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CNN Live Today

Morning-After Pill Approved; Kidnapped Journalists in Gaza; House Intelligence Committee Report Warns of Iranian Threat

Aired August 24, 2006 - 11:00   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY.
I'm Daryn Kagan.

We have several big stories on tap this hour. Here is what we are following.

We have an eye on the storms. Severe weather revving up in the heartland. An update coming shortly from meteorologist Chad Myers.

The so-called morning-after pill goes over the counter. It's a big breakthrough, but adults only, please. No minors.

Details coming up.

And what you thought you knew about the universe is about to change. Our solar system loses a planet. A moment of silence for poor Pluto.

We will get to Pluto in just a moment.

First, though, big medical news unfolding this morning. The FDA is now allowing over-the-counter sales of so the-called mortgage-after pill. Health officials say women over 18 will be able to purchase Plan B without a prescription. Younger girls still need one.

The drug lowers the risk of pregnancy when a woman takes it within 72 hours of unprotected sex. There has been a three-year political battle over the access to the drug. The over-the-counter version should be available by the end of the year.

For more on the drug, here's our senior medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Commonly referred to as the morning-after pill. Plan B was first approved for prescription use in the United States in 1999. Since then, effectiveness, relatively low side effects and ease of use have made it the most common form of emergency contraception.

On average, most women have an 8 percent chance they will become pregnant after having unprotected intercourse. If taken within 72 hours, though, Plan B can lower that chance to 1 percent. Here's how it works. Plan B contains high doses of progesterone. That's a birth control hormone that tells the brain not to ovulate or release an egg.

Now, if ovulation has already happened when the pill is taken, the hormone works to prevent fertilization by making it harder for the sperm to penetrate the egg. And if fertilization has already occurred, then both doctors believe the morning-after pill can prevent the fertilized egg from ever attaching to the wall of the uterus.

Misconceptions about Plan B have driven the controversy surrounding this drug. Some believe that it could cause birth defects if the pregnancy develops, or even cause an abortion. Others believe that no such thing could occur, because Plan B prevents the fertilized egg from attaching to the uterine wall.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Taking the morning-after pill definitely does not harm an established pregnancy. It doesn't cause birth defects. It doesn't cause abortions of implanted, healthy pregnancies.

GUPTA: In fact, when a pregnancy occurs, hormones in a women's body change dramatically, and suddenly the body is awash in progesterone. Plan B would simply add more.

Another misconception is to confuse Plan B with the RU-486, the abortion pill. Even doctor's offices can mistake the difference. Lalena Garcia wanted to prevent pregnancy, and as most people would, called her doctor's office for a prescription.

LALENA GARCIA, MORNING-AFTER PILL USER: So I called and I said, "Hi, I need to make an appointment to just come in and get a prescription for the morning- after pill." And the receptionist said, "Oh, we don't have that." "No, no, no. Not RU-486, I want emergency contraception, I want the morning-after pill."

GUPTA: In fact, the two drugs work in literally opposite ways. Instead of increasing progesterone levels the way Plan B does, RU-486 lowers progesterone levels, inducing menstruation and the loss of an early pregnancy.

Other questions about Plan B don't have such clear-cut answers. Opponents argue widespread access will encourage irresponsible sexual behavior among young people, and increase sexually transmitted diseases. Two large studies have not supported those claims.

And now, approved for over-the-counter use or not, that controversy is likely to continue.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Crisscrossing the Middle East. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan is preparing to visit key Mideast capitals. The focus, implementing the cease-fire deal between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. First he'll go to Brussels tomorrow. There, Annan will try to nail down commitments from European Union leaders. They have promised to send troops to southern Lebanon.

It is day 10 of captivity for two FOX News journalists. American reporter Steve Centanni and his New Zealand cameraman, Olaf Wiig, were kidnapped in Gaza.

Our Chris Lawrence is keeping watch on the story. He is live in Jerusalem today.

Chris, hello.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, there's a very intense effort right now going on to try to find these two men.

