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CNN Live Today
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld Talks Before NATO- Sponsored Conference
Aired April 06, 2004 - 10:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: The war in Iraq is expected to figure prominently in this year's presidential election. Jobs and the economy are also major issues. President Bush is headed to Arkansas to tout his plans for economic growth. Meanwhile, the president's chief political rival will be in Ohio today to talk jobs. John Kerry today will talk about his plans to kickstart the economy during a speech in Cincinnati. It's the first in a series of economic speeches that the presumptive Democratic nominee will make.
And then there is presidential hopeful, Ralph Nader has suffered a small political setback. He failed to qualify for Oregon's presidential ballot yesterday. The independent candidate needed a thousand names on a petition to make it on to Oregon's ballot. Nader scored a strong showing in the state in 2000, and his campaign says it will try again to make it on to that state's ballot.
The president's predecessor is unveiling the fruits of a big health initiative that he's been working on. Bill Clinton is part of a group announcing plans to buy and distribute inexpensive AIDS drugs in poor countries. The U.N., the World Bank and Global Fund to fight AIDS is also part of the initiative. The group also says it has arranged discounts of 50 percent or more, and will use certain drugs whose safety has been questioned by the Bush administration.
Are you heading to the doctor's office? Make sure you have some cash. Some doctors who are fed up with the red tape of managed care insurance companies are accepting only cash payments. One ethics expert calls it a terrible indictment of the collapsing health care system.
She has a million dollar daughter, and now, Jennifer Lopez's mother scores a few million of her own.
Later you do you need a little motivation to get back to the gym? How about working out with God? the explanation is just ahead, on "CNN LIVE TODAY."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
KAGAN: We head back up to Virginia. That's where Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is speaking before a NATO-sponsored conference. Let's listen in to Secretary Rumsfeld.
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECY. OF DEFENSE: ... forces have cordoned off the city. They have photographs of a good many people who were involved in the attacks against the individuals. And they have been conducting raids in the city against high-value targets.
They've captured a number of people over the past 36 hours. The city is isolated. A number of people have resisted and have been killed. And it will be a methodical effort to find the individuals who were involved. Clearly, all of the people of the city of Fallujah were not involved in what took place.
I must say, being particularly in a place that's been so hospitable for so many decades to the men and women in uniform, that our folks are just doing a superb job over there.
It's difficult, it's dangerous work. We're going to have good days and bad days. But the men and women who are serving our country and helping to defend freedom and who have liberated 25 million people in Afghanistan and 25 people (ph) in Iraq deserve our praise and our respect and our appreciation.
QUESTION: I know you're in regular contact with General Abizaid about force level. Could you tell us if there's been any change in the last 24 hours? Are we still looking at adhering to the plan, to bring forces down to 113,000 or 115,000 range?
RUMSFELD: The circumstance we were in when the latest flare-ups occurred was that we had been in the process of bringing in additional forces and beginning to move forces out.
And it was planned to be over about a four- or five-month period, where some 115,000 would go out and 115,000 would go in, but they'd overlap for some extended period so that you would end up transferring the knowledge and the situational awareness that's so important and do what they call a left seat-right seat and then right seat-left seat pass off.
At the present time we have about -- not 115,000 -- but something like 135,000 troops in the country. We are at an unusually high level, and the commanders are using the excess of forces that happen to be in there because of the deployment process. They will decide what they need, and they'll get what they need.
At the present time, they've announced no change in their plans, but they could make such a request at any time. And needless to say, we've asked them periodically if they feel they have the capabilities they need, and that's something that they review on a fairly continuous basis.
QUESTION: It's more of a follow-up to that. It appears to be a deployment by integral units rather than individuals. I wondered if doing post-deployment evaluations of (OFF-MIKE) an effect or morale and retention. And similarly, for the secretary general (OFF-MIKE) forces that are deployed from other countries to the theaters.
RUMSFELD: Well, we have been attempting to use units. Unit cohesion is important, and having individual replacements and adjustments continuously can detract from unit cohesion. It's early to know what the effect on morale and retention will be. What we do know is, at least for U.S. forces, the situation is that we know that everyone serving today is a volunteer. There isn't a single person serving in the military of the United States of America, active or Reserve, who didn't stick up their hand and say, "I want to serve."
