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CNN Live Today

Italy Holds State Funeral for Slain Agent; Syria Announces Withdrawal of Troops; Pentagon Says Photographs are of Most Wanted Terrorist

Aired March 07, 2005 - 10:00   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.


RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR: Here's what's happening right now in the news.
Syrian troops could begin pulling out of Lebanon by the end of the month. The president of Syria and Lebanon hammered out a pull back deal that they'll be discussing in Damascus. Syria's ambassador to the United States says eventually all of Syria's troops are going to return to the Syrian side of the border. And he told CNN it will include Syrian intelligence personnel as well. More on that.

Now, thousands are gathering in Rome. This is for a state funeral honoring Italian Secret Service agent Nicola Calipari. Calipari was shot while protecting an Italian journalist from U.S. gunfire near Baghdad Airport. He is being hailed as a national hero. Calipari had helped free the journalist, Giuliana Sgrena from kidnappers. We'll continue to follow that for you.

Now, a little more than an hour before Sgrena's car was fired on, a Bulgarian soldier may have been killed by friendly fire from U.S. forces in Iraq as well. The Bulgarian defense minister says that the soldier had fired warning shots to stop an Iraqi civilian car. The area then came under heavy fire from a nearby U.S. Army communications facility.

Pope John Paul II could be back in the Vatican by the beginning of the Holy Week, that's March 20. A Vatican spokesperson tells CNN that the pontiff's condition is improving. There are no complications from the recent tracheotomy. However, doctors want the pope to rest his voice and allow his larynx to heal.

And welcome back, everyone. I'm Rick Sanchez.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN CO-ANCHOR: And a good Monday morning to you. I'm Daryn Kagan.

We're going to begin with a hero's funeral in Rome. Italy state funeral this morning honored the intelligence agent who was killed Friday in Iraq. He died trying to shield a freed hostage from a hail of U.S. gunfire. The shooting has fanned angered both in Italy and much of the world.

CNN's Alessio Vinci is in Rome with the latest.

Alessio, hello. ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn. Nicola Calipari is the name of the slain agent, considered nothing less than a hero here in Rome for the way he saved Giuliana Sgrena's life yes -- on Friday in Baghdad, as well as for securing the release of two other Italian hostages in previous months, held in Baghdad. The basilica in downtown Rome was packed with authorities, including the U.S. ambassador to Italy, Mel Sembler, who called Calipari a friend and alley of the United States.

Hundreds of people inside the basilica, thousands of people outside the basilica to pay their last respects, again to a man here they call their hero. Not present at the funeral was Giuliana Sgrena herself, who is still hospitalized recovering from a wound to her left shoulder. And she, Giuliana Sgrena, did speak, however to the widow of the slain agent. And she promised her that she would do everything in order to come to the bottom of this, and to help out as much as she can to come out and find out exactly what had happened on Friday in Baghdad.

The incident, of course is still under investigation. But Giuliana Sgrena is, herself, disputing some accounts begin by the U.S. military. Namely the car was approaching too fast the checkpoint and plenty of warning was given to them to slow down. She says that first of all, they were not driving fast there was no checkpoint at all, and that they were fired upon by a tank. She describes it as a tank that was parked on the side of the road.

Giuliana Sgrena has also been quoted in the media here in Italy as suggesting that she is not ruling out the possibility that the attack was premeditated, that there was something of a plan there to attack her. I did speak to her earlier today. I press her on this issue. And I said do you have anything to back up this claim that this attack is premeditated?

And she basically said it is not up to me to explain why I think that way. It is up the Americans to explain how come they fired on a car that was not driving fast approaching their position.

So and then she conceded, however, in that interview that while the attack may not have been premeditated, she says there are too many murky elements, too many unanswered questions here. And that the Americans must give some answers. And that saying that it is just a, quote," tragic accident," this is not a way to archive such an incident where one man, one of Italy's most experienced intelligence officers lost his life.

