Gay Marriage Debate Reignited in Congress; Terror Threat From the North?
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: And, to our viewers, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM, where new pictures and information are arriving all the time. Standing by, CNN reporters across the United States and around the world to bring you tonight's top stories. Happening now: a crackdown on security at America's northern border, after an alleged terror plot was thwarted. It's 7:00 p.m. in New York state, where officials are now raising new red flags about the al Qaeda threat and whether the Bush administration is protecting some prime targets -- tough questions tonight for the president's homeland security adviser, Fran Townsend. Also this hour, the capital of Somalia reportedly captured by an Islamic militia with alleged ties to al Qaeda. It's 2:00 a.m. Tuesday in Mogadishu. Have allies of Osama bin Laden won a bloody battle, and have they delivered a new blow to Washington? And a new political assault on gay marriage -- the president and Republican leaders revive the issue and reach out to their conservative base. It is 7:00 p.m. here in Washington, where supporters of a gay marriage ban say they are protecting children, and critics say they're pandering. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. Tonight: new fear about al Qaeda on the move and possibly ready to attack. U.S. authorities have increased security at the border with Canada two days after Canadian authorities announced they busted an alleged plot to bomb major buildings in the Toronto area. Seventeen suspects said to be inspired by al Qaeda are now in custody. The arrests sent shockwaves through the U.S. and straight into New York's City Hall. Tonight, the mayor, Michael Bloomberg, raging mad about plans to slash federal funding to protect New York from bioterrorism. Adding to the al Qaeda jitters tonight, reports that the capital of Somalia has been captured by an Islamic militia said to be under the say of the Osama bin Laden terror network. Our Zain Verjee is standing by with more on that. First, let's go to New York. Mary Snow has the latest on the latest threat potentially coming from Canada -- Mary.</s>MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, New York is a key border state with Canada. And with the terror suspects arrest, there are concerns being raised about border security. Now, the Associated Press reports tonight that U.S. Border Patrol stations, in particular those adjoining Ontario, are on -- quote -- "high alert" due to recent terror arrests in Canada. Now, this comes right on top of New York getting hit with a cut in anti-terror funds that has sparked an uproar. Anti-terror money allocated to New York was cut by 40 percent. Now two mayors, one former, one present, are fighting back. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani blames incompetence and poor decision-making, not politics, for the cuts. He says he will join Mayor Mike Bloomberg, if needed, to fight to get the money restored. At a news conference today, Bloomberg vowed to press forward with his case to Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff.</s>MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (R), MAYOR OF NEW YORK: I still don't, for the life of me, understand why the decision was made to reduce New York City and Washington, D.C., as much as it was. You know, if they had said the pool was slightly smaller and scaled everyone back proportionally, you could at least understand it. Whether there was a political motive or not, I would hope that there was not. I hope it was just poor judgment based on the facts.</s>SNOW: Now, a spokesman for the mayor says that Mr. Bloomberg did speak with Michael Chertoff late today for about 40 minutes by phone. There was no information on whether Chertoff was receptive to changing the anti-terror money, which last week was pegged to the application process filed by New York City -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Thanks very much, Mary, for that. And we are going to speak this hour with the president's homeland security adviser, Fran Townsend, on this issue, as well as the latest involving terror threats perhaps emanating from Canada. Let's turn now, though to an apparent setback for the United States in the war against terror taking place in an extremely dangerous part of the world. There has been a war of proxies taking place in Somalia. And, at this hour, it looks like the other side has won a major battle. CNN's Zain Verjee joining us now from the CNN Center with the latest details -- Zain.</s>ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, reports from both Reuters and the Associated Press out of Mogadishu indicate that an Islamic militia with alleged links to al Qaeda now controls the capital. This follows months of bloody fighting between the Islamists and Somali warlords. Now, since February, more than 300 people have been killed and more than 1,000 wounded in the crossfire of guns and grenades. There are reports, too, that those warlords are being backed and funded by the U.S. The U.S. hasn't confirmed or denied that, really saying only it backs those who fight terror.</s>SEAN MCCORMACK, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: We do have real concerns about the presence of foreign terrorists in Somalia. And that is a -- that informs an important aspect of our policy with regard to Somalia.</s>VERJEE: Wolf, Somalia has been in a state of anarchy, as you know, since 1991, when the government there collapsed. Since then, warlords have basically run Somalia in patchworks of little fiefdoms. This Islamist militia, though, is the first to gain control over all of the neighborhoods in the capital since 1991. It is also likely that they are going to impose Sharia law, or strict Islamic law. The U.S. has long been concerned that Islamists could provide al Qaeda with a fertile base in Somalia, almost similar to Afghanistan under the Taliban. And U.S. officials, too, believe, Wolf, that Islamist leaders in Mogadishu are protecting al Qaeda leaders, those that were indicted in the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, and also in the 2002 attack on an Israeli-owned hotel in Mombasa, on the coast of Kenya -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Zain, thank you very much, an important story. To our viewers, stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security. Closer to home, President Bush says he's protecting an institution. Critics accuse him of political pandering. He's restating his support for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages, as the U.S. Senate begins three days of debate on this very hot-button issue. New poll numbers just out show a majority of those asked say gay marriage should be illegal, 58 percent to 36 percent. But the same poll, an ABC News poll, shows a slim majority, 51 percent, believe the issue should be left up to the states, with only 42 percent actually supporting a constitutional amendment. CNN congressional correspondent Dana Bash is joining us now with the latest -- Dana.