Transcripts For CNN CNN Newsroom 20110202

over the last several hours. clearly things out of control now. it seems like there is no kind of authority on the streets of cairo and elsewhere in egypt. anderson, if we could bring you back in to recap, update what you have been seeing for the viewers just joining us now at 11:00 eastern time. the sun has gone down, darkness is there and there is violence erupting in the streets. anderson. >> reporter: yes, suzanne, the situation has really deteriorated, and it's shocking that it's been allowed by the authors to go on this long. it is now 6:00 here, darkness has fallen. i'm not sure how grainy the pictures are but you are seeing several fires in front of the egyptian museum, a major landmark full of this country's historical treasures. in front of the museum for the last four-plus hours, we have seen pitch battles between anti-mubarak forces and pro-mubarak forces. the anti-mubarak forces -- there you see a monthly tauv cocktail being thrown. they have occupied tahrir square for the last nine days. they haven't had weapons, controlling access to the square, patting people down and peaceful protests. starting late wednesday morning in egypt, there was a pro-government demonstration several blocks away. another molotov cocktail being thrown off the building into the crowd. that is a very ominous development. that is the fifth or sixth time we have seen incendiary devices being launched off the top of that building. it fell, i'm told, onto an army truck, not into the crowd. the army put several vehicles between the pro-mubarak forces and anti-mubarak forces. we are seeing again, more and more molotov cocktails, incendiary devices being thrown into the anti-mubarak crowd. again, there does not seem to be -- i'm not seeing any sign of military reinforcements coming. we're seeing large numbers of molotov cocktails. there are military vehicles, apcs and tanks in front -- not visible with our cameras but it is not clear what the soldiers with the vehicles are doing or can do. i'm not sure how many troops are on the ground there but there's been no effort to bring in military backup in the four hours that we've been watching these battles unfold. >> you can give us a sense of the pro -- the anti-demonstrators? how does it break down? what are the size of these groups, and who are the ones who are instigating the violence, if you can tell, or is it a back and forth? do we know what kind of weapons they're using and what size we're talking about, the numbers here? >> reporter: well, i can tell you for a fact that the pro-mubarak forces came here looking for a fight or individuals in the crowd came here looking for a fight. these anti-mubarak demonstrators have been peaceful for the last nine days they have been occupying the square. there have been hundreds of thousands of people over the days peacefully demonstrating in this square. they would check people as they entered the square to make sure they didn't have weapons and tell people to be peaceful. it is only this morning with the large numbers of pro-mubarak demonstrators that the violence erupted, and the molotov cocktails are all being thrown from pro-mubarak forces toward the anti-mubarak forces. i was in the proud with the pro-mubarak forces about three hour ago. >> i can tell you i make it about to the area around the egyptian museum before the first punch was thrown at me and my team, and we very quickly. look at that, another large incendiary device being dropped in the area of the military vehicles. we were set upon by a crowd about three or four hours ago, a crowd that grew from a few people to 10 to 20 people who followed us as we tried to hastily make our exit from the area, and for about five minutes that it took us to quickly get back to a safe location, people would just come up, try to throw a punch, punched me in the head, punch my producer and my cameraman, try to grab his camera. it was a melee. there was no control over it. egyptian soldiers were standing on their tanks watching. it wasn't just us. there were many melees going on. there were a number of thugs, basically, males, in the pro-mubarak crowd clearly looking for a fight, clearly aggressive, clearly looking to make some sort of a statement today, and that's what they have been doing, and the pro-mubarak forces have just been growing. there is no control over trying to stop them from getting to the square by egyptian military forces which are all around this area. this entire square is hemmed in by the egyptian military, who, except for the ones that are maybe firing tear gas occasionally, largely seeps they are standing on their tanks or armored personnel carriers. >> do you have a sense of why people attacked you? are these people who feel like they have a cause now, that they support mubarak, or is this simply chaos? is this simply people running the streets and deciding they are going to attack whoever they want to attack? i mean, is there any sense of rhyme or reason to why these people are behaving like this? >> reporter: i wouldn't call it chaos. it is certainly chaotic, but there is rhyme and reason to it. there is a certain order it it. there are organized pro-mubarak groups that have arrived. they come in mass of 100 or 200 or 300, and there are definitely certain individuals in this crowd. i don't know what their employment is or who they are working for but they very clearly are looking to instigate violence. i was looking directly at the man who came up to me and punched me in the head and then once he started, other people gathered. it's just that there are a lot of them -- they're very anti-media, i guess. they think -- i'm not sure why they are targeting reporters, per se, but, clearly, they are -- again, i'm looking at more molotov cocktails being thrown. they are looking to instigate something. there's a reason they came to this square. they had a demonstration early wednesday morning about 3:00 a.m. several blocks from here that seemed to be sponsored by -- whether it was sponsored by the government or not, i can't say for sure, but it had a real sound system, music playing, all of the elements of a party, and starting early this morning at 5:00 a.m. when we were doing our show from our live shot location, we had rocks being thrown at us by pro-mubarak supporters. they were out there looking to instigate instances, and that is exactly what they have gotten today. now we hear shots being fired. it seems to be from the area in front of the egyptian museum. >> anderson, before all of this broke out, a lot of the protests that we had seen before were young men who were bringing their children. you saw women in the streets as well. can we assume that the women and children are no longer in the streets. >> reporter: wow, look at that? >> we can see more molotov cocktails being thrown. tell me what you're seeing, anderson from your vantage point. >> reporter: a truck is now on fire and i'm hearing repeated automatic weapon fire now several blocks away. i can't tell the exact location of it. it looks like one molotov cocktail found its way to a truck. water it being put on it. that's the area where the anti-mubarak supporters are in. to the right of that vehicle, that's the side where the anti-mubarak protesters are. there is another molotov cocktail. we are being launched by pro-mubarak protesters against the anti-mubarak protesters. are there women and children there? yes. absolutely. there are families that have put up tents and have been sleeping there. women, little children. we are seeing repeated molotov cocktails. people have just come to the pro-mubarak side bringing incendiary devices because that's what we're seeing being launched. you can imagine if they brought that, they have other weapons with them. i can tell you in the crowd that was attacking us, pushing us around, punches us about three or four hours ago, i just checked the video, there was a man with a large knife which thankfully i didn't see at the time and wasn't used in that melee. this is escalating. as darkness has come, i have to point out i have a bird's eye view, and i see three entrances to liberation square. i'm not seeing any efforts, any backup by the egyptian military. i'm not seeing any soldiers coming from any of the three directions i can see to the square to restore some sort of order. >> anderson, this may be difficult to answer, but do we have any sense of where these demonstrators are getting these weapons? have you seen anybody just handing off these kind of molotov cocktails to one another or do we have any idea why they would come with such fire power, really? >> reporter: well, i can only imagine they would come because they want to create violence. they want to make a statement. they want to attack the anti-mubarak protesters who have been peaceful now for eight or nine days. we are seeing now one molotov cocktail after another being fired. so obviously someone or a group of people have brought a large amount of incendiary devices. this is now one after the other, and i can tell you people in the crowd, inside the square, the anti-mubarak protesters. i'm not seeing any molotov cocktails being thrown back. i think they are trapped in the square. i think, it seems, from the two exits that i can see, there are pro-mubarak morses on both those exit points. i'm not sure if people in the square can get out even if they wanted to get out, and, again, there are women and children in there that have camped out. i think the people in the square are trapped unless there is an exit that is not surrounded by pro-mubarak forces. it is a very difficult and dangerous situation. again, with darkness coming, unless there is some sort of effort by egyptian military person noel separate these two, to allow some sort of order to be restored, there's no telling what can occur, suzanne. in terms of where they can get the weapons, over the last eight or nine days, as we have been witnessing and reporting, people have armed themselves because the police have been pulled off the streets. everybody, it seems, men at night are on street corners with clubs, knives, sticks, bats, keeping order, looking out for looters trying to protect their own neighborhoods. there's no shortage of makeshift weapons, and clearly molotov cocktails are among the arsenal now. >> anderson, you are much, much closer to this. we are simply watching this by video, and we hear kind of the rumblings of a crowd behind. what are you hearing from where you are? what does it sound like? >> reporter: i'm now several stories up and away from the front line. again, we were treated here several hours ago after being attacked by the crowd. you can hear kind of the general roar of the crowd, and it kind of escalates. there's been an ebb and a flow, a push and a pull, as the pro-mubarak forces will push forward and try to get into the square. a yell will go up from their