And one last thing Daryn, I asked her about the possibility that Italian government may have paid a ransom, Italian media here reporting that several million dollars, up to $6 million may have been paid. She said she doesn't know anything about that. She says, however, that paying to preserve life of hostage is not a bad thing. She agrees that if paying must be done to release a hostage, that's what has to be done.

And therefore, she also hinted that it is known that the Americans, especially in Baghdad, but the Americans in general are opposing this kind of policy of negotiating with kidnappers.

Daryn, back to you.

KAGAN: Alessio Vinci live from Rome. Thank you.

We're going to have much more on this story straight ahead with our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.

SANCHEZ: Now we take you to the Middle East. Syria has agreed to begin pulling back its troops in Lebanon. This is a pledge to the partial withdrawal, which follows mounting international pressure and a meeting this morning between the presidents of both countries, Syria and Lebanon, that is.

CNN senior international correspondent Brent Sadler has more. He is joining us from the Syrian capital of Damascus.

Brent, over to you.

BRENT SADLER, CNN SR. INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: Thanks very much, Rick. What we have so far from an announcement in the Syrian president's palace is that there will be a movement, several thousand troops expected to be on the move, very soon, some of them. And will be withdrawing to a new line. But inside Lebanon still. Not, repeat, not crossing the border into Syria as demanded by U.S. president George W. Bush.

Now, that first phase of a withdrawal should be completed by the end of this month, just over three weeks from now. Then will come into effect at period of about a month, when a joint military commission representing both nations, Syria and Lebanon will work out for how long those troops should stay in their new position and how many of them should stay.

What we're not hearing so far from Damascus today is absolutely clear unequivocal statements of troops, numbers of them specifically, leaving Lebanon and when, as demanded by the international community on the United Nations Resolution 1559, sponsored by the U.S. and France.

So it will be interesting to see how the White House reacts to this move. Certainly political opponents of Syria and Lebanon are saying that this is Syria dragging its feet, buying more time to enable pro-Syrian demonstrations, which has been called for in Beirut Tuesday. Called for by Hezbollah, staunch supporters of Syria, to build up momentum to, if you like, cover Syria's back -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: Mm. Senior international correspondent, Brent Sadler, following those developments for us from Damascus.

KAGAN: And now, the latest from Iraq where insurgent attacks have struck several cities. In Baquba, we are unraveling two incidents. This one, a car bomb attack on an Iraqi police convoy and an unrelated gun battle. In all, at least 10 people were killed, 23 wounded. Most casualties were Iraqi soldiers and police officers. In eastern Baghdad, insurgents gunned down another high-ranking official this morning. Lieutenant Colonel Jawad Khadim (ph) was head of the Iraqi police crimes unit. And North of Baghdad, Iraqi students are said to make up most of the casualties of a car bombing this morning in Balad. At least five Iraqis were killed and 27 others wounded in this suicide attack. It apparently targeted an Iraqi security officer, but struck students lined up for school across the street.

SANCHEZ: Military sources say, photograph obtained by CNN -- pardon me, do appear to be terrorist leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi. Now, six photos were found in a video camera captured during a raid in Iraq several weeks ago. The U.S. considers Zarqawi the most wanted man Iraq.

Now, let's get the latest from CNN's Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New pictures of the man the U.S. says is terrorist leader Abu Musaab al Zarqawi, but any new leads, it's unclear when the photos were taken. But official Washington is increasingly optimistic they will get him.

He is a high agenda item target for us and has been. So I do know that we have made him a priority as others. We will get him.

SEN. CHUCK HAGEL (R-NE), CHM., FOREIGN RELATIONS CMTE: He is a high agenda item target for us and has been. So I do know that we have made him a priority, as others. We will get him.

STARR: Senior U.S. military and Pentagon officials now tell CNN that U.S. forces have come very physically close to getting the most wanted terrorist in Iraq more than one occasion. One senior official said it was within the last month that forces came close to getting the most wanted terrorists in Iraq on more than one occasion. One senior official said it was within the last month forces came close to him.

Officials at most senior levels caution against making predictions when this Jordanian-born terrorist, who has claimed responsibility for so many attacked in Iraq, would be caught. But they clearly believe the dragnet is closing.

GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, CMDR., CENTCOM: We have been very successful against his network. And we have been successful against his network because of Iraqi intelligence sources, because of treason within his own organization, because people are getting tired of what he's doing. Which is killing innocent Iraqi people for no reason whatsoever. And his days in Iraq are numbered.

STARR: Another senior military official told CNN the recent capture of Zarqawi's driver and scheduler in Iraq has given them valuable intelligence. But concerns are growing about Zarqawi links to Usama bin Laden. U.S. counter terrorism officials say Zarqawi responded to a message from bin Laden, asking for help staging attacked outside Iraq.

GEORGE W. BUSH (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are -- spend everyday gathering information to locate Usama bin Laden and Zawarhiri, obviously people like Zarqawi.

STARR: Already being discussed what to do with Zarqawi if and when caught? Would he be enemy combatant, a foreign fighter on the war on terrorism, and therefore, held by the U.S. probably outside Iraq? U.S. military officials are already saying they want him and don't want to give him over to the Iraqis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: Rick, all of public comments may serve another purpose, pressuring Zarqawi to move, to go on the run, and making it easier for U.S. military officials to find him -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: CNN Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr. We thank you.

KAGAN: There's new information on the murder of a Chicago judge's family. Police say they're getting hundreds of tips on this one. We'll tell you about that.

SANCHEZ: Also, new word on the suspected BTK killer. We're going to tell you why Dennis Rader said that he's feeling kind of down these days.

KAGAN: And later, an effort to get more money for minimum wage workers. Will it succeed? That story is coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Chicago police say they have received more than 600 tips regarding the shooting deaths of the federal judge's husband and mother. Police released composite sketches of two men seen near the crime scene the day of the killings. Original reported suggested two were together in a car. Now it appears just one man was seen in the car, the other was seen outside near the house.

Judge Joan Lefkow discovered the bodies at her home last week. Investigators hope to find out this week if a federal crime lab was able to extract any DNA from the evidence.

SANCHEZ: More than 6,000 people in Salt Lake City, Utah are back in their homes this morning. They were evacuated yesterday when corrosive wastes starting leaking out of a rail tanker car. Now, this leak sent plumes of gas into the air, and not to mention the more than 6,000 gallons of acid that also leaked into the soil.

They still don't know what the exact composition of this spill is. And they do expect that HAZMAT crews are going to be there trying to clean it up for quite some time.

KAGAN: Here are other stories making news "Coast-to-Coast." SANCHEZ: In Wichita, Kansas, lawyers for accused BTK killer, Dennis Rader, say that their client may now be suffering from depression. They say the man charged with killing 10 people is having trouble sleeping and is repeatedly asking about his wife and his children, who have, by the way, not talked to him since his arrest.

KAGAN: The fire at a nightclub in Austin, Texas has led to the suspension of five police officers and four dispatchers. They're accused of sending inappropriate computer messages such as, "burn, baby, burn." And an offer to add gasoline to the fire. African- American patrons of the club became upset after seeing messages on the computer screen of a patrol car.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STAN KEE, CHIEF, AUSTIN POLICE: I think we have to learn that sometimes we say things that we have one interpretation as police officers, but the community might have another interpretation. I think went to great lengths to show that none of these responses were, in fact, racially motivated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: And we take you now to Selma, Alabama. Key figures of the civil rights era gathered to observe the anniversary of Bloody Sunday. Forty years ago today, state troopers and sheriff deputies attacked marchers, as they demanded voting rights. The widow of Martin Luther King was on hand along with the Reverend Jesse Jackson and the daughter of President Johnson who later signed the Voting Rights Law.

KAGAN: If you're in the market for a new small car, you might want to see this next report. Still to come, small cars are put to the test. A look at which ones passed and which ones failed.

SANCHEZ: First though, we're going to check in with Gerri Willis.

Hey, Gerri. What do you have on top for us today?

