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CNN Live Today

News Conference on New Orleans Videotaped Police Beating; Bush Meets with Polish President; Syrian Minister Commits Suicide

Aired October 12, 2005 - 12:00   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's take a look at what's happening "Now in the News."
Bridgestone/Firestone will pay Ford about $240 million in connection with that massive tire recall five years ago. The settlement will help cover what Ford had to pay to replace defective tires. Accidents involving the tires killed a reported 271 people and left hundreds hurt.

The State Department confirms an American has been kidnapped in Gaza. We don't have an identity on the person or the circumstances under which they were taken. A person from Britain was also kidnapped. There are no claims of responsibility.

Insurgents are keeping up the drumbeat of attacks across Iraq ahead of Saturday's key constitutional vote. A suicide bomber killed 30 people outside an army recruitment center in Tal Afar. Car bombings, roadside explosions and shootings rocked Baghdad as well.

Here in the U.S., police in Georgia have arrested a 22-year-old man in connection with a charter jet that was stolen from St. Augustine, Florida, and turned up at a suburban Atlanta airport. The suspect is Daniel Andrew Wolcott. Authorities say the plane was probably taken for a joy ride. Terrorism is not suspected.

Welcome back to CNN LIVE TODAY. I'm Daryn Kagan.

We are going to go ahead and start in New Orleans with new video of police beating victim Robert Davis. He was in court this morning. The 64-year-old pleaded not guilty to charges that include public intoxication and resisting arrest. A trial date for Mr. Davis was set for January 18.

Meanwhile, we're waiting for a news conference. Live pictures from New Orleans here.

A news conference that is set to happen on the incident which happened Saturday night in the French Quarter. It should include the police officers who were accused in this beating. We will bring it to you as soon as it begins.

The three white police officers have been suspended without pay in the Davis beating. All pleaded not guilty on Monday to battery charges. It turns out some federal agents were also on the scene.

We get the latest now from CNN's Dan Simon. He is live now in New Orleans -- Dan.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, this news conference about to begin in the next few minutes, but we are getting some interesting information in terms of how these officers plan to justify their actions. I was just given a news release from the attorney representing these officers, and in this release, he's suggesting that the officers took down this particular person, Mr. Davis, because they feared that he may have had a weapon tucked in his pants. And they are claiming that's why they took the actions that they did there in the French Quarter.

Of course that happened on Saturday night. Mr. Davis, as you see on that videotape that's been played repeatedly, was just pummeled by those New Orleans police officers.

They claim that Mr. Davis actually stumbled into a police horse, and they went to question him about it. They tried to subdue him, get him under arrest. They claimed that they got one of his arms behind his back, but they couldn't get the other arm, his right arm, and they say that he actually tucked it in his waistband and they feared that he had a gun.

The second key element today is that the officers are suggesting that the extent of Mr. Davis's injuries, all those injuries that he had to his face, was actually caused by an FBI agent who actually wrestled him to the ground. And we're going to hear from these agents.

KAGAN: Dan, I'm going to just jump in here now, because that news conference is beginning in New Orleans. Let's listen in.

FRANK DE SALVO, ATTORNEY, NEW ORLEANS POLICE: Some detail we'll save for the courtroom. But we want to give you enough of it so that you can understand where we're going and how we are going, and that we are going to get there. OK?

I've advised each of my clients that they are not to speak to you. That's not for any reason other than that's what's called good lawyering. So I hope you don't mind. I'm going to try to be a good lawyer.

You've each gotten a copy of the press release. I'm going to read it. And then if you have any questions after that, I'll be glad to answer them.

On Saturday, October 8, 2005, Robert Davis was stumbling down Bourbon Street. Two officers observed him as he actually fell into a police horse.

The officers were concerned for his safety, approached and attempted to see if they could get a friend or someone to assist him. His speech was slurred, he was belligerent, he told the officers to go "F" themselves and pushed -- pushed them away in an attempt to get away.

Based on his condition, his inability or refusal to cooperate, he was escorted to a nearby wall where he would be cuffed and frisked. When directed to place his hands behind his back, he refused and placed both his hands in his front waistband in either an effort to keep them from cuffing him, or an effort to maybe grab a weapon.

When directed to place his hands behind his back, he did that, his left hand was eventually cuffed. His right hand, they were unable to pull it behind. In an effort to try to get it behind, he was struck several times around the neck and shoulders and the back of his head.

