[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn Anchor:] And to our viewers, it's 5:00 p.m. here in Washington, and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM, where news and information from around the world arrive at one place at the same time. Happening now, it's 4:00 p.m. in New Orleans, where the mayor, Ray Nagin, says god wants his city to be a "chocolate city." He also says god is mad at America. Some are now mad at Mayor Nagin. And it's 5:00 p.m. in Detroit and New York, where civil liberties groups strike back against the Bush administration's domestic eavesdropping. They've gone to court, suing to stop the spying. And it's 1:00 a.m. in Baghdad, where U.S. troops are still trying to keep a lid on the chaos almost three years after the invasion. What went wrong? What went right? I'll ask the man who was in charge in Baghdad, Ambassador Paul Bremer. He's standing by. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. We begin this hour with a developing story, an ominous turn in the case of an American journalist abducted in Iraq. In a video that aired just a little while ago on the Arab network Al-Jazeera, the kidnappers of freelance writer Jill Carroll are now demanding that the United States release all female Iraqi prisoners within 72 hours. Jill Carroll's family has issued a statement asking for mercy. Let's turn to our State Department correspondent, Andrea Koppel, for details Andrea.
[Andrea Koppel, Cnn State Dept. Correspondent:] Wolf, 28-year-old Jill Carrol from Ann Arbor, Michigan, had been working as a freelance journalist for the "Christian Science Monitor" for several months when she was kidnapped by gunmen in Baghdad on Saturday, January 7. Until now, Carroll's family has declined to comment but issued the following statement following the kidnappers latest threat. This comes from her parents and her twin sister, Katie, appealing to Jill's kidnappers in a written statement. They say, "Jill is an innocent journalist and we respectfully ask that you please show her mercy and allow her to return home to her mother, sister and family. Jill is a kind person whose love for Iraq and the Iraqi people are evident in her articles. She's been welcomed into the homes of many Iraqis and shown every courtesy. From that experience, she understands the hardships and suffering that the Iraqi people face every day." "Jill is a friend and sister to many Iraqis and has been dedicated to bringing the truth of the Iraq war to the world. We appeal for the speedy and safe return of our beloved daughter and sister." Now, unlike many Western journalists in Iraq, Jill did speak some Arabic and had been living in Iraq full time since the fall of 2003 Wolf.
[Blitzer:] We wish her only the best. Andrea, thank you very much for that. And coming up, we'll have much more on the situation in Iraq. He may have been the most powerful man in Baghdad after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Paul Bremer spent a controversial year as the U.S. civilian administrator for Iraq. He's out with a new book. You'll be surprised at some of his frank criticism of the way the war was run, the aftermath of the war. Paul Bremer standing by in THE SITUATION ROOM. That's coming up this hour. Today in our look at the culture wars, should a doctor be allowed to prescribe lethal amounts of medicine to help a terminally ill patient commit suicide? Today the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on a controversial law on doctor-assisted suicide, and it's a stunning, stunning blow to Bush administration. Brian Todd is standing by with details Brian.
[Brian Todd, Cnn Correspondent:] Wolf, this is an issue that according to a recent poll divides Americans right in half. And this ruling comes at crucial time for one woman who may have to make a wrenching decision very soon.
[Todd:] Charlene Andrews is a late-stage breast cancer patient from Oregon who wants to die on her terms, not have the government or the disease decide when and where. Andrews is thrilled with the Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling upholding Oregon's assisted suicide law.
[Charlene Andrews, Cancer Patient:] The U.S. Supreme Court did justice in recognizing the feelings and the needs of the people who have this terminal illness to be able to use that process in a compassionate and dignified manner.
[Todd:] The Bush administration had argued against that process based on the Controlled Substances Act, which makes it illegal to take or administer powerful drugs that the Justice Department argued have no legitimate medical purpose. New Chief Justice John Roberts was in the minority siding with that argument. But writing for the majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy stated, "The U.S. attorney general simply doesn't have the power to block a state law that's been passed twice by voters. A victory for states' autonomy doesn't appease those who believe assisted suicide goes against the basic premise of a doctor's oath."