GERRI WILLIS, CNN-FN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Hey there, Rick. Happy Monday. Talking about financial skeletons. Do you have some in your choose? We'll tell you how to get rid of them when CNN LIVE TODAY continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: All right. We're getting to the good stuff today. We are looking for skeletons in your closet. Financial skeletons: bad debts, credit scores and that credit card spree. Remember that, that you're hiding from your spouse? Uh-oh.

Our personal finance editor Gerri Willis joins us with the "Top Five Tips" for getting rid of those skeletons and cleaning up your financial act.

Good morning.

WILLIS: Hey, Daryn. Good to see you. Problem No. 1, you're hiding secrets from your spouse. Holy matrimony! This is a bad thing to do. I'll tell you why. If you fail to tell your spouse or impending spouse about high rates of debt, or maybe you have a lot of college debt hanging over you, or a bad credit rating, it will come back to haunt you when you try to borrow money later for a car, for a house. So you really got to fess up, tell them what the real deal is.

KAGAN: Also you don't want to go poking around in junior's piggy bang for college.

WILLIS: Yes, you definitely don't want to borrow from junior's college fund. Here's why. You're not guaranteed to get that financial aid money. It's not necessarily give and you'll get it. Secondarily, think about how much money you're going to need for your private institutional cost, $27,000 a year.

KAGAN: Whoa!

WILLIS: That's a whole lot of dough. You definitely want that money. So there are other places to take money from. How about a home equity line of credit? How about hanging on to that car an extra year? How about downsizing the vacation or not taking one at all?

KAGAN: Then for young people they might want to have a good time now and think about saving late.

WILLIS: Boy, it's hard not to. I feel their pain. But look, if you start saving for retirement early, let's say between ages of 25 and 33, you can save yourself a heck of a lot of pain later. Consider this, 25-year-olds saving $2,000 a year for just eight years will have the same amount of money as a 35-year-old who invests the same amount of money for 32 years.

So it really makes sense to set that money aside early. Go choosetosave.org. If you want to know how much that money setting it aside will mean for your paycheck each week.

KAGAN: Another piggy bank moment what about borrowing from mom and dad's retirement?

WILLIS: Well, A lot of people don't consider when they borrow money from mom and dad that it really impacts them pretty significantly. Take a look at these numbers. If you borrow $10,000 from your mom and dad, 10 years from now it will be almost $20,000 of retirement money. We're making some assumption there, as you can see. But you definitely want to think it through, because at the end of the day, if mom and dad don't have enough to retire with, you may have to help them out later.

KAGAN: We talked about cleaning out closets, what about cleaning out your portfolio?

WILLIS: Well, the big problem that financial advisers see all of the time, Daryn, is people have all kinds of weird things in their retirement funds; say the hangover of the dotcom era in stocks that didn't do well. Things that people just failed to sell or get rid of.

It's time to clean those up, get rid of that stuff, take losses. Because some of those stocks, hey, they are never coming back. You want to make sure that everything's in order, so that when you're ready to retire so is your portfolio.

KAGAN: Very good. Gerri Willis on this Monday morning. Thank you, Ger.

WILLIS: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Still to come on CNN LIVE TODAY, the sister of Michael Jackson's accuser -- can you follow all of that, goes on the stand today. Interesting testimony in this, help or hurt? We're going to break it down for you.

KAGAN: And later, the take-home pay for some Americans could go up if two senators get their way. That story is straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We're at midpoint now of this first hour. I'm Rick Sanchez.

KAGAN: Good morning again, I'm Daryn Kagan. Here's a look at what's happening now in the news.

In Rome this morning, a state funeral for the intelligence officer who was killed while rushing a freed hostage to safety. U.S. forces opened fire on the car as it sped, apparently unannounced toward a checkpoint. Nicola Calipari was killed instantly. Freed journalist, Giuliana Sgrena was wounded. The incident threatens to strain U.S. ties with Italy, a staunch ally in Iraq.

