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The Situation Room
CIA Airstrike in Pakistan; American Hostage in Iraq; Abortion Agreement; Controversy Over Hillary Clinton's Plantation Comments; Teens And Cars A Deadly Combination
Aired January 18, 2006 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: It's almost 5:00 p.m. here in Washington, and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM, where news and information from around the world arrive at one place at the same time.
Happening now, it's 3:00 a.m. in Pakistan. Al Qaeda's number two man may not have been present during last week's CIA airstrike, but another important figure just might have been on the scene. We're standing by for details.
And it's 1:00 a.m. in Baghdad, where kidnappers have set a deadline and demands for the life of an American hostage. Should the U.S. negotiate?
In West Virginia, it's 5:00 p.m. The sole survivor of the Sago Mine disaster begins to come out of his coma. Doctors could only wonder how he's made it this far.
I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
We begin with a developing story in aftermath of that U.S. airstrike on a village in Pakistan. As U.S. intelligence tries to determine who may have been caught in the attack, a new and important name has surfaced.
Let's turn immediately to our national security correspondent, David Ensor, and Nic Robertson, our chief -- our senior international correspondent.
But David, first, to you, what do we know?
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the name that you're talking about is Midhat Mursi, otherwise known as Abu Khabab al-Masri. He's a 52-year-old Egyptian, and he was the bomb maker, or certainly the chemical weapons maker of al Qaeda.
He ran the camp in Durunta, Afghanistan, where much of the experimenting was done. He is reported to have trained Richard Reid and Zacarias Moussaoui at one point or another.
There's a $5 million reward out for his capture by the United States. And while U.S. officials say they are confident that he was in the vicinity, that there was indications that he might be attending the dinner that was attacked on Friday night, they also stress they cannot confirm that he was there. So they're obviously -- they also have not eliminated the possibility that Ayman al-Zawahiri might have been there. So there's a lot of questions tonight about who was there when those bombs hit on Friday. They are saying that some Egyptians definitely were, that there were four to eight al Qaeda personnel killed, and possibly including this man, Midhat Mursi.
BLITZER: I assume, David, that the Pakistan government has control of the bodies, the people who were killed in that attack. The question is, are they sharing, are they allowing U.S. forensic experts, if you will, to go in, do DNA tests, or whatever else need to be done to confirm the identity of those killed?
ENSOR: I'm actually told by a U.S. counter-terrorism official, Wolf, that that is not happening, and that, in fact, the U.S. is not pressing the point. Apparently, a group of allies of these al Qaeda personnel rushed in after the bombing and took some of the bodies, somewhere around a dozen, perhaps, and buried them somewhere else, including some of these foreigners.
I asked U.S. officials why aren't they going to that site, digging up those bodies and getting DNA. They told me it's too complicated too explain, there are other ways to find out for sure who was there, we are working on those different ways.
That is as much as they will give us -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, David. Thank you very much. Stand by.
Nic Robertson has been watching this story for years.
You did an excellent documentary a few years ago on al Qaeda, on terrorist bombs. You know a great deal about this guy Abu Khabab, who may -- may have been killed in this attack.
Tell our viewers a little bit about him.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, in the summer of 2002, CNN obtained a series of videotapes in Afghanistan. One of those videotapes showed chemical weapons being tested on a dog, lethal chemical weapons. A voice on that tape where the dog was being tested was identified by a Middle East intelligence source as being the voice of Abu Khabab.
What it does is it places him right at Durunta, it places him squarely, we are told by the same sources, at the leadership of al Qaeda's efforts to develop chemical and biological weapons. In the videotape, it's not clear exactly what the weapon is. The dog is killed during that videotape.
Also, the United States has discovered in Afghanistan training manuals put together by Abu Khabab, training manuals given to al Qaeda trainees, showing them and telling them how to make simple chemical and simple biological weapons, Wolf. He is a very important figure for al Qaeda.
BLITZER: Nic Robertson, thank you very much.
David Ensor, thanks to you as well.
Very little is known about the suspected al Qaeda explosive expert. Nic knows about as much as anyone. But Jacki Schechner, our Internet reporter, is getting some more information on the Web.
What are you picking up, Jacki?
JACKI SCHECHNER, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Up to $5 million reward for information about this guy. Rewards for Justice is a group that works together with the State Department. They're concerned citizens after 9/11.
Again, not much information other than his birth date and his place of birth. But it does have some of the information that Nic was talking about, how he's a poisons expert and a chemical weapons expert. Again, more information, but just a little bit available at this Web site, RewardsforJustice.com -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Jacki. Thank you very much
Moving on now to Jill Carroll, she disappeared a week and a half ago, snatched off the streets by kidnappers who killed her interpreter. Then, just a little over 24 hours ago, she showed up briefly and silently on videotape looking pale and tired. At the same time, demands and a threat from her captors. There's been a plea from mercy from her family, now from her employee.
