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Gadhafi Intensifies Attacks on Rebels; Unrest in Oil-Rich Countries; New York Congressman Leads Hearing on Radical Islam in America; Study Says Mosques Make Good Americans; Intruder Calls 911 on Homeowner; NPR CEO Resigns; Shuttle Discovery Set for Final Landing; Obama's Anti-Bullying Agenda; Heat Streak Goes On

Aired March 09, 2011 - 09:00   ET

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

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: It's 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. out West. I'm Kate Bolduan sitting in for Kyra Phillips this morning.

Good morning, everybody. Here are some of the stories that we're watching this hour.

Right now at least one tornado is reported in Louisiana and tornado warnings are up there and in Mississippi. Hurricane force winds could lash much of the region.

And in central Pennsylvania, seven children have died after their farm house caught fire. The parents survived along with their 3-year-old daughter who went running for help.

And off the coast of Kenya, pirates have again targeted the Maersk Alabama. You may remember a couple of years Navy snipers killed the hijackers who held Captain Richard Phillips captive on a lifeboat. It was very dramatic as it played out. This time, crew members fired warning shots and chased the pirates away.

And getting to Libya, Moammar Gadhafi goes on the attack. Today his troops are unleashing ferocious attacks on rebel strongholds.

In Zawiya the claims are truly horrific. One doctor tells CNN that Gadhafi soldiers publicly executed two other physicians then turned their guns on wounded civilians.

Crushing the uprising in this city on the doorstep of the capital could be a potential turning point for Gadhafi staying in power.

His war planes have also pounded the eastern town of Ras Lanuf. It's a vital hub of Libya's oil industry. And meanwhile, it's also -- Gadhafi is also stepping up his propaganda telling Libyans that their country is under attack from al Qaeda, France, and the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOAMMAR GADHAFI, LIBYAN LEADER (Through Translator): This is leading to a dangerous plot by those countries in order to fulfill their colonialist aspiration, to control our petrol --

(END OF VIDEO CLIP) BOLDUAN: CNN crews are in place in Libya and following these shifting front lines of the war. But because of the volatility, communications has been spotty as I know you've seen as we're following this very closely.

Here's the scene Ben Wedeman just described moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're in Ras Lanuf where there's an airplane strike right over our head. There's a huge plume of black smoke coming from the western edge of the city which looks like it's from the oil refinery.

There's been an intense artillery bombardment on the western edge of the town which is ongoing. It does appear that's the Libyan government forces are advancing on Ras Lanuf. This artillery barrage, and it's a barrage of rockets as well, has been pretty intense.

There's still a lot of opposition fighters in the city, but they are increasingly nervous as it appears that an advance is on the way. You saw the scene. And probably there are three plumes of black smoke. One of them huge rising over the western edge of the town.

The opposition forces are completely outgunned in this situation. They have ancient Soviet and Chinese made anti-aircraft guns but they don't have the armored tanks, the armored personnel carriers, they don't have planes, they don't have helicopters. They have nothing really if the Libyan army decides to push in the direction of Ras Lanuf and that is certainly what looks like what's happening right now.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: An amazing described by Ben Wedeman there. This time yesterday, there were reports, as you'll remember, that Colonel Gadhafi was negotiating to actually step down.

CNN's Nic Robertson is in Tripoli for us.

Nic, the government is -- you mentioned very quickly has denied those claims and to be sure there's no sign Gadhafi is backing down now, right?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: None whatsoever and it's interesting to hear how the government here is reacting to international pressure. The calls between -- the telephone call between President Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron both agreeing that Moammar Gadhafi has to step down. That's the only way forward.

When I talked to the deputy foreign minister here last night, he told me that is just international community interfering in Libya's internal affairs. And you can see the pressure building up here. But the way is government is responding to it, it's quite chilling. The deputy foreign minister went on to tell me that the idea of a no- fly zone over Libya imposed by the international community -- said if the international community does that that is effectively declaring war on Libya. And the implication of that is that Libya would be forced to respond in some way.