Syria is committing to the first stage of withdrawing its troops from Lebanon and says the pullback will begin later this month. Syria has faced growing international pressure to remove its 14,000 troops from Lebanon. The White House and other world capitols have

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Aired March 7, 2005 - 10:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR: Here's what's happening right now in the news.
Syrian troops could begin pulling out of Lebanon by the end of the month. The president of Syria and Lebanon hammered out a pull back deal that they'll be discussing in Damascus. Syria's ambassador to the United States says eventually all of Syria's troops are going to return to the Syrian side of the border. And he told CNN it will include Syrian intelligence personnel as well. More on that.

Now, thousands are gathering in Rome. This is for a state funeral honoring Italian Secret Service agent Nicola Calipari. Calipari was shot while protecting an Italian journalist from U.S. gunfire near Baghdad Airport. He is being hailed as a national hero. Calipari had helped free the journalist, Giuliana Sgrena from kidnappers. We'll continue to follow that for you.

Now, a little more than an hour before Sgrena's car was fired on, a Bulgarian soldier may have been killed by friendly fire from U.S. forces in Iraq as well. The Bulgarian defense minister says that the soldier had fired warning shots to stop an Iraqi civilian car. The area then came under heavy fire from a nearby U.S. Army communications facility.

Pope John Paul II could be back in the Vatican by the beginning of the Holy Week, that's March 20. A Vatican spokesperson tells CNN that the pontiff's condition is improving. There are no complications from the recent tracheotomy. However, doctors want the pope to rest his voice and allow his larynx to heal.

And welcome back, everyone. I'm Rick Sanchez.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN CO-ANCHOR: And a good Monday morning to you. I'm Daryn Kagan.

We're going to begin with a hero's funeral in Rome. Italy state funeral this morning honored the intelligence agent who was killed Friday in Iraq. He died trying to shield a freed hostage from a hail of U.S. gunfire. The shooting has fanned angered both in Italy and much of the world.

CNN's Alessio Vinci is in Rome with the latest.

Alessio, hello. ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn. Nicola Calipari is the name of the slain agent, considered nothing less than a hero here in Rome for the way he saved Giuliana Sgrena's life yes -- on Friday in Baghdad, as well as for securing the release of two other Italian hostages in previous months, held in Baghdad. The basilica in downtown Rome was packed with authorities, including the U.S. ambassador to Italy, Mel Sembler, who called Calipari a friend and alley of the United States.

Hundreds of people inside the basilica, thousands of people outside the basilica to pay their last respects, again to a man here they call their hero. Not present at the funeral was Giuliana Sgrena herself, who is still hospitalized recovering from a wound to her left shoulder. And she, Giuliana Sgrena, did speak, however to the widow of the slain agent. And she promised her that she would do everything in order to come to the bottom of this, and to help out as much as she can to come out and find out exactly what had happened on Friday in Baghdad.

The incident, of course is still under investigation. But Giuliana Sgrena is, herself, disputing some accounts begin by the U.S. military. Namely the car was approaching too fast the checkpoint and plenty of warning was given to them to slow down. She says that first of all, they were not driving fast there was no checkpoint at all, and that they were fired upon by a tank. She describes it as a tank that was parked on the side of the road.

Giuliana Sgrena has also been quoted in the media here in Italy as suggesting that she is not ruling out the possibility that the attack was premeditated, that there was something of a plan there to attack her. I did speak to her earlier today. I press her on this issue. And I said do you have anything to back up this claim that this attack is premeditated?

And she basically said it is not up to me to explain why I think that way. It is up the Americans to explain how come they fired on a car that was not driving fast approaching their position.

So and then she conceded, however, in that interview that while the attack may not have been premeditated, she says there are too many murky elements, too many unanswered questions here. And that the Americans must give some answers. And that saying that it is just a, quote," tragic accident," this is not a way to archive such an incident where one man, one of Italy's most experienced intelligence officers lost his life.

And one last thing Daryn, I asked her about the possibility that Italian government may have paid a ransom, Italian media here reporting that several million dollars, up to $6 million may have been paid. She said she doesn't know anything about that. She says, however, that paying to preserve life of hostage is not a bad thing. She agrees that if paying must be done to release a hostage, that's what has to be done.