David Cook is Washington bureau chief for the "Christian Science Monitor."
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the release of that video late on Tuesday was the first time the world has had proof that Jill Carroll is, indeed, alive. Those who say they are holding her are warning, however, that time is running out. They gave the U.S. 72 hours to release women prisoners being held by the United States.
Now, we got figures from a U.S. military spokesperson who says only eight women are being held out of 14,000 people in connection with insurgent activity. We also spoke to the Iraqi Justice Ministry. They told us that six women were going to be released in the days ahead regardless, something unconnected with this kidnapping.
Of course it was January 7, Wolf, when Jill Carroll was taken in a highly organized operation in a risky part of Baghdad. She had been in that area to interview a senior Sunni politician. The interview never happened and her abduction occurred as she was leaving the office.
This is obviously of great concern to her parents. They have released statements calling for their -- for Jill Carroll to be released and appealing those holding her to consider the fact that she's done many stories explaining the Iraqi point of view in this war. She is a woman who speaks Arabic, traveled wearing Arabic clothing, and was well liked among those with whom she worked. However, this abduction has merely highlighted again the many dangers for journalist working in Iraq -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Michael Holmes in Baghdad. Thank you very much.
Let's listen to what David Cook, the Washington bureau chief of the "Christian Science Monitor," said just a little while ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID COOK, "CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR": Well, I guess our appeal is that we respectfully say on behalf of the "Monitor" and also her journalistic colleagues in Iraq that she's an innocent journalist and that we'd ask that she'd been returned to her family unharmed.
It would seem to be wrong to murder someone who devoted much of her young life to explaining the problems that Iraq faces.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Reporting from Iraq is a very, very dangerous business. Coming up, I'll speak with Jackie Spinner of "The Washington Post." She spent a year in Iraq. She's a friend of Jill Carroll. She's written an important new book about her own experiences in Iraq, including an escape from would-be kidnappers.
That's coming up later this hour.
Moving on to some other news here in Washington, the U.S. Supreme Court today found itself in unanimous agreement on an abortion case, no less. The justices ordered a lower court to reconsider its rejection of a New Hampshire law requiring that minors must notify their parents before seeking abortions.
We want to update you now on that sole survivor of the West Virginia mine disaster that killed a dozen men. Doctors now say Randy McCloy is slowly coming out of his coma and responding to his family.
CNN's Chris Huntington is outside the hospital in Morgantown, West Virginia, where McCloy is being treated -- Chris.
CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, very encouraging news here in West Virginia.
Randy McCloy's doctors say they believe he is awakening from his coma. They say he is still in a light coma, but he has been able to open his eyes in the last day or so and track objects and people around the room.
He's also been able to move his arms and legs. Physically he's recovering very well.
They say he's been breathing on his own for several days, that his heart and liver are strong. He does still require some kidney dialysis to deal with the fluid built up in his system.
The doctors do caution that his recovery will be measured in weeks and months, not days. Still, they're hopeful that they can move him into physical therapy and physical rehabilitation in the weeks ahead. One key sign today, said one of the doctors, is that McCloy was able to suck on an ice cube, a sign that he may be ready for actual food intake in the days ahead.
As ever, Randy's family vigilant at his bedside as much as possible.
Wolf, back to you.
BLITZER: Thank you very much. Chris Huntington in Morgantown, West Virginia.
And we certainly wish Randy a really speedy recovery. Let's hope for the best.
Let's go to Jack Cafferty now in New York for "The Cafferty File" -- Jack.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Wolf.
Any parent who watches his teenager get behind the wheel of a car for the first time is justifiably nervous. But what about the other drivers on the road who are about to encounter this neophyte for the first time?
A new study shows the majority of people killed when teenagers are in accidents are not the teenagers. They kill other people, lots of them.
In a 10-year study, AAA found almost 31,000 people died from crashes involving 15 to 17-year-old drivers. Of those 31,000 deaths, only 36 percent were the teen drivers themselves. The other 64 percent were other people: the teen's passengers, other drivers or pedestrians.
Now, AAA wants stronger graduated driving license laws which would mean 50 hours of adult supervised driving and restrictions on nighttime driving and the number of passengers.
The question this hour then is this: What's the right age for teenagers to start driving?
You can e-mail us at CaffertyFile@CNN.com -- Wolf.
BLITZER: That's a good question, indeed. One that all of us are worried about, especially those of us who've had teenagers go through that period. You've had them, I've had them.
CAFFERTY: You bet.