Two FBI agents witnessed the resistance and the struggle and came to the rescue. He was still continued -- excuse me -- as Davis continued to resist, he was struck, he got away. That's when the FBI agent came. I'm sorry.

As Davis continued to resist and get away, the agent with the FBI was able to take him down to the ground. When he took him down to the ground, that's when his face struck the ground and that's when the injury occurred, and that's where the blood came from.

And if you have any questions about that, I'll be glad to answer them.

As Davis continued to resist, that happened. He continued to resist after he was down on the ground. He was pepper-sprayed by one of the officers here. He still resisted, and then again was struck around his shoulders and the neck in an effort to get his right hand behind him.

He eventually got it behind him. He was cuffed and he was transported to the only medical unit that's here in the city, where he continued to be belligerent. He was eventually taken to lock-up and booked.

In Officer Smith's case, he wasn't participating in the thing with Mr. Davis. He heard the commotion on his radio, looked up, saw the crowd, and headed toward the crowd to do his job and assist police officers in need.

As he pushed through the crowd, he bumped into somebody from The Associated Press, I guess. And when he bumped into that person, he went by, he grabbed him -- that is the agent with The Associated Press grabbed him, spun him around, at which point, Officer Smith pushed him up against the car as the guy was showing his badge and said, you know, "I'm here, I'm a New Orleans police officer" -- he said other things -- "And I'm going over to assist police officers, and get out of my way." And he did.

And that's the story. That's what's happened. That's how it went down.

And we're available to answer questions. "We" meaning me.

QUESTION: Frank, how hard will it be for you all to convince people that this is the actual story given the power of the videotape? It's had such wide distribution. DE SALVO: Well, you know, I've been doing this for 30 years. And almost every case I've ever handled, the defendants were convicted in the press before we started the trial. The interesting thing is, when you start the trial, you start from ground zero and you work your way up.

QUESTION: Mr. De Salvo, are you suggesting then it will be actions of the FBI agent that caused most of the injuries to Robert Davis?

DE SALVO: The FBI agent that took Mr. Davis to the ground acted reasonably. He saw the man resisting.

He brought him to the ground in a method that's prescribed by law. The man hit his face, and that's where the injury came. But I do not in any way want to suggest that that FBI agent did anything wrong.

He saw the struggle. He saw the resistance. And he did what he had to do.

QUESTION: You contend he was drugged. Yet no breathalyzer test was taken, apparently. How difficult is this going to make your case?

DE SALVO: Independent witnesses will testify that he was staggering down the street. And oddly enough, he said he may have looked like he was staggering in one of the interviews with one of you guys, where he said sometimes he staggers. So we'll be able to prove it.

QUESTION: Mr. De Salvo, some police experts have suggested that the use of punching him behind the back of the neck is actually not proper police procedure.

DE SALVO: Well, we have a lot of them who will testify otherwise. My phone won't stop ringing with people wanting to come from all around the country to assist.

QUESTION: How is it that this is a 64-year-old, I mean, very slight man (INAUDIBLE)?

DE SALVO: You need to look -- you need to look at that video. At one point, that 64-year-old man that you think was slight actually lifted three police officers who were trying to subdue him. He lifted them off the ground. Look at it. Look at it slowly.

QUESTION: What do you mean by (INAUDIBLE)?

DE SALVO: Look at it. Will you? They couldn't get him. They couldn't get him handcuffed. They couldn't do it.

Lots of explanations for that, but those will probably be in a courtroom.

QUESTION: It's also been suggested that stress or fatigue may have played a role in (INAUDIBLE). DE SALVO: Well, let me comment. That's not relevant to me at all, because my position is very clear, that they didn't do anything wrong. And we're now saying we were stressed, therefore that's what we did, that's not the case.

They did what they did based on what was placed before them and what reasonable police authority was at the time. Had this man just complied and said, listen, I'm here, I've got a friend over there, if you can call him he can come get me, he would have gone home. Had he just let them cuff him, he would have just gone off to jail and gone home.

It's -- he brought it on by his actions.

QUESTION: Had your clients gotten any time off since Katrina?

DE SALVO: Probably not. Maybe a couple of days. I'm not sure about that. But don't get yourself hung up on that fatigue thing, because I'm not.

QUESTION: Will you allow your clients to at least answer how this is affecting them personally?

DE SALVO: No.

QUESTION: Mr. Bruno says that videotape is the most powerful evidence.