And therefore, she also hinted that it is known that the Americans, especially in Baghdad, but the Americans in general are opposing this kind of policy of negotiating with kidnappers.

Daryn, back to you.

KAGAN: Alessio Vinci live from Rome. Thank you.

We're going to have much more on this story straight ahead with our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.

SANCHEZ: Now we take you to the Middle East. Syria has agreed to begin pulling back its troops in Lebanon. This is a pledge to the partial withdrawal, which follows mounting international pressure and a meeting this morning between the presidents of both countries, Syria and Lebanon, that is.

CNN senior international correspondent Brent Sadler has more. He is joining us from the Syrian capital of Damascus.

Brent, over to you.

BRENT SADLER, CNN SR. INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: Thanks very much, Rick. What we have so far from an announcement in the Syrian president's palace is that there will be a movement, several thousand troops expected to be on the move, very soon, some of them. And will be withdrawing to a new line. But inside Lebanon still. Not, repeat, not crossing the border into Syria as demanded by U.S. president George W. Bush.

Now, that first phase of a withdrawal should be completed by the end of this month, just over three weeks from now. Then will come into effect at period of about a month, when a joint military commission representing both nations, Syria and Lebanon will work out for how long those troops should stay in their new position and how many of them should stay.

What we're not hearing so far from Damascus today is absolutely clear unequivocal statements of troops, numbers of them specifically, leaving Lebanon and when, as demanded by the international community on the United Nations Resolution 1559, sponsored by the U.S. and France.

So it will be interesting to see how the White House reacts to this move. Certainly political opponents of Syria and Lebanon are saying that this is Syria dragging its feet, buying more time to enable pro-Syrian demonstrations, which has been called for in Beirut Tuesday. Called for by Hezbollah, staunch supporters of Syria, to build up momentum to, if you like, cover Syria's back -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: Mm. Senior international correspondent, Brent Sadler, following those developments for us from Damascus.

KAGAN: And now, the latest from Iraq where insurgent attacks have struck several cities. In Baquba, we are unraveling two incidents. This one, a car bomb attack on an Iraqi police convoy and an unrelated gun battle. In all, at least 10 people were killed, 23 wounded. Most casualties were Iraqi soldiers and police officers. In eastern Baghdad, insurgents gunned down another high-ranking official this morning. Lieutenant Colonel Jawad Khadim (ph) was head of the Iraqi police crimes unit. And North of Baghdad, Iraqi students are said to make up most of the casualties of a car bombing this morning in Balad. At least five Iraqis were killed and 27 others wounded in this suicide attack. It apparently targeted an Iraqi security officer, but struck students lined up for school across the street.

SANCHEZ: Military sources say, photograph obtained by CNN -- pardon me, do appear to be terrorist leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi. Now, six photos were found in a video camera captured during a raid in Iraq several weeks ago. The U.S. considers Zarqawi the most wanted man Iraq.

Now, let's get the latest from CNN's Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New pictures of the man the U.S. says is terrorist leader Abu Musaab al Zarqawi, but any new leads, it's unclear when the photos were taken. But official Washington is increasingly optimistic they will get him.

He is a high agenda item target for us and has been. So I do know that we have made him a priority as others. We will get him.

SEN. CHUCK HAGEL (R-NE), CHM., FOREIGN RELATIONS CMTE: He is a high agenda item target for us and has been. So I do know that we have made him a priority, as others. We will get him.

STARR: Senior U.S. military and Pentagon officials now tell CNN that U.S. forces have come very physically close to getting the most wanted terrorist in Iraq more than one occasion. One senior official said it was within the last month that forces came close to getting the most wanted terrorists in Iraq on more than one occasion. One senior official said it was within the last month forces came close to him.

Officials at most senior levels caution against making predictions when this Jordanian-born terrorist, who has claimed responsibility for so many attacked in Iraq, would be caught. But they clearly believe the dragnet is closing.

GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, CMDR., CENTCOM: We have been very successful against his network. And we have been successful against his network because of Iraqi intelligence sources, because of treason within his own organization, because people are getting tired of what he's doing. Which is killing innocent Iraqi people for no reason whatsoever. And his days in Iraq are numbered.

STARR: Another senior military official told CNN the recent capture of Zarqawi's driver and scheduler in Iraq has given them valuable intelligence. But concerns are growing about Zarqawi links to Usama bin Laden. U.S. counter terrorism officials say Zarqawi responded to a message from bin Laden, asking for help staging attacked outside Iraq.

GEORGE W. BUSH (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are -- spend everyday gathering information to locate Usama bin Laden and Zawarhiri, obviously people like Zarqawi.

STARR: Already being discussed what to do with Zarqawi if and when caught? Would he be enemy combatant, a foreign fighter on the war on terrorism, and therefore, held by the U.S. probably outside Iraq? U.S. military officials are already saying they want him and don't want to give him over to the Iraqis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: Rick, all of public comments may serve another purpose, pressuring Zarqawi to move, to go on the run, and making it easier for U.S. military officials to find him -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: CNN Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr. We thank you.

KAGAN: There's new information on the murder of a Chicago judge's family. Police say they're getting hundreds of tips on this one. We'll tell you about that.

SANCHEZ: Also, new word on the suspected BTK killer. We're going to tell you why Dennis Rader said that he's feeling kind of down these days.

KAGAN: And later, an effort to get more money for minimum wage workers. Will it succeed? That story is coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Chicago police say they have received more than 600 tips regarding the shooting deaths of the federal judge's husband and mother. Police released composite sketches of two men seen near the crime scene the day of the killings. Original reported suggested two were together in a car. Now it appears just one man was seen in the car, the other was seen outside near the house.

Judge Joan Lefkow discovered the bodies at her home last week. Investigators hope to find out this week if a federal crime lab was able to extract any DNA from the evidence.

SANCHEZ: More than 6,000 people in Salt Lake City, Utah are back in their homes this morning. They were evacuated yesterday when corrosive wastes starting leaking out of a rail tanker car. Now, this leak sent plumes of gas into the air, and not to mention the more than 6,000 gallons of acid that also leaked into the soil.

They still don't know what the exact composition of this spill is. And they do expect that HAZMAT crews are going to be there trying to clean it up for quite some time.

KAGAN: Here are other stories making news "Coast-to-Coast." SANCHEZ: In Wichita, Kansas, lawyers for accused BTK killer, Dennis Rader, say that their client may now be suffering from depression. They say the man charged with killing 10 people is having trouble sleeping and is repeatedly asking about his wife and his children, who have, by the way, not talked to him since his arrest.

KAGAN: The fire at a nightclub in Austin, Texas has led to the suspension of five police officers and four dispatchers. They're accused of sending inappropriate computer messages such as, "burn, baby, burn." And an offer to add gasoline to the fire. African- American patrons of the club became upset after seeing messages on the computer screen of a patrol car.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STAN KEE, CHIEF, AUSTIN POLICE: I think we have to learn that sometimes we say things that we have one interpretation as police officers, but the community might have another interpretation. I think went to great lengths to show that none of these responses were, in fact, racially motivated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: And we take you now to Selma, Alabama. Key figures of the civil rights era gathered to observe the anniversary of Bloody Sunday. Forty years ago today, state troopers and sheriff deputies attacked marchers, as they demanded voting rights. The widow of Martin Luther King was on hand along with the Reverend Jesse Jackson and the daughter of President Johnson who later signed the Voting Rights Law.

KAGAN: If you're in the market for a new small car, you might want to see this next report. Still to come, small cars are put to the test. A look at which ones passed and which ones failed.

SANCHEZ: First though, we're going to check in with Gerri Willis.

Hey, Gerri. What do you have on top for us today?

GERRI WILLIS, CNN-FN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Hey there, Rick. Happy Monday. Talking about financial skeletons. Do you have some in your choose? We'll tell you how to get rid of them when CNN LIVE TODAY continues.