BLITZER: We all know about 16 years old what that means. Up head, to teens it represents freedom. More on this story coming up. Others say it's a license to kill. We're going to have some more specific details on what Jack has just been reporting on, young drivers. We'll show you what's being done now to try to deal with this problem.
Also, it's extra protection, but it's also extra weight. New body armor coming to U.S. troops in Iraq. What will they make of it?
And more on the American reporter held hostage in Iraq. We'll talk to one of Jill Carroll's colleagues about her views on her work in a very dangerous war zone.
You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: As the fate of kidnapped American journalist Jill Carroll hangs in the balance, should the U.S. government actually try to negotiate with the hostage-takers?
CNN's Brian Todd has been looking at various options. He's joining us again from the newsroom -- Brian.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, those options might appear to be somewhat limited, but former hostage negotiators say if the people working for Jill Carroll's release make the right connections and use some creativity, there is a window of opportunity.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (voice over): Awaiting word on her fate, Jill Carroll's family and friends grapple with the urgent questions of how to win her release and whether they can do anything at all. A man who's been on her side of that camera believes the official U.S. policy not to give into hostage-takers is the right one.
THOMAS HAMILL, FMR. HOSTAGE IN IRAQ: If we knew it was going to stop with negotiations or money paid out, this would be the last time they would ever take a hostage, I'd say, yes, let's do that. But it's not going to happen. It's not going to stop. They're going to continue to take hostages.
TODD: But experts we spoke to, including a former FBI hostage negotiator who's dealt with kidnappings in the Middle East, say negotiation doesn't mean concession. U.S. and other officials do sometimes establish dialogue with captors, they say, and it's often very effective.
Giandomenico Picco is a former U.N. hostage negotiator who, in the early 1990s, helped win the release of 11 Western captives from Lebanon, including Terry Anderson. Picco went beyond dialogue, even offering himself in trades for hostages. He was captured several times.
In Jill Carroll's case, Picco and other experts say those working for her release can try another back-channel option with the help of U.S. officials on the ground.
GIANDOMENICO PICCO, FORMER U.S. HOSTAGE NEGOTIATOR: The local actors in Iraq, either organizations which belong to other Arab countries or other religious groups of sort, may be an avenue.
TODD: Picco and other former negotiators say the use of media by Carroll's family could also help, because it personalizes her to her abductors.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: In that regard, they say Jill Carroll should also be speaking to her captors, talking about her family, her life. But they say the motivation of these kidnappers is a pivotal factor. If they're purely ideological, not seeking money, and if they're making demands they know can't be met, as one expert says, you don't have a lot of ammunition here -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Brian Todd reporting.
Thank you, Brian, very much.
Kidnapping is the worst nightmare of every journalist working in Iraq. A friend and colleague of Jill Carroll, Jackie Spinner, was based in Baghdad for "The Washington Post" and barely escaped an abduction herself. She's the author of an important, very moving book entitled "Tell Them I Didn't Cry," an account of her time in Iraq.
Jackie Spinner is joining us in THE SITUATION ROOM right now.
Jackie, thanks very much.
I want to talk about your book in a second, but tell us a little bit about Jill.
JACKIE SPINNER, FRIEND OF JILL CARROLL: Well, I've known Jill since I arrived for the first time in Iraq in May of 2004. She's a very enthusiastic person, embraces life.
She fell in love with the Iraq story, something I clearly understood. I think it connected us in a way.
She loves the Iraqi people. And she's committed to the truth. She's one of the most honest journalists that I've ever come across.
BLITZER: She wrote a moving piece in the "American Journalism Review" a year ago. And let me read to you from that piece.
She was a freelancer. She eventually got an assignment for the "Christian Science Monitor," among other publications. But she went over on her own just looking for work, which is a tough thing to you.
Unlike you. You went -- "The Washington Post" sent you over there.
"There are more lucrative ways to work and faster ways to advance a career. But just as athletes do it for the love of the game, freelancers in Iraq seem to do it for the love of the story."
This was an opportunity for her to really make her name as a journalist.
SPINNER: I think so. And -- but I think that the most important point that she makes is that, yes, her career was advancing, but she was doing it because she loved Iraq. She loved the story and her commitment to the truth.
BLITZER: And she had learned Arabic. She had spent time...
SPINNER: She had.
BLITZER: ... in Jordan before the war in March, April 2003, when she decided she was going to go there. And she painted in this article, which I'm sure you've read -- and I recommend it to our viewers -- a really, really dangerous, horrific kind of environment for freelancers to come in who don't have the protection, don't have the resources, the money of major news organizations who send over reporters in a different -- different way.
She also wrote this: "The anger and violence have only gotten worse and new terror has been added: kidnapping."
She knew the dangers.