side, and the same will happen with the anti-mubarak protesters as they try to push back. so you just hear a lot of murmuring, a lot of yelling, a few pro-mubarak chants here and there. but, there's not any public address system. i don't hear anyone with a bullhorn exhorting the crowd onward. it is just sort of individuals yelling, chanting, displaying flags and pro-mubarak signs and mubarak pictures. beneath me, i am actually seeing four ambulances that are stationed very close to my location which i suppose are treating anybody who happens to come from the pro-mubarak side. if mb is injured on the anti-mubarak side, i don't think they would be allowed -- i don't think they would risk coming through the pro-mubarak crowd because, again, there are a number of individuals in that crowd who are clearly looking for a fight and are looking to get a punch in whenever they can. >> anderson, we are going to come back to you. our own anchor anderson cooper there on the ground in cairo catching all of the developments. it has turned into a violent and chaotic scene there on the streets of cairo. we will be talking to jamie rubin about what the people in the streets do. is there anything the obama administration can do? a smooth transition for egyptian head hosni mubarak and whether or not this is the kind of thing that will continue in the hours and days to come. obviously a very chaotic situation on the ground there in cairo, egypt. we will keep a close eye on that and come back to anderson as the news warrants. we are also following another major, major story, that is the monster storm that is blanketing this country and causing chaos when it comes to travel and power outages, trying to get through the snow, the ice, the wind, just terrible conditions across about a third of the country. we'll have the details and much more news after the break. host: could switching to geico really save you 15% more on car insurance? host: does it take two to tango? ♪ ♪ anncr: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% omore on car insuranc we're going to go back to our anchor anderson cooper who is on the ground in cairo, on the streets of cairo there. we have been watching over the last several hours, but just in the last couple of minutes anderson describing really what seems to be an eruption of violence that's taking place there between those that are in support of president hosni mubarak's government, and those who are against. they seem to have a variety of weapons that they have brought with them. the latest we've seen, just the molotov cocktails that have been thrown from one side to the other. it seems as if there is no real authority there on the ground to te deal withed kind of violences that what erupted in the last couple of hours. anderson, if you can, explain to us what you are seeing and hearing on the ground and whether or not this looks like it could get worse. we're not sure if anderson can hear us from his vantage point. we're trying to see if he can actually hear us. but you are looking at live pictures there. this is breaking news. this is the violent clashes in cairo, egypt that we have seen over the last couple of days, as recently as yesterday, the thousands and thousands of people who gathered peacefully in tahrir square, liberation squa square, who have been promoting a movement that led to president mubarak saying he would not seek re-election in september. jamie rubin is joining us to give us a bigger picture of all of this. it's been an extraordinary development but what is so worrisome is what we have seen just within the last couple of hours here. do you think this was inevitable? >> yes. i think it's very important for viewers and listeners from the world when looking at this pictures to remember that the square has become a stage now in which the mubarak administration and government is trying to play out its scenario for the future. they are trying to argue now through all of their actions, whether by the army, police, rent-a-crowd protesters, they are trying to play out a scenario where president mubarak has said he would step down. he's been reasonable. now look what's happening? there are clashes, instabl and violence. if you had a broader lens and were looking at egypt more widely and not just the square, i doubt you would see the protester violence occurring against each other and i think would you have a very different impression of what's going on in egypt. i think it's in the interest of the mubarak government to have the world worried now about violence, to be worried about the kind of chaos that could, if it really did spread to the rest of the country and the region, pose real problems for the rest of the world. but it's in their interest for the world to be saying, oh, look, we have gone far enough, we've got the changes we need on the part of the mubarak government. they've agreed that he won't run in september, that his son won't run. we just need a few months for a transition. >> let me understand what you are saying, it is in their interest to look at this and say, oh, my goodsness, it's chaos in the street. do you think or is there any evidence, any suggestion at all that president mubarak hmg is behind some of what we're seeing today, the violence on the street, whether it's through arming some of these individuals, whether it's the military that has said before that they would not strike against the protesters? because there are some people on the ground who us respect that maybe he has a hand in this. >> well, i have talked to a number of people on the ground who are veterans of these situations, and the individuals who have been attacking journalists' cars, like anderson cooper and journalists directly and other journalists' cars, are of a certain type, yurnlly former intelligence or police officers, young men paid by the government, government skorters, and they are playing out an act on the stage that is the square that is now being shown to the world the threat of violence, and they are hoping very much those who support president mubarak. i have no idea whether he is personally doing this but clearly there is a large government and a large party and a large number of individuals in egypt who have an interest in some form of the status quo. they would not like to see mubarak get on a plane and leave the country and have the top layers of his party depart, and they very much want to have the world move from a position of pressuring mubarak to leave to a position of encouraging the military and the security forces to establish control, and so by creating these incidents -- and i have no doubt there are mubarak supporters who are intentionally creating the impression of widescale violence in order, perhaps, in the future, near or later, i don't know, to justify establishing control through the military. >> oh, jamie, what does president obama do? is there anything that the white house, that the president should be doing now? picking up the phone? we know he spoke earlier with the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, the prime minister of turkey, saudi arabia. does he need to get on the phone and say, look, there is something more that has to happen here? clearly, this is not calming the crowds, and president mubarak's statement has not made things better? >> well, actually, i think, suzanne, it is important not to panic here. i think the impression of violence and chaos that the mubarak supporters are trying to create with the molotov cocktails and rent-a-crowds is precisely to get the whole world worried that an immediate step needs to be taken to stop what is going on in the square, but the only step that is likely to be taken that can achieve that is for support to develop for the government fors, the military, the security, the police, to clear the square, and if you remember, tiananmen square, all of the events in lebanon, in iran, it's all about who owns the image of that square and what steps need to be taken by one side or the other to create the impression for the wider public and the country and the wider world of what the policy ought to be. if i were in government, as you asked me, i would be urging president obama to step back a little bit now. i think it's time for this to be handed over to the secretary of state and the secretary of defense. he has made the steps necessary to show president mubarak and the people on the ground that the united states is on the side of change. he has shown, obviously, great support for president mubarak given the difficult situation we are in, and, now, what we don't want to do is panic. we don't want to let the pro-regime supporters push us because of a few molotov cocktails and some very unfortunate injuries into supporting or endorsing some re-establishment of control by the army or clearing of this stage. >> okay, jamie. we're going to get back to new a moment. i want to bring our viewers up to speed on some of the things that have taken place on ground, some surreal and bizarre scenes and also very dangerous. this is our own reporter and what she experienced earlier in the day. i want you to take a look. >> reporter: out of nowhere, it seems, demonstrators on camelback and horseback started charging in. at that point, theres of a rush of people in the other direction. i got caught in it, and i got slammed against the gate and was threatened by a pro-mubarak protesters who was threatening me and telling me to get out, get out, and getting very close to my face, and another protesters took my by my shoulder and said to the man threatening me don't touch her, she's with me. at that point, my fear was i was going to get trampled. >> that was hala gorani. you saw people on horseback and camels. it may seem strange for those who don't know egypt and some of the areas, having lived there for a while, some areas, you have urban areas and turn the corner and have a market full of camels and hors, people selling vegetables and fruits on the street. people using everything they have to protect themselves, and some we see using it to promote violence, to cause trouble and chaos on the streets there, but we are now looking at live pictures. you can see there in tahrir square people chanting, people on both sides of this volatile issue. the pro-mubarak side, some of them at least, turning to violence, using what anderson cooper has desibed as sticks, machetes, knives, all kinds of things to release their anner and cause trouble. there are also those against president mubarak. it over the last couple of days it has been very peaceful but as you can see this video that we got earlier, molotov cocktails that have been thrown, fires that have been ignited, some who are trying to put out the fires, and, clearly, a very difficult situation, a very nerve wracking, and a lot of people very worried. more of this on the other side of this quick break. client comes in and they have a box. and