They're -- what we're hearing now from the counsel general here in Jerusalem is that he has more reinforcements coming from Washington. He's telling us that, based on the fact that now they have this written statement by the kidnappers and they also have the videotape of the two men to work with, he's calling in reinforcements, so to speak, people who are well versed in hostage negotiation from Washington to help with what the counsel general is doing here, as well as to work with the Palestinian security forces.

Now, earlier today, the Palestinian prime minister, Ismail Haniyah, condemned this kidnapping. He met with the wife of cameraman Olaf Wiig. And she had this message to deliver to the kidnappers personally.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANITA MCNAUGHT, WIFE OF KIDNAPPED JOURNALIST: It was a source of great relief and comfort and to me and to Olaf's and Steve's family and friends to see that our men are being well looked after by you, the kidnappers. And we trust that you will continue to care for them until their release.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: Yes, Anita McNaught also released a written statement. Again, she is directly appealing to the kidnappers on a very personal level.

Just very quickly, she wrote, you know, "People should not be kept from their families. In the name of the Muslim values and traditions you so strongly uphold, these two men are your guests. We all desire a peaceful resolution of this matter for us and for you."

So, again, the wife of Olaf Wiig trying to make a very personal plea to the kidnappers while authorities work their sources and try to find and free the two journalists -- Daryn.

KAGAN: What kind of response is this kidnapping getting in the Palestinian press? LAWRENCE: Many in the Palestinian community have condemned it, from the Palestinian prime minister, all the way to militant groups. Several militant groups have said this goes directly against their cause. They feel that by having journalists in Palestine, they feel -- or in Gaza specifically, that they are represented, that their story is being told to the world. Once you have a situation like this and threats of more kidnappings to come, the journalists all pull out of Gaza and there is no -- very little coverage there right now.

KAGAN: All right. Chris Lawrence, live from Jerusalem.

Thank you.

We move from Jerusalem to Iran. Diplomacy or delay? Iran's motives are called into question. Does a new intelligence report hold answers?

CNN's Brian Todd takes a look at that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): From key intelligence leaders in Congress, new warnings on Iran. While the regime weighs incentive packages and a deadline for suspending nuclear enrichment, they say, Tehran is also playing a familiar and dangerous game.

REP. MICHAEL RODGERS (R), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: It's beyond a shadow of doubt for me that they are trying to stall for more time to continue their uranium enrichment and the building of their nuclear program.

TODD: Congressman Mike Rodgers says Western leaders have been duped by Iranian diplomacy for the past three years. Rodgers is a key player in House Intelligence Committee's new report on Iran's strategic threat to the U.S. and its allies.

RODGERS: These folks are absolutely up to no good. They're developing ballistic missiles, they're developing and trying to enrich uranium. They have chemical and biological weapons programs.

TODD: Information that's not new but does raise new questions about Iran's intentions at this crucial moment in diplomacy.

For instance, the report says the regime has produced enough of a compound called uranium hexafluoride to produce 12 nuclear bombs if it's enriched to weapons grade. Still, U.S. intelligence leaders and outside experts have repeatedly said Iran likely won't be able to produce a nuclear weapon for at least four years.

Ready now, a delivery system for any nuclear weapon, what the report calls the largest inventory of ballistic missiles in the Middle East. A capability that experts say is rapidly being developed further.

JOHN PIKE, GLOBALSECURITY.ORG: The Shahab 3, which is currently operational, has a range of 2,000 kilometers, can get to Israel. The Shahab 4, twice the range, 4,000 kilometers, can get to much of western Europe. The Shahab 5, also under development, could get all of the way to the United States, but they're years away from having that capability.

TODD: Between four and 10 years for those two longer-range missiles, according to John Pike of GlobalSecurity.org.

(on camera): After repeated calls and e-mails, a top Iranian official at the United Nations told us he needed more time to study the House Intelligence Committee report, but he refuted the accusation that Iran is stalling for time on the nuclear issue, and he said his government is ready to begin negotiations at any time.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: You can see more of Brian's reports on "THE SITUATION ROOM" this afternoon at 4:00 Eastern. The live and primetime edition begins at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.