SPINNER: She definitely knew the dangers. I mean, any journalist who's in Iraq knows that, as you said, the worst nightmare, the worst thing that any -- could happen to any of us, is exactly what's happened to her.
I mean, I was horrified when I saw those images of her on television last night, because I knew that that was the thing that she had dreaded the most, as we all had.
BLITZER: What about you? You had a close call. Tell our viewers -- and you write about it movingly in the book "Tell Them I Didn't Cry." Tell us your close call.
SPINNER: Well, I was outside of Abu Ghraib prison and I had just left the prison from a reporting trip. And two men grabbed me, one by the wrist, the other by the waist, and we believe were trying to drag me into a taxicab.
Fortunately, in my case, the Marines were watching from the tower, came running out, and they saved my life.
BLITZER: And then -- and the story -- and the title from your book comes from?
SPINNER: That incident. Actually, when I went back into Abu Ghraib prison, I was shaking. I mean, my whole body was convulsing. But I turned to our -- my translator who was with me at the time, and I said, "Will you make sure that when we get back to the office that you tell them I didn't cry?"
BLITZER: Were you?
SPINNER: Was I crying? No.
BLITZER: You didn't cry?
SPINNER: It's a very honest book. Of course I didn't cry. No, I was shaking. But I didn't cry.
BLITZER: Because it would be totally understandable. I mean, you're scared out of your mind, and crying would be a natural resource -- a response by anyone.
SPINNER: Probably. But I was more worried that the editors were going to bring me home. And I immediately called the managing editor of the foreign section and I said, "Please don't let this be the reason that I have to come home."
BLITZER: Well, let me ask you this question, because you're young and you're working really hard, you've almost been kidnapped by presumably bad guys in Iraq. You get out, thank god the Marines were there.
Why wouldn't you want to go home? What motivated you to tell your editors, I didn't cry, I'm fine, and I want to stay?
SPINNER: Because I was so taken by the Iraq story and by the Iraqi people. I felt a great sense of purpose and a mission there that I haven't felt covering any other story in my career.
And I wasn't there to advance my career. I certainly didn't think I was ever going to write a book. I couldn't think of a more, as I said, compelling place to be in the world.
BLITZER: Did you have enough training going into Iraq to really anticipate the dangers there? Did "The Washington Post" really prepare you for what you were about to endure?
SPINNER: I don't know how they could have prepared me. I mean, when I came to Iraq, things were just starting to get bad. We never expected it to be as difficult as it's become.
I didn't ever go through any of the hostage crisis training or anything that the other reporters went through because there simply wasn't time. I was dispatched very quickly to go. And I just learned basically on my feet.
BLITZER: Would you go back?
SPINNER: I would.
BLITZER: Because?
SPINNER: Because there's still no more compelling story in the world and place that I'd rather be.
BLITZER: But you'd be very worried about your security? SPINNER: I would be. But as you mentioned, I have "The Washington Post" news organization and his resources behind me. And that makes -- puts me in a very different situation than Jill was in.
BLITZER: If -- and I have no idea -- if her captors are watching or paying attention or even care -- we have no idea who these people might be -- but what would you say to them as someone who knows Jill Carroll and understands where she's coming from and what makes this young 28-year-old woman tick?
SPINNER: The biggest plea that I would have is not to silence her, because Jill tells everybody's story. And she doesn't take sides. And if you remove journalists like that from that -- from the environment, you're going to be left with lopsided, slanted reporting, and I don't think anybody wants that.
BLITZER: Jacki Spinner is a "Washington Post" correspondent, the author of "Tell Them I Didn't Cry."
Thanks for your good work. Thanks for joining us.
SPINNER: Thank you.
BLITZER: Coming up, U.S. troops in Iraq may get some extra armor, but does it offer the protection they really need? And will they want to carry all that extra weight?
And Hillary Clinton taking heat for her comment that Republicans are running the House of Representatives like a plantation. The latest to hold her feet to the fire, that would be the first lady, Laura Bush.
You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: As bombings and shootings continue to take a toll among U.S. forces in Iraq, the secretary of the Army says soldiers will soon get some add-on body armor. But will the troops actually want to wear the extra weight?
Let's go to our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre -- Jamie.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: You know, Wolf, U.S. troops say when it comes to armor, that too much of a good thing can be not a good thing. Specifically, they worry about being loaded down with so much body armor that they can't move fast enough to avoid dangerous situations.
Today, the Army secretary, Francis Harvey, the top civilian in charge of the Army, said they're shipping out new side panels to Army troops. These are big heavy plates, they go on the side of their armor. They weigh five pounds between the two of them, and he said he would like to see it mandatory that all soldiers have to wear these. And that raises the specter that maybe somebody in Washington was telling the troops what was best for them. But Army officials were quickly -- came back after this news conference at the Pentagon to stress that while that was Secretary Harvey's opinion, the decision about when U.S. troops would wear that extra armor will be made by U.S. commanders in consultation to the troops tailored to mission that they have to perform.