DE SALVO: I would say he's probably correct. But that's not going to be enough.

QUESTION: He also says that the officers used excessive force. I mean, their credibility on the videotape (INAUDIBLE).

DE SALVO: Well, you know, Mr. Bruno and I are are going to have two different jobs. He's going to try to get some money with a -- with a different burden of proof. He's just got to prove by the preponderance of the evidence. When a city attorney or the district attorney or a U.S. attorney wants to come and convict them of criminal charges, the burden of proof is beyond a reasonable doubt. And I don't think they can reach it.

QUESTION: Mr. Jordan is talking about taking over this case. What is your view on that?

DE SALVO: I couldn't care less. If they're going to do it, it might as well be him. You know?

QUESTION: Mr. De Salvo, how do you explain the interpretation that people have made of the videotape, that it appears that he is being hit in the face?

DE SALVO: Well, he clearly was not hit in the face. I mean, that's -- the reason people perceive him of being hit in the face is because so many media people have played the tape and said, oh, he was hit in the face. So it's suggested, then it's believed. But we have broken that thing down frame by frame. He was never struck in the face.

QUESTION: Mr. Bruno (INAUDIBLE). And so we -- you know, in the last couple of days, we've heard their side of the story. Now this is your side of the story. But as I understand it...

DE SALVO: The truth, I might add. But go ahead.

QUESTION: ...the New Orleans Police Department doesn't exactly have, you know -- I mean, there's corruption in its past. I mean, how are we to determine they're telling the truth?

DE SALVO: Well, it's not for you to determine. It's just for you to report the news, but not to slant it. It's for a judge or a jury to make that determination.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) how does one, then -- not me, but how is someone at home to understand? I mean ...

DE SALVO: Well, the only way they can understand it is if you guys want to print the whole story and not just -- not just the little part of the videotape. The only way for them to understand it is not by having a reporter that's getting ready, or an anchor person getting ready to present it and say, now, this may be something offensive, you may not want your children to look at this.

I mean, really. What is that?

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)

DE SALVO: Politics. Politics. Well -- politics.

QUESTION: Because there is no test given to somebody after they are charged of public intoxication, can you give us a sense of what the police officer is looking for when that charge is filed?

DE SALVO: You know, I've never seen a person arrested for public intoxication given a blood test or an intoxilyzer test. It's just not what happens. They do that when people are driving allegedly under the influence.

QUESTION: I understand that. So what do you look for when you are out there and...

DE SALVO: Well, stumbling down the street, falling into a police horse, slurred speech, not being cooperative with police, telling them to go "F" themselves, pushing away, resisting arrest, all of the things that happen by a person whose brain is impaired either by alcohol or something else.

QUESTION: You said he was belligerent at the medical facility. Have you interviewed people at the medical facility to testify on behalf of the officers (INAUDIBLE)?

DE SALVO: Not yet, but we will. And if you do, would you give them to me?

QUESTION: Frank, when you look at the videotape, and you just talk to the average Joe on the street, a lay person on the street, you look at that videotape and you see someone who you all say was drunk, stumbling, that person will say, well, why the excessive force if he's drunk? I mean, what harm could someone who is drunk...

DE SALVO: That's assuming something that we don't concede, excessive force. See, that's a loaded question. Why did they do what he did? Because he didn't -- he didn't comply. Your mama taught you better than that, right?

QUESTION: Well, my mom, when we talked on the phone, she asked me about that.

DE SALVO: Yes.

QUESTION: What do you see when you look at this videotape? What do you see?

DE SALVO: I see an incident of a man being -- trying to be brought under control who doesn't want to be brought under control. You know?

I've been doing this for 30 years. So I'm not surprised or shocked. And that's what did shock me, you know, that the brass in the department came out so quickly, because they've seen this forever, too. So...

QUESTION: And do you think the videotape shows a fair representation of what actually happened?

DE SALVO: Well, it shows a fair representation of what happened when it was in view. But there were points where there were no camera. Then there were points where there was a camera. There were points where the camera was interrupted.

And the total sequence is not there. And some of that will have to be filled in with testimony. And that's where we are.

QUESTION: Nonetheless, we've seen what we've seen on the videotape. Obviously, Bourbon Street is filled with intoxicated people all the time.

DE SALVO: Right.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)

DE SALVO: There's no doubt about it.