Northwest Airlines Flight 42 on its run from Amsterdam to Mumbai, India, today, no problems. Without the scary moments that passengers had yesterday.

The plane returned to the Netherlands after U.S. air marshals grew suspicious of a group of passengers. U.S. officials say the passengers were passing mobile phones among themselves. After the plane landed, a dozen men were arrested and questioned.

Now, Dutch officials say there are no signs of a terrorist threat, but the suspects remain in custody while the investigation goes on.

He's not yet been charged with killing JonBenet Ramsey, but John Karr's family is going Hollywood.

Ahead on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Here's an interesting meeting of minds. What does a Hollywood producer have to do with John Karr's defense in the JonBenet Ramsey case? Plenty, according to Karr's family.

His relatives have offered the book and film rights to their story to producer Larry Garrison. In return, Garrison says he's going to help them hire a high-profile attorney to defend Karr.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY GARRISON, PRODUCER: They asked me to come in and to stop the spin from the press. They asked me to come in and procure a top criminal attorney for them. They asked me to come in and to make sure that the world knows that they love their brother, that they're behind him 100 percent, in spite of anything that has been said and anything that has been done.

This is a family that they're victims right now. And they -- if any money is made off of this project, it will go to John Mark Karr's sons for their college education.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: This is Karr's fifth day in a Los Angeles jail. We still don't know when he'll be transferred to Colorado to face charges in the Ramsey killing.

Disturbing allegations of sex abuse at the Citadel. They are found in a survey from the South Carolina military college. Almost 20 percent of female cadets reported they had been sexually assaulted since enrolling in the once all-male college. About 4 percent of male cadets said the same.

The school's president said he released the data publicly in order to tackle the issue head on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GEN. JOHN ROSA, CITADEL PRESIDENT: And it holds us to a higher standard. And where we find ourselves is not the standard we want to be. So, to do nothing and to not attack this problem head on would simply not be an option.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: The college is starting a values and respect program. It will deal with everything from sexual assault to drinking.

The lone survivor of the Sago Mine disaster is suing. Randy McCloy says negligence left him with disabling physical injuries and mental impairment. Twelve men died in January after an explosion at the West Virginia mine. McCloy was trapped for more than 40 hours.

The suit was filed again the mine's owner and other companies. It claims unsafe working conditions and a lack of safety equipment led to the disaster. The suit does not specify a dollar amount for damages.

A junior tour guide showing the signs and the sites.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: First stop, of course, the bomb craters.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here's two. One here, one here, and one there. Come see the house.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Through the eyes of a 5-year-old, a tour like you have never seen. Our Jim Clancy goes along for that tour. That's just ahead on CNN, the most trusted name in news

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: And we have some news in to CNN. Here's Carol.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, we're going to go to northwest Louisiana, Daryn. In Minden, there has been an explosion at a former Louisiana Army ammunitions plant. The site now a business called Explo Systems site.

Hundreds of students have been evacuated from Doyline High School and Union Elementary School just as a precaution. In fact, a total of about 600 students, according to the wire on The Associated Press.

They're quoting a colonel there who is an assistant camp commander at Camp Minden, where this explosion took place. They could see thick black smoke from that site. The sheriff's department out there is asking residents to voluntary evacuate as they figure out exactly what went on.

So this is an ongoing situation. It happened about 90 minutes ago, Daryn. So we'll let you know if anything changes there.

KAGAN: All right, Carol. Thank you for that.

Let's go ahead and look in with Chad Myers and see what's happening in the weather.

You have some serious news going on.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: All right, Chad. Thank you.

MYERS: You're welcome.

KAGAN: It's time for our "Daily Dose" of health news.

Battling back. Singer Sheryl Crow has done just that. In her first major interview since treatment for breast cancer this year, she talked with CNN's Larry King about learning to accept the term "survivor."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERYL CROW, SINGER: It's funny, because I immediately started becoming known as a cancer survivor, and I've known so many cancer survivors who have really fought for their lives and who have been, you know, in the test studies. And, I mean, clearly, Lance is one of those people. And some amazing people along the way.