</s>DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, Republican leaders say they are debating this issue now to push a long-term policy goal. But doing this right now, debating it on the Senate floor five months before an election, is also part of a short-term political strategy. And that is to appeal to conservative voters who are disillusioned with Republicans in Washington.</s>BASH (voice-over): It sounded like a campaign flashback.</s>GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our policy should aim to strengthen families, not undermine them. And changing the definition of marriage would undermine the family structure.</s>BASH: After virtually ignoring the issue since he was reelected, the president reaffirmed his support for a constitutional ban on gay marriage, just as Senate Republicans opened debate. Why now?</s>SEN. WAYNE ALLARD (R), COLORADO: Make no mistake about it. Traditional marriage is under assault.</s>BASH: Supporters of a ban point to states like Nebraska, where, in 2004, an overwhelming 70 percent of voters passed an amendment banning gay marriage. But a federal judge overturned it last year.</s>BUSH: An amendment to the Constitution is necessary because activist courts have left our nation with no other choice.</s>BASH: Democrats accuse Republicans of putting gay marriage on the agenda to divert attention from issues voters care most about, like Iraq and high gas prices.</s>SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MINORITY LEADER: This is another one of President's -- the president's efforts to frighten, to distort, to distract, and confuse America.</s>BASH: In fact, the Senate is well short of the two-thirds majority needed to change the Constitution. Yet, supporters of a ban do expect to get more than 50 votes for the first time. They insist, momentum is key.</s>MATT DANIELS, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER, ALLIANCE FOR MARRIAGE: Right now, we have majority in the Senate. We believe that, the next time, we are going to have even more votes.</s>BASH: Republicans campaigned hard on this issue in 2004. But this is 2006. And some conservative activists feel taken for granted by a Republican president and Congress who talk up their issues around elections, but turn their backs once they win.</s>RICHARD VIGUERIE, CONSERVATIVE ACTIVIST: We have been betrayed, that we feel like we have been dealt a very, very serious blow by the ruling establishment. And I don't think they are going to really appreciate the depth of the -- the voters' anger until the morning after election.</s>BASH: The Republicans here in Congress are in overdrive, trying to diffuse that anger and trying to prove to rank-and-file Republicans they are in touch with issues they care about this election year. After they finish the gay marriage debate, they are going to focus on two other conservative proposals, Wolf, one to make estate tax permanent, and, next week, they're going to have a debate on banning flag burning -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Dana, thank you very much. Also, there are new developments tonight in the immigration wars. President Bush heads to the U.S. border with Mexico tomorrow to talk about security and a crackdown on illegal border crossings. Let's go to our White House correspondent Ed Henry -- Ed.</s>ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Wolf. That's right, the president heading to New Mexico tomorrow to inspect border control activities, just like he did last month along the Arizona-Mexico border. You remember the pictures of the president riding that all-terrain vehicle. Unclear whether another border trip will actually help break the stalemate on Capitol Hill. But it could help the White House try to rebuild the president's image. These trips square with what "TIME" magazine reported back in April. You will remember they talked about this informal five-point plan, that the new White House chief of staff, Josh Bolten, had a recovery plan for the president. Number one on that list: Beef up the number of patrol agents along the U.S.-Mexico border, and get the president down there for some pictures. I can tell you, today, White House spokesman Tony Snow was pressed a little on why the president is heading out on a road -- road show, why he's not working more behind the scenes here in Washington to try to forge a compromise in immigration reform. Snow said the president is actively involved in the legislative process here in Washington, but he also thinks it is important to get outside the beltway, take a close look at the border himself -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Ed Henry, thank you very much -- Ed Henry from the White House. Jack Cafferty is joining us from New York "The Cafferty File" -- Jack.</s>JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: It will probably look the same as it did a month ago when he was down there, don't you imagine? Same place.</s>BLITZER: Yes, but different...</s>CAFFERTY: Yes.</s>BLITZER: Maybe a different audience.</s>CAFFERTY: I love this sudden emphasis on, we have got to do something to protect it. He's had five years to close the border. And they haven't closed the border. The border is wide open. Iraq is back in the headlines, big time. The violence raging there, including a bombing that killed two CBS crew members, a soldier, and seriously wounded a CBS News correspondent. Then...</s>CAFFERTY: Excuse me. Then we had those kidnappings today...</s>CAFFERTY: Pardon me -- carried out by gunmen dressed as Iraqi policemen. But some TV correspondents are worried that audiences and producers in the United States are getting tired of coverage from Iraq. A story in "The Los Angeles Times" says, by the end of April, the amount of time devoted to Iraq on the weeknight newscasts of the three major television networks had dropped 60 percent from 2003. One media expert attributes the decline, what he calls the underreporting in Iraq, to several factors, including the danger for journalists who try to cover that story, the sense that continuing attacks are no longer news, and political pressure put on the networks, you know, how the administration says the media only reports the bad news from Iraq. Here's the question, then: Is the American public losing interest in the war in Iraq? E-mail us CaffertyFile@CNN.com, or go to CNN.com/CaffertyFile -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Jack, thank you very much -- Jack Cafferty. And if you want to preview Jack's questions, plus an early read on the day's political news and what's ahead here in THE SITUATION ROOM, sign up for our daily e-mail alert. Just go to CNN.com/SITUATIONROOM, and follow the instructions. Coming up, the rules of war -- we have some details of a heated debate over terror suspects under way right now inside the Pentagon. How far should the U.S. military go while interrogating detainees? Also, he's a brilliant student, accepted at Princeton University, courted by Oxford. He's also an illegal immigrant -- his story coming up. Plus, more on our top story -- U.S. and Canadian border security is tightened tonight. The White House homeland security adviser, Fran Townsend, joins us in THE SITUATION ROOM. Stay with us.