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More Al Qaeda Figures Present During Airstrike?; No Negotiations with Journalist's Captors; Michael Brown Discusses Failings at FEMA; Dramatic Tape of People Trapped in a Sinking Car; Trouble for First-Time Homebuyers?

Aired January 18, 2006 - 19:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: New information coming into THE SITUATION ROOM on that U.S. air strike on al Qaeda and who may have been present. Information just coming in in the last few minutes.
Also, other news happening right how. Desperate pleas for a release of an American journalist held in Iraq. It's 3:00 a.m. Thursday in Baghdad where time may be running out for Jill Carroll.

Also this hour, the former FEMA Director Michael Brown admitting where he thinks he went wrong. The man who let down Hurricane Katrina victims delivers a mea culpa on tape and we're going to have it for you.

And a sinking car and an amazing survival story. It's 2:00 p.m. in Hawaii. We'll tell you how a teenager managed to get out of a watery nightmare alive. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

We've been reporting about a breaking development concerning that al Qaeda strike in Pakistan last Friday. Earlier, right here in THE SITUATION ROOM, we told you a key al Qaeda figure may have been present during the attack. Tonight, and this is just coming into CNN right now, we have now confirmed two more key al Qaeda figures may have been present in that U.S. air strike.

We have CNN's national security correspondent David Ensor standing by, our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is working the story as well. David, let's begin with you. What do we know?

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, even if Ayman al Zawahiri, al Qaeda's number two was not killed in the CIA missile strikes last Friday, and that's not completely eliminated as a possibility, counterterrorism officials are confident that between four and eight al Qaeda personnel were killed in the strikes. And now we have a few more names.

One of them is a very big name. This is Egyptian Midhat Mursi. Also known as Abu Khabab al-Masri. He has got a $5 million price on his head. He was the chemical and explosive expert close to the two leaders of al Qaeda. Two now names, Ubada al Masri (ph), the operations chief in the Konar province, we're told, and Khalid Habib (ph), chief of operations for al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Now, officials are stressing they do not know for sure which of these men may have died last Friday but there was reason to believe that all of these three men were in the vicinity and even possibly Zawahiri. So it could have been a very bad night for al Qaeda. And obviously U.S. intelligence is working hard to find out who survived and who did not that night.

BLITZER: Nic Robertson, you've been covering the story for a long time, Abu Kabab, the man we believe was killed in this air strike, the bomb maker, what do we know about him?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A very senior figure within al Qaeda. A very key figure for them, a leader- trainer in bomb making, a leader-trainer in chemical and biological weapons, training and manufacture, indeed, when CNN discovered -- or obtained videotape in Afghanistan in the summer of 2002, it became very clear just how an important figure he was.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON (voice-over): You never see his face on this gruesome al Qaeda video. But the voice, as a dog slowly dies after being deliberately exposed to a poisonous gas can be clearly heard according to a Middle Eastern intelligence source.

Midhat Mursi, better known by his nom de guerre, Abu Kabab is the top chemical and biological warfare expert. The same source says these rudimentary labs were part of al Qaeda's Darunta (ph) training camp in Afghanistan where Abu Kabab was developing chemical and biological weapons for Osama bin Laden.

After September 11th, U.S. warplanes bombed the Duranta camp, reducing it to rubble. But U.S. troops discovered his work had already been put in the hands of al Qaeda trainees. Al Qaeda textbooks showing how to make simple chemical and biological weapons were discovered in Kabul and other locations.

Abu Kabab was next reported to have been sighted in a jihadi training camp in the Pankisi Gorge in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. He was even reported to have been captured. That proved to be wrong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON (on camera): Now, confirming whether or not Kabab is among the dead should be made relatively simple because Egyptian authorities have at least one of his sons in jail. Meaning they should be able to get a DNA sample. DNA analysis should be that much easier, Wolf.

BLITZER: Which raises the question for David Ensor, who has custody of these bodies?

ENSOR: The relevant bodies, I'm told, were taken very quickly by colleagues or allies of those killed and buried in a different location. And my understanding is that the U.S. has not gone to try to dig them up. Around counterterrorism officials tell me they have other methods for figuring out who survived and who did not. They don't want to be specific.