And for me, initially I was a bit reticent to even come out and talk about it. But I think my story is -- at least for women in -- who are of my age bracket and younger -- I think my story is celebratory in the fact that prevention is really the best cure. And if you're not getting your mammogram, if you don't know your family history, take responsibility.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Good point, Sheryl. Thank you.

Crow's experience resonates with many people. Her heart-thought responses to online questions about her cancer and treatment are posted at CNN.com.

To get your "Daily Dose" of health news online, log on to our Web site. You'll find the latest medical news, a health library, and information on diet and fitness.

The address, CNN.com/health.

No place to call home. Some call it Iraq's silent epidemic. An exclusive look inside one tent city.

Stay with CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: We're getting more information now on this explosion that took place in Louisiana.

Carol Lin has details -- Carol.

LIN: That's right, Daryn. Minden, Louisiana, this is north- central Louisiana. With me on the telephone is a reporter on the scene, Kristi Richie.

Can you hear me?

KRISTI RICHIE, REPORTER, "MINDEN PRESS HERALD": Yes, ma'am, I sure can.

LIN: Tell us what happened. We heard about an explosion and schools being evacuated.

Well, we have -- it used to be an ammunition plant years ago, and now the National Guard has taken it over, and there are several businesses located in there. And one of the businesses is called Explo Systems, and at 8:30 this morning they had a report of an explosion and a fire. But none of the National Guard -- oh, another one just went off.

None of the National Guard personnel heard the first one. And then about 8:38, I was still at my house. And I probably live 10 or 15 miles from the place, and it rocked my entire house.

So where we're at now is they have evacuated everybody out of there, totally, completely. They have shut down U.S. Highway 80 which runs right beside it. And then on the south side is LA 163. They totally shut it down. And I believe they're talking about shutting down Interstate 20.

LIN: Wow.

Kristi, it sounds like they just don't know what's going to happen next. Do they know what's causing these explosions?

RICHIE: No, they don't. The facility where it happened at diffuses military bombs, old 750-pound bombs. So they really don't know what happened.

The first one went off, they got everyone out of there. And the media showed up, we got there, and within probably 30, 45 minutes they had totally evacuated everyone.

But there is a youth challenge program which is a -- it's kind of for teens who want to get their GED. It's a military-type program. There was, I think, about 100 kids out there. They evacuated all of them.

We also have a prison out there that has about 300 inmates, and they have evacuated all of them as well.

LIN: All right. So, Kristi, any injuries? Are there ambulances on the scene?

RICHIE: Right now they have everyone out at a staging area, at a truck stop. No word on injuries. They really weren't sure.

We're all just kind of camped out here waiting to see what's going on. All the fire department, all the ambulances, they backed everybody out.

LIN: Kristi, so how many explosions you have heard? If you just heard one, there was one before -- two or more?

RITCHIE: I've heard two. The one from my house, which rocked my house 15 miles away and then the one that just went off was kind of small, but I felt it.

LIN: All right, so you're saying explosion. It didn't sound like a firecracker or ammunition going off; this was a true explosion, like a bomb?

RITCHIE: This was a big boom.

LIN: All right. Kristi Ritchie, a reporter on the scene right now.

Daryn, she's given us a lot more information there. At least two explosions now, ambulance, fire, on the scene. Evacuations going on. Residents in the entire area have been evacuated. At least two schools, a high school and elementary school, about 600 students evacuated. They don't know what's going on. So we're going to find out, hopefully very soon.

LIN: Continues to develop. Yes, we'll go to you with the latest on that. Carol, thank you.

Now to world headlines, one, two, three times car bombs sounded in Baghdad today. The attacks killed four people. Another 18 were wounded. The U.S. ambassador to Iraq warns the country is teetering on civil war. He cites a sharp increase in deadly attacks over the past six months. Zalmay Khalilzad detailed his sobering assessment in a "Wall Street Journal" op-ed piece.

It is a side effect of the war in Iraq that you really don't hear a lot about, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis driven from their homes to tent cities. Our Michael Holmes recently met some of the displaced. It's an exclusive you'll only see here on CNN.