QUESTION: This can't be standard operating procedure. I mean, does that mean you're saying...

DE SALVO: It's not standard operating procedure for a man to be stumbling down the street and actually fall into a police horse. When somebody is that intoxicated, something needs to be done for his safety, as well as the safety of others.

People don't care if you walk down Bourbon Street drunk, believe me. But if you are totally out of control and you are a danger to yourself, then a police officer has to take action. If he doesn't, then he's neglectful in his duties.

QUESTION: How did the officers improve this man's safety?

DE SALVO: Well, he would have certainly improved his safety if he would have said, this is where I am, this is who you can call to come get me. And if he refuses that, it certainly would have improved his safety by putting cuffs on him and bringing him over to the jail to dry out for the evening, and letting him go the next morning when he went before the commissioner. That would have been real easy.

QUESTION: When you said the chief or the mayor (INAUDIBLE)?

DE SALVO: I just think they got so much bad publicity after Katrina that they wanted to just get this focus somewhere else for a while. You know? That's what I believe. And they are successful so far.

QUESTION: What is this doing to the morale? Like it or not, it's a black eye a little bit right now. What is it doing for morale?

DE SALVO: Well with -- the morale of the police department is fine. Most of the officers that I know are very angry about this.

KAGAN: We'll tell you more about this news conference in just a bit. The lawyer for the three police officers accused of beating a man in the French Quarter on Saturday night. Right now, though, videotape that was shot in the White House.

President Bush as he meets with the Polish president. Let's listen in.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: BUSH: Want to do an interpretation?

ALEKSANDER KWASNIEWSKI, PRESIDENT OF POLAND: Yes. I think an interpretation is better for...

BUSH: Especially after what I just said.

KWASNIEWSKI: (SPEAKING IN POLISH)

KAGAN: Well, if your Polish isn't up to speed here, let me jump in here and let you know. I can't tell you exactly what we are listening to, but I can tell you basically what we're listening to.

The president of Poland, he's ending two five-year terms leading Poland. So he is paying a visit to the White House and President Bush. And they are answering questions. And our Polish interpreter not at work today.

So, let me tell you also what we were listening to before that, the news conference out of New Orleans. It was the attorney, Frank De Salvo, speaking for the three New Orleans police officers who are accused of beating a man, Robert Davis, in New Orleans on Saturday night in the French Quarter.

That attorney saying that the videotape that we've seen over and over again, that that -- if you look at the entire tape, is not what it seems. He says that the police were actually doing reasonable police authority.

He paints a very different picture of Robert Davis, saying that this was a man who stumbled into a police horse, that his speech was slurred, and that he did not pay attention to officers' commands. And they believed, these officers, that Robert Davis had a gun.

Also earlier, Robert Davis in court himself, pleading not guilty to other charges of public intoxication.

More on the story ahead. We do have our Dan Simon standing by in New Orleans.

Right now, though, a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BUSH: A pioneer woman and a trailblazer in the law in Texas remind people that Harriet Miers is one of the -- has been rated consistently one of the top 50 women lawyers in the United States.

Part of Harriet Miers' life is her religion. Part of it has to do with the fact that she was a pioneer woman and a trailblazer in the law in Texas.

I remind people that Harriet Miers has been rated, consistently, one of the top 50 women lawyers in the United States. She's eminently qualified for the job. And she has got a judicial philosophy that I appreciate. Otherwise, I wouldn't have named her to the bench; which is, I nominated her to the bench; which is that she will not legislate from the bench but strictly interpret the Constitution.

And so our outreach program has been just to explain the facts to people. But, more importantly, Harriet's going to be able to explain the facts to people when she testifies and people are going to see why I named her -- nominated her -- to the bench. And she's going to make a great Supreme Court judge.

QUESTION: President Bush, there's a significant change of power under way in Poland right now. Some have already said that they would ask for more from the United States in return for Polish support and continued engagement in Iraq.

Are you aware of these positions? And do you expect any changes in Polish-American relations, any tougher talk, maybe?

BUSH: We had a talk about who might succeed Aleksander and their opinions. My advice would be, for whoever succeeds the president, to come and visit and to exchange visits with foreign ministers, such as our minister -- our foreign minister as well as our minister of defense -- and to strategize.

That's what friends do. They share concerns and share goals. And then work together to satisfy and achieve goals. And I'm confident that's going to happen.

KWASNIEWSKI: May I add in Polish?