BLITZER: All right. Thank you very much. David Ensor reporting. Nic Robertson reporting. Two of our best reporters here at CNN. We're going to stay on top of the story bringing you new information as it comes into THE SITUATION ROOM right here.

We'll move on now to an American journalist held captive in Iraq and facing a looming deadline. U.S. officials and the newspaper she works for are scrambling to save her life before it's too late. CNN's Zain Verjee joins us. She's following all of this for us. We're going to her in a moment. But CNN's Michael Holmes is joining us from Baghdad with the latest information we're getting there. Michael?

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, that's right. That video that we're now familiar with of Jill Carroll that first appeared on the al Jazeera network, it's short. There is no audio. But it is the first time she was seen since she was taken on January 7th. Seventy-two hours is the deadline set. Twenty-eight of those hours have now passed. The demand that all women prisoners held by the United States in Iraq be released.

Wolf, there aren't many of them. We're told eight being held by the U.S., compared to 14,000 men in relation to the insurgency. Separately, the Iraqi Justice Ministry tells us that six of those women were due for release in the days ahead anyway. Unrelated to the kidnapping and the demands that have been made. The group taking responsibility, Brigade of Revenge, never been heard of before.

If you remember, Jill was taken January 7th in a risky part of the city in a highly-organized attack, Wolf.

BLITZER: Michael, is there any sense who these kidnappers, hostage takers are?

HOLMES: No. There is not, Wolf. As I said, we've never heard of this group before, Brigade of Revenge. That's not altogether unusual. Quite often when claims of responsibility are made in this part of the world, it's by a group we haven't heard from before and sometimes never hear from again. But there are ongoing investigations, of course, you can be sure of that, by both Iraqis and others.

BLITZER: Michael Holmes in Baghdad for us with the latest. The "Christian Science Monitor" says it's undertaking strenuous efforts on behalf of Jill Carroll and the Bush administration says Carroll's safe return is a top priority.

Let's get some more. What's going on to try to find her, save her. Zain Verjee joining us from the CNN Center. Zain?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, the "Christian Science Monitor" says it's exploring every option to try and save Jill Carroll's life. It says her family and her colleagues are holing out the hope that she will be freed before the deadline set by her captors. Appealing for her release, David Cook said Carroll was respectful of Arab culture and traditions and was simply doing her job.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID COOK, "CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR": Jill wrote that covering a war gives journalists an opportunity to recall the noblest tenets of their profession and fulfill the public service role of journalism. We respectfully call on Jill's captors to exercise justice and mercy, and to let our innocent colleague be reunited with her family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERJEE: Cook refused to spell out exactly what the newspaper is doing to try and free Carroll. In Washington, the White House was also cautious about saying too much.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Anytime there's an American held hostage, it's a priority for the administration. Her safe return is a priority. That's what we all want to see.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERJEE: And, Wolf, Jill Carroll is the 35th journalist kidnapped in Iraq since the beginning of the war there. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Thanks very much, Zain, for that report. Let's go up to New York. Jack Cafferty standing by with the "Cafferty File." Jack?

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Wolf. Here's a reason to say "I do" and mean it. People who get married and stay married are wealthier than single or divorced people. Married people have net worths that are 93 percent higher than those who are unmarried. The authors of a study at Ohio State University says getting divorced will cost you big time. This is a subject with which I have a passing acquaintance myself. They found that divorce reduces your wealth by more than 75 percent. Yes, it do. As the study's authors told the Associated Press, quote, "Divorce looks like one of the fastest ways to destroy your wealth."

So here's the question -- is it worth staying married for the money? You can email us at caffertyfile@cnn.com. You heard about that new divorce Barbie, haven't you, Wolf? She comes with everything Ken had.

BLITZER: Very cute. Thanks Jack. Jack Cafferty with the "Cafferty File." Coming up, American hostage in Iraq. Does negotiating with terrorists work or encourage more kidnappings? We're taking a closer look at that subject.