Michael Joins us live now from Baghdad.

Michael, what kind of numbers are we talking about?

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, it's quite surprising, isn't it, that this is happening inside the country? The government here estimates nearly 250,000 Iraqis live in these camps, all of them displaced just since February of this year, and that number grows every day. They are called internally displaced peoples, but really they're refugees in their own country, forced to flee their homes and their old lives by increasingly deadly sectarian violence that the ambassador was talking about. Around the country, there are 19 of these camps. Some of them contain Sunnis, forced to flee mainly Shia neighborhoods, and vice versa. The one we saw contained Shias who were out escaping death threats and killings in predominantly Sunni neighborhoods.

The place we went to is called Chirkuk (ph). It is just inside Baghdad. Eight-hundred people living in the area the size of, oh, I don't down, a couple of football fields, perhaps. Tents still dominate this landscape, but really what we saw there also was people starting to make bricks, build homes. They think they're going to be there for a while -- Daryn.

KAGAN: But meanwhile, to look at the pictures, it looks like a makeshift camp, like people just said, all right, this is where we live.

HOLMES: It does. That's what it looks like. Because these are Shias, they've moved into a Shia area and basically just taken up a vacant plot of land, and initially aid agencies, like the Red Crescent, provided tents for them. But you're seeing more and more that they're starting to build these, well, I wouldn't call them houses, they're more of shelters, but at least made of some sort of brick. These people don't feel like they had get home any time soon -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Very sad indeed. Meanwhile, more violence today around Baghdad today.

HOLMES: Yes, that's right. As you said, there were three car bombs right here in the capital today, four people killed, 18 wounded. We've seen bigger death tolls, but it's hard to really appreciate the magnitude of some of the injuries these people suffer every day.

Remember, last month, 3,500 people killed, civilians in Iraq, and more than that number wounded. There were also some shootings in Baqubah, outside of Baghdad, six people shot in various shootings there.

So yes, the violence continuing, as it has done now for more than three years -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Michael Holmes, live from Baghdad. Michael, thank you.

Back here in the states, we go live to Florida. Our Carol Lin is going to tell us about the shuttle crew arriving at the Kennedy Space Center.

LIN: That's right. We're watching NASA Television right now, and you're seeing the shuttle crew, crew of six, arriving for their final preparations for their launch on Sunday in the shuttle Atlantis, this crew including a Canadian. And it is the first time in four years, Daryn, this mission very important, that they're actually going to be getting back to building the shuttle. They're going to be building basically a compartment, a component. They'll be putting up beams and basically starting some of the very important construction to make that International Space Station inhabitable.

The countdown will officially begin at 6:00 p.m. Eastern for that Sunday afternoon launch. There is a 30-percent chance of a weather delay.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LIN: We'll see what happens Sunday afternoon. Daryn, if they can't launch on Sunday, then the launch would be delayed till Monday. So they're going to be watching the skies as we see some of the clouds gathering over the Kennedy Space Center, as that crew has just arrived from their home base in Houston.

KAGAN: But here's the deal, even if they go or don't go, we're ready to go. Great coverage here on CNN.

LIN: That's right. Daniel Sieberg is going to be at the Kennedy Space Center monitoring that launch for us, terrific coverage from Daniel, starting this weekend.

KAGAN: OK, we'll look forward to that. Thank you.

And now a story probably if you only remember one story from today, it is going to be this story. It is a look at what is left in Lebanon through the eyes of a 5-year-old boy, who came across the path of our Jim Clancy.

Here's Jim.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The two small tents, one packed with toys, were suitable for backyard camping, but the front patio is all the Yassin family could clear. Ali wears a nice welt under one eye from a misstep in the rubble, but 5-year-old Mehdi is unfazed, eager to try out his English and tour guide skills on TV.

First stop, of course, the bomb craters.

MEHDI YASSIN, LEBANESE RESIDENT: Here's two. One here and one there. Come see the house.

CLANCY: Checking with his father, Mehdi scampers onwards and upwards. He's got to leap over some debris and then negotiate past the twisted metal of what was the front door.