KWASNIEWSKI (through translator): I would like to say a few words for the Polish media here. We have talked about this, and I think that this information is important for the Polish media.

Poland wants the stabilization mission in Iraq to be a success and to complete this success. We want to be a serious partner and we want to be a steadfast and loyal partner in the coalition.

Our troops are in Iraq, and they will stay in Iraq until the end of January. And that decision has been made, and nothing changes here.

But we have to think about the future, and we have to respect the right of the new government and the right of the new president to make their decisions about it.

KWASNIEWSKI (through translator): That was the right suggestion of President George W. Bush and this decision will be forwarded by me to our authorities and people in Poland when I come back, that after the new government is established the new Polish defense minister and the foreign minister should come here to Washington to talk about the future, because future goes far beyond January next year, and we have to talk about what we shall do together to continue this cause.

BUSH: Karen (ph)?

QUESTION: Thank you, sir.

The Syrian interior minister has committed suicide. What are the consequences for Syria if they are implicated in the murder of the former Lebanese prime minister?

BUSH: I don't want to prejudge the report that's coming out, the Mehlis report.

I think it's very important for Syria to understand that the free world respects Lebanese democracy and expects Syria to honor that democracy.

You know, it's one thing to have been asked to remove troops and all intelligence services. Now the world wants for -- expects Syria to honor the democracy in the country of Lebanon.

Secondly, we expect Syria to do everything in her power to shut down the transshipment of suiciders and killers into Iraq. We expect Syria to be a good neighbor to Iraq. We expect Syria not to agitate killers in the Palestinian territory.

We're making good progress toward peace in the holy land. But one of the areas of concern is that foreign countries, such as Syria, might try to disrupt the peace process through encouraging terrorist activity.

So we have a lot of expectations for Syria beyond just the Mehlis report. But let's see how the Mehlis report -- what it says.

And in the meantime, we're continuing to work with friends and allies to send a clear message to the Assad government there are expectations involved for countries that want to be accepted in the international community.

QUESTION: It's a question for President Bush. Mr. President (INAUDIBLE) during last summits between American and Russian leaders, American diplomacy was stepping up the pressure on Moscow in reference to process of democratic reforms in that country and the situation in Chechnya.

And right now we have a long list of problems between Poland and Russia. So what's your point of view on that? And what would be your advice for a new Polish government on how we should handle this situation?

BUSH: We've got -- I've got good relations with President Putin. America has got a working relationship with Russia and always, as a part of our discussions with Russia, is my personal -- when I have personal discussions with him, I remind him of my deep faith in democracy.

And the people that interrelate with Russia from my government remind their Russian counterparts about democracy and its importance.

KAGAN: We've been listening to tape that was shot inside the White House. President Bush meeting with the Polish president Aleksander Kwasniewski, as Mr. Kwasniewski leaves office. Answering questions about Lebanon, Syria, Russia, and also Mr. Bush having a chance to defend, once again, his choice to be the next Supreme Court justice, Harriet Miers.

We move on to today's "Security Watch." The revelation that last weekend's terror threat against New York City's subway system, it was a hoax. Federal officials had said at the time they didn't find the information credible, but New York officials say they had little choice as to whether they should act on the information.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, NEW YORK: I don't know more than anybody else says -- any more than anybody else whether or not a threat would have been carried out if that operation hadn't been mounted in Iraq. What I do know is that we can't wait until a threat materializes to act. We have to protect this city. And you just can't sit around with your fingers crossed. You have to make decisions and show leadership. (END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: CNN security analyst Richard Falkenrath joins us now with some perspective. Richard, hello.

RICHARD FALKENRATH, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: Hi, Daryn.

KAGAN: Two different perspectives there. Bringing back the idea -- that this whole idea of dealing with terrorist information is not a science, but it's basically an art. You have to interpret what you have.

FALKENRATH: That's exactly right. And this is a real dilemma. The mayor of New York City has the responsibility to protect those people. They are at the top of Al Qaeda's target list. But he was working with information that he didn't originate. It came from the Department of Defense, actually, and it was filtered to him through a number of different federal agencies. And when he provided that public advisory, he did it out of step with the federal government, and that's what has led to this communications mess.

KAGAN: Well, we even thought -- playing out that on Friday, as the news was breaking, you have New York City responding and you have the federal government going ehh, we don't feel so good about this information. That's a very confusing message to people, especially as it played out in New York City.