[James Bopp, National Right To Life:] It is not medical treatment. It is the absence, it is the opposite of medical treatment. It is doing harm to your patient.
[Todd:] Other opponents believe the law discriminates against the elderly and devalues people with disabilities. Experts on law and medical ethics say the debate over end-of-life issues may well turn with this ruling.
[Lawrence Gostin, Center For Law And Public Health:] I predict that a lot of states are going to say, well, it matters to my my citizens about how they die. And I want to give them this option.
[Todd:] Another expert says those who favor the law can cite Oregon's track record. Since the law went into effect in 1997, he says he knows of no cases of abuse, no instance where a patient was mistakenly induced into suicide Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Brian Todd reporting. Thank you, Brian, very much. What will the Supreme Court ruling on assisted suicide mean nationwide? Let's go to our Internet reporter, Abbi Tatton. She's been monitoring the situation online Abbi.
[Abbi Tatton, Cnn Internet Reporter:] This is the state Web page, Wolf, for Oregon where they have the information about the Assisted Suicide Act and also the forms here, the requests for medication. Also, reports into how many people have been requesting medication each year under this act. And this is the state that people are looking for looking to, groups like Death With Dignity, who are looking for legislation like this in states across the country. They're saying that California and Vermont are the states closest to considering similar legislation right now. On the other side, people also looking at this state law, religious groups like the National Right to Life, who oppose assisted suicide. Also, disability groups like Not Dead Yet. This is a group that has been opposing this recent decision here. They're a disability rights group who say that decisions like this send the wrong message about disabled people and people with terminal illnesses Wolf.
[Blitzer:] Abbi, thank you very much. And another life-and-death court case. This one very, very tragic as well. The Massachusetts Supreme Court says the state can take an 11- year-old girl off life support. The girl is under state custody and is in a permanent vegetative state. Her adoptive mother and stepfather allegedly kicked and beat her with a baseball bat. The mother was found dead two weeks after being charged with assault and battery. The stepfather has been fighting to keep the girl on life support. If his stepdaughter dies, he could be charged with her murder. Moving on now, there may be a new storm brewing along the Gulf Coast, where lawmakers are getting a firsthand look at the rebuilding effort. And there's fresh criticism of New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin after his bluntly-stated vision of a new New Orleans.
[Mayor Ray Nagin, New Orleans:] This city will be chocolate at the end of the day. This city will be a majority African-American city. It's the way God wants it to be.
[Blitzer:] Our Gulf Coast correspondent, Susan Roesgen, caught up with the mayor earlier today. Susan's joining us now live from New Orleans. What's going on, Susan?
[Susan Roesgen, Cnn Gulf Coast Correspondent:] A lot of people are talking about this. The mayor told me that he's sorry. He said he didn't mean to say what he said. He said it didn't come out right. He says he knows that he offended a lot of people here and he'd like to move just on. But many people cannot stop talking about the mayor's call for a chocolate New Orleans.
[Nagin:] And when we come together...
[Roesgen:] In his speech, Mayor Nagin claimed to be speaking for god. But today, ordinary folks, black and white, standing in line for city permits to rebuild their hurricane-damaged homes, say the mayor was out of line. [on camera]: As a white woman, what do you think of the mayor's remarks?
[Unidentified Female:] White, black, indifferent. It doesn't matter. It's just you can't reunite a city if you have comments that are, you know, I think going to divide a city. I don't think they were inflammatory or divisive or but I think he should have chosen his words more carefully.
[Roesgen:] Mayor Nagin says he should have chosen his words more carefully.
[Nagin:] If I could take anything back, that's what I would take, any references to god. I think that was inappropriate for that particular setting. It was something that I had discussed with a minister several weeks before, and for some reason, it became top of mine and it became part of that speech. It was totally inappropriate.