He didn't spell that out, of course. But that was the kind of language he was using and that's how the government views this mounting pressure at the moment -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: It was pretty amazing, as we spoke with you yesterday. You waiting for hours at this hotel with a red carpet behind you, waiting for Colonel Gadhafi to show up to -- you know, supposedly we thought he was going to speak to the media when he only did an interview.

At the same time, you're all being held in this hotel. These horrific stories are playing out in places like Zawiya as you then later reported. Pretty absurd when you think about those two pictures together at the same time.

ROBERTSON: And you know the government has tried to pull the same stunt again today. Not telling us that Colonel Gadhafi is coming but there's been the talk of journalists being taken out to the town of Zawiya about 40 minutes' drive away to come with that intense fighting that's still been under way. The town where (INAUDIBLE) are reported the two doctors were killed, the last of the rebels' medical clinic closed down.

Although there's no carpet rolled out and there's not all corralled waiting for Moammar Gadhafi to arrive. The government is trying the same tactic today but I don't think -- I don't think people are taking it sitting down today. We're working on a few things here, Kate, I can tell you.

BOLDUAN: Good. I am confident of that. You're doing amazing work and clearly amazingly difficult conditions.

Nic, thank you so much. We'll check back in with you. Stay safe.

The wave of protest is spreading through some of the world's biggest oil producing countries. We've been talking about this quite a bit. Demonstrators are demanding change in Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, and that could shoot fuel prices even higher.

Zain Verjee joins us with a look at what's happening and how it could impact the price at the pump then.

Hey there. Let's start in Kuwait and really how this is kind -- this unrest, if you want to call it that, is spreading throughout the region.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL: Let's just go through three of those countries. What we saw in Kuwait on Tuesday with demonstrations for the very first time, people were outside of parliament and they were calling for reform. They want the prime minister out and they also want a new cabinet. Interestingly, they were no calls to actually get rid of emir himself, Sheikh Al Sabah.

Now Tuesday in Jordan, also, Kate, for the first time, you had journalists out on the street. They were from state-controlled TV and they basically were demonstrating for the first time for more freedoms. They wanted the editor of the main state-controlled newspaper kicked out and they want to see more reforms and limitation of the powers there of King Abdullah.

Saudi Arabia, a really, really strategically important U.S. ally, is also a little bit nervous, too. Because what they have been seeing a Shia demonstrators in the eastern part of the country that are calling for more freedoms and they're, in fact, calling for a day of more demonstrations on Friday that could be an important one to keep an eye on.

Now Saudi Arabia, because of all its massive oil wealth, Kate, has been able to enjoy a pretty high standard of living and people aren't as badly off as other Arab countries. And so Saudi Arabia has seen itself as being less vulnerable to the unrest that we've been seeing in the Middle East, but they are getting nervous at the Shia minority who feels oppressed, and that's what then they're thinking about.

BOLDUAN: And when you take a look at -- you know, you talk about how there are these demonstrators and calling for reforms, calling for more freedoms, and that the government are getting nervous, it's clearly nothing like what we're seeing in places like Libya at the moment. But how could even this nervousness impact the oil prices at this point?

VERJEE: Right. It's what we're all watching and it's definitely impacted the markets. There is a great sense of nervousness. There's a lack of knowledge as to how exactly all of this is going to shake out.

There are two things to consider here. First of all, prices are going to go up and they are going to be high. Industry experts have said that you're looking at prices staying and persisting for a long time at maybe something like $105 barrel.

The other thing that we need to keep in mind today is that, you know, OPEC, they had that emergency meeting and then the Saudis came out and said, don't worry, we've got 3.5 million barrels of oil a day in spare capacity. OK? And that's important because what they're doing is that they're micromanages the prices with that and so they've got -- they've got their finger on the pump, so to speak.

BOLDUAN: So to speak. It's so interconnected, it's so complex when you really think about it. Even nervousness and concern can drive up fuel prices and oil prices.

Zain, we'll watch it with you. Thank you so much. We'll talk to you soon.

Heavy rains and the threat of severe flooding from Connecticut to Virginia. Severe storms in the southeast.

Meteorologist Rob Marciano is tracking all of this.

Rob, what are you seeing? I mean -- do you have enough time to tell me all of these things?