All of this, of course, because armor has become a hot-button issue. And the U.S. military under some scrutiny about whether it's providing enough protection for the troops who have to face harm's way.
Now, one of the things they looked at, Wolf, interestingly, was the number of troops that have died from bullet wounds, five percent. And of those five percent, only one got a p-bullet wound in the side. Nevertheless, they think side protection is a good thing.
BLITZER: All right, Jamie. Thank you very much.
Jamie watching this important story for us.
Coming up here in THE SITUATION ROOM, two days after Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton suggested the House of Representatives was run like a "plantation," the first lady of the United States is now weighing in. What does Laura Bush think of her predecessor's comments? We're going to tell you.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: There's fresh fallout this afternoon from Senator Hillary Clinton's controversial comments. She told a mostly African- American audience on Martin Luther King Jr. Day that Republican leaders run the House of Representatives -- quote -- "like a plantation."
CNN's Mary Snow's joining us now live from Princeton, New Jersey, where the senator's getting ready to deliver a speech tonight.
Mary, what is the latest?
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, Senator Clinton will be shifting her focus tonight here at Princeton to international affairs.
But, still, there's fallout about the comments she made two days ago in Harlem today. First lady Laura Bush, traveling home from Africa, was asked by those comments by reporters. And she said -- quote -- "I think that they are ridiculous. It's a ridiculous comment."
Now, this is following criticism. Senator Clinton was in New York last night. She was ask by reports whether or not she regretted making those comments, comparing the House of Republicans -- the House being run like a plantation.
And she said -- quote -- "Absolutely not. As I have said many times before, Congress is run in a top-down way. There is no meaningful debate on important issues facing America. And I hope that people will start thinking about the consequences of having such an incredibly destructive leadership."
Those were comments she made to reporters last night.
Now, while there has been fallout and criticism from her comments, she is also gaining some support, and some Democrats coming to her defense. One of them is Barack Obama, the Democratic senator of Illinois.
Earlier today on CNN, he backed up Senator Clinton's statement, saying that ordinary voters don't have access.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), ILLINOIS: The ordinary voter and even members of Congress who aren't in the majority party don't have much input.
And I think it's that kind of concern, that you've got more and more concentration of power on behalf of special interests and moneyed interests in Washington, that should be a source of concern for all of us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNOW: And Senator Clinton is expected tonight, the tone here to be much different than the fiery speech she gave on Monday -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Mary, we will be watching. Thanks very much, Mary Snow, reporting from Princeton, New Jersey.
Zain Verjee is reporting from the CNN Center in Atlanta. And she has got a look now at some other stories making news.
Hi, Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Wolf.
New Orleans officials say they will first notify homeowners before they tear down their homes. It's part of a court settlement. New Orleans wants to tear down 2,500 buildings it considers so badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina that they're dangerous. The owners had sued to block those demolitions.
Under the deal, owners of some 120 homes will get up to 10-days notice. Owners of 1,900 others will get a 30-day notice.
And a couple will be spending at least nine years in jail for planting a severed finger in a bowl of Wendy's chili. Anna Ayala and her husband, Jaime Plascencia, were sentenced today in California. Ayala said that she bit into the fingertip while eating in a San Jose Wendy's restaurant. It was part of a failed attempt to extort money from the fast-food chain.
In Los Angeles, former teen idol Leif Garrett was charged with drug possession. Police say that they found heroin on him after they arrested him for allegedly not paying his subway fare. The 44-year- old former child actor appeared in dozens of films and also sang the hit song "I Was Made For Dancing."
And do you want more money? Well, if you do, you might want to get married. A new study says married people build more net worth. The study was written by an Ohio State University researcher and basically says that married couples who stay together have almost twice the net worth as single or divorced people. The researcher says that that is basically because married couples share expenses and often have two incomes -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Another reason, Zain, for you to get married.
(LAUGHTER)
VERJEE: I'm going to live off a rich relative's inheritance, is my plan.
(LAUGHTER)
BLITZER: Zain Verjee, reporting for us, thank you very much.
There may be a new trend starting in online trading.
Ali Velshi is joining us now live from New York with the "Bottom line."
What's going on, Ali?
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Tell Zain, if she wants to live off of rich relatives, you still have to watch your trading accounts.
Now, we have heard a lot about, Wolf, about fraud and identity theft. But when it's on a credit card or something like that, you have got protection built in. And, until now, you have no protection -- in fact, you have got no legal protection if you have a brokerage account that is accessed by someone for fraudulent reasons.