And, second, we know that the retention and recruiting targets that are set each year are being met, I believe with the single exception where there's one that's slightly below the target goal.
That is not to say that that will necessarily continue. We have to see that. We won't know until we go further.
As a result, we've got all of the armed services of the United States, at least, undertaking a whole series of things to reduce stress on the force.
We're going to be rebalancing the active force with the Guard and Reserve.
We're going to be moving a number of positions that currently have military people in them, get the military people out and put in civilians in those positions so that we have a larger total force capability.
We're going to do things to reduce permanent changes of stations, the total number in a career.
And we have, I think, 30, 40 things that are being undertaken. And we have to keep our eye on recruiting and retention, but so far it's good.
I haven't seen details on the other NATO countries that are currently in Iraq and Afghanistan in terms of recruiting and retention.
SCHEFFER: The only thing I can say, in answer to your question, of course, is that this is not as such a NATO operation, but 17 out of 26 nations have forces on the ground, and NATO's role is supporting the Polish lead of the multinational division. The only thing I can say is that whenever that will be necessary, of course, the NATO allies on the ground as individuals will do their job, as you have seen and I have seen. Italian soldiers are being involved in certain operations.
We will follow that closely, of course. And we go on, NATO will go on in doing what it's doing that supports the Polish division leadership of the multinational division.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
RUMSFELD: They have been.
RUMSFELD: They are participating, as you know, in the Iraqi Governing Council. And they were helpful during combat operations, and they currently have a very stable area.
There's a tendency to talk about Iraq as though it's uniform all across the country as to what's taking place. And, of course, that's not the case. It varies fairly substantially, but the Kurdish area in the north has been relatively stable.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
RUMSFELD: I don't know that I would be the best judge. It takes someone who is on the ground, in the military, who is assessing it on a daily basis. And we have superb people leading our military out there.
To try to second-guess it from Washington D.C., it seems to me, is a difficult thing to do. And both the president and I frequently asked the military commanders if they have all they need, if they have what they need not just in people, but in equipment and support.
And General Abizaid has the ultimate responsibility. General Sanchez is the senior military person on the ground in Iraq, and they are the ones whose advice we follow on these things.
QUESTION: Has the United States discussed with NATO the possibility of NATO getting involved officially in Iraq, with NATO taking responsibilities for the actions there as opposed to supporting them?
SCHEFFER: Here, of course, it's very important to watch the political developments. I mean, Lakhdar Brahimi is at the moment in Iraq preparing for what, I hope, will be a very important U.N. role after the transfer of sovereignty on the 1st of July, 30th of June. That's point number one.
Point number two, which is important in a discussion, is clearly a new Security Council resolution mandating specifically an international stabilization force in the longer term in Iraq.
It will, of course, be important the U.N. taking on a certain role -- an important role I hope, the crucial role (inaudible) I have, of course, I am in touch with the U.N., with the secretary general, with Mr. Brahimi.
SCHEFFER: As I said, 17 out of the 26 NATO nations have their forces on the ground. And we'll have the transfer of sovereignty on the 30th of June, 1st of July. After that date, we'll have a sovereign Iraqi government.
Then it is, of course, up to that Iraqi government, let's say, to decide what that government wants because then we have clearly a cut- off between what is the situation now in Iraq and what will be the situation after the 1st of July.
And if that will come to a discussion in the NATO alliance, it is not easy to say, too hard to say at the moment. But I repeat: 17 out of 26 NATO nations are on the ground in Iraq, although it is not a NATO operation as such. QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) for it to be a NATO operation?
RUMSFELD: Well, it seems to me that the position of the United States has been to encourage, as the secretary general indicated, the United Nations to take a larger role. I think the way the president stated it six, eight, 10, 12 months ago was a "vital role."
And I know there have been discussions about the possibility of an additional U.N. resolution. That would be helpful. And we have tried to be of assistance to the U.N. representative in his initial entry into the country and more recently, also.