(WEATHER REPORT)

BOLDUAN: My -- I was going to ask you if it was just the scale of the map or if it actually was as big as it looks. It's huge.

MARCIANO: Yes. It's a big storm. And it's got -- you know March is a crazy time so --

BOLDUAN: You're right.

MARCIANO: It can bring you all sorts of weather.

BOLDUAN: That's why we have you. Thanks. We'll talk to you soon. Thanks, Rob.

MARCIANO: All right. You bet.

BOLDUAN: So today's forecast for Florida's space coast, partly cloudy with a good chance for history. That was a cute one. As the space shuttle Discovery comes home for the final time, we're live from Kennedy Space Center for the historic homecoming.

And in just about 24 hours, Congress looks into radical Islam right here in America.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PETER KING (R), HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE: I would say the overwhelming majority of Muslims are outstanding patriots. Obviously, there's a very small percentage who have allied themselves with al Qaeda.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: But some people say the hearings are more like a witch hunt that put -- that puts Islam itself on trial. We'll talk to a man who found that mosques make Muslims good Americans.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: In just about 24 hours, the House opens controversial hearings on radical Islam in America. The man leading the hearing is Congressman Peter King of New York. He says al Qaeda elements are in the US recruiting, and that the Muslim community isn't helping police like it should. King talked to CNN a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PETER KING (R), HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE: I believe people who are on the ground, people who reflect what's happening, and I tell you, in my conversation, I've been dealing with this issue now for nine and a half years. Law enforcement people invariably tell me they do not receive the cooperation that they need.

I've seen it on Long Island in my own district, I know what is happening in some of these mosques. And you will hear, these are people on the ground, these people living in the -- living there. They're the ones who endure this day in and day out.

And to me, it's going to set a very good picture for the American people. The Democrats want to bring on their witness. That's fine. I'm having -- I'm also inviting Congressman Keith Ellison, who disagrees with me completely on this issue, I've invited him to testify.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: But a survey of Muslim Americans found that mosques basically help make Muslims better, more engaged Americans. Karam Dana of Harvard University, he led that -- he led that survey. Hi, Karam, thanks so much for joining me. When you first heard about these hearings, what was your reaction?

KARAM DANA, RESEARCH FELLOW, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: Well, I was actually pretty disappointed because our findings actually show the total opposite of that. In fact, we've conducted the largest survey of Muslims in the United States, the Muslim American public opinion survey. And we actually found, contrary to what Congressman King suggests, that actually mosques do, in fact, make people more participatory in the American political system.

Interestingly enough, we found that actually basically those who don't even participate in mosque-related activities to begin with, they're 77 percent believe -- 77 percent of the sample believed that they are, in fact -- that -- the teachings of Islam are actually more -- very compatible with the political system of the United States, with the effect of the mosque, in fact, that percentage jumps to 95 percent. This is a 53 percent increase.

So, as it stands, our data supports this finding, and there is a very close association between basically those who actually participate in mosque-related activities and their participation in the system. American political system.

This survey is, again -- please.

BOLDUAN: Thank you. But I was actually going to actually jump in, because part of that survey you talk a lot about in an op-ed that you wrote for cnn.com. And part of that you said that while there is a popularized idea that Muslims are radicalized in mosques, you say that overwhelmingly, you found that mosques help Muslims integrate to US society.

But to be fair, Congressman King isn't necessarily concerned with integration. He's very much concerned with radicalization and his claim is that Muslim leaders aren't standing up strongly enough against it. Let's listen to another bit of what he said, and then we'll talk about it afterwards.

DANA: Sure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KING: I would never question anyone's religious beliefs. You'll not hear a word from me about the Koran or any of those issues. I -- Muslims are proud people. They have a very proud religion. I am not questioning that at all.

But what I am saying is that there are people in the community who are not fully cooperating, and I'm saying that the victims of that are not just the American community at large, but also Muslim Americans in particular.

And my witnesses tomorrow, two of them will be Muslim Americans, one will be an African-American whose son was radicalized and converted to Islam, and they will describe the situation in their community, how the radicalization is going on and how, when they went to officials, when they went to imams, they were threatened, they were told not to be made public when an investigation --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: So you see there that Mr. -- Congressman King isn't speaking out against the religion. And he says he took -- went to great lengths to say that, by and large, overwhelmingly, Muslim American community are very good people. Can you agree with what he's saying?