Now, E*TRADE, one of the discount brokers, had come out and said that they will now undertake -- they will promise to make sure that, if you are a victim of fraud online in your brokerage account, you will not suffer any loss for it.
Now, this is not about investing in Enron or WorldCom and someone fiddling with the company and you losing money. That's still not guaranteed. This is if someone hacks your password into your account and tries -- and gets your information. That's bit of a concern, because, in many cases, people who use their brokerage accounts, maybe that is where they keep their 401(k) or their investments. That's information you really don't want people getting in to.
And, for the moment, if anybody does hack that information, you don't have any guarantee that you're safe. It's possible that this could pick up as a trend. We spoke to some people who said, this is really just about making investors feel a little safer. It's not a big step, but it's a step that might make people feel better. Can the competition match it? We are going to find out. We did some investigating into that. And we can pick that up now -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, we will. Thanks, Ali, very much.
Jacki Schechner, in fact, is standing by, with that specific question.
Jacki, can the competition match E*TRADE's online fraud protection?
SCHECHNER: Well, they already are, Wolf.
I spoke to both the top competitors today, Charles Schwab and Ameritrade. Here is what they told me. They are already doing this. They said they investigate these fraud cases on a case-by-case basis. And if there does happen to be fraud online, they will reimburse the client in full.
And it's both Charles Schwab and Ameritrade who told me today that they also help prosecute these cases when they find out there's fraud. They also take it one step further, although not enough to really help combat fraud in general. Charles Schwab tells you how to do some safe computing online, how to keep your computer system safe, some basic stuff we already know.
And Ameritrade offers some links to things like computer security and how make to sure your identity hasn't been stolen online. These are products supplied by outside companies like Symantec and Microtrend -- Microtrend Systems.
So, just an idea of what these companies are do -- to help you protect yourself online -- Wolf.
BLITZER: And if you take a look at this situation, Jacki, where can our viewers who need information on this subject who are worried about this doing this online trading -- is there a resource out there where they can get more information?
SCHECHNER: My best advice, Wolf, is to pick up the telephone and to call the companies. They will tell you know exactly what they have in place to keep you secure when you trade online. Even though they don't have the over-guarantee that E*TRADE is now putting out, they are actually protecting their customers. Both companies told me they are very, very well aware this is something that they need to do.
BLITZER: Jacki, thank you very much -- Jacki Schechner reporting for us.
Still to come here in THE SITUATION ROOM, young teenagers can be killers when they're behind the wheel. Grim new statistics show just how bad the problem really is. We will tell you about some possible solutions. And there's word of a bizarre plot to kidnap the young son of the British prime minister, Tony Blair. The alleged conspiracy was reportedly aimed at drumming up publicity. We will tell you why.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back.
Lou Dobbs is getting ready for his program. That begins right at the top of the hour.
Lou, what are you working on?
LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Wolf.
Tonight, I will be talking with one of the Catholic Church's leading authorities on immigration. We will be talking about why the Catholic Church is now pushing aggressively its political position against border security and for illegal immigration.
And, last night, Wolf, 92 percent of our viewers in the "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT" poll voted that any church that takes a political position should lose its tax-exempt status. Are you listening, Pat Robertson?
And Republicans and Democrats trying to outdo each other with calls to reform lobbying on Capitol Hill, but, so far, neither party has come up with a single idea that would end what is outright corruption in our political system.
We will have that special report and a great deal more tonight at 6:00 Eastern. We hope you will join us -- Wolf, back to you.
BLITZER: We will. Lou, thank you very much.
You already know teens and cars can be a very dangerous combination. Now a new report finds that young drivers themselves aren't always the ones most at risk. What can be done to stop teenage accidents that kill thousands of people?
Gary Nurenberg is joining us now with more -- Gary.
GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, AAA thinks the key is graduated driving license laws that impose restrictions on teens in their early months of driving, and loosen them as they gain more experience. The auto club thinks it will save lives.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NURENBERG (voice-over): This is Hanna Reeves at her last Christmas in 1999. She was killed four days later by a teenage driver.
JENNIFER REEVES, DAUGHTER KILLED IN CAR ACCIDENT: She never saw our vehicle at the intersection. She was just talking to her friends in the backseat, not really paying attention to the road.
NURENBERG: A new study by AAA says nearly two-thirds of fatalities in teen driving traffic accidents are someone other than the teen driver.
ROBERT DARBELNET, PRESIDENT, AAA: Teen driver crashes are even more deadly for others than they are for the teen driver themselves.
KATHY FOWLER, ACCIDENT SURVIVOR: We were all being stupid.
NURENBERG: Kathy Fowler was 18 when she broke her back in this accident. Her twin sister broke her neck.
FOWLER: She was lying underneath the bodies of my friends.
NURENBERG: An 18-year-old boy was driving.