The NATO role at the present time, as the secretary general said, is to be supportive of the Polish division. And while there are a great many NATO countries participating there, NATO has been focusing on Afghanistan and has, as you know, for the first time in the history of the alliance, taken on a responsibility outside of Europe and outside of the NATO treaty area, in Afghanistan, by assuming responsibility for the International Security Assistance Force, and more recently, for expanding that responsibility to some of the provincial reconstruction teams that are away from Kabul.
I suspect that what we'll see is -- I would be delighted to see NATO take a larger role. I think, realistically, if one looks at the cue, the cue would be for NATO to take a larger role in Afghanistan as we move forward prior, probably, to taking a larger role in Iraq. I think that's probably a reasonable estimate.
SCHEFFER: Well, I think, as I stated from the moment I took office in Brussels, Afghanistan is NATO's number one priority. And we are expanding, as the secretary said, we are expanding the provincial reconstruction teams. We need, of course, the force protection for those PRTs. We are trying to go from the north and also into the west.
So that is a major obligation the alliance has entered into.
I said in the beginning, I want to see that political commitment the alliance has entered into completely and fully translated into the military resources that requires. You know that NATO is also discussing, within the limits, to give support to the electoral process. There will be very important elections in Afghanistan in September.
And as far as Iraq in concerned, I can only repeat what I said: Political developments, as they will unroll and unfold between now and the first of July, the interim government, what that government does and the security council resolution, are already important elements in a process, answering the question if and when NATO should play a more structured role in Iraq.
QUESTION: Secretary Rumsfeld, the secretary general has referred several times now to the June 30th deadline. I know some of your political colleagues and friends in Washington in the last 24 hours have suggested that the presence or -- military instability in Fallujah and elsewhere in Iraq, that perhaps the United States should consider the idea of extending that deadline beyond June 30th, for the transfer of sovereignty to an independent Iraq. Do you envision any scenario in which the United States would extend that deadline beyond June 30th?
RUMSFELD: First, let me make sure everyone's on the same wavelength with respect to the deadline. The deadline applies to political governance of the country. It does not apply to the security responsibility, as you know.
And I think some people have misunderstood that. And they've said that because of the spike in incidents and the numbers of locations where there's conflict taking place, that maybe the June 30th day should be extended.
But, of course, there's no planned change in the security situation on June 30th. The only thing that changes is not the security situation, but the political situation, as to where sovereignty resides.
So at the moment, I've not seen anything that would suggest that that date should be extended.
I think the people suggesting that, to some extent, may misunderstand the fact that the our security forces, coalition forces, are going to stay right there and do what they have to do. The president said they're going to stay as long as they have to and not a day longer.
And if I'm not mistaken, yesterday the president was asked this question, and he responded very explicitly. And if you think I'm going to answer something different than he did, you're wrong.
(LAUGHTER)
What else? That do it? Okay, thank you very much.
SCHEFFER: Thank you.
KAGAN: We've been listening into a NATO-sponsored conference with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, also NATO Secretary General speaking there as well. Afghanistan the No. 1 priority for NATO now, also looking at issues involving Iraq. We have time for a quick break. Much more news after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: We'll take a quick look at some stories across America. A man who became synonymous with the investigation of Bill Clinton is back in the news. Former special prosecutor Ken Starr has been named the dean of Pepperdine University's law school. He'll take over in August. It's a position that Starr turned down seven years ago because of the controversies over the Whitewater and Monica Lewinsky investigations.
The mother of pop star Jennifer Lopez now has a fortune to call her own. The 58-year-old won nearly 2.5 million in a slot machine in Atlantic City Saturday. She credits divine intervention for the winning pull.
And clip down the nets an uncork the champagne. The UConn Huskies won their second title in men's college basketball last night, beating Georgia Tech 82-73. Post-game celebrations got a little out of hand near the UConn campus. A car overturned, and several fires were started. Police say they arrested more than a dozen people.
There might be even more excitement on the UConn campus today. The women take on Tennessee for their shot at the national championship.
Weather is just ahead. Jacqui Jeras is with us after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAGAN: Would you like to go under the knife to fit into a pair of your favorite, high-heeled point shoes. Still to come, plastic surgery pedicures. Why some women are turning to collagen injections and bone shaving. Just to get into those great shoes ladies? I don't know.