inside that box is their financial life. people wake up and realize. "i better start doing something." we open up that box. we organize it. and we make decisions. we really are here to help you. they look back and think "wow. i never thought i could do this." but we've actually done it. [ male announcer ] visit ameriprise.com and put a confident retirement more within reach. >> you are watching it scenes developing out of cairo, egypt there orrin streets in tahrir square. this is where there are protesters, both for and against president mubarak. it has gotten chaotic just within the last couple of hours as we have seen our own cnn anchor anderson cooper on the ground there. he's been watching developments and describing to us what we have been seeing in the pictures from earlier in the day. molotov cocktails thrown, fires, hoses trying to put out some of the pfeiffers. clearly, a lot of people on the streets. completely an unruly situation in this section of tahrir square. this is something that really is the worst that people had hoped would not happen, the worst imagined here. there had been thousands and thousands of people who had gathered to make their views known to protest the mubarak government. now you have people have come out in support against and a clash that has happened between these two groups. you can see those pictures there of them trying to put out some of those fires. our own michael holmes is joining us to break it down. micha michael, the big picture is we are seeing chaos erupt but this is an indication of something that is happening much larger in the region that we have seen signs of those who are unhappy, who are frustrated and revolting against their government. >> you are absolutely right, suzanne. this is a regional problem at the moment. this is where it all started, tu nearby sha, tunis. what you are seeing in cairo is interesting. it took a month to have people leave power. this is a week. you had trouble in algeria as well, and some protests in sudan. yemen is important. the president said he is not going to run again in 2013 when he is up for re-election. there is concern because he said that before. in 2005, he said that and didn't keep his word. all of these countries where the problem is happening it comes back to the u.s. in some geopolitical sense. yemen has a rebel 87. it is a battleground for al qaeda. the yemeni government has been an ally in fighting that. in the yemeni government looks under threats, that is a big issue. poorest country in the region. when you go in and look around where it is happening in cairo, egypt, and then jordan, which we have touched on a little bit. the king making let's call it a preemptive peace strike, by firing the prime minister, basically shaking up the government there, trying to get ahead of the game, if you like. jordan does not want to see anything like what's going on in cairo. it's a complicated population. 60% palestinian, refugees who fled after the wars in israel, and also you have half a million iraqis there as well. the muslim brotherhood is active there as well. the king, the constitutional monarchy, but there are elections. some say the election system is a little perhaps not perfect, a lot of gerrymandering that goes on there, and they are calls for that to be more open as well. watch out for jordan. there's going to be demonstrations there. syria, very important, seen as baking lebanon and hezbollah, a spoiler in the region. there is a call for a day of rough, a day of rage there on saturday. that's going out 32 facebook and other social media. facebook is banned in syria, so there is no way to know how wide a call that is in damascus. there are a lot of regimes there with solid security apparatuses. to see what would happen if there is any kind of large gathering in damascus is going to be interesting, to, where the president would not be shy in cracking down. they are all different countries. you can't just say the arab world this is happening. every country has its own issues and regime to deal with, if you like. it's hard to say resolutions are exportable. they are not. however, the common themes are the same, poverty, unemployment, people not happy with not having enough of a say. you are seeing people getting more emboldened, and starting to say, we're not afraid of the security forces anymore. we certainly saw that in egypt and tu nearby sha. it is very important for the region generally. the other thing, israel stuck in the whole middle of this, right, very worried. two major allies -- well, not allies but countries that have done peace deals with israel, jordan, egypt, right on the border there. if there are different governments in egypt and jordan at some point, they are unlikely to be at the same level of cooperation with israel that we have seen out of the governments that are there at the moment. worth remembering. >> michael, i know speaking with senior administration officials, exchanging e-mail today, they're very concerned about what they are seeing in cairo. taking a look at pictures from earlier. these are live picks that we're seeing. it's very dark, difficult to see, but it still seems that the streets are quite crowded with protesters from both sides. what the white house is concerned about is that there are a lot of leaders, those leaders in those countries that you mentioned, in the region, who are looking, looking to us, looking to the united states, some sort of leadership in terms of how the obama administration responds, and you've got somebody like hosni mubarak, president mubarak, who has been a loyal ally of the united states. here's someone who made peace with israel, who has gone up and fought against al qaeda, has moderated hamas, and, has, for the large part, tried to keep radical islamives out of the country, at bay, and these other leaders are very much worried that they might lose the support of the united states because of what's happened over the last 24 to 48 hours. >> there are those, however, who will argue that the mubarak regime in cracking down so hard on opposition groups, including islamic groups actually fermented a lot of anti--u.s. fervor, a lot who were locked up and tortured and went off to cause problems in places like afghanistan. there is another side on that argument that mubarak kept a lid on extremism but in part that lid helped ferment extremism as well. you wouldn't want to be in the white house right now, i got to tell you, because the line there walking could not be thinner. you have to try to engender some sort of peaceful overtures here, try to sort things out and make things as smooth as possible using whatever influence you can but you don't want to look too involved, too invested. this is a neighborhood where the u.s. is not seen on the street as the best friend of these people out there demonstrating. there was a poll done in egypt not that long ago that showed approve alt of the u.s. in general was under 20%. so the guys out there demonstrating in these various countries, on the grass roots level -- now, the u.s. can go in there and support governments or say reassuring things to vary leaders. they have to be careful about not looking two involved because this is a grass roots, street-level thing we're seeing. >> i want to bring back our own jamie rubin to weigh in on what michael is saying there. obviously, president obama trying to set the reset button making the speech fairly early on in the administration that there's going to be a new relationship with the middle east. we see what's unfolding here. do we think this is something that is successful? do we think this is a good thing, this is progress that we're watching here? >> well, i think you have to remember that, yes, president obama reset relations with much of the world with policies on the war on terrorism and iraq. but he also very clearly put aside the so-called freedom agenda of president bush, and he chose cairo as the location for his speech and fully embraced president mubarak. he did not publicly choose to make known to the egyptian people or the people in the region our private criticisms on the grounds of the crackdowns or lack of democratic values. that was a choice, a policy choice. in the case of iran, when the street demonstrations occurred in the spring of 2009, president obama was very careful not to get too far ahead of it. now, they said that was because they didn't want to make is seem like it was a u.s. operation, but the real reason, i suspect, is because they wanted to pursue the nuclear agreement. in short, pushing for democratic change in the arab world has not been a hallmark of the u.s. administration, and that's why this last week it's been so difficult for the administration to catch up with events on the ground. and i think it's extremely important right now with this violence occurring that the white house not be pressured either by the media, by congr s congress, by events, into moving -- into accept or support or otherwise acquiesce in a decision to clear the square or support a military crackdown. that's exactly what the mubarak supporters want. they wanted to create these images today. they wanted to create a sense of panic so that the u.s. government would support a clearing of the square or a crackdown. >> and, jamie, you know it best, but obviously, there is self-interest of the united states why president obama -- president mubarak, rather, has been such a strong ally, and the bush administration, clinton administration, others have looked the other way at times when there have been complaints. repression and oppression, that he has not been a perfect ally. but the administration and the united states needs egypt. they need this cornerstone of stability which once was stability. who do they look for for that new leadership? is that the muslim brotherhood. there is the possibility that could bring up an islamic state. >> i think you are right, president mubarak was as good an ally as you could imagine as the leader of egypt. it's impossible for me to contemplate a leader that would be more pro-american, support our policies with regard to israel and iraq and iran and terrorism. we have to live in the real world. in the real world, he has been there for 30 years. we have given him support for 30 years. for now us having made clear that he needs to make available parliamentary elections and changes that he refused to listen to us. we're not abandoning an ally. he did this to himself because he didn't listen to the things we said to him privately. there will be a new leadership in egypt. we don't know what it will be. but we shouldn't jump to believe that the muslim brotherhood is going to capture the country of egypt. there are hundreds of thousands of secular egyptians on the streets who have been the primary movers of this change, and the muslim brotherhood has a level of support. it's hard to gauge it precisely, but it's not