FOWLER: Why didn't I say, slow down?
NURENBERG: The driver and another passenger were killed.
FOWLER: Basically, our lives were changed forever.
NURENBERG: AAA wants stronger graduated driving license laws that require 50 hours of adult supervision before a teen can drive solo, that restrict nighttime driving, and that limit the number of young passengers a teenage driver can have during the first months of driving.
Jennifer Reeves thinks the laws might have saved Hanna's life.
REEVES: It gives them the opportunity to learn to drive by themselves, without the distractions that other children, teenagers, can cause in the vehicle.
NURENBERG: Fowler wonders what she will tell her two kids when they become teens.
FOWLER: It is going to be hard. I will tell them my story. And I hope they make better choices.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NURENBERG: All 50 states now have some form of graduated license laws. But AAA says about half of them need beefing up and says it will be lobbying this year to make that happen.
In the meantime, the auto club says parents should step in and impose those tougher restrictions themselves in states where they don't yet exist -- a tough thing, Wolf, for some parents to do.
BLITZER: But it's good advice.
Gary, thank you very much -- Gary Nurenberg reporting for us.
We're going to bring more on this story coming up. What's the right age for teenagers to start driving? Jack Cafferty has been going through your e-mail.
Also, was it a plot or a publicity stunt? And who would want that kind of publicity, an alleged conspiracy to kidnap the son of the British prime minister, Tony Blair?
You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Welcome back.
Let's go back to Zain Verjee at the CNN Center in Atlanta for a closer look at other stories making news -- Zain.
VERJEE: Wolf, today, North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Il, visited China.
North Korea's new agency reports that Mr. Kim met with the Chinese president, Hu Jintao. They reportedly discussed international, as well as other regional issues. And the North Korean leader reportedly pledged to continue the six-party talks over nuclear issues on the Korean Peninsula. Those talks have stalled. Word of Kim Jong Il's trip ends week of speculation over whether he had actually made the trip.
In Iraq, a roadside bomb struck a convoy carrying U.S. civilian security contractors in Basra. Two people were killed and another was seriously wounded. The U.S. military says there were a total of four people in the convoy, all of them employed by a private security firm.
Local and world health officials are investigating what could be the first case of human bird flu in Iraq. They have taken samples from a 15-year-old girl who died from a severe lung infection in Iraqi Kurdistan. The girl's village is just 60 miles from the border with Turkey, where at least 21 people have contracted bird flu.
A startling report in Britain about an alleged plot to kidnap Prime Minister's Tony Blair's 5-year-old son. Security around the Blair family reportedly has been stepped up, in light of this news, which was splashed on the front page of the British newspaper "The Sun."
"Plot to Kidnap Leo Blair," the headline reads. "The Sun," citing unnamed security sources, says a group called Fathers 4 Justice was planning an abduction that would have made headlines worldwide.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRAHAM DUDMAN, MANAGING EDITOR, "THE SUN": The idea was -- was being formed was to -- to kidnap Leo, to take, obviously, not to harm him, but to take him away in what would have been the most spectacular publicity stunt imaginable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VERJEE: Fathers 4 Justice has had its run-ins with the law in the past, staging numerous stunts to call attention to the rights of divorced dads -- among the most notable, an activist dressed as Batman scaling the walls of Buckingham Palace in 2004, and another incident that same year in which two activists dusted the prime minister in the House of Commons with a purple powder that turned out to be flour.
But Fathers 4 Justice was quick to distance itself from the alleged kidnap plot. In a statement on its Web site, the group says that its name is being hijacked by what it calls militant extremists. And founder Matt O'Connor calls it an appalling outrage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATT O'CONNOR, FOUNDER, FATHERS 4 JUSTICE: People on the periphery of our organization, they're talking about kidnapping a 5- year-old boy. I can't think of anything more appalling or anything more traumatic for Tony Blair, his family, or his son. And we condemn it unreservedly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VERJEE: Neither investigators, nor Blair's office, are commenting on the "Sun" report, which says the plot was uncovered in its early stages just before Christmas.
But the BBC quotes police as saying that the alleged plot never got beyond mere talk and investigators are not convinced those involved were even capable of carrying it out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DUDMAN: I suspect what would have happened, if they had gone through with it and actually tried to physically take him away, they would have stood a real risk of being shot dead on the spot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VERJEE: As a result of this story, Fathers 4 Justice says that it's suspending activities and reaffirming its commitment to what it calls peaceful, nonviolent, direct action -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Zain, thank you very much -- Zain Verjee reporting.
Up next, what's the right age for teenagers to start driving? It's our question of the hour. Jack Cafferty is standing by with your e-mail.