FALKENRATH: That's exactly right. This is threat communications 101, is you get everybody speaking off the same piece of paper, so they're saying the same things. And when one public official goes and does an advisory to the general public, everyone else is supporting him in the appropriate way. It's a very risky thing for a political figure like Mayor Bloomberg to get up and advise the entire city of New York of this threat, and he should not do it when he's going to be undercut simultaneously by other agencies.

KAGAN: All right. But the mayor had to make a call. Because we've seen information as it's been used, played both ways. On 9/11 -- now we're looking back -- there was information. Officials being criticized that they didn't go with that information, that they didn't react to that. Now you have an official who had information and people saying he might have overreacted.

FALKENRATH: Yes, that's right. And it will happen from time to time that intelligence will pan out or wash out, not turn out to be true. And he does need to act. That is his responsibility, whether he should advise the public. Without having Washington really behind him in what he was saying is a very precarious thing to do.

Furthermore, he really does not have all the facts. He will never be privy to all the operational information where the intelligence is being gathered. The person who is being interviewed, what questions is being asked, what pressure is on that person, their past reliability. So I'm not sure that New York City is in the best position to evaluate the credibility of these sorts of intelligence reports. KAGAN: As things go forward, you have the problem of people crying wolf. When -- whether it's the federal government or the city of New York comes forward and says there is this threat, and nothing happens, as we go forward, people might not believe a real threat.

FALKENRATH: That's exactly right. And that's the essential dilemma of threat advisories. You are damned if you do, damned if you don't.

KAGAN: Right.

FALKENRATH: If you don't provide the information and there is an attack, you will be criticized, because in the inquiry, it will come out that you had some intelligence privately. If you do and there is no attack, you're criticized for crying wolf. That's the dilemma.

KAGAN: And it's one we'll continue to study and learn as we go forward. Richard Falkenrath, thank you for your expertise today.

FALKENRATH: Nice talking to you, Daryn.

KAGAN: And you can stay with CNN day and night for the most reliable information about your security. We are back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Live pictures from Pakistan right now. President Pervez Musharraf is making a primetime television address to his country about Saturday's devastating earthquake. He is expected to make a direct appeal to the international community, as well. Right now he's speaking in Urdu, but when he begins to speak in English, we will carry a portion of that speech live.

Other news today. Thanks to the hurricanes, it cost a lot more to keep warm this winter. The Energy Department is out with its forecast for heating prices in the coming months.

Our economics correspondent Kathleen Hays is in our New York bureau with the chilly details on that. Kathleen, hello.

KATHLEEN HAYS, CNN ECONOMIC CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Daryn. I don't know if it bugged you when you were a kid, but I can remember being cold and saying, mom, mom, I'm cold, and she'd say, put on a sweater. I think a lot of kids in the country are going to be hearing put on a sweater this winter, because bills are going to be higher.

Let me show you some numbers from the Energy Information Agency's 2005 outlook. It's kind of the industry standard. As for heating oil, the price is going to be about 32 percent higher than last year. Right now, we're showing you the price for crude oil. And, of course, crude oil's kind of the bellwether for the whole market.

There's the heating oil. Nearly $1,600 on average. But, of course a lot of people over the years switched over to natural gas because it was cheaper and it was cleaner. And here again, you're going to be getting quite a sticker shock. You're going to be paying almost $1,100 on average to heat your home with natural gas this winter. It's a dollar increase of about $350. Bear in mind that about three-quarters of the families in the country heat their homes this way.

Now, if the winter is colder than expected, it could be even worse. It could be over $1,200. And actually, this forecast, Daryn, is based on a view of a winter that will be a bit colder than last year, but still on the warm side. So that's probably the good news here. And there is maybe a little bit relief in the forecast from the folks at the EIA today -- Daryn?

KAGAN: Let's also talk about gasoline prices, Kathleen.

HAYS: Well, that's where maybe it's not so much a relief. But it could have been a lot worse. Again, we saw the crude oil forecast averaging $58 a barrel this year, $64 to $65 a barrel next year. And crude oil, of course, makes about half the cost of the gallon of gas you pay at the pump. So you can see the price right there. The forecast $2.45 a gallon.

Maybe it's not quite as much of an ouch as it was at the worst pump prices, over $3 a gallon after the hurricanes. But it's still fairly high compared to what we've paid the past few years. Guy Caruso, who is the administrator at the EIA, at the press conference today, said he thinks natural gas prices will come down. They're averaging about $9 per thousand cubic feet for the natural gas price. He says it will come down to $8.70 next year.