Plus, she took on the male membership at Augusta National in the past. With the start of the Masters just days away, is Martha Burke ready to try again? We will talk with her live.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired April 6, 2004 - 10:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: The war in Iraq is expected to figure prominently in this year's presidential election. Jobs and the economy are also major issues. President Bush is headed to Arkansas to tout his plans for economic growth. Meanwhile, the president's chief political rival will be in Ohio today to talk jobs. John Kerry today will talk about his plans to kickstart the economy during a speech in Cincinnati. It's the first in a series of economic speeches that the presumptive Democratic nominee will make.
And then there is presidential hopeful, Ralph Nader has suffered a small political setback. He failed to qualify for Oregon's presidential ballot yesterday. The independent candidate needed a thousand names on a petition to make it on to Oregon's ballot. Nader scored a strong showing in the state in 2000, and his campaign says it will try again to make it on to that state's ballot.
The president's predecessor is unveiling the fruits of a big health initiative that he's been working on. Bill Clinton is part of a group announcing plans to buy and distribute inexpensive AIDS drugs in poor countries. The U.N., the World Bank and Global Fund to fight AIDS is also part of the initiative. The group also says it has arranged discounts of 50 percent or more, and will use certain drugs whose safety has been questioned by the Bush administration.
Are you heading to the doctor's office? Make sure you have some cash. Some doctors who are fed up with the red tape of managed care insurance companies are accepting only cash payments. One ethics expert calls it a terrible indictment of the collapsing health care system.
She has a million dollar daughter, and now, Jennifer Lopez's mother scores a few million of her own.
Later you do you need a little motivation to get back to the gym? How about working out with God? the explanation is just ahead, on "CNN LIVE TODAY."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
KAGAN: We head back up to Virginia. That's where Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is speaking before a NATO-sponsored conference. Let's listen in to Secretary Rumsfeld.
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECY. OF DEFENSE: ... forces have cordoned off the city. They have photographs of a good many people who were involved in the attacks against the individuals. And they have been conducting raids in the city against high-value targets.
They've captured a number of people over the past 36 hours. The city is isolated. A number of people have resisted and have been killed. And it will be a methodical effort to find the individuals who were involved. Clearly, all of the people of the city of Fallujah were not involved in what took place.
I must say, being particularly in a place that's been so hospitable for so many decades to the men and women in uniform, that our folks are just doing a superb job over there.
It's difficult, it's dangerous work. We're going to have good days and bad days. But the men and women who are serving our country and helping to defend freedom and who have liberated 25 million people in Afghanistan and 25 people (ph) in Iraq deserve our praise and our respect and our appreciation.
QUESTION: I know you're in regular contact with General Abizaid about force level. Could you tell us if there's been any change in the last 24 hours? Are we still looking at adhering to the plan, to bring forces down to 113,000 or 115,000 range?
RUMSFELD: The circumstance we were in when the latest flare-ups occurred was that we had been in the process of bringing in additional forces and beginning to move forces out.
And it was planned to be over about a four- or five-month period, where some 115,000 would go out and 115,000 would go in, but they'd overlap for some extended period so that you would end up transferring the knowledge and the situational awareness that's so important and do what they call a left seat-right seat and then right seat-left seat pass off.
At the present time we have about -- not 115,000 -- but something like 135,000 troops in the country. We are at an unusually high level, and the commanders are using the excess of forces that happen to be in there because of the deployment process. They will decide what they need, and they'll get what they need.
At the present time, they've announced no change in their plans, but they could make such a request at any time. And needless to say, we've asked them periodically if they feel they have the capabilities they need, and that's something that they review on a fairly continuous basis.
QUESTION: It's more of a follow-up to that. It appears to be a deployment by integral units rather than individuals. I wondered if doing post-deployment evaluations of (OFF-MIKE) an effect or morale and retention. And similarly, for the secretary general (OFF-MIKE) forces that are deployed from other countries to the theaters.
RUMSFELD: Well, we have been attempting to use units. Unit cohesion is important, and having individual replacements and adjustments continuously can detract from unit cohesion. It's early to know what the effect on morale and retention will be. What we do know is, at least for U.S. forces, the situation is that we know that everyone serving today is a volunteer. There isn't a single person serving in the military of the United States of America, active or Reserve, who didn't stick up their hand and say, "I want to serve."