Also, Alabama train crash, it just happened a short time ago. We'll have the latest from the scene. And mea culpa, the former FEMA Director Michael Brown explaining what he did wrong during Hurricane Katrina. We have the video just coming into THE SITUATION ROOM. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: More now on one of our top stories. With a deadline and a death threat hanging over kidnapped journalist Jill Carroll, should the U.S. government try to negotiate with the hostage takers? CNN's Brian Todd has been looking at that possibility. He's joining us from the news room with more. Brian?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the options on that might appear to be 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 has 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, FORMER IRAQI HOSTAGE: If we knew it was going to stop with the negotiations or money paid out, that this was the last time we would ever take a hostage, I'd say yes, let's do that. 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 dealt with kidnappings in the Middle East, say negotiation doesn't mean concession. U.S. and other officials do sometimes establish a dialogue with captors, they say, and it's often very effective.

Giandomenico Picco is a former UN hostage negotiator who in the early 1990s helped win the release of 11 western captives from Lebanon, including Terry Anderson. Pico went beyond dialogue even offering himself in trades for hostages. He was captured everything times. In Jill Carroll's case, Picco and other experts say those working for her release can try another back channel with the help of U.S. officials on the ground.

GIANDOMENICO PICCO, FORMER UN HOSTAGE NEGOTIATOR: The local actors in Iraq, either organizations which belong to other countries or other religious groups of sort may be an avenue.

TODD: Picco and other 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 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 cannot be met, as one expert says, you don't have a lot of ammunition here.

Wolf?

BLITZER: All right, Brian. Thank you very much, Brian Todd, with that. There was another kidnapping, by the way in Iraq today. Police say two African engineers were abducted in Baghdad. The assault on their convoy killed 10 Iraqis and two American civilians were killed in a roadside bombing in the southern city of Basra. A third American was badly wounded. The Texas based security company international was assigned to a group responsible for training and equipping Iraqi police.

Still to come here in THE SITUATION ROOM, a violent train crash that reportedly sent balls of fire over 50 feet into the air. Police and fire crews are rushing to the scene. We'll have more on the developing story.

And the former FEMA Director Michael Brown admits he wasn't doing a heck of a job during Hurricane Katrina. Brown is now admitting mistakes. We'll tell what you they are. Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Let's check in with Zain Verjee once again for a close look at other stories making news. Hi, Zain.

VERJEE: Hi, Wolf. There's a developing story in Alabama of a train crash near Lincoln. Police and fire rescue cruise on the scene. Now the details are a little sketchy. But apparently two trains collided near a local Honda plant. Local reports say that they caught fire. And you can see the fire raging here. The flames have been sent some 60 feet in the air. Local officials are asking some of the residents in the air to evacuate.

To doctors, Wolf, there are very small signs of progress, but to his family there are huge signs of hope. The sole survivor in the West Virginia mining disaster is starting to emerge from his coma. Doctors say Randy McCloy is opening his eyes, moving his hands and limbs a little bit and showing some facial movement. Doctors say he could be moved to a rehabilitation center within weeks.

In California, she admitted planting a human finger in a bowl of Wendy's chili and then trying to extort money from the fast food chain. Today, Anna Ayala was sentenced to nine years in prison for the hoax. Her husband got more than 12 years. The finger belonged to the husband's coworker who lost it in an industrial accident. In her apology, a sobbing Ayala had told the court, "Wendy's had always been my family's favorite."

In Los Angeles, he's a former teen idol who has now been charged with drug possession. Today Leif Garrett was charged with heroin possession and police say that they found the drugs after the arrested him over the weekend for allegedly not paying his subway fare. The 44-year-old former child actor appeared in dozens ever films and he also sang the hit song "I Was Made for Dancing." Wolf?

Zain, thank you very much. Stick around, I want to you watch this piece we're about to put on the air. After the days of bad weather, the United Nations says today it has resumed emergency aid flights into areas of Pakistan hard hit by a massive earthquake back in October. But the crisis is far from over in some of the most remote and desperate regions and thousands of children may be suffering the most. Dan Rivers of Britain's ITV Network reports from Pakistan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN RIVERS, ITV NEWS: The children of Moori Patan have survived another night. Their bedding is damp. Their tents freezing. Their shoes, are wet through.