It's hazardous, no doubt.

YASSIN: Come to the house.

CLANCY: But Mehdi's mother and father, still in shock over the predicament, say they're trying to pretend everything is just fine in front of the boys.

Two-year-old Ali isn't allowed to wander. Upstairs, Mehdi tries to show us how everything was before the bombs.

YASSIN: Here. This, it was here. Here -- and on this. Look at this toy for us.

CLANCY: He does a little dusting as well. Mehdi's family fled before the air strike. His father showed the boys pictures of their destroyed home before they came back to prepare them for what they would see.

YASSIN: Come to my room. Come to my room.

CLANCY: Mehdi's main attraction, his room, of course. It's on the top floor and requires climbing over shattered doors and furniture. By the time we reach the roof, there's a chance to pause and ponder.

YASSIN: What happened? Look what happened.

CLANCY: What happened is all too obvious in Mehdi's bedroom. It's a physical and emotional balancing act no child needs.

YASSIN: Look. And this, for me.

CLANCY: Whoops. Mehdi's mother has had enough of this tour. But while we're up here...

YASSIN: See from here what they make. If you want to take a picture down, look.

CLANCY: Five-year-old Mehdi was pretty sure he could go longer. After all, these days there's so much to see in his neighborhood.

Jim Clancy, CNN, in South Lebanon. (END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: I've seen that story about three times this morning and it gets me every time.

On to Gaza now. It is day 10 of captivity for two Fox News journalists, American reporter Steve Centanni and his New Zealand cameraman Olaf Wiig. New Zealand today joined the U.S., saying it will not negotiate with the Gaza kidnappers. A previously unknown militant group is demanding the release of Muslim prisoners in U.S. jails in exchange for the men. Saturday is the deadline. The demand accompanying this video yesterday. The U.S. and New Zealand are working with Palestinian officials to try to free the journalists.

The tough-talking president of Venezuela looking to make a big oil deal. He is in China. A controversial leader and the politics of oil. The ripple effects could be felt right here in the U.S. That story is just ahead.

Another cut in oil production in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. What will that mean for at the gas pump? You'll find out on CNN. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: All right, I'm Carol Lin at the breaking news desk, bringing you pictures there of the shuttle crew, which just arrived from their home base in Houston, Texas, at the Kennedy Space Center. They are preparing -- they're in their final phase of preparations for what is hoped to be a Shuttle Atlantis launch Sunday afternoon. But in talking with our Chad Myers a short while ago, he's predicting only a 50/50 chance that the crew is going to be able to launch on Sunday.

But this is a very, very important mission. This is the first time in four years that the crew is going to get back to actually building a component, attaching it to the International Space Station as they try to ready it for occupants to do their studies up in space. So we are monitoring the situation very carefully. This crew of six just arriving. The official countdown begins at 6:00 p.m. Eastern. That crew there, also in conjunction with one Canadian member, going to be taking off in the Shuttle Atlantis.

That's the latest from the breaking newsdesk.

KAGAN: Thank you, Carol.

The nation's largest oil field seems to be pumping as many problems as crude these days. A corroded BP pipeline cut production from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, by half earlier this month. Now that's been cut by almost half again. The latest problem, a broken compressor. BP says it will take several days to fix it. It's not clear how that will affect gas prices. Just yesterday, the government reported a surprising increase in gasoline inventories and a slight drop in oil prices.

Well, it is about oil. Venezuela has plenty and China needs a lot. Venezuela's president, Hugo Chavez, is in Beijing, wheeling and dealing. And seen as a counterplay against Venezuela's top customer of crude, the U.S.

Our Stan Grant has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STAN GRANT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nothing beats dinner diplomacy in China. Antonio Ochoa-Piccardo knows that. He runs a popular Venezuelan restaurant in downtown Beijing. He's been here 13 years, and business is good.

ANTONIO OCHOA-PICCARDO, RESTAURATEUR: I think now it is the center of the world, in term of, you know, in any area, you -- you know, any field, you want to start doing something, there is ground for it.