[Roesgen:] Inappropriate, but do you believe it, that this should be a majority African-American city?
[Nagin:] Well, I just look at the data. And the data tells me that from every perspective that the city will come back, and it will be, you know, a very diverse city, similar to what we had before.
[Roesgen:] Pre-Katrina, the city was 67 percent African-American. And Nagin says he was trying to give tens of thousands of displaced African-Americans hope that the city would help them return. But back in the line for building permits, one man said the mayor's comments about a chocolate New Orleans were ridiculous.
[Unidentified Male:] He used the wrong dairy product to describe us. We're more Neapolitan, not chocolate. We're more vanilla, strawberry you know, it's just stupid. It was a stupid comment on his part. And, you know, it's just pitiful. It doesn't do the city any justice.
[Roesgen:] Now, many people I heard from today, Wolf, said they're afraid. They're afraid that the mayor's comments were sounding so outlandish, that the rest of the nation may be less inclined now to try to help New Orleans recover.
[Blitzer:] Susan, thank you very much. Susan Roesgen in New Orleans. And wondering what the New Orleans mayor, Ray Nagin, meant by his comments? Well, wonder no more. The mayor sets the record straight tonight live on "AC 360, "ANDERSON COOPER 360." The comments, the controversy, the exclusive. Anderson keeps the mayor honest tonight live, 10:000 p.m. Eastern. Now to a widely-watched political decision. Since his re- election to the Senate in 2000, Mississippi Republican Trent Lott has weathered many storms. 2002, he was pushed out as majority leader after some controversial comments. Last year, Hurricane Katrina destroyed his beachside home. So it was anyone's guess if he'd seek a fourth term. Today, Lott announced that he will run again. The 64-year-old recently hinted he may run for another leadership position in the Senate. We'll watch this story with you. In the meantime, let's go back to New York. Jack Cafferty standing by with more Jack.
[Jack Cafferty, Cnn Anchor:] Thank you, Wolf. In "The Cafferty File" today, we're looking at stupid things people chose to say on Martin Luther King Day. This hour, it's Senator Hillary Clinton in New York. We'll get to Mayor Ray Nagin in THE SITUATION ROOM at 7:00. Senator Clinton removed any doubt about her Hollywood liberalism when she said this to a mostly black audience at a Baptist church in Harlem.
[Sen. Hillary Clinton , New York:] When you look at the way the House of Representatives has been run, it has been run like a plantation. And you know what I'm talking about.
[Cafferty:] No, exactly what were you talking about, Senator Clinton? She went on to call the Bush administration one of the worst in U.S. history. In response, the Republican National Committee said, "On a day when Americans were focused on the legacy of Martin Luther King, Hillary Clinton is focused on the legacy of Hillary Clinton." Here's the question: What did Hillary Clinton mean when she said the House of Representatives has been run like a plantation? You can e-mail us at CaffertyFile@CNN.com.
[Blitzer:] You're there in New York, Jack. She's got to run for re-election this year to the U.S. Senate before she can run for president in 2008. What's does she have an opponent yet in New York?
[Cafferty:] It wouldn't matter. I mean, she'll be re-elected very easily in New York. The Republicans have no one. Jeanine Pirro thought she was going to make a run. That didn't go anywhere. She'll be re-elected to the Senate. The constituency in New York is right up her ally.
[Blitzer:] All right, Jack. Thanks very much. Jack Cafferty, with "The Cafferty File." Up ahead, in 2003 he was Washington's top man in Iraq, painting a positive picture of the U.S. occupation. Now Paul Bremer tells a very different story in a brand-new book. I'll ask him about the discrepancies between what he said then and what he's writing now. Also, lawsuits over domestic spying. We'll show you who's suing the Bush administration over government eavesdropping on U.S. citizens. And there's a surprise development in a California lawsuit over the teaching of intelligent design. We'll show you what happened today. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.