(on camera): Well, it's about 7:00 in the morning on our second day here. As you can see the children are just starting to come out of the tents, it was freezing enough for us in the warm clothing and in the sleeping bag overnight. I can't imagine what it was like for these children in this flimsy cotton tent with only a couple of blankets to keep them warm.

(voice-over): Their day starts with a walk to the village spring. They wash in icy water. 10 year Nassim (ph) helps her four- year-old sister, Tairu (ph). Nassim has had to grow up fast. Her mother died in the earthquake. They take breakfast in one of the few standing houses. Tea and biscuits is all that is on offer.

(on camera): Ask any of them. Have any of them got a cough ...

(voice-over): As I chat to the children, it's obvious many are suffering from illnesses because of the total lack of medical supplies.

(on camera): This is little Rayman (ph) who is just two years old, you can see he's got a nasty eye infection. You can't see out of either eye. He's got a bit of chesty cough as well. If this eye infection that he's had for five days isn't treated. He could end up going blind.

(voice-over): Sadik (ph) is 8. He seems healthy, until he removes his hat. He has scabies. Like the eye infection, it's easily treated, if only he could get to a doctor.

Lacking the proper protection against the biting cold, the children are run down and succumbing to infections. A pathetic and depressing situation.

Everywhere, the sound of coughing children. They survived the earthquake, but can they really survivor living like this? Dan Rivers, ITV News, Pakistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: What a horrible, horrible story. Let's go back to CNN's Zain Verjee at the CNN Center. Zain, I know you've done a lot of work on this. What a heart-wrenching story. A lot of our viewers see those faces. They want to help, what can they do?

They can go to cnn.com, firstly, Wolf, there's a list of organizations that are looking for donations. Money, tents, anything that can help these children that live in these very remote mountainous regions. For example, you can go to www.care.org. And you can also go to www.unicef.org and help out these orphans. One aid worker I spoke to said, you know, instead of tents, people in that region and children especially need shelters and just basic health units. Because as you saw in Dan Rivers' reports, the tents are so thin and the cotton sheets are so thin and it's just too cold and it's not helping.

Wolf?

BLITZER: And the heartbreaking thing, these kids could be saved, just a little medicine, that is all they need. If it is only made available. Zain, we'll stay on top of this story. Thank you very much for that information.

Just ahead, time is running out or abducted American journalist Jill Carroll. Her kidnappers say they'll kill her if their demands are not met. The White House says her safety is a top priority. But should the U.S. government negotiate for her release?

And a teenage girl trapped in sinking a car. She makes a desperate 911 call pleading for help. We'll have details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: More now on the American reporter being held hostage in Iraq. Jill Carroll, 28 years old of Michigan was on assignment for the "Christian Science Monitor." And today, the paper's Washington bureau chief spoke out about efforts to try to secure her freedom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COOK: Let me start by saying that the "Monitor" joins with Jill's family and with journalism colleagues around the world in calling for Jill's captors to return her unharmed to her family.

A while ago, Jill wrote that she went to Iraq because, quote, "I could do more good there than in the U.S. explaining the difficult issues facing the people of the Middle East."

It would be wrong to murder someone to has devoted herself unselfishly to promoting understanding to the Iraqi people. Jill's been treated as guests by Iraqi citizens in their homes. She has many close Iraqi friends. She has close friends among Arab journalists in Egypt and Jordan who are publicly asking for her release.

International journalist groups have called for her release. Editors in Iraq and Jordan have published editorials on Jill's behalf. Leading Sunni politicians and clerics from the Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo and the Muslim Scholar's Association in Baghdad have called for Jill to be freed and to be returned to her family.

Jill wrote that the reason she would risk her safety and report from a war zone was out of concern, quote, "for the stability of the Middle East and the countless lives at stake," unquote.

She wanted to bring Iraqi lives to public attention. Jill has been respectful of Arab culture and traditions. Photos that her family provided that we released this morning show Jill covered, head- to-toe, in a black kajab (ph). Jill was working for "The Monitor," which has a long record of treating complex issues in the Middle East fairly. And we have a commitment to international reporting in general.