DANA: Well, I must say that basically, why is it, for example in the late 1990s that someone like, you know, Eric Rudolph, who basically, out of a religious belief, he started bombing anti-abortion -- he had -- he was bombing abortion clinics out of his religious belief.

My under -- my question is, why is it that no congressional hearings were actually held for that particular person who actually was doing it out of his religious belief basically?

But my really concern here is that the Muslim Americans are actually being very specifically targeted in this particular contest. And this is actually consistent with various communities from their German Catholics, to Italian, Irish Catholics, and the Jewish American community over the past few decades.

The interesting thing is that -- the interesting thing is that we have a memory of ten years, but we have to put that in a larger context. Consistent with other literature that is out there, scholarly literature that is independent literature that looks at religious institutions from churches to synagogues, et cetera, the works of Eric McDaniels, for example, the work of Ted Jelen, et cetera.

You'll find that actually, their -- those religious institutions actually provide a very important role in fostering the participation of those who believe in that particular religion. And I must say that, why is it that Muslims are actually being singled out in this particular case? And I think it's, honestly, un-American.

BOLDUAN: Well, Mr. Dana, the conversation is far from over. Lots of protest, lots of controversy, a lot of people talking about what is going on here, and we'll continue this conversation with you. Thanks so much for joining me today.

DANA: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: You can read more about the study that we've discussed here and Karam Dana's take on tomorrow's hearings on cnn.com. If you want to read up on that, it's actually great reading.

Coming up in a few minutes, we're going to take a closer look at Congressman Peter King. Not many people outside New York City know much about the boxing congressman but, by tomorrow, he could become a household name.

And homeward bound. "Discovery" is on its way back to Earth. We're live with the latest on the Space Shuttle's last mission as it prepares for its final landing.

And we told you about the home intruder who police say called 911 on himself? Well, we now have the tape.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DISPATCHER: 911?

INTRUDER: I just broke into a house and the owners came home.

DISPATCHER: You -- you broke into a house?

INTRUDER: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: If that's not enough for you, wait until you hear what the homeowner has to say about all of this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: This just in. We wanted to get this information to you quickly. Vivian Schiller, the CEO of NPR, we're now learning has resigned her post. This coming, of course, after quite a bit of controversy stirred up when another NPR executive -- it came out that there was video film of this executive really slamming the Tea Party, calling it as racist and calling it scary and much more on that. This was also a bit of a sting by a controversial filmmaker, James O'Keefe.

But again, Vivian Schiller, the CEO of NPR, National Public Radio, has resigned, we are now just learning. We're going to have much more on this controversy and what this means for the media company, for the media group coming up in the next hour. You will not want to miss that.

And also happening now, history unfolding high above us. It's the last voyage home for the Space Shuttle "Discovery." NASA's most well- traveled spacecraft is on approach for its last-ever touchdown at Kennedy Space Center. And that, of course, is where we find our John Zarrella. Always there whenever there's a Space Shuttle. Always gets the plum assignments. Hi, there, John. Is the -- weather is always a factor. You often find yourself talking more about weather than you ever thought you would. How is the weather looking for today's scheduled landing?

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I know, I should have been a meteorologist. The weather does look really, really good today, Kate. The only issue is the wind. It's kind of gusty here.

But as anybody who's a pilot would know, it's not a crosswind, so it'll be coming straight down the runway. The shuttle will land into the wind, so that's a good thing. If it had been a crosswind, then it might have been an issue today.

They're going to have another weather briefing in about 45 minutes to try and figure this all out and make sure that the winds are within the limits, but it looks real good right now.

And you know, right now, as we're watching the clock, 9:25, "Discovery" is entering its last-ever orbit of the Earth. This is the final time it will go around the Earth before they start that de-orbit burn.