GRANT: And Antonio is not the only Venezuelan with something to sell in China. Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez is sitting down with his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao. Antonio, for one, is keen to know what's on the political menu.

OCHOA-PICCARDO: I know exactly what China can do in Venezuela, but I don't know exactly what Venezuela can do in China.

GRANT: In a word, oil. Venezuela has it, and China is thirsty for it.

DAVID ZWEIG, POLITICAL SCIENTIST: China's going to be a long- term, major consumer of oil, and so Chavez is getting himself prepared to supply China.

GRANT (on camera): China's import of Venezuelan oil is booming. In 2004, it was just over 12,000 barrels a day. Now, it's 150,000 barrels. By the end of the year, 200,000 barrels a day. That comes with a hefty political price.

ZWEIG: I think that Chavez creates problems for the Chinese because he is such a -- he shoots from the lip all the time, and could say things that could embarrass the Chinese.

GRANT (voice-over): Especially sensitive when it comes to the United States. Hugo Chavez is close to Cuba's Fidel Castro, a thorn in the U.S. side in Latin America. Right now, the U.S. is Venezuela's top customer of crude. Some 60 percent of Venezuela's oil exports go to the U.S., about 11 percent of America's total imports. If Chavez is looking to trade off the U.S. against China, China may not be so comfortable.

ZWEIG: The Chinese may be happy to see the United States being a little busy, having a thorn in their side, because, you know, Cuba, Venezuela, it makes life complicated for the U.S. I don't think they have a problem with that, but they certainly don't want to be seen to be part of any anti-U.S. coalition.

GRANT: Still, China has been prepared to do similar deals with anti-U.S. states Syria, Sudan and Iran. In China, business is business. That's the bottom line.

Just ask Antonio.

OCHOA-PICCARDO: Oh, of course. Everybody in China would be OK. No, China is a country for business.

GRANT: Stan Grant, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

KAGAN: Severe weather among big the stories we are following this morning. Tornado warnings in the upper Midwest. And in one southern city, an incredible theme captured by one of our viewers. That's ahead on CNN, your severe weather headquarters.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Let's update you on a story that we're following out of northwestern Louisiana, an explosion at a plant there. This is a bomb recycling plant in Doylein, Louisiana. No immediate reports of deaths or injuries. The report happened around 8:30 local time. The plant is a former Army ammunition plant, and it's home to Explo and other businesses.

Now apparently, there were some schools nearby, because at least 600 students in two area schools had to be evacuated. And with the latest on that part of the story, I'd like to welcome on the phone Jackie Sharp, the assistant superintendent of Webster Parish school board.

Hello. Good morning.

JACKIE SHARP, ASST. SUPT., WEBSTER PARISH SCHOOL BOARD: Good morning.

KAGAN: What can you tell us about the evacuation of the students?

SHARP: The evacuation went smoothly. We put the call out to our bus drivers as soon as the explosion occurred. They were on-scene within minutes. Our students were evacuated to Lakeside Junior/Senior High School in Sybli (ph), which is approximately 10 miles away.

KAGAN: How close are these schools to this plant?

SHARP: The schools are fairly close to the outer border of the plant, but the lines, as I understand, the lines where the equipment is manufactured is a good distance from the school.

KAGAN: Because that seems odd to me to have schools so close to a plan the that is meant to deal with bomb recycling.

SHARP: Well, the schools have been there for many years and the plant actually was in existence and creating ammunition back during World War II and later during the Vietnam War.

KAGAN: So they've been living side by side for quite a while. And we're hearing no word of deaths or injuries to anybody who was at the plant. All 600 students also in good condition?

SHARP: Oh, absolutely, no injuries among our students. No problems. No significant damage to the schools, either.

KAGAN: That is reassuring news.

Jackie, thank you.

Jackie Sharp, the assistant superintendent of the Webster parish school board in northwestern, Louisiana. That after an explosion today rocked a bomb-recycling plant nearby those schools.

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KAGAN: That's going to wrap up our couple of hours together. "YOUR WORLD TODAY" is coming up in just a few minutes. I'm Daryn Kagan.

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