And, second, we know that the retention and recruiting targets that are set each year are being met, I believe with the single exception where there's one that's slightly below the target goal.
That is not to say that that will necessarily continue. We have to see that. We won't know until we go further.
As a result, we've got all of the armed services of the United States, at least, undertaking a whole series of things to reduce stress on the force.
We're going to be rebalancing the active force with the Guard and Reserve.
We're going to be moving a number of positions that currently have military people in them, get the military people out and put in civilians in those positions so that we have a larger total force capability.
We're going to do things to reduce permanent changes of stations, the total number in a career.
And we have, I think, 30, 40 things that are being undertaken. And we have to keep our eye on recruiting and retention, but so far it's good.
I haven't seen details on the other NATO countries that are currently in Iraq and Afghanistan in terms of recruiting and retention.
SCHEFFER: The only thing I can say, in answer to your question, of course, is that this is not as such a NATO operation, but 17 out of 26 nations have forces on the ground, and NATO's role is supporting the Polish lead of the multinational division. The only thing I can say is that whenever that will be necessary, of course, the NATO allies on the ground as individuals will do their job, as you have seen and I have seen. Italian soldiers are being involved in certain operations.
We will follow that closely, of course. And we go on, NATO will go on in doing what it's doing that supports the Polish division leadership of the multinational division.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
RUMSFELD: They have been.
RUMSFELD: They are participating, as you know, in the Iraqi Governing Council. And they were helpful during combat operations, and they currently have a very stable area.
There's a tendency to talk about Iraq as though it's uniform all across the country as to what's taking place. And, of course, that's not the case. It varies fairly substantially, but the Kurdish area in the north has been relatively stable.
QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)
RUMSFELD: I don't know that I would be the best judge. It takes someone who is on the ground, in the military, who is assessing it on a daily basis. And we have superb people leading our military out there.
To try to second-guess it from Washington D.C., it seems to me, is a difficult thing to do. And both the president and I frequently asked the military commanders if they have all they need, if they have what they need not just in people, but in equipment and support.
And General Abizaid has the ultimate responsibility. General Sanchez is the senior military person on the ground in Iraq, and they are the ones whose advice we follow on these things.
QUESTION: Has the United States discussed with NATO the possibility of NATO getting involved officially in Iraq, with NATO taking responsibilities for the actions there as opposed to supporting them?
SCHEFFER: Here, of course, it's very important to watch the political developments. I mean, Lakhdar Brahimi is at the moment in Iraq preparing for what, I hope, will be a very important U.N. role after the transfer of sovereignty on the 1st of July, 30th of June. That's point number one.
Point number two, which is important in a discussion, is clearly a new Security Council resolution mandating specifically an international stabilization force in the longer term in Iraq.
It will, of course, be important the U.N. taking on a certain role -- an important role I hope, the crucial role (inaudible) I have, of course, I am in touch with the U.N., with the secretary general, with Mr. Brahimi.
SCHEFFER: As I said, 17 out of the 26 NATO nations have their forces on the ground. And we'll have the transfer of sovereignty on the 30th of June, 1st of July. After that date, we'll have a sovereign Iraqi government.
Then it is, of course, up to that Iraqi government, let's say, to decide what that government wants because then we have clearly a cut- off between what is the situation now in Iraq and what will be the situation after the 1st of July.
And if that will come to a discussion in the NATO alliance, it is not easy to say, too hard to say at the moment. But I repeat: 17 out of 26 NATO nations are on the ground in Iraq, although it is not a NATO operation as such. QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) for it to be a NATO operation?
RUMSFELD: Well, it seems to me that the position of the United States has been to encourage, as the secretary general indicated, the United Nations to take a larger role. I think the way the president stated it six, eight, 10, 12 months ago was a "vital role."
And I know there have been discussions about the possibility of an additional U.N. resolution. That would be helpful. And we have tried to be of assistance to the U.N. representative in his initial entry into the country and more recently, also.
The NATO role at the present time, as the secretary general said, is to be supportive of the Polish division. And while there are a great many NATO countries participating there, NATO has been focusing on Afghanistan and has, as you know, for the first time in the history of the alliance, taken on a responsibility outside of Europe and outside of the NATO treaty area, in Afghanistan, by assuming responsibility for the International Security Assistance Force, and more recently, for expanding that responsibility to some of the provincial reconstruction teams that are away from Kabul.