Well, that's kind of nice, except this time last year the price was about $5.50, a little bit more for the same thing. So you see, again, we're thankful for any little bit of relief we get. But we're still paying a lot more. And the forecast still looks like it's going to be stay that way -- Daryn.

KAGAN: And as for growing up, I grew up in southern California, so being chilly not a problem. But I do have very vivid memories of getting in line, those long gas lines where you had to wait for your license plate to match up with the right day.

HAYS: You were about two years old, so I don't know how you remember it.

KAGAN: Yes, I was back -- I was in the car seat. That was it. Thank you, Kathleen.

Let's talk more about these home heating costs set to rise so dramatically this year. It might be part of what you want to do just to reduce your bill, and simply upgrading your thermostat.

Here now are the facts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NARRATOR: The Energy Department estimates using a programmable thermostat could save you more than $150 this winter. The way it works is you set the temperature in your home to automatically adjust itself to match your schedule. Let the mercury drop at night, and during the day, if you are not at home. That alone will cut your energy consumption by more than 10 percent. That may not sound like much, but with most heating bills expected to cost around $1,500 this year, every little bit helps.

The units retail at home improvement stores for about $100, so you'll recoup your losses within a few months. Experts say installing the new thermostat is no more difficult than putting in a light switch, and programming it is really about the same as setting an alarm clock.

So if you've been putting it off, it may be time to bite the bullet and buy yourself a new thermostat. You can expect to save this winter and in the years to come.

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KAGAN: To world news.

He has been accused by the U.S. of sheltering terrorists -- now an exclusive interview. Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad talks to our Christiane Amanpour. She'll join us live coming up next.

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KAGAN: A powerful figure in the Syrian government is dead, reportedly by his own hand.

Interior Minister Ghazi Kanaan ran Syria's military intelligence unit in Lebanon for 20 years. One hospital official tells CNN Kanaan had a gunshot wound in his mouth. The interior ministry calls it a suicide.

Kanaan's death comes after he was recently interviewed by U.N. investigators. They are looking into the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Syria maintains it had no hand in the prime minister's death.

CNN Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour is in the Syrian capital of Damascus. She joins us now with more on the minister's death and on her exclusive interview with Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad. His government has been accused by the U.S. of giving sanctuary to terrorist organizations.

Christiane, hello.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, hello to you from Damascus.

It was quite a dramatic day. First, we had this exclusive interview with President Assad, his first major television interview since coming to power 10 years -- rather, five years ago. And we asked him precisely about the impending publication of the U.N. investigation into the assassination of Rafik Hariri. Of course, he maintained, as he always has, that Syria has had nothing to do with it. But when pressed, he told us that he would make sure that anybody, any Syrian who was implicated, if they were implicated should be treated as a traitor and dealt with accordingly.

And it was only after we came out of that interview that we heard the news that, as the Syrians say, one of the key ministers in the Syrian intelligence file -- he is the interior minister and had long- term experience in Lebanon and had been interviewed by the U.N. investigation, as you mentioned, over this Rafik Hariri assassination -- they tell us that he had committed suicide.

This is what President Assad told us about alleged suspects if they should appear on the U.N.'s list shortly before we heard news of that suicide.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BASHAR AL ASSAD, SYRIAN PRESIDENT: If implicated, they should be punished, international (inaudible) whatever. If they are not punished internationally, they will be punished in Syria.

AMANPOUR (on camera): There are people who believe, and very probably the U.N. investigation will say this, that Syria is behind the assassination of Prime Minister Hariri.

Would you have ordered such an assassination?

AL ASSAD: This is against our principle and my principle. And I would never do such a thing in my life. What do we achieve? What do we achieve?

I think what happened targeted Syria. That will affect our relation with the Lebanese people and with most other countries, so we wouldn't do it because it's against our interests and it's against my principle. I would never do it. It's impossible.

AMANPOUR: If many Syrians are implicated, is it possible that such an act, such a crime could have taken place by Syrian officials without your knowledge?

AL ASSAD: I don't think so. As I said, if that happened, this is treason.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMANPOUR: So there President Assad very clearly saying that if that was the case, then he would consider it treason and take the appropriate measures.