We try to practice journalism that treats all people fairly and that strives to help and not injure reporters -- reporters, let's try again. We try to practice journalism that treats all people fairly and that strives to help and not injure individuals in our reporting.

Jill wrote that covering a war gives journalists an opportunity to recall the noblest tenets of their profession and fulfill the public service role of journalism.

We respectfully call on Jill's captures to exercise justice and mercy and to let our innocent colleague be reunited with her family.

Thank you. I would be happy to respond to questions.

QUESTION: Has there been any other contact with her kidnappers, other than the video that you're aware of?

COOK: The question is, has there been any other contact other than the video?

None that I'm aware of, none with "The Monitor."

QUESTION: Again, following on that question, so, you can say flatly that there have been no negotiations going on for her release that you know of?

COOK: The question is, can I say flatly that there have been no negotiations?

I would answer that by saying that "The Monitor" is undertaking strenuous efforts on Jill's behalf, taking advantage of every opportunity we have at our disposal.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) who's "The Monitor" dealing with over there? Are they dealing with the U.S. government, the military? I mean, how are you getting your information?

COOK: The question is, who is "The Monitor" dealing with, and is it the U.S. military? I think the -- the best thing -- in answering these questions, as I'm sure you're aware, we have to be mindful of the fact that we have a colleague in captivity. And we would like to provide a full and complete accounting of this. And we would like to do it when Jill is free.

So, let me go back to what I said before, which is that "The Monitor" is availing itself of every option we can think of to secure her release. But I don't think it would be helpful for Jill if I went beyond that.

But you can be sure that people at "The Monitor" are working on this night and day in a variety of cities around the world.

Are we hopeful? We certainly haven't given up on getting Jill back. And we were heartened by the statements that came out today by the Sunni politicians and by the clerics.

And we hoped that before the deadline expires, she'll be free. So there were developments today that were -- which I mentioned in the statement from which we take hope, but there's more that needs to be done and we're trying to do it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: David Cook, the Washington bureau chief of the "Christian Science Monitor" speaking a little while ago here in Washington. It's the worst nightmare of every journalist in Iraq, being kidnapped by insurgents.

Reporter Jackie Spinner is a friend and colleague of Jill Carroll. She barely escaped an abduction herself while based in Baghdad for "The Washington Post." Jackie Spinner writes about that period in her book, "Tell Them I Didn't Cry." I spoke with her earlier here in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: 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, 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 -- 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 was the thing that she had dreaded the most, as we all had.

BLITZER: What about 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 of 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 just 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 its 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: Well I think that 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: Jackie 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.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And up next, a young girl plunges into the water, she starts to sink, all while she was trapped in a car. We're going to tell you what happened next.

And the former FEMA director, Michael Brown, does he think he did a heck of a job in the days after Hurricane Katrina? He's now making some candid comments about his performance. We'll tell you how he assesses himself. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM .

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: He was widely criticized for the slow response to Hurricane Katrina. And now the former FEMA director, Michael Brown, is working as an emergency preparedness consultant speaking out about his last job. Let's go to CNN's Ali Velshi. He's in New York with the "Bottom Line" -- Ali.

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: And in that picture we're looking at, that was just that famous visit by President Bush in New Orleans where he said to Michael Brown, "you're doing a heck of a job, Brownie." He was out of a job a few days later.

He's now talking to a group of meteorologists, a gathering of meteorologists in California. Obviously, Katrina was a huge event for them, and, obviously, it didn't take long in that speech in California for Mike Brown to start talking about his failures. Listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: What happened in Katrina?

MICHAEL BROWN, FORMER FEMA DIRECTOR: I made two mistakes. Two very -- I made lots of mistakes, and I want to focus on two mistakes today. The first is, I failed immediate communications; and the second is, I failed as a manager to delegate appropriately to the teams around me.