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KAGAN: All right. We're getting to the good stuff today. We are looking for skeletons in your closet. Financial skeletons: bad debts, credit scores and that credit card spree. Remember that, that you're hiding from your spouse? Uh-oh.

Our personal finance editor Gerri Willis joins us with the "Top Five Tips" for getting rid of those skeletons and cleaning up your financial act.

Good morning.

WILLIS: Hey, Daryn. Good to see you. Problem No. 1, you're hiding secrets from your spouse. Holy matrimony! This is a bad thing to do. I'll tell you why. If you fail to tell your spouse or impending spouse about high rates of debt, or maybe you have a lot of college debt hanging over you, or a bad credit rating, it will come back to haunt you when you try to borrow money later for a car, for a house. So you really got to fess up, tell them what the real deal is.

KAGAN: Also you don't want to go poking around in junior's piggy bang for college.

WILLIS: Yes, you definitely don't want to borrow from junior's college fund. Here's why. You're not guaranteed to get that financial aid money. It's not necessarily give and you'll get it. Secondarily, think about how much money you're going to need for your private institutional cost, $27,000 a year.

KAGAN: Whoa!

WILLIS: That's a whole lot of dough. You definitely want that money. So there are other places to take money from. How about a home equity line of credit? How about hanging on to that car an extra year? How about downsizing the vacation or not taking one at all?

KAGAN: Then for young people they might want to have a good time now and think about saving late.

WILLIS: Boy, it's hard not to. I feel their pain. But look, if you start saving for retirement early, let's say between ages of 25 and 33, you can save yourself a heck of a lot of pain later. Consider this, 25-year-olds saving $2,000 a year for just eight years will have the same amount of money as a 35-year-old who invests the same amount of money for 32 years.

So it really makes sense to set that money aside early. Go choosetosave.org. If you want to know how much that money setting it aside will mean for your paycheck each week.

KAGAN: Another piggy bank moment what about borrowing from mom and dad's retirement?

WILLIS: Well, A lot of people don't consider when they borrow money from mom and dad that it really impacts them pretty significantly. Take a look at these numbers. If you borrow $10,000 from your mom and dad, 10 years from now it will be almost $20,000 of retirement money. We're making some assumption there, as you can see. But you definitely want to think it through, because at the end of the day, if mom and dad don't have enough to retire with, you may have to help them out later.

KAGAN: We talked about cleaning out closets, what about cleaning out your portfolio?

WILLIS: Well, the big problem that financial advisers see all of the time, Daryn, is people have all kinds of weird things in their retirement funds; say the hangover of the dotcom era in stocks that didn't do well. Things that people just failed to sell or get rid of.

It's time to clean those up, get rid of that stuff, take losses. Because some of those stocks, hey, they are never coming back. You want to make sure that everything's in order, so that when you're ready to retire so is your portfolio.

KAGAN: Very good. Gerri Willis on this Monday morning. Thank you, Ger.

WILLIS: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Still to come on CNN LIVE TODAY, the sister of Michael Jackson's accuser -- can you follow all of that, goes on the stand today. Interesting testimony in this, help or hurt? We're going to break it down for you.

KAGAN: And later, the take-home pay for some Americans could go up if two senators get their way. That story is straight ahead.

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SANCHEZ: We're at midpoint now of this first hour. I'm Rick Sanchez.

KAGAN: Good morning again, I'm Daryn Kagan. Here's a look at what's happening now in the news.

In Rome this morning, a state funeral for the intelligence officer who was killed while rushing a freed hostage to safety. U.S. forces opened fire on the car as it sped, apparently unannounced toward a checkpoint. Nicola Calipari was killed instantly. Freed journalist, Giuliana Sgrena was wounded. The incident threatens to strain U.S. ties with Italy, a staunch ally in Iraq.

Syria is committing to the first stage of withdrawing its troops from Lebanon and says the pullback will begin later this month. Syria has faced growing international pressure to remove its 14,000 troops from Lebanon. The White House and other world capitols have

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