the leader of this effort and not likely to be in charge. in fact, it's extremely unlikely that they would be in charge. so we will have a leadership in egypt. we need to get a dialogue together. i think the right thing we should be pushing for is to get some form of roundtable going, and in that case, we will have a leadership that is not as pro-american as mubarak but it will be plenty pro-american and plenty in favor of stability and the policies we believe in. >> i want to thank you for your insights and we will get back to you. i want the viewers to take a look at these picks, these picks we have been watching with you, the event that is unfolding there on the streets of cairo. this is obviously clearly earlier, day time video that was taken. this is essentially when it started, the violence back and forth. you can see people throwing stones, sticks. some armed with machetes. that from accounts from the ground. just both sides, again, looks like there is no kind of authority, whether it was military or police on the ground. these are people who are just unleashing, it seems, anger and frustration. i want to you take a listen. now, it may seem strange and odd but you see those on horseback. you see some camels in the scene. this is clearly a scene that is out of control as people start to punch and kick and use any kind of weapon that they happen to have there on the streets in their hands. in cairo, there are areas where it's urban, and very sophisticated, very modern. you can walk two blocks and have a camel farm, people selling fruits and vegetables, horses in a stable, and you can see here by the video that there are people who have mounted those horses and are attacking others in the crowd. this from earlier when it was daytime in cairo, and things really started to get out of control. sticks and stones, a lot of people who are very upset and frightened, and this is exactly what people had feared was going to happen, which is now happening and is now dark in cairo, and everybody is paying very close attention to see what happens to the egyptian people and what is ahead in their future. we're going to take a quick break. ] ♪ [ male announcer ] old el paso stand 'n stuff taco shells. old el paso. feed your fiesta. we are following thebreaking news happening out of cairo, egy egypt. you can see from pictures earlier today it is now nighttime. violence erupted on the street as demonstrators throw molotov cocktails. fires are being ignited and forces there, trying to put out the fire with hoses. we know there are people who have been wounded. we know our own anchor anderson cooper also experiencing on the other end of some of that violence there. obviously, it has become a chaotic and frightening scene there as people are trying to figure out who is in charge, if anyone is in charge at this moment. i want to go to our own ben wedeman who has been in cairo, scene the developments, joining us by phone now. ben, what do you make of what has happened over the last several hours? >> reporter: i think what we're seeing, suzanne, is a government-sanctioned lynch mob going after the protesters in tahrir square who have by and large occupied the square but have been peaceful for the most part since culling here. and la occupied the square have been peaceful for the most part when coming here. i think this is revenge by the mubarak regime for these demonstrations. this is revenge for the destruction, the burning of the massive building that houses the headquarters of the ruling national democratic party. it appears the regime has made no effort whatsoever to prevent what was clearly going to be a violent clash between the anti-government protesters and these people who have come in support of the government and in support of hosni mubarak. what we're seeing is the army is playing a completely passive role, apparently making no effort to prevept this from happening. and, of course, worth mentioning there are no police on the ground. there are no riot police. this, of course, is a government -- it has more than 1 million people in its security apparatus, but it appears none have been deployed today to prevent what was inevitable. i was in our office this morning at about noon. there were 4,000 to 5,000 pro government demonstrators there, and they made it clear they were going to go to tahrir square and confront the anti-government movement. so there we have it. >> you say it was inevitable. was there any sense at all that the regime that's still in power, i assume, mubarak's regime, that they would do anything, that they would plan to try to keep these two sides from attacking each other? >> reporter: well, i think all the circumstances point to one thing, a deliberate decision to allow this to happen. there's, as i said, no effort was made to prevent it. i was, in fact, caught right between the two groups. initially, it was fascinating. the two groups met. they chanted, and in the front line people started to debate and discuss peacefully, even though with loud voices, their differences. it was only after about 15 to 20 minutes of this with rocks and shoes and stones and sticks and metal bars started to slide between the two sides. it appeared there were elements who were planning this -- what you're seeing now with molotov cocktails being thrown from the roofs of buildings around tahrir square down onto the anti-government protesters. clearly, there was some premeditation in all of this. >> ben, explain to us, though, because these are people, they live side by side. these are families, some people relatives or friends. how does something like this happen where you have this kind of violence, egyptian against egyptian here. at least to my understanding, it seems like it's no longer a protest for or against president mubarak. how is it that egyptians are turning on each other like this? >> reporter: well, because they have such great differences of opinion regarding president mubarak. now, what's interesting is that the crowd in tahrir square, the anti-government demonstrators, by and large tended to be better educated, more sophisticated, more worldly than the people who are now attacking them in the square. i spoke to many of the pro-government protesters. for the most part, they seem to be government workers and others who didn't seem to have any profession at all. there's a distinct difference between the two groups. >> this difference, are we seeing -- is this an expression of built-up frustration, pent-up frustration between these groups before, the haves and the have nots perhaps? >> reporter: perhaps you can put it that way. we don't really know the true motivations behind the pro-government demonstrators. i've heard all sorts of things, that people were told, if they wanted to get their end of the month paycheck, that they would first have to go to tahrir square, demonstrate, and then go back to their ministry and pick up those paychecks. we saw that several of the so-called demonstrators who were captured by the protest movement ended up having -- they had the police i.d. cards. so it's not at all clear whether this is a class difference, whether -- or what exactly is going on. certainly, what you sense among the anti-government protesters there, a lot of people frustrated with the lack of opportunity for them in egypt. and that certainly will also be the case for almost all young people in egypt. this is a country where 60% of the population is under the age of 25. you have huge youth unemployment and very little for them to do. >> ben, i want you to hold on there. we're going to try to bring in our own cnn anchor anderson cooper. anderson, can you hear us? >> reporter: yeah, i hear you. >> can you give us an update from where you are. we saw there was quite a lot of violence, molotov cocktails being thrown from where you are. >> reporter: yeah, i'm overlooking the egyptian museum. it's very difficult to tell at this point. it seems that both lines have stabilized though i'm seeing now a large group of pro-mubarak protesters, kind of fresh arrivals, who are now moving into the center of the pro-mubarak crowd trying to get closer to the front. it looks like the pro-mubarak side is about halfway -- right about in front of -- about halfway in front of the egyptian museum. the anti-mubarak side has retained their line on the other side. i've just seen a number of molotov cocktails continue to be thrown. there's a fire burning close to the front lines right in front of the egyptian museum. several ambulances have kind of made their way closer to the front. they're about at the north corner of the egyptian museum. there's three or four ambulances which are just kind of sitting there with their lights on ready to help anyone who's injured. but the only injuries they would be receiving would be pro-mubarak protesters. i think it would be very difficult for an anti-mubarak protester, an injured one, to be brought through the crowd. there's a high level of hostility and anger in the midst of that crowd. a number of people there coming, looking for a fight, and a fight is certainly what they've had on their hands for the last several hours as we've seen kind of this ebb and flow of both sides. one side would surge forward. but the battle on this side is more -- >> anderson, we're going to take a quick break, and we're going to come back to you to get more details about what you're seeing on the ground. [ female announcer ] enjoy a complete seafood dinner for two for just $29.99 at red lobster. with fresh salads and biscuits. your choice of entrees. and an appetizer or a dessert to share. for a limited time at red lobster. hostcould switching to geico 15% or more on car insurance? man: no way! man: hey rick check this out! anncr: geico. 