And what I should have done was paint a picture for the American public of exactly how bad that disaster was and how incapable it rendered the state and local governments of responding appropriately to the disaster, which leads to Mike Brown's second mistake. And that has all to do with delegation. I should have asked for the military sooner. I should have demanded the military sooner.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: Mike Brown is trying to make a career as a consultant. Now, he has some work. This wasn't a paid speech, by the way. But we'll have to keep an eye out and see exactly what he's consulting about. Now, that he's admitted his mistakes, we'll wait to see what he says his strengths are -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, thank you, Ali. Very interesting. Ali Velshi with the "Bottom Line."

We want to share some tape with you of a very gripping 911 call. It was made by a teenaged girl trapped in a car that was sinking in the waters off of Hawaii. Once again, Zain is joining us with the story -- Zain.

VERJEE: Wolf, the 15-year-old girl was a passenger in her step- grandfather's car. Police say that the man was backing out of a parking space at Honolulu's Waikiki Yacht Club when his vehicle struck two other cars, plunged into the water and started sinking. I want to warn you, though, the tape of her call to 911 is very intense.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OPERATOR: I'm sorry, what is your problem, what is happening?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm in the car and I can't open the door, and the water is coming in, and we're sinking.

VERJEE (voice-over): Trapped in a sinking car, a teenager pleads for help.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I don't want to drown!

OPERATOR: Waikiki Yacht Club?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

OPERATOR: OK, we're sending some trucks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please hurry.

OPERATOR: Can you open the window? Hello?

VERJEE: Emergency crews are dispatched, but valuable minutes are slipping by. Petty Officer First Class Larry Cummins, who lives nearby, didn't witnessed the accident, but noticed something was wrong.

PETTY OFC. LARRY CUMMINS, RESCUER: We started looking really close and we see some more bubble came up, and I say, you know what? That's a car.

VERJEE: Cummins shed shirt and shoes and jumped in. But he says the water was so murky, he may as well have been swimming with his eyes closed.

CUMMINS: I started sweeping the backseat, and I felt someone that felt like her and I just grabbed a hold of it, and once I grabbed a hold of her, I said, I'm not letting go, this is somebody that's coming out with me.

VERJEE: But Cummins was unable to find Michael McCarthy, her step-grandfather. By the time the emergency crews reached him, he was dead.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE: The girl was hospitalized over the weekend, but has been released. Police are investigating the accident to see if alcohol may have been involved -- Wolf.

BLITZER: What a story. Thank you very much, Zain. Zain Verjee, reporting for us.

Up next, the English prime minister, Tony Blair, and his son -- the son involved in a mysterious kidnapping plot. Who would want to take the prime minister's son and why? Stand by. We have details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: A startling report in Britain today about an alleged plot to kidnap Prime Minister's Tony Blair's 5-year-old son. Let's go to CNN's Zain Verjee. She's got details -- Zain.

VERJEE: Wolf, the story was splashed on the front page of the British newspaper "The Sun."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VERJEE: "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. GRAHAM DUDMAN, MANAGING EDITOR, THE SUN: The idea that was being formed was to kidnap Leo, 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 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 call militant extremists. Founder Matt O'Connor calls it an appalling outrage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT O'CONNOR, FATHERS 4 JUSTICE: People on the periphery of our organization, who might be kidnapping a 5-year-old boy, I can't think of anything more appalling nor anything more traumatic for Tony Blair's family or his son. And we condemn that 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 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: Fathers 4 Justice now says it's suspending activities and reaffirming its own commitment to what it calls peaceful, nonviolent direct action.

BLITZER: Thank you very much.

There's some potentially troubling news for some first time-home buyers. Let's check back in with CNN's Ali Velshi. He's got more on this from New York. Ali, what's going on?

VELSHI: You know, it used to be that you put as much down on a house as you could and then you paid it off as fast as you could. The old 30-year fixed mortgage is the still the most popular way to buy a house. You'd be surprised at the number of people who actually put no money down or take on these mortgage where you only pay the interest.

Now, the idea of no money down on the house is dangerous because of the fact if the value of the house, as we've talked about, Wolf, goes down, you end up stuck with a mortgage that's bigger than the price of the house that you paid.