I suspect that what we'll see is -- I would be delighted to see NATO take a larger role. I think, realistically, if one looks at the cue, the cue would be for NATO to take a larger role in Afghanistan as we move forward prior, probably, to taking a larger role in Iraq. I think that's probably a reasonable estimate.
SCHEFFER: Well, I think, as I stated from the moment I took office in Brussels, Afghanistan is NATO's number one priority. And we are expanding, as the secretary said, we are expanding the provincial reconstruction teams. We need, of course, the force protection for those PRTs. We are trying to go from the north and also into the west.
So that is a major obligation the alliance has entered into.
I said in the beginning, I want to see that political commitment the alliance has entered into completely and fully translated into the military resources that requires. You know that NATO is also discussing, within the limits, to give support to the electoral process. There will be very important elections in Afghanistan in September.
And as far as Iraq in concerned, I can only repeat what I said: Political developments, as they will unroll and unfold between now and the first of July, the interim government, what that government does and the security council resolution, are already important elements in a process, answering the question if and when NATO should play a more structured role in Iraq.
QUESTION: Secretary Rumsfeld, the secretary general has referred several times now to the June 30th deadline. I know some of your political colleagues and friends in Washington in the last 24 hours have suggested that the presence or -- military instability in Fallujah and elsewhere in Iraq, that perhaps the United States should consider the idea of extending that deadline beyond June 30th, for the transfer of sovereignty to an independent Iraq. Do you envision any scenario in which the United States would extend that deadline beyond June 30th?
RUMSFELD: First, let me make sure everyone's on the same wavelength with respect to the deadline. The deadline applies to political governance of the country. It does not apply to the security responsibility, as you know.
And I think some people have misunderstood that. And they've said that because of the spike in incidents and the numbers of locations where there's conflict taking place, that maybe the June 30th day should be extended.
But, of course, there's no planned change in the security situation on June 30th. The only thing that changes is not the security situation, but the political situation, as to where sovereignty resides.
So at the moment, I've not seen anything that would suggest that that date should be extended.
I think the people suggesting that, to some extent, may misunderstand the fact that the our security forces, coalition forces, are going to stay right there and do what they have to do. The president said they're going to stay as long as they have to and not a day longer.
And if I'm not mistaken, yesterday the president was asked this question, and he responded very explicitly. And if you think I'm going to answer something different than he did, you're wrong.
(LAUGHTER)
What else? That do it? Okay, thank you very much.
SCHEFFER: Thank you.
KAGAN: We've been listening into a NATO-sponsored conference with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, also NATO Secretary General speaking there as well. Afghanistan the No. 1 priority for NATO now, also looking at issues involving Iraq. We have time for a quick break. Much more news after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAGAN: We'll take a quick look at some stories across America. A man who became synonymous with the investigation of Bill Clinton is back in the news. Former special prosecutor Ken Starr has been named the dean of Pepperdine University's law school. He'll take over in August. It's a position that Starr turned down seven years ago because of the controversies over the Whitewater and Monica Lewinsky investigations.
The mother of pop star Jennifer Lopez now has a fortune to call her own. The 58-year-old won nearly 2.5 million in a slot machine in Atlantic City Saturday. She credits divine intervention for the winning pull.
And clip down the nets an uncork the champagne. The UConn Huskies won their second title in men's college basketball last night, beating Georgia Tech 82-73. Post-game celebrations got a little out of hand near the UConn campus. A car overturned, and several fires were started. Police say they arrested more than a dozen people.
There might be even more excitement on the UConn campus today. The women take on Tennessee for their shot at the national championship.
Weather is just ahead. Jacqui Jeras is with us after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
KAGAN: Would you like to go under the knife to fit into a pair of your favorite, high-heeled point shoes. Still to come, plastic surgery pedicures. Why some women are turning to collagen injections and bone shaving. Just to get into those great shoes ladies? I don't know.
Plus, she took on the male membership at Augusta National in the past. With the start of the Masters just days away, is Martha Burke ready to try again? We will talk with her live.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