15 minutes could save 15% or more on car insurance. top of the hour, i'm suzanne malveaux. let's get you up to speed on two breaking stories. in cairo, supporters of egyptian president hosni mubarak stormed tahrir square today and fought anti-government protesters. here at home, snow, ice, and subzero cold has paralyzed a large section of the country. the view from space shows the enormity of this winter storm. it stretches more than 2,000 miles from the plain states to new england. first, chaos in egypt. the army is trying to stop a five-hour battle in tahrir square. soldiers fired tear gas and warning shots trying to separate government supporters and opponents. some people are armed with machetes, razors, clubs. molotov cocktails are flying. and this surreal scene. government supporters charged the square on horse and camels swinging clubs at protesters. it is unclear how many have been wounded. following the lead of egyptian president hosni mubarak, yemen's president announced today he will not run for office again when his term ends in 2013. ali abdullah salei also pledged he would not turn power over to his son. they say their protests will go ahead tomorrow as planned. and a powerful category 5 cyclone is slamming northeastern australia today. the storm came ashore in queensland state, the same region that had the massive flooding last month. top wind gusts are 180 miles an hour. the storm is not expected to wind down until friday. and air travel is a mess across the united states today. this is a massive winter storm that has led to airlines to cancel thousands more flights. boston's logan airport hopes to reopen today, but it's going to be tomorrow before chicago apgs o'hare is up and running. now, this monster storm's gusty winds made standing up even a challenge in chicago. take a look at that. the city is buried under 19 inches of snow. that is a february record. the heart of the weather system is centered over upstate new york. it will bring as much as two feet of new snow to the region. we've got reporters that are across the region covering this snowstorm. we have rob marciano. he is in chicago. allan chernoff, he's in boston. chad myers here in the weather center. rob, i want to start off with you. what are the conditions like? what are you seeing there? >> reporter: well, the past couple of hours, we've had some of the heaviest snow action we've seen all morning long. but the snow blowers are out, and the folks are trying to dig out of this already. it's starting to wind down a little bit. i think this may very well be the last of it. before all is said and done, i think chicago easily is getting over 20 inches. we're going to be in the top three as far as snow storms go. we might be higher than that because this lake effect has been coming fast and furious, and it's certainly light and fluffy stuff. not the case last night when we had thunder and lightning and winds gusting 60, 70 miles an hour. folks on lake shore drive stranded in their vehicles, having to be rescued by the fire department, having to open emergency shelters. it was absolutely chaotic. there was one fatality in all of this. a gentleman out by the lake watching the waves crash in, and his body unfortunately was found this morning after being wiped out into the lake. waves 20, 30 feet in some cases, at least slightly offshore. this is michigan avenue. this, during a regular snowstorm, a five, ten-incher, which is standard for chicago. this would be clear. to have this covered with snow, and it's getting plowed regularly, tells you how much snow is piled up in here. the city itself is shut down for pretty much everything. just a handful of businesses open. maybe 5%, 10% of the population out just to kind of check out what's going on. this storm has certainly brought the hearty midwesterners of chicago to their knees. >> thank you, rob. obviously, people hunkering down. want to go to allan chernoff, who's in boston, to give us a sense of what it looks like there. allan? >> reporter: suzanne, this is what it looks like. we've been getting so much snow over here that they're just piling it, piling it real high. this is not just snow from this storm. lots of this snow has been here at least a week. this is solid ice right over here that i'm standing on. the problem in boston is they've got some very narrow streets, and some of those streets are just entirely clogged up. people just cannot pass through. right now for the past few hours we've been having heavy rain. so it's a real mess over here, and once you get down to the street corners, slush and a lot of water. this is just a small sample. there are street corners that have puddles that are maybe four inches, five inches high. guess what? tonight it's supposed to freeze over. that is going to make a big mess, a dangerous mess here in boston. suzanne? >> there's going to be a lot of ice. want to go to chad myers in the cnn weather center. chad, you and i have talked about this yesterday, how dangerous it is because of the snow and ice. this really is a record-breaking storm. a lot of people impacted by this, unbelievable. >> we know there are people stranded in their cars in places they didn't think they're going to be. now all of a sudden people are being rescued out there. this is one of those cold systems that you don't want to be stuck anywhere, whether you have a full tank of gas or not. here comes the rain in boston. as allan said, this is going to get much colder tonight. want to zoom you to chicago because a major lake effect event is happening just to the east of the city down around gary, indiana. and this streamer, as we call it it, coming off lake michigan will be so significant, you'll never be able to drive through it. you'll be driving along i-80, 90, and all of a sudden your visibility will go to zero, and you won't be able to move anymore. all of a sudden, your car could be stuck. don't travel today around chicagoland. this is not done. although the snow is tapering off, the cold air over the lakes will make this lake effect snow machine go all day. >> chad, thank you. we'll be keeping a close eye on that all day long, of course. chad, allan, and rob, thank you very much. we have also been watching another major story, seeing major pictures all day, that out of egypt. just in the last hour or so, we saw molotov cocktails being thrown at protesters in the streets of cairo. you see those pictures from earlier today. the big question, of course, what should the united states do next in egypt? is there anything they can do? that is our big question for our talk back segment. that is what carol costello is tackling from washington. >> you've got to wonder, in light of men on horses and camels with whip attacking protesters, you might wonder what comes next for egypt. salman told me the longer street demonstrators go on, the more chaotic and deadly they will become. so what to do? some say the world has no choice but to sit back and watch because the street in egypt is actually controlling what happens. others like him say it's time for president obama to become more forceful in his rhetoric. it doesn't look like there's going to be an orderly transition of power in egypt, especially if mubarak's government orchestrated those men on camels. why not say privately or publicly, mr. mubarak, the game is up. go now, or the united states will cut back on that more than $1 billion in aid we send you every year. white house spokesman robert gibbs told cnn a couple of hours ago we continue to watch the events very closely, and it underscores the transition needs to begin now, which some say are pretty strong words coming from the white house. it's time to talk back right now. should the united states ask mubarak to step down quickly, to go now? please send me your comments on facebook.com/carolcnn. i know it's a tough question, suzanne. but as you watch the scene unfold in egypt, it just looks more and more heartbreaking for the protesters there, who only want a better life. >> it's such a difficult situation for so many egyptians who are really just looking at this and wondering what is the future for their family, their friends, and their country. thank you so much, carol. we want to take a look now at what's ahead on the rundown. cnn's anderson cooper, he got caught in the chaos on the streets of cairo. you're going to hear from him. and we're powering you to choose the news. that's right. we're going to reveal your choices ahead. and the perfect ingredient for a romantic valentine's day. white tablecloths, romantic lighting, fast food? that's our random moment. take a look. the only complete multivitamin with soy isoflavones to help address hot flashes and mild mood changes. one a day menopause formula. when i got my medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement insurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, helps cover some of the medical expenses... not paid by medicare part b. that can save you from paying up to thousands of dollars... out of your own pocket. these are the only medicare supplement insurance plans... exclusively endorsed by aarp. when you call now, you'll get this free information kit... with all you need to enroll. put their trust in aarp medicare supplement insurance. plus you'll get this free guide to understanding medicare. the prices are competitive. i can keep my own doctor. and i don't need a referral to see a specialist. call now to get a free information kit. plus you'll get this free guide to understanding medicare. and the advantages don't end there. choose from a range of medicare supplement plans... that are all competitively priced. we have a plan for almost everyone, so you can find one that fits your needs and budget. with all medicare supplement plans, there are virtually no claim forms to fill out. plus you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare. and best of all, these plans are... the only medicare supplement plans endorsed by aarp. when they told me these plans were endorsed by aarp... i had only one thing to say... sign me up. call the number on your screen now... and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan. you'll get this free information kit... and guide to understanding medicare, to help you choose the plan that's right for you. as with all medicare supplement plans, you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare, get help paying for what medicare doesn't... and save up to thousands of dollars. call this toll-free number now. now to our other lead story, the chaos and bloodshed happening right now in egypt. i want to go straight to our cnn anchor anderson cooper. he's been in the center of the violence in it cairo. anderson, if you can hear us, he is by phone. can you give us an update of where you are and whether or not things have calmed down at all. >> reporter: i'd rather not tell you exactly where i am just for security reasons. >> i can certainly understand. >> reporter: i can tell you, i can see the egyptian museum, the front of it, and there are still a number of molotov cocktails being launched by the pro-mubarak supporters toward the lines being held by the anti-mubarak supporters. there's a fire actually now burning across the street from the egyptian museum, and also the building across the street from the egyptian museum occasionally has caught fire. there appear to be people on top of those buildings actually throwing incendiary devices off the buildings down, trying to get them into the crowd. i'm not sure where they're actually hitting. earlier, there had been military vehicles kind of creating a no man's land between both sides. i believe those vehicles are still there though it's gotten so dark i can't really see. i think i see the outlines of several vehicles. it's not clear, though, whether there's soldiers on the ground keeping the two sides separated or they're simply using the vehicles. earlier, about an hour and a half ago, mubarak supporters have surged forward and turned over at least one of those vehicles i can see as they rush forward trying to get into