CNN's Brooke Anderson gets an earful from the Catholic faithful.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Da Vinci.

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The controversy surrounding "The Da Vinci Code" has been reignited as the book springs to life on the silver screen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dear God.

ANDERSON: As Dan Brown's novel makes its way to multitudes of moviegoers, religious critics are redoubling their attack on what they view as an anti-Catholic story.

CARDINAL GEORGE PELL, ARCHBISHOP OF SYDNEY: I think "The Da Vinci Code" is a load of nonsense.

ANDERSON: The archbishop of Sydney isn't a fan, while Cardinal Francis Arinze, a Nigerian who was a candidate for pope last year, suggests in a new documentary that Christians worldwide should take what he called "practical action" against the book and movie, using "legal means."

Complaints of religious and historical inaccuracies plagued "The Da Vinci Code" well before it became a film. Critics say it questions the divinity of Jesus Christ, casting Mary Magdalene as his lover, possibly his wife, with whom he had a child.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Witness the biggest cover-up in human history.

ANDERSON: Opus Dei, the small but influential controversy group within the Catholic Church, is portrayed as a conspiratorial cult with members who resort to murder to keep the true origins of Christianity a secret.

TERRI CARRON, OPUS DEI SPOKESWOMAN: This depiction is totally false. Not only does it, you know, denigrate Opus Dei, but it's really a misrepresentation about Christianity.

RON HOWARD, DIRECTOR: And action!

ANDERSON: Opus Dei wants a disclaimer added to the beginning of the film. Director Ron Howard told the "Los Angeles Times" there's no need for that. Quote: "This is a work of fiction. It's not theology. It's not history. To start off with a disclaimer -- spy thrillers don't start off with disclaimers.

But the book it's based on claims to be more than mere fiction. Brown writes in the prologue: "All descriptions of art work, architecture, documents and secret rituals in this novel are accurate."

(on camera): As for star Tom Hanks, who's here at the Cannes Film Festival to promote the movie, he's been taking a lighter approach to the criticism. He even appeared on "Saturday Night Live" to poke fun at the controversy.

TOM HANKS, ACTOR: Oh, yes, dear lord.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Hanks? I saw your film and I just want you to know that I forgive you.

HANKS: So you don't have a problem with "The Da Vinci Code?"

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I haven't seen that. I was forgiving you for making "The Terminal"

ANDERSON: Laughs aside, churches around the world are using the debate as a serious springboard to educate.

REV. MICHAEL BARRETT, OPUS DEI: It's a tremendous opportunity for people to discover for themselves the truth and hopefully to be drawn to it.

ANDERSON: Brooke Anderson, CNN, Cannes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, it's a long way from May to November, but Republicans hope that you'll remember what's about to take place at the White House. President Bush is about to sign the $70 billion tax cut package that Congress approved last week. In a boost for investors, it extends a 2003 tax cut on capital gains and dividends for another two years until 2010. It also extends protections for millions of middle class households from the alternative minimum tax. And while it may pay political dividends, the GOP says its main purpose is to stimulate the economy. Democrats say it gives to the rich while adding to the deficit. We're going to bring you the signing live this hour, as soon as we see the president.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: It's a short-term answer raising a long list of questions. Sending National Guard troops to the border. Will it stretch them to the breaking point? I'll talk to the man in charge. Lieutenant General Steven Blum heads the National Guard bureau. An exclusive interview, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: You've heard the stories, you've seen the pictures: illegal immigrants risking their lives to cross the U.S. border. Not Fort Hancock Texas, a stroll across the foot bridge is all it takes, and you've even got your choice of bridges.

CNN's Ed Lavandera walked the walk for "ANDERSON COOPER 360."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sheriff's Deputy Mike Doyal shows us one of the four unguarded foot bridges that connect Fort Hancock, Texas, to Mexico.

CHIEF DEPUTY MIKE DOYAL, HUDSPETH COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: Prior to our arrival, anyone that wanted to go up across there, was free to do so.

LAVANDERA: Border Patrol agents make daily patrols through town, but every day people cross to work and even go to school, skipping past the official checkpoints.

DOYAL: And those are not the people that we have a problem with, because I'm going to make it real clear that some of those people on the other side are some of the nicest people you would ever want to meet in your life.

