[Kyra Phillips, Cnn Anchor:] Wyoming is low, California high, everywhere else in between, and all are getting higher. We're talking about gas prices, on average, $2 a gallon for self-serve regular. But that's only a distant dream in Bridgeport, California. Drivers there are paying the nation's highest average fuel price, $2.79 a gallon. Rock Springs, Wyoming, enjoys the cheapest gas, $1.72. And, as you know if you've been watching CNN, President Bush is in Columbus, Ohio, average gas price, $1.95, to pump up support for his energy proposals, proposals that have gone exactly nowhere in four years on Capitol Hill. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux, gears down long enough to bring us a recap. Hi, Suzanne.
[Suzanne Malveaux, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, hello, Kyra. Of course, you may consider getting out your bicycle when you take a look at those oil prices, those gas prices. And it's expected to rise, of course. Here in Ohio, it's a big manufacturing state, as well as a state that experienced that electrical grid problem, that blackout last year, so it makes sense that the president is here to push forward his energy plan. He very briefly mentioned the situation with the gas prices, but he really used the backdrop of Battelle Memorial Institute, a large research institution, to show and push forward his energy plan. Congress, of course, has not supported this for the last four years or so, but the president urging Americans to take a clear look, a close look at the clean coal technology, modernizing the electricity grid, increasing oil production in the United States. And that includes the controversial proposal, drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the president specifically talking about that, saying it would be about 2,000 acres, the size of Columbus' airport, but would produce about one million barrels of oil a day, that it would create thousands of new jobs, President Bush very adamant about pushing forward his energy plan he hopes will pass his second term.
[George W. Bush, President Of The United States:] Higher prices at the gas pump and rising home heating bills and the possibility of blackouts are legitimate concerns for all Americans. And all these uncertainties about energy supply are dragging our economy. It is difficult for entrepreneurs to risk capital when they cannot predict the size of next month's energy bill.
[Malveaux:] So, Kyra, the president's line here, of course, is that the economy is strong, but these high energy prices really a drag on the economy, that somehow the United States must become less dependent on foreign sources of oil. Now, this is a big debate, a very heated debate, as you know, very political. It was earlier today in Washington a group of senators, a small group of Democrats, led by Senator Chuck Schumer, produced a letter here that they gave to the president, to the administration saying that they would like for him to tap the Strategic Oil Reserves to somehow lower those gas prices, a controversial proposal. They brought that up in the past. And here's what he said earlier today.
[Sen. Charles Schumer , New York:] These are out-of-control prices. They're burning a whole in hole in Americans' wallets. They're putting at risk the economic recovery. And what are they doing at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue? Twiddling their thumbs.
[Malveaux:] And already, we got a response from the White House about that, saying that the president does not intend to actually tap into those reserves. Previously, he was asked to do that. He said it would only be in the case of real national emergencies and not for any kind of political cause or manipulating gas prices. That did not go over. And, Kyra, just to let you know as well, the president, however, was slammed on his Clear Skies Initiative, so-called Clear Skies Initiative, when it comes to power plants, a Senate committee saying that they would not push that forward. This is clearly going to be a very controversial issue, and it will continue Kyra.
[Phillips:] All right, Suzanne Malveaux, thanks so much Miles.
[Miles O'brien, Cnn Anchor:] A report out today casts serious doubts about the government's fix on Iran and its nuclear aspirations, "The New York Times" saying a report commissioned by President Bush has found U.S. intelligence so subpar that Iran's intentions are far from clear. This comes as Washington is warning Iran and accusing it of seeking nuclear weapons. An unidentified official quoted as saying that the lack of useful intelligence is scandalous. Discrepancies still in the shooting at an Iraq checkpoint that killed an Italian agent and wounded a just- released hostage. Italy's prime minister, addressing his parliament today, he said the U.S. military knew that the convoy was headed to the airport. Silvio Berlusconi says he also understands the car was moving slowly and that the driver braked at the first warning. U.S. military officials say the car was approaching very fast and ignored repeated warnings to stop.
[Phillips:] That highway to Baghdad's airport is said to be the most dangerous road in Iraq. Our senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson, has traveled it more times than he cares to counts and knows firsthand the tensions on both sides of the checkpoints.
[Unidentified Male:] Firing low. Firing low. Yes.
[Nic Robertson, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] At a U.S. checkpoint a year ago, I saw the aftermath of an Iraqi shot when he failed to stop. At the time, the soldiers feared he might have been an insurgent, and had tried to disable his car to save their lives. Later that year, and 65 miles away, Miqdad Abdull, a former Iraqi general, says a similar thing happened to him. He points to the windshield of his car where, he says, he was shot at by U.S. soldiers at a checkpoint.
[Miqdad Abdull, Former Iraqi General:] The first shot was a killer shot. And this I know from my experience. I ducked, and the shooting lasted for about another 15 seconds.
[Robertson:] He shows photographs of the many bullet holes through the windshield of his car, and of his own injuries, lays out police maps, and a note apparently written by a U.S. Army officer. It reads, This vehicle failed to stop for a coalition traffic point. The vehicle was engaged and hit by small-arms fire. He claims not to have seen the warning for him to stop.
[Abdull:] In my personal opinion, people fear these checkpoints more than they fear other attacks and explosions.
[Robertson:] This day, at a checkpoint on the highway to Baghdad International Airport, the most dangerous road in Iraq, two Iraqi drivers get confused about how to proceed. [on camera]: This is exactly where Iraqi drivers worry the most, they say. They're coming into a checkpoint here, and what they say they fear is that they may be mistaken for a suicide bomber. And that's why this area, they say, is the most dangerous, because they could be shot at. [voice-over]: No one has an accurate account of how many Iraqis and others have been injured in this way, but commanders say they are committed to avoiding casualties.
[Maj. Gen. William Webster, U.s. Army:] We've trained our soldiers, and we continue to retrain them on techniques of causing a vehicle to slow down and stop far enough away where it doesn't present the threat of an explosive device.
[Robertson:] And in Iraq, explosive devices like that go off 40 to 60 times every day. The threat that worries the soldiers the most is the suicide car bomber. So every time a car comes close to them, they told me, it's a critical moment where self-preservation forces a fast decision.
[Webster:] If the vehicle looks like a threat of lethal force to the soldier guarding the position, then we may fire warning shots into the ground next to the vehicle. And then we instruct our soldiers to engage the engine block, if they possibly can, to disable the vehicle, and try not to kill anyone.
[Robertson:] On Iraq's roads, on both sides of the checkpoint, caution remains the watchword. Nic Robertson, CNN, Baghdad.
[Phillips:] And today in Iraq, an unnamed American soldier was killed in a roadside bombing in Baghdad. The government's planning minister escaped assassination when gunman assaulted his convoy. Also in the capital city, a garbage truck packed with explosives blew up near a downtown hotel, killing two people and the suicide bomber; 40 people were injured, including 30 American contractors. Still in Iraq, officials investigate the horrific deaths of 26 people killed execution style. The bodies were found in a village near the Syrian border. All were clothed civilian style. And the dead included at least one woman.
[O'brien:] Well, they may not be able to get on an airplane, but people on America's terror watch list are able to buy guns. And that has some people in Washington up in arms. It should have you up in arms. That story is straight ahead. And cryptic messages from prison, reports that white supremacist Matthew Hale might be trying to get secret messages to his followers. Details ahead.