It's a real, real difficult time, here, for the people at the Kennedy Space Center, saying good-bye to these vehicles. We talked just the other day to Stephanie Stillson. She is "Discovery's" flow director, which means that, for the past decade, her responsibility has been to get shuttle as ready for every one of their launches, "Discovery's" in particular. She said this is a particularly tough time for her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANIE STILLSON, FLOW DIRECTOR, SPACE SHUTTLE "DISCOVERY": The absolute hardest part, I think you get the same answer no matter who you asked, is the fact that -- that we're having to lose people. People are leaving, people are being laid off.

You're coming to the end of a program, you can't justify to keep the work force at the size that we had when we were flying three vehicles. So that's very hard to deal with. I've never been in that situation before, where I had to worry about whether my coworkers are going to be here in a couple of months or not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZARRELLA: Thirty-nine times in space, 140 million-plus miles flown for "Discovery," coming home in a short time now. More than likely, anyway. This is going to be -- it'll be quite a moment here, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Not a bad career. Not a bad way to go out, John.

ZARRELLA: Yes.

BOLDUAN: Thanks so much. We will check back in with you, of course.

ZARRELLA: Sure.

BOLDUAN: And be sure to join us. We'll have live coverage of "Discovery's" final homecoming, first touchdown is set for just before noon Eastern Time. It has a second availability for landing window, and that's just after 1:30 Eastern.

In just about 24 hours, Congress looks into radical Islam right here in America. And in a few minutes, we're going to look at the New York Republican leading the hearings. Congressman Peter King, he's made some controversial statements about Muslims in the past. We're going to take a look at the man.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

BOLDUAN: A quick check now of some of the other headlines making news and that we're watching. Fierce battle still underway in Libya. New signs pro-Gadhafi forces are advancing on the eastern oil city of Ras Lanuf. Today, an intense artillery of bombardment underway on part of the city. CNN's Ben Wedeman reporting that opposition forces are completely outgunned.

Here in the U.S. dangerous storms threaten much of the country. Tornado warnings have been in effect south of New Orleans and tornado watches in Alabama. You're going to want to keep an eye on that.

In central Pennsylvania, seven children have died after their farmhouse caught fire. The parents survived along with their three- year-old daughter who went running for help.

Back to the story about those hearings into radical Islam in America. They begin tomorrow in Washington. Congressman Peter King, the head of the Homeland Security Committee in the House will lead those hearings. The kickboxing Republican is taking some hits himself it seems. Critics say he's singling out Muslims and putting Islam on trial.

CNN's senior Congressional correspondent Dana Bash talked to King about all of them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): This is the chairman's seat. This is chairman's gavel.

REP. PETER KING (R), HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE CHAIR: Yes, it's all this right here. This is where it's going to be.

BASH (voice-over): Homeland Security Chairman Peter King preparing for his hearing on what he calls radicalization of Muslims in America. To some, akin to Joseph McCarthy's 1950s communist witch hunt.

(on camera): Peter King is the modern day Joseph McCarthy?

KING: I would say, first of all, no basis for it and, secondly, I tell people to wait and watch and listen to the hearing.

BASH (voice-over): King has not always been at odds with Muslim- Americans. In the 1990s he backed U.S. action in the Balkans to defend Muslims there.

KING: I was not popular in my district. But I did it because it was the right thing to do. I thought the Muslim community in those countries were being victimized.

BASH (voice-over): He had a close bonds of leaders of this mosque and others in his New York district. Then came 9/11.

KING: It switched when I saw the Muslim-American community not responding the way they should have. When they were trying to cover up for al Qaeda, when they were trying to blame it on Jews and the FBI and the CIA. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

BASH: Like comments from now former friends like Ghazi Khankan.

GHAZI KHANKAN, FORMER MEMBER, ISLAMIC CENTER LONG ISLAND: I said we should also investigate the possibility of Israel being involved and that changed his opinion 100 percent.

BASH (on camera): You've been called a man obsessed, obsessed with the Muslim radicalization. Are you obsessed?

KING: No, I am very focused. I had lost so many people on my district on September 11th and within a 30-mile radius of my home, probably, a thousand people -- over a thousand people murdered on September 11th.

BASH (voice-over): His office is filled with reminders of the attack.

KING: Funeral after funeral after funeral. And that one sort of -- I don't know -- to me captured it all. If you ask me what I think about going to work every day, it's 9/11 and preventing another 9/11.