LAVANDERA: Fort Hancock sits about 50 miles southeast of El Paso. Its one claim to fame is a moment in the movie "Shawshank Redemption."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got a postcard in the mail. It was blank, but the postmark said Fort Hancock, Texas. Fort Hancock. Right on the border. That's where Andy crossed.

LAVANDERA: The old 1880s military barracks, built to protect the U.S. border, are now crumbling into the alfalfa fields cut by migrant workers. It's a timeless place. For people who live here, the border barely exists. We found these Mexican cattle ranchers moving their herd along the river. A few times the cows would move into the U.S., the buckeros (ph) road across the dried out river and collected their animals.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This one right here is red chilies.

LAVANDERA: Chili farmer Gale Carr welcomes the people who cross the border with good intentions. He thinks new laws or work programs won't stop illegal immigration.

GALE CARR, CHILI FARMER: Because as long as it's so bad next door, the kids from next door are going to want to hang out with our kids. You know, that's just the way it is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is one of the labs here.

LAVANDERA: And the kids are coming. Fort Hancock School Superintendent Jose Franco says 99 percent of his students are Hispanic. He knows some of them are here illegally, but says it's not his job to kick them out.

JOSE FRANCO, SUPERINTENDENT, FORT HANCOCK ISD: If they show up to your doorstep, you educate them. You know, these are public schools. If they can just show some kind of proof that they live within the boundaries of the school district, you know, electric bill, they're pretty much in.

LAVANDERA: As the immigration debate rages across the country, life goes on here. The Rio Grande is like the community swimming pool to people on both sides, and as a group of tired Mexican cowboys gather their herd and sit down for lunch on the American side, no one seems to care.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Fort Hancock, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: You can catch more stories from our Ed Lavandera on "ANDERSON COOPER 360." That's at 10:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

Now we want to take you straight to President Bush. He3's signing a $70 billion tax-cut package. Let's take it live.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you all. Please be seated.

Good afternoon, and welcome to the White House.

It's nice to see so many members of Congress at this end of Pennsylvania Avenue.

(LAUGHTER)

And you've come for a really good reason.

This is a good day for American workers and families and businesses. You have passed a bill that will keep our taxes low and keep our economy growing. And I'm really pleased to be able to sign this vital piece of legislation. Thank you for your leadership.

(APPLAUSE)

I'm glad you're here, and so is the vice president. I'm proud to be up here with Vice President Cheney. I couldn't have picked a better person to be the vice president of the United States.

(APPLAUSE)

Appreciate Secretary John Snow for his leadership on this issue.

Mr. Secretary, you have made a difference and I'm proud of your leadership. Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

I want to thank the speaker of the House, Denny Hastert.

Mr. Speaker, welcome back to the White House. Thank you for your leadership.

And I want to thank Senator Bill Frist, the Senate majority leader.

Both these men have shown fine leadership capabilities on an important issue for the American people.

I want to thank Mitch McConnell, Jon Kyl, Kay Bailey Hutchison from the United States Senate.

I want to thank John Boehner, Deborah Pryce, Eric Cantor.

I particularly want to pay my respects to the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Chuck Grassley and Bill Thomas are incredibly able legislators. They've done a fantastic job on behalf of the American people. And our nation owes them a debt of gratitude.

(APPLAUSE) I appreciate all the members being here today.

This economy of ours is hitting full stride. In the first quarter of this year, our economy grew at an annual rate of 4.8 percent. This follows a vigorous 2005, when the American economy grew at 3.5 percent.

In the past two and a half years, we've added more than 5.2 million new jobs.

Productivity over the last five years has grown at the fastest rate in decades.

Higher productivity leads to higher wages for the American workers. Hourly compensation grew at an annual rate of 5.7 percent in the first quarter of this year.

American workers are taking home bigger paychecks and their standard of living is on the rise.

The American economy is powerful, productive and prosperous and we're going to keep it that way.

(APPLAUSE)

Economic growth begins with the hard work of the American people and good policies in Washington, D.C.

Over the past few years, our economy has faced a lot of challenges. We've been through a recession, a stock market decline, corporate scandals, an attack on our country, high energy prices and major natural disasters.

But we acted.