You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Here's a quick look at some of the pictures coming in from our friends over at the Associated Press, pictures likely to be in your hometown newspapers tomorrow.
Newburgh, New York: Workers remove an 18-wheeler blown over by high winds. Tokyo: The Japanese minister, Koizumi, waves a glow stick at his political party's annual convention.
Sequoia National Park: This pseudo-scorpion was found in a cave. It's believed to be a whole new species.
And, at the Vatican, this lucky Italian circus clown met Pope Benedict XVI during the pontiff's weekly general audience -- some of today's "Hot Shots," pictures often worth 1,000 words.
We want to update you now on a story we have been following over the past several days. Last week, our Internet team revealed just how easy it is to go online and buy a list of all the calls made to and from a particular cell phone. What steps are being taken right now to prevent this from happening.
Jacki Schechner, our Internet reporter, has the latest -- Jacki.
SCHECHNER: Wolf, it's such a disturbing story, that we want to keep you updated on what steps are being taken to protect you.
Here is what we did. We took one of our producer's cell phones. We plugged the number into this Web site, gave them 110 bucks. And, within eight hours, we got a full list of all of the calls that were made from that producer's cell phone, the last 100 calls on record.
So, over the summer, the Electronic Privacy Information Center sent a letter to the FTC and the FCC, concerned about this in particular. So did Congressman Ed Markey out of Massachusetts. He sent a letter to both those organizations as well, saying, get on this. Look into it.
Well, now available on Congressman Markey's Web site are the letters that he got in return. First, the FTC. Now, I spoke to them today. And they say they have an ongoing investigation. They can't talk much about the specifics. But it's worth going to the Web site and taking a look at this document. It's actually a very interesting read, not a long one. They're wondering whether there's action that can be taken against the people who are impersonating other people.
The FCC, they're taking a look to see if the cell companies are doing everything they can to protect you. And, finally just today, Senator Schumer introduced a bipartisan bill, along with Bill Nelson and Arlen Specter. And what this will do is make it a federal crime for someone to pretend to be you or someone to go online and hack into your account -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Jacki, thank you very much.
Let's go to Jack in New York -- Jack.
CAFFERTY: Imus had a great line about Chuck Schumer the other morning. I was watching him.
He said, if you own a video camcorder and live in the state of New York, and take it out on the weekend, Senator Schumer will find you and come in stand in front of it.
(LAUGHTER)
CAFFERTY: That's -- he loves the publicity.
AAA study out shows the majority of people killed when teenagers are in car accidents are not the teens themselves. They kill a lot of other people. The question, then, is what is the right age for teenagers to start driving?
This first letter is a little long, but it makes a lot of sense: "Given the widespread use of mind-altering illegal and prescription drugs, the disconnect that video games foster, and the normal invincibility teenage mind-set, the problem is more cultural than law- driven.
Automatic serum drug tests paid for by those involved in accidents and laws prohibiting cell phones and iPods should be in the mix. The insurance industry could be instrumental in getting these laws passed or putting clauses of no pay in their policies."
Carrie in Columbus, Ohio: "There's no right age for anyone to drive. It all depends on whether or not you can pay attention and follow the rules. I'm 18 years old. I have had my license for almost two years. I have never been in any accidents and I haven't got any tickets yet," he writes in parentheses.
Jeff in Seattle: "The farther you push out the legal driving age, the more unlicensed and therefore uninsured drivers will be on the road. It is the driving experience that matters, not the age."
Brian in Astoria, New York: "Teenagers should be allowed to start driving when they can pay for their car, car insurance, car repairs, and gasoline from the wages they earn working for a living."
And Laila in East Greenwich, Rhode Island: "Let me tell you something. I'm 16 years old and driving, and I'm pretty scared that I'm allowed on the road. Maybe that should give you a hint, from the mouth of a teenager herself."
One other quick question: How does somebody in clown makeup get in to see the pope?
BLITZER: I don't know the answer to that question.
(LAUGHTER)
BLITZER: But he's a lucky guy.
CAFFERTY: The secretary calls him and says, Your Holiness, there's some clown down here who wants to see you.
BLITZER: I remember when I turned 16 in Buffalo, Jack.
CAFFERTY: Yes? BLITZER: It was Monday. And I was so excited. I got my learner's permit. That Friday, that Friday, I got my driver's license. It's a pretty shocking memory that I have.
CAFFERTY: Wow. How long before you got a ticket?
BLITZER: I don't remember. I have nothing for you on that. But it was an exciting moment in my life. I know...
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: How long before you had an accident?
BLITZER: I remember -- one of the most exciting moments.
We have got to leave it right there.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: Jack, thanks very much.
We will be back in an hour, 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
Lou Dobbs getting ready to take over -- Lou.
DOBBS: Wolf, thank you very much.
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