BASH: King says that requires cooperation from U.S. Muslim leaders which he insists law enforcement is not getting. But some call King's efforts against American Muslim terrorism now, hypocritical. King is Irish-American. In the 1980s, he was an active supporter of Gerry Adams and Irish group the State Department then deemed terrorists -- the Irish Republican army.

(on camera): The IRA was responsible for hundreds of civilian deaths and effectively what are terrorist attacks.

KING: During the 1980s I knew what Gerry Adams and Mark McGinnis were attempting to do within the IRA and I was saying that continually, that there is a real opening here if the United States would take advantage of it to be an honest broker. So, Clinton did that.

BASH: He insists the IRA was a legitimate force that had to be dealt with to achieve peace.

Back in his committee room, King says he knows his hearing on radicalization of U.S. Muslims is stirring anger against him, accusations of bigotry, but has no apologies.

KING: Hey, listen. I would love to be loved. I'm not a masochist but on the other hand, I have a job to do and would not want to wake up the day after an attack and say I should have done something differently.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: And Dana Bash is joining me from Capitol Hill.

Hey there, Dana. Great piece, by the way. Amazing to learn more about the man behind these hearings. You say Congressman King, I mean, and he says it himself, believes that the Muslim community is not cooperating with law enforcement.

So, why didn't he invite anyone from the law enforcement community to testify?

BASH: It is such a good if he q question, it's one that I asked Congressman King because he says that because of his connections with local law enforcement, particularly in New York, which he calls the epicenter of this, he hears all the time that there's a there a lack of cooperation. But he is not inviting the FBI director, the attorney general or anybody from local law enforcement.

His answer effectively was that he doesn't necessarily think that they are going to say what he hears privately. That they're not going to say that. That publicly they'll say they are getting cooperation, which we should note for the record does actually jibe with some academic studies which say the same thing.

But there will be one sheriff there from Los Angeles. And that sheriff, Kate, was invited by the Democrats. The witnesses that he invited are, what he calls, average Muslims, but they are two family members of Muslims in America who were radicalized and also another doctor from Arizona who agrees with him.

BOLDUAN: Amazing how much this hearing, which, you know, as we know, hearings don't often create -- there are so many hearings on Capitol Hill, they don't often create this much conversation. But definitely one to watch.

Thanks, Dana. We'll talk to you later.

BASH: Thanks, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Later this month, CNN's Soledad O'Brien is taking a look at the question does freedom of religion mean freedom from suspicion? She lays out the dramatic fight over plans to build a mosque in the heart of the bible belt. It's called "Unwelcome, The Muslims Next Door," airs Sunday night, 8:00 Eastern, March 27th.

We just got this in, as well. President Obama is, we're told, is going to come out to make a personnel announcement at just about 10:50 Eastern. So at the end of the next hour we will bring that to you live. You don't want to miss it and you can be sure our White House unit is working on trying to figure out what kind of personnel announcement is bringing the president to cameras today. We'll have more on that later.

Still ahead, the President and the First Lady are also speaking out against bullying. But it's more than just talk. They've invited people affected by it to come to the White House to tell their stories.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Checking some of the stories making news today. In less than an hour from now, the Council on American Islamic Relations is set to hold a news conference in advance of tomorrow's Muslim radicalization hearings to be led by New York Congressman Peter King.

And in Rome, Pope Benedict XVI holds Ash Wednesday mass in a little more than an hour. Ash Wednesday, of course, marks the beginning of the 40 days of Lent.

And later today in Tucson, accused assassin Jared Lee Loughner will be arraigned on the 49 criminal charges he faces. He's accused of killing six people, shooting 13 others, and critically wounding Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

Former White House spokesman Robert Gibbs tells CNN he won't seek the DNC chairmanship. We'll tell you who run the post -- run for that post if Tim Kaine steps down.

And also ahead, a whole lot of shaking in Japan. Just look at that video. An earthquake so powerful it rattled buildings hundreds of miles away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: President Obama is using social media this morning to push anti-bullying agenda.

CNN senior political editor Mark Preston is here with that story and I'm sure much more. What's going on Mark?