liberation square. they haven't been able to make it really into the square. they're occupying the street, the broad avenue in front of the egyptian museum, which is the north entrance to liberation square. also now i can see from my vantage point ambulances at three of the entrances to liberation square, the north, the east, and also there was one over by the west. now that ambulance has left. so clearly, ambulances have responded to the scene although there's only about three or four ambulances. i'm not sure exactly what they're doing because they just seem to be sitting there. maybe they're bringing wounded and injured people to those ambulances although i think andrew watson reported earlier about a triage center for the anti-mubarak protesters inside liberation square. we have not seen, and i have not seen any sign of egyptian military forces coming to reinforce the few soldiers who have been surrounding the square for the last eight or nine days. so clearly, the egyptian government is aware of what's going on, but for whatever reason, is choosing not to send in any kind of egyptian back-up forces, at least from the vantage point where i am at the north side of the square. >> anderson, is it fair to say at this point, with it being so dark, to figure out really what the state of affairs is now on the ground there? how many people are hurt or injured or even perhaps killed. >> reporter: i have no way of telling. i've seen the pictures that you've seen from other vantage points in the square of anti-mubarak protesters being taken away on stretchers. and i've heard reporting on -- there's just been a large incendiary device dropped again from the top of the building right in front of the egyptian museum, dropped in sort of a no man's land. i'm not sure who they're trying to aim for from that building. it's a little bit hard to tell. but we're still seeing now groups, at least from my vantage point, of pro-mubarak protesters coming to the square. clearly, everyone in cairo knows the situation that is occurring here, and we're seeing more people arriving to -- i assume to join in the melee or to join in the demonstration on some level, suzanne. >> anderson, please be safe. keep a close eye on that. obviously, we'll come back to you as the developments warrant there on the ground on the streets of cairo. thank you very much, anderson. well, we are giving you a chance to, that's right, choose the news. we're going to tell you about three stories, and you vote via text message for the one you want to see in detail on cnn later this hour. we'll give you three choices. you have, one, a chinese training video. appears to have lifted a scene from the american classic movie "top gun." that's jeanne moos. she has a lot of fun with this one. that's choice one. now roam through the halls of your favorite art gallery without ever getting up from the couch. that's good for the couch potatoes. we'll tell you about a new virtual reality. that's two. and afghan girls catching air. that's right. on a skateboard. how the country's only skateboarding school is changing lives. here's how you do it. you vote by texting 22360. vote 1 for top gun china, 2 for virtual art roaming, or 3 for afghan girls catch air. menopause formula. it's ony the only complete multivitamin with soy isoflavones to help address hot flashes and mild mood changes. one a day menopause formula. you can't switch car insurance until your policy expires. the truth: you can switch to allstate today. extra incentive: you can get allstate's early signing discount. dollar for dollar, nobody protects you like allstate. as we continue to bring you updates from egypt today, more going on in africa and the middle east. this is a huge story. it's a segment we called globe trekking. good morning. i can't believe this. >> all the guys hate you for having these because they buzz the microphone. you can't be without it. everything's happening. >> there's so much news coming out of that region. you've covered the middle east. you know, this is a place. i lived for a year in cairo. this is nothing like we have seen before. but there are some signs. aren't there signs of other countries where these things have taken place, and we know that now is the time for change? >> yeah, in fact, the whole thing started off in another country, in tunisia. that took a month to unseat the president. this is happening in a week. the most recent news is out of yemen. yemen is a crucial country for u.s. interests. also, jordan, another ally of the united states, and interestingly one of two countries, the other being egypt, who has a peace deal with israel. let's talk about yemen. the president there ali abdul salei, who is saying he's not going to seek re-election, very mubarak of him, after the current term, which is in 2013, by the way. and like mubarak, not pushing for his son to take over. this is a guy who's been in office, again, mubarak-like, for over three decades. in recent weeks thousands of people have taken to the streets in yemen as well, and just like egypt, they want change. more protests there later this week. when you talk about yemen too, this is a very poor country, poorest in the region. a rebellion in the north. a secessionist movement in the south. and a battleground for al qaeda and a government there that has been working with the u.s. to battle al qaeda there in yemen. now, if that government is threatened, watch out. could be big fallout. another place you don't want big fallout is in jordan. king abdullah announcing he's going to sack the government, replacing the prime minister with a man who was an ambassador to israel actually. it would be hard to argue the timing is coincidental. you could call this a preemptive peace strike, if you like, getting in ahead of the game. you look back over the last several weeks, of course, you start to see a pattern developing. now, have a look at this map here of recent political uprisings across the region. you've seen protested in at least five arab nations, very different countries but a similar sentiment in all of them. the arguments are largely the same. lack of a voice for young people. lack of jobs, poverty, that sort of thing. you know, you can fall back, as i said, to tunisia, where the president ben ali was forced out, handed over to saudi arabia. when the dust settles, there's no doubt you'll be looking at a whole new arab world when a whole new face. it's happening before our eyes. don't forget, you've got a day of rage planned in syria, in damascus on saturday as well. >> michael, you can't imagine the e-mail of senior administration officials at the white house who are like what do we do now? this is unbelievable. what are you going to be dealing with, and how do you move this ball forward so the united states has a sense that there's stability there? >> exactly. i mean, there's a whole other discussion to be had about whether a lot of analysts and experts are saying the u.s. focuses too much on central government, making sure these countries have a good stable government. that hasn't worked out well in afghanistan and iraq. maybe we should look more at grass roots institutions, governance rather than government. it's a thought. >> there's a lot going on. >> it is. it's been buzzing the whole time. >> mine too. thank you, michael. an online shoe company is seeing big profits during this tough time. our tom forman reports it may be because employees get to have a whole lot of fun. >> 24/7, two by two, zappos.com is moving shoes. more than $1 billion annually in internet sales, fueled by a wide selection, free shipping, and money back guarantees. >> thank you for calling zappos.com. >> reporter: not bad for a company that started a few years ago with a radical concept. >> okay. no problem. >> reporter: it's about service, not selling. >> culture is very important. it's actually the number one priority of the company. >> reporter: the culture is raucous, infectious, and everywhere. employees decorate as they choose, enjoying an unbelievable array of company services, including free lunch, ice cream, massages. we asked our guide, ray andre, about the business environment. >> this is a business meeting. there's a lot of giggling go on in there. >> reporter: it is. >> getting in is not easy. zappos takes months to screen applicants, and even in training new hires are offered $4,000 to quit just to weed out those who might not really want to be here. >> so we figure we could train most people to do their jobs, but we can't train somebody to fit into our culture. >> reporter: what is your key philosophy about running this business? >> internally, we have a saying that we're a service company that just happens to sell shoes. >> reporter: you realize nobody in america who sees this is going to want to go to work tomorrow? so they can laugh at comments like that because everyone here seems eager to come to work every day. building up this runaway success. tom forman, cnn, henderson, nevada. ♪ when you're responsible for this much of the team, you need a car you can count on. with listerine® whitening plus restoring rinse. it's the only listerine® that gets teeth two shades whiter and makes tooth enamel two times stronger. get dual-action listerine® whitening rinse. building whiter, stronger teeth. a dangerous blizzard that is hammering a big part of the country now from the southern plains to new england. i want to go straight to chad myers in the cnn weather center to get a chance of what we are looking at here. those numbers are huge. >> they are. they're big, and they're probably not the biggest we're going to see because the lake effect snow machine is still going. lake effect now kind of coming in simply because the lakes are still open, not completely frozen. this cold air runs across the lake. think about it, if you're sitting on a summer day, sitting there having coffee by the lake and you see the steam come off the lake because the water is warmer than the air. that's what's happening. the water is warmer than the air. the steams comes off the clouds, and then the steam makes no snow. wisconsin, almost two feet. chicago o'hare, biggest for a long time, 20 inches of snow. columbia, missouri, 17. and still snowing. here's proof. east chicago not quite to gary, i just checked the radar. 80/90, 80/34i9, going to be a mess. it's going to be clear, and you're going to hit the snow, bang, you come to a stop. your car gets plowed in. don't be driving those interstates today. 