Now, the Syrian government, the president himself is under an enormous amount of pressure, because if it is implicated as sources have told us is most likely to be the case, then it leads to a greater isolation of Syria, isolation from its regional neighbors, potential sanctions from the U.N., and many are predicting that, that might cause this regime to crumble. Syria is also under a huge amount of pressure from the United States because the U.S. says that it is not doing enough to stop insurgents going into Iraq. They say that it's providing safe haven, that it's a gateway. And that in recent weeks the U.S. has stepped up the rhetoric, calling for a regime change, or at least officials have done that, at the very least behavior change from Syria.

We talked to the president about that and he admitted that there was a great deal of pressure. He said that he was doing all he could, or he had done all he could to try to protect the borders, but told the United States after the war that one couldn't, no country could protect all its borders, and he actually mentioned the U.S./Mexico border. But he also said that they had asked for technical assistance from various countries, including the U.S., and he said it hadn't been forthcoming.

But he did say that intelligence cooperation, which the Syrians broke some months ago, he was willing to start that up again through a third party. And he said he had already tried mediating to rapproachment on that level with the U.S., but had gotten no response from the United States. So there are great tensions now all focused on Syria for these two different reasons, the Iraq reason and also the Rafik Hariri assassination file -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Christiane, I know you also had the chance to ask the president about the war. And he was very critical of it.

AMANPOUR: He was. He said that we didn't support the war. That would have meant supporting in his words the occupation of Iraq. But he said that they do support the political process, and that they do support this country Iraqi government. And so he was saying that he was very worried that there was a lot of turmoil there, because we kept pressing him.

I kept pressing him about these insurgents and why they didn't try to stop it, because everybody says that the majority of the insurgents are coming from Syria. But he was saying that, you know, we try to do everything we can, because unrest, civil war, terrorism in Iraq is, as he called it, "contagious," directly would effect Syria. So he said it's in Syria's interest to try to stop this.

KAGAN: Christiane Amanpour live from Damascus, Syria. Christiane, thank you.

Ahead we look at health news. He set out to lose about 100 pounds. Did Harald Fricker meet his goal? We have a check-up of the "New You" just ahead when CNN LIVE TODAY returns.

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KAGAN: In January, five brave souls set out to change their bad health habits into healthier ones by joining the "New You Revolution." For eight weeks we watched them work hard to reach their goals. Today, Sanjay Gupta checks in on long-distance runner Harald Fricker. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Harald Fricker signed up for the "New You" revolution because he used to be a top endurance athlete of triathalons and ultra marathons. That was them and this was Harald at the beginning of his "New You" revolution.

HARALD FRICKER: Deep inside I'm still this fit person. It basically started almost immediately the day my daughter was born.

GUPTA: His goal was to break his bad habits so he could be his old self again and run the Colorado Pikes Peak Marathon in August.

FRICKER: I wish I could just flash six months forward because I'm absolutely sure I'm going to be at least very close to the hundred-pound weight loss.

GUPTA: In March, Harald had already lost 22 pounds. He was walking, not running, and wearing a c-path (ph) mask to help him sleep better. He hasn't lost any more weight since but he's still just as confident that he will lose that hundred pounds.

FRICKER: Well, it's still right around 249. The comeback has been a little bit rough, to tell you the truth. You know, I think I got a little over ambitious. I probably should of paced it down a little bit.

GUPTA: So what went wrong?

FRICKER: Of all things, moving my Elliptical trainer from one room to another, I ruptured a disk in my back. I've fallen and I can't get up.

GUPTA: Did he stick to his "New You" plan?

FRICKER: It just hasn't really worked out. I still don't sleep a lot.

GUPTA: He's not wearing the mask anymore.

FRICKER: Cake. Oh, cake.

GUPTA: And he's not eating properly. Harald's injuries really hurt his efforts and he couldn't run the marathon. All he could do is watch his wife run instead. But Harald insists he'll run this marathon next year.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, for the "New You Revolution."

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KAGAN: Our checkups continue. Tomorrow, the "New You" checkup continues with Jonathan Karp. At the end of eight weeks, he appears to have broken his bad habit of nail biting. Yes, he was the nail- biter. He was getting ready for his wedding. We'll see if he is still smiling about his nails. And that's going to wrap up this hour of CNN LIVE TODAY.

A lot more ahead as the news continues on CNN's "LIVE FROM." Fredricka Whitfield is in today. I'm Daryn Kagan. Have a great day.

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