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey good morning Kate. Yes, tomorrow the White House is going to host an anti-bullying conference at the White House. It's going to be basically a half day conference. They're working with Facebook on this -- this issue which has gotten a lot of headlines in the past year.

So in fact, they've released video this morning he did along with Michelle Obama. Let's take a little listen to what he has to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- time bullying was treated as unavoidable part of growing up but more and more we're seeing how harmful it can be for our kids especially when it follows them from their school to their phone to their computer screen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PRESTON: Well, there you are Kate. There's President Obama trying to talk a little bit about the conference that he's going to host tomorrow at the White House.

Among some of the things they are going to talk about is to dispel the myth that bullying is just a normal rite of passage as well as talk about effective programs and policies to prevent bullying.

You know, bullying when we grew up, Kate is a lot different I think than what we see nowadays -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. Sure, it seems like it in the stories that we have to cover. But it seems almost like on a regular basis these days.

Mark, tell me also, what's the latest with Mr. Gibbs that we miss behind the podium? What -- what's the latest with him and the DNC?

PRESTON: Well, Kate, you know it was just a short time ago when he was going to transition out of his job as the White House spokesman that he was potentially going to be the new DNC chairman. Well, Mr. Kaine, Tim Kaine the DNC chairman, said he's going to stay in the post but there might be a big shake-up because now Tim Kaine who is the former Virginia governor might now run for Senate in Virginia.

So if that's the case what would happen with Robert Gibbs who is no longer the spokesman Kate, would he move over to the DNC? Well, he tells our own Ed Henry that that's not the case. In fact what he said, is I had the opportunity to do that when my name was floated just six months ago but I'm not going to run the DNC.

A couple of people who might be on the short list however for the post is former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland and former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, the current Congresswoman from Florida Debbie Wasserman-Schultz and our own Donna Brazile who is a CNN contributor -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Well, we'll check back. Those things can always change. You know that Mark.

PRESTON: I have no doubt.

BOLDUAN: Thanks so much.

And we'll have of course, your next political update in one hour. And a reminder, if you need it at this point people, for all of the latest political news go to our Web site CNNPolitics.com.

A time capsule the size of a house locked up for 100 years. You want to take a look inside? We'll take you there on the other side of the break.

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BOLDUAN: A look now at stories making news from around the globe. We begin with the suicide bomb attack on a funeral procession in Pakistan that kills dozens.

CNN's Zain Verjee has that and more from London. Hey there, Zain.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hi, Kate, the Taliban claimed responsibility for that suicide attack. At least 37 people were killed, more than 50 people were wounded. They targeted a funeral. The procession was burying the wife of a member of a pro-government militia. And this happened just outside of Peshawar. And what the Taliban said the message was that they were going to attack anyone who supports the United States.

Let's go to Japan now, where there are pictures that we've been showing of buildings swaying. There was an earthquake today. It was a magnitude 7.2. It lasted about three minutes. And now there was no real major damage, but we just got to see a lot of these remote cameras that showed the pictures of the city. There was a tsunami warning, but that was -- was canceled quite quickly.

To my favorite story now Kate, the time capsule house. Now what happened was in front in 1905 there was this kind of an eccentric guy, he was a government official, and he died. And he put in his will that he wants his house shut for 100 years. And then after that he wants to throw the doors open so people can walk through it and see what life was like in 19th century France for an upper middle-class guy.

And so there was all this mystery around it, what would there be? Would there be ghosts? Would there be rare pieces of jewelry? Rare pieces of art? You know what they found, water and mold damage, Kate.

I know, I know. Don't worry. Don't worry. That -- that you know, they -- they had his book displays and, you know, he also -- you know, there were phones, and we can really kind of see what a lifestyle they had.

But they do -- but apparently there's a bedroom in red silk wallpaper that he kept there for his mistress. So --

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BOLDUAN: Oh, really? Is that really upper middle-class for me? That's a little higher than upper middle-class, if you will. What happens now? Are they going to sell all this stuff? I mean, I'd love to know.

VERJEE: Well, he put it in his -- in his will that that he wants it to be like a time capsule. So it freezes a moment in time where we can all see it. So I'm wondering, Kate, 100 years from now, what are people going to see in your house if it were a time capsule?