6 to 10 more inches of snow basically upstate all the way through new england. most of the heavy snow across the deep south and the ice is over. >> speaking of new england, we've got allan chernoff in boston. we want to get a sense from allan what it looks like out there. allan, how are you doing? >> reporter: suzanne, it is a mess here. a wet, slushy, icy mess in boston. you see behind me, i was standing on top of this a little while ago. obviously, this did not all fall yesterday and today. some of this snow has been here for at least a week. lots of it turned to ice here. and you've got piles like this all over the city. boston really doesn't have much of a place to put the stuff. there's been discussion about maybe dumping it into boston harbor. that is not permitted by the department of environmental protection. they don't want pollution in the water. clearly, they've got an issue here, especially since boston is an old city, and many of the streets, especially up in beacon hill, right where the capitol is, but those are very narrow streets. some of them aren't even passable right now. we've got rain coming down. it's been coming down for about three hours now. now we're going to warm up. this stuff would start going away. problem is it's going to get cold once again, as chad has been talking about. so we're going to have lots of this white stuff still here, and it has been out here for well over a month. a lot of bostoners are kind of sick of it. suzanne? >> okay. i can imagine they're sick of it. hopefully, they're safe. obviously a lot of snow there. thank you, allan. we want to give our viewers a reminder to cast your vote in the choose your news segment. here's your voices. vote 1 for top gun china. in is a story about a military chinese training video that lifted a scene from a classic american movie. vote 2 for virtual art tour, a new google site that lets you get your creative juices flowing. that's a good one. or 3, for cav began girafghan g air. this is an exclusive feature on afghanistan's exclusive skateboarding school. so text your vote to 22360. and they've come to a point where it's overwhelming. oh gee, i'm scared to tell you i've got this amount of credit card debt or i've got a 15-year-old and we never got around to saving for their college. that's when i go to work. we talk, we start planning. we can fix this. when clients walk out of my office they feel confident about their retirement. [ male announcer ] visit ameriprise.com and put a confident retirement more within reach. another heart attack could be lurking, waiting to strike. a heart attack that's caused by a clot, one that could be fatal. but plavix helps save lives. plavix, taken with other heart medicines, goes beyond what other heart medicines do alone, to provide greater protection against heart attack or stroke and even death by helping to keep blood platelets from sticking together and forming dangerous clots. ask your doctor if plavix is right for you. protection that helps save lives. certain genetic factors and some medicines, such as prilosec, reduce the effect of plavix leaving you at greater risk for heart attack and stroke. your doctor may use genetic tests to determine treatment. don't stop taking plavix without talking to your doctor as your risk of heart attack or stroke may increase. people with stomach ulcers or conditions that cause bleeding should not use plavix. taking plavix alone or with some other medicines, including aspirin, may increase bleeding risk, so tell your doctor when planning surgery. tell your doctor all medicines you take, including aspirin, especially if you've had a stroke. if fever, unexplained weakness or confusion develops, tell your doctor promptly. these may be signs of ttp, a rare but potentially life-threatening condition, reported sometimes less than 2 weeks after starting plavix. other rare but serious side effects may occur. try capzasin-hp. it penetrates deep to block pain signals for hours of relief. capzasin-hp. take the pain out of arthritis. we are following the violence and chaos on the streets of cairo as pro and anti-government demonstrators are facing off now. cnn's own anderson cooper has been in the center of the melee. anderson, i understand that you have news about gunfire from perhaps automatic fire from folks who are part of these protests. what can you tell us? >> reporter: well, there was a large sort of boom sound from somewhere near in front of the egyptian museum. it sounded like -- i'm not exactly sure what it was. it was some sort of -- it was like a concussion sound almost. and now there's several -- there's two what looked like -- or at least one large fire burning on the street across from the egyptian museum started probably by molotov cocktails. i've seen a number of molotov cocktails thrown. i have heard a few shots fired. again, it's impossible to tell from my vantage point who was firing those shots. the pro-mubarak crowd seems to have thinned out somewhat though not -- certainly, there are still thousands -- several, at least, more than a thousand people there packed very tightly, especially right at the front where the fires are now burning. but it doesn't seem like they have been able to move any further into liberation square, into tahrir square. it still seems like the lines have held as they have been for the last half hour or so. throughout this afternoon, we've seen an ebb and flow to the crowds, mubarak, pro-mubarak forces would surge forward for a time only then to be pushed back by the anti-mubarak forces who maintained control of, or at least their position in liberation square. >> anderson, is there anyone on the ground, perhaps it's the military, anybody in position of authority there? who perhaps is trying to calm the situation. >> reporter: there are military vehicles. there's apcs, armored personnel carriers and tanks all along -- all around the periphery of liberation square. there have been more eight or nine days. they're not making any move, it appeared, to do anything. about two hours ago, i'm estimating, maybe three hours ago, the biggest development was some military vehicles, or some trucks were brought in right in front of the egyptian museum to create a barrier between both sides and create a front line, sort of a no man's land. that worked for a time. but at a certain point, the pro-mubarak forces surged forward, actually overturning some of those vehicles, trying to push their way into the square. they then were pushed back. those vehicles were still in place. it's not clear if there were any soldiers on the ground. i have not been there. as you said, i escaped several hours ago. >> anderson, you described a situation where you felt perhaps people were trapped in that particular section of the square. is there any sense that things have let up, that perhaps people can move about and leave if they want to. >> i can see clearly the north exit to the square, and i can tell you nobody could get out this way. no anti-mubarak protester would attempt to leave through this way. there are other exits to the square. i don't know if there are pro-mubarak crowds blocking those entrances as well. i'm simply not at the south vantage point that i could tell that. i certainly would hope people in the square, if they wanted to, would be able to leave because over the last eight or nine days there have been families camping out, people holding tents, people not wanting to leave the square. and it seems at this point certainly the pro-mubarak forces would very much like to, in essence, retake the square, to occupy the square and either push the protesters out or do something else to them. >> anderson, we're just taking a look at pictures from earlier in the day, during the daylight hours, when you had some of those pro-mubarak forces who were really stampeding and attacking some of the anti-mubarak protesters, the demonstrators, those on camel and horseback. we know earlier there were families that were there. you described -- you said about women and children. are they still there on the streets inside the square? do we have any sense of how those families and the young people, perhaps even children, are doing? >> reporter: i don't. one can only imagine. if it is true that pro-mubarak forces are at all the entrances to the square and there's no way out, it's got to be a scary situation for families and kids who are in that square and cannot get out. we don't know, frankly -- i don't know the situation inside the square, whether or not they've been able to evacuate any of the children, any of the women who are there. it is very, very -- i mean, this thing has been building all day long. it began earlier today. by 2:00 is sort of when the rock throwing began, maybe around 1:30 local time. and it escalated very, very quickly. so anyone who is in the square at that point would have had a hard time getting out once it began. >> anderson, at what point -- was there a point during the day, during the last 24 hours, that you could tell that there was something wrong, that there was a feeling that something was going to turn and that this was going to be an ugly situation? >> reporter: i'm sorry. i didn't hear. there was some strong what? >> was there any point where you felt this situation, which was peaceful, could turn, that there was a tension in the air where people felt perhaps in danger? >> reporter: around 2:30 or so in the afternoon, when my team headed over to the square to start to cover this, we had already heard there were already individual acts of fighting. we had no idea, though, that, one, we were going to be able to get to the square, and at first i was able to walk through the pro-mubarak crowd relatively unimpeded. a few people would hold up flags, pictures of mubarak. saying, mubarak yes. once we got to the area around the egyptian museum, literally a man came out of the crowd, attempted to grab a camera that my cameraman neil hallsworth was holding. from there the melee began. someone punched me in the head. someone else attacked my producer, my female producer mary ann fox. there was complete pandemonium, where all of a sudden we became the focus of the people who were in that area, and people were just trying to get their punches in and get their kicks in. we quickly realized the situation was beyond control, beyond our control, and quickly turned around and started to move back very rapidly toward the hotel without actually running because we didn't want to incite the crowd and sort of make them start to chase us. but this -- it's amazing how quick quickly a situation like this turns and how people in the crowd, clearly men in the crowd, thugs, i would say, who are there to get into fights, who are there to give folks payback for whatever their motivation is and whoever is behind them. they are there. they are the ones who right now are on the front lines throwing molotov cocktails and fighting back and forth. and i'm seeing right now an incendiary device that's just been launched off maybe a 14 or 15-story building that's just been dropped into the crowd near the entrance to the square. again, the crowds may be thinning out slightly, but i don't want to give the impression this is over because it's not. we are still seeing a standoff in front of the egyptian museum. >> anderson, please be safe. we certainly hope that