We're looking at, in 2005, 43 percent of first time home buyers in 2005 put no money down on their mortgages, 100 percent mortgages. If you look at the numbers there you can see why it happens. The top number is 100 percent only. You pay $500 a month if you do that; 80/20, where you take 80 percent down on a mortgage and 20 percent on a home equity loan, you pay about $525 a month. This is on a $100,000 mortgage.

If you take a regular mortgage it is $600. By paying no money down and interest only, you're save something money. But be careful, it gets you more house than you would have got otherwise, but you might get stuck holding the bag in the end.

BLITZER: Ali, thank you very much, good advice from Ali as usual.

It was a revolutionary idea, divide the front page of a Web site into a million pieces and sell advertising pieces for a dollar. But the creator of milliondollarhomepage.com now has a million problems. Hackers have flooded it with attacks threatening to keep the site offline if the owner doesn't fork over $50,000.

Our Internet reporter Abbi Tatton is joining us now with the latest.

ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Wolf, just as 21-year-old British student Alex Chew (ph) hit the one million dollar mark with this million dollar home page, he started getting e-mails from cybercriminals trying to blackmail him out of some of his money.

Look at this, send us $50,000 they said, or we will attack your site. They did explain it was just five percent of his moneys though. After that, the Million Dollar Home Page started getting attacked in what is called a distributed denial of service attack where the Web site is flooded with traffic so legitimate users can't get on.

This site is now back online. Alex said he didn't respond to any of these e-mails that he was sent. Instead, forwarded them to the FBI and British authorities who are now investigating, Wolf?

BLITZER: Thanks very much. Let's check in with Heidi Collins, she's filling in for Paula. She's coming up at the top of the hour. Heidi.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, thanks a lot. At the top of the hour, he taught his boys the difference between right and wrong, so why did he go wrong and become a bank robber. Tonight, a father whose grown sons turned him in tells his side of the story.

Also two incredible women who set out to row across the Atlantic Ocean. How did they get lost? How did they survivor? They're going to tell us the remarkable story and it's all coming up at the top of hour.

BLITZER: Still ahead, want more money, you might want to get married. A new study says married people build more net worth. Do you think it's worth it? Jack Cafferty standing by.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Jack Cafferty is in New York with "The Cafferty File." Jack?

CAFFERTY: Wolf, there's a new study out shows that people who get married and stay married are wealthier than single or divorced people. So the question is this, is it worth staying married for the money?

Rich in Etters, Pennsylvania: "If I wanted to save money, I would have stayed single. My house is filled with things I have no use for and have no idea why we bought them. Just because you like elephants doesn't mean you have to own one."

John in Rohner Park, California: "Jack, I married my childhood sweetheart, we were married for 14 years until that no good tramp engaged in an adulterous affair. Then California said I had to pay her 84 grand over seven years in alimony for the pleasure of experiencing that adultery. However, i would have paid twice that much to get rid of her. No, happiness and peace of mind with someone worthwhile is worth every dime you have to pay to get it.

Morgan in Portland, Oregon writes, "Ouch, this hits close to home. After 25 years of marriage, my husband and I are asking ourselves the very same question. The statistics you presented might help us resolve it. But we still care for each other, we're just going our separate ways."

Brad writes, "Cafferty, who would want to be stuck in a marriage they don't want to be for the sake of money? Great question, hard hitting journalism."

Natalie in Phoenix, Arizona: "Between my husband and myself, we have three divorces. Yes, we have a lot more in the bank if we stayed married to other people. However, after 25 years of marriage to each other, the money doesn't seem that important. Our happiness does.

And finally, Tim in Boulder, Colorado: "Jack, I'm sure you'll agree it's worth losing a few bucks. Heck, I would have gnawed off my own arm to be free."

BLITZER: Tim, in Boulder, Colorado. I think it's hard-hitting journalism, Jack. I learned a lot during the last hour, didn't you?

CAFFERTY: You know what's amazing is the stuff that people will write to you and the intimate details of their lives they will share with you. You ought to see some of the stuff I didn't read.

BLITZER: Save that for the book. Jack Cafferty, see you tomorrow.

To our viewers, thanks very much for joining us. We're on four to six p.m. eastern, seven p.m. eastern.

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