BOLDUAN: I promise you people will very likely not care too much about what I did or what's in my house 100 years from now, but I just started decorating, so maybe they'll really like it.

Thanks, Zain, we'll talk to you later. And we're following lots of developments in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM, including what's happening at NPR, one executive punked by the activist behind the ACORN videos, and now the CEO has resigned.

Plus, you've heard of the seven-year itch. A new study, though, said bored partners are itching earlier than before, years earlier.

That and more, coming up in the next hour.

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BOLDUAN: It's the perfect time of year for Cinderella stories. Jeff Fischel of HLN News -- sports and -- and news, sportsy news.

JEFF FISCHEL, HLN SPORTS ANCHOR: Multi-faceted.

BOLDUAN: Yes, multifaceted. Tell me more about this. I love a Cinderella story.

FISCHEL: Yes you know, this is the time of year when fans are watching games all day.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

FISCHEL: You can feel job productivity going down around the country and it didn't look like the slipper would fit for Arkansas Little Rock, losers of their last three regular season games, but they make the Sunbelt Tournaments Championship game and watch what happens in the final seconds.

A serious comeback against North Texas. Matt Mouzi (ph), that's a three. He pulls the Trojans within one. Then Salman Bozman (ph) brings it up court, we're talking under five seconds, stops, hits. The three, with 1.5 seconds left. Arkansas Little Rock wins its fourth game in four days. That's how it goes at conference tourney time.

Arkansas Little Rock going on to the NCAA tournament and these are the kind of teams we love to watch. Next week, can they pull off an upset in the NCAA tournament. Congrats to the Trojans, it's their first bid since 1990.

NBA now, things not going so well for the Miami Heat. Hosting Portland, LeBron James he finishes strong. The -- the slam dunk, LeBron had 31 points, teammate Dwyane Wade had 38, that's right, the two of them combined for 69 points, but LaMarcus Aldridge and the Portland Trail Blazers take down the Heat 105-96, LeBron and Dwayne, 69 points. The rest of the team only scored 27 points.

The Heat has now lost five in a row, their next six games all against very good teams, you could imagine, just imagine, seeing the Heat lose an 11-game streak. Yes, you talk about crying, there could be a lot of it. Coach Erik Spoelstra definitely worried.

NHL now, New Jersey Devils hosting Ottawa. Ryan Shannon, the nifty pass in front to Eric Condra (ph), jiving, puts it in the net. Condra, a newbie, just his tenth game in the league, gets it by legendary goaltender Martin Brodeur. The rookie finishes two goals of the night. The league's worst record cools off the red hot Devils 2 to 1.

All right, some high school basketball. Retiring Kentucky high school coach goes out with a bang. Robin Kelsh, he actually takes the pass and shoots the three at the buzzer in his final game as coach. It was actually the opposing coach's idea as a tribute after 13 seasons he was ready to walk away and he did it in style. Hitting the three- pointer.

Finally, I am almost warning you not to watch, but a streaker stopped play in an English soccer match. He's actually wearing a mankini, but we blurred out some of it because you really just don't want to see what's hiding behind that.

Security actually let him go for a while. One of the players tackled him, and instead of getting a thank you. The ref gave him a red card. In fact, kicked him out, yes, for, quote, violent conduct. The guy thought he was going to be congratulated. He said, I'm dumbfounded, speechless, I thought I was doing them a favor. The ref said afterwards I may have taken the rules a little too seriously, he was following the letter of the law.

BOLDUAN: He was shell-shocked. He was shell-shocked. He didn't know what to do.

He was throwing red cards at anybody just to make it stop. Did I see that the streaker actually decided to cover up himself after he was tackled, like, now I'm embarrassed about what I just did.

FISCHEL: You know, when you're going for the Borat look, I think, you really can't predict the behavior from one second to the next.

BOLDUAN: Did you not -- these are all the video. Let's go back there with --

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FISCHEL: Yes, you asked for it.

BOLDUAN: I know. I called it up.

Anyway, thanks, Jeff. I'm now scarred.

FISCHEL: For life.