We believe that our economy prospers when the American people make their own decisions about how to save and spend and invest their own money. And starting in 2001, we delivered the largest tax relief since Ronald Reagan was in the White House.

(APPLAUSE)

We reduced taxes for every American who pays income taxes. We doubled the child tax credit, reduced the marriage penalty, created new incentives for small businesses to invest. We put the death tax on the road to extinction.

The American people have used their money better than the government ever could have.

They've used the tax relief to provide for their families and create jobs and help the American economy become the envy of the industrialized world.

Our pro-growth policies stand in stark contrast to those in Washington who believe you grow your economy by raising taxes and centralizing power. They are wrong.

Our pro-growth economic policies are working for all Americans.

(APPLAUSE)

One of the most important decisions we made was to cut the taxes on dividends and capital gains.

(APPLAUSE)

These cuts were designed to lower the cost of capital and to encourage business to expand and hire new workers. And these tax cuts are doing exactly what we expected.

When these cuts were passed in 2003, business investment had been dropping for several years. Since then, business investment has been growing at more than 9 percent a year. Spending on equipment and software has hit record levels and businesses have hired millions of new workers to fill the jobs that this investment creates.

The cuts on dividends and capital gains are reaching families and businesses alike. About half the households in America, 57 million in all, have some investment in the stock market. They either own shares in individual companies or through mutual funds. Sometimes they own these shares through their retirement plans.

By cutting the taxes on dividends and capital gains, we helped add about $4 trillion in new wealth to the stock market.

If you have a mutual fund for your family, these tax cuts made you better off. If you have an IRA or 401(k), these tax cuts will help provide a better retirement. If you're a senior who depends on dividend income to make ends meet, these tax cuts have led to a better check each month.

At all levels of income, the tax cuts on dividends and capital gains are letting Americans keep more of their own money and live a better life.

The danger is that the tax cuts on the dividends and capital gains were set to expire in 2008. That's created great uncertainty because businesses and investors couldn't plan for the future without worrying about a big tax increase around the corner.

That uncertainty discourages investment and expansion. It reduces opportunities for workers and families.

The bill you passed helps address this problem by extending the tax cuts on dividends and capital gains, by reassuring businesses that their taxes will not be going up any time soon.

The bill increases confidence for our job creators. It will help millions of American families who are saving for the future.

Part of our strategy to cut our deficit in half is to continue to grow this economy. Tax relief has helped a growing economy, which means more tax revenue for the federal treasury. 2005 tax revenues grew by $274 billion, an increase of nearly 15 percent over the previous year.

This year, the economy's still growing and tax revenues are growing with it. So far tax revenues are 11 percent higher than they were at the same point last year, which is better than projected.

More than a quarter of these tax revenues come from corporations who pay more because they're growing with the economy. By growing this economy, we're staying on track to meet our goal of cutting the deficit in half by 2009.

But to meet that goal, we must be strong on controlling the federal appetite for spending. Every year since I took office, we slowed the growth of discretionary spending that's not related to the military or homeland security. Our last two budgets have actually cut this kind of spending.

Congress is now considering an emergency supplemental bill that can show the American people we're determined to be fiscally sound with their money. I've set a clear limit on spending that I'll accept for this legislation. And if this bill goes over the limit, or includes non-emergency or wasteful spending, I'll veto it.

(APPLAUSE)

For the past 50 years, Republicans and Democrats have had many differences, but they've often been able to agree that the American people should keep more of their own money. Presidents like John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan proposed and cut taxes with strong bipartisan support, and in each case the economy prospered and grew.

The tax cuts we passed in 2001 and 2003 have also helped the economy grow and prosper.

The opponents of these tax cuts were wrong when they voted against them the first time. They've been wrong to oppose the extension of tax relief in the face of overwhelming evidence that the tax cuts have helped grow the economy and create millions of new jobs.

With this bill, we're sending the American people a clear message about our policy. We're going to continue to trust the American people with their own money. We'll continue to be wise with the people's money in Washington. We'll continue to work and to make sure that tax cuts are permanent.

And the bill I sign today is a victory for the American taxpayers. And it's a strong lift for our economy.

Congratulations on a job well done.

(APPLAUSE)

It's now my honor to sign the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005.

(APPLAUSE)

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