those on the ground, the egyptians are able to take care of themselves and be safe as well. obviously, we're going to follow all the developments, the chaos really, the scene we're seeing on the streets of cairo that's erupted in the last several hours. there are two kinds of heroes. heroes who travel thousands of miles to face the unknown... and those who stay behind to do the same. for every warrior who charges into the fight... is another who fights to keep moving forward until their return. military lives are different. at usaa we've been there. we understand. that's why our commitment to serve military, veterans and their families is without equal. usaa. for insurance, banking, investments, retirement and advice... we know what it means to serve. let us serve you. try capzasin-hp. it penetrates deep to block pain signals for hours of relief. capzasin-hp. take the pain out of arthritis. a recent scandal in the fbi revealed widespread cheating among agents and supervisors on a written test about conducting domestic investigations. now, a government investigation led to the reassignment of two high ranking supervisors who received help on the test. however, cheating is just one example of years of misconduct inside the agency. our own kyra phillips, who joins us now with more beyond the headlines. this sounds like this was a big problem. >> oh, yeah. and we're talking about fbi agents here. i mean, elite protectors of american justice hitting the strip club, driving drunk, checking out porn, acting like frat boys instead of g-men. a pattern of misconduct that we uncovered in this exclusive investigation. this is the fbi we know and trust. agents who take down bank robbers. >> shots are being fired. >> reporter: the mob. russian sleeper cells. agents who swear to uphold fidelity, bravery, integrity. but what we found inside one of the most respected federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies doesn't always match that image. why did you lie? >> i lied about speaking to somebody about a piece of information. >> reporter: ashamed that he was caught, fearful that he'll be identified, the story of this former agent who illegally searched the fbi database for personal use and then lied about it is not unique. as a matter of fact, the fbi confirms about 1,000 cases of misconduct over the last three years. many are highlighted right here in confidential summaries of disciplinary reports that we obtained. bad behavior that may have you wondering why many of these employees didn't lose their jobs. these internal reports that include a sex tape, sleeping with informants, tapping into fbi databases for unauthorized searches, viewing pornography on bureau computers, even driving drunk. we went to the president of the fbi agents association. it was pretty appalling reading some of the acts of misconduct. is that ever acceptable? >> no, it isn't acceptable. specifically demonstrable conduct or criminal conduct is never acceptable. >> an employee had a sexual relationship with a source over seven months. the punishment, 40 days suspension. an employee who was drunk exploited his fbi employment at a strip club, falsely claiming he was conducting an official investigation. his punishment, suspended for 30 days. a supervisor viewed pornographic movies in his office during work hours while sexually satisfying himself. punishment, 35 days suspension. and an employee in a leadership position misused a government database to check on two exotic dancers and then took them into an fbi office after hours. that penalty, 23 days suspension. >> people are human. they make mistakes. >> reporter: assistant fbi director candace will oversees the office of professional responsibility which handles disciplinary proceedings. when you hear those type of allegations, suspension seem right to you versus being fired? >> when i hear those types of allegations, i'm deeply agri agrieved. i don't want to hear about any of our employees doing anything like that. but my job is to look at the full file in the case. >> reporter: so some, you could hear allegations like this and think, wow, it takes a lot of bad behavior to get fired from the fbi. >> that is so not true. if i get any type of criticism on a routine basis, it is that i am the hammer. i don't ever hear that i am light or that i take an easy tack ever. >> reporter: will says she receives about 500 cases of alleged misconduct a year, and about 70% result in some kind of discipline. just a fraction, she says, of the 34,000 fbi employees. >> the vast majority of our employees do not lie. the vast majority of our employees do not cheat. the vast majority of our employees do not steal. >> reporter: but the internal reports we obtained do detail serious misconduct -- misuse of position, fraud, even abuse of a government credit card. in one case an fbi employee used government databases to get details about celebrities the employee thought were, quote, hot. >> i have seen allegations in my office where i have been surprised by what i've read. i have seen allegations in my office where i have been very saddened by what i've read. >> reporter: like the fbi employee who leaked law enforcement sensitive information to his girlfriend, who was a news reporter. and after breaking up, threatened her with the release of a sex tape the two had made. how could someone like that even work for the fbi in the first place? >> well, that someone is a former employee. >> reporter: director will, why not a no tolerance policy? >> we do have a no tolerance policy. we don't tolerate our employees engaging in misconduct. it doesn't mean we fire everybody. >> reporter: but one sure way to get fired is to lie under oath. why did you make the mistake? you took the oath. you know what you're doing. >> you're a human being. you make a mistake. you fear. it's a fit of panic. that's all. >> so, kyra, i guess the question everybody wants to know is what does it take to get fired there? >> people were surprised, wow, you only get suspended for that? bottom line, they want to look at everything on a case by case basis. how long have you been there? what is your background? it's expensive to put somebody through the fbi. but if you lie under oath, you're gone. >> kyra, excellent report. we appreciate it. our team of producers, they are tallying the votes on the piece that you want to see on air. it's called our choose the news segment, and the winning story up next. ♪ [ clatters ] really? ♪ [ male announcer ] it's time for a phone... really? really? [ male announcer ] ...to save us from our phones. new windows phone. designed to get you in, and out, and back to life. get yours at at&t. on our car insurance. great! at progressive, you can compare rates side by side, so you get the same coverage, often for less. wow! that is huge! [ disco playing ] and this is to remind you that you could save hundreds! yeah, that'll certainly stick with me. we'll take it. go, big money! i mean, go. it's your break, honey. same coverage, more savings. now, that's progressive. call or click today. and now for your pick in our choose the news segment. the winner, afghan girls catch air. i'm glad you chose that. i like that one. in a world where girls are often prevented from going to school, there's one place in kabul that's giving them a new sense of freedom, empowerment through skateboarding. >> reporter: fearless, scarves flying. these afghan girls are taking on the trick of skateboarding. this is skateistan, afghan's only skateboard school. this part scares me, this 13-year-oldcize out. like half the girls in the school, she lives in poverty. i was working on the streets when one of the skateboarding teachers found me and took down our names, she tells us. two weeks later she was on a board for the first time. the program aims to bridge divides. >> we want to build trust between different afghan ethnicities as well as between foreigners and afghans. >> reporter: skateistan, an afghan ngo started in a park in downtown kabul in 2007 and eventually expanded into this facility two years later, serving more than 300 boys and girls a week. teaching skateboarding is actually not skateistan's main aim. it is simply a hook to draw the children in. the real part of the program is fulfilled in the classroom. today's class is art, allowing children the rare chance to be creative. english lessons and other courses are offered to help impoverished children build basic skills and get into school. 14-year-old fazila used to spend all day working on the street. she's now one of skateistan's instructors. this program transformed her life. before i came to skateistan, i used to think that i wouldn't be able to do anything with my future, she says. but now i think i will become the best skateboarder. it's a welcome relief away from kabul's congested and war-ravaged streets. she can now make up to $170 a month working and having fun at skateistan to help her parents support her seven other siblings. but it's not quite enough to make ends meet. my mom wants me to stop working on the streets, she tells us, but i still have to to support my family. at dusk she goes out on the street cleaning car windows for small change. daydreaming about tomorrow when she's back on her board. arwa damon, cnn, kabul. >> good for them. good choice, viewers. we like that story. coming up next, new video and sound out of cairo, egypt. new fresh video. obviously a lot of violence and a lot of concern out of that area. that after this quick break. [ man ] my retirement savings have places to go. [ male announcer ] plans...dreams... they're important to you. [ woman #2 ] our girls should focus on their future, not ours. [ male announcer ] but you can't overlook the possibility that down the road, if you needed some kind of long-term care, everything you've planned for could be at risk. so i got long-term care insurance. [ male announcer ] help protect your plans with aarp long term care insurance from genworth financial. it can help cover the high costs of long term care, like assisted living or in-home long term care. it's a choice we made for each other and our kids. [ male announcer ] call now to get your free information kit. the national average cost of care is well over $75,000 a year. and, generally, it's not covered by health insurance or medicare. aarp endorsed long term care insurance can help protect your assets, your family, the things you've worked hard to build. choose from a range of affordable plans; including plans with nursing facility and in-home long term care coverage. and typically, the younger and healthier you are when you apply, the lower your rates will be. call for your free information kit to get started. these plans are offered by genworth life insurance company, a leader in long-term care insurance with over 35 years' experience. and they're endorsed by aarp. but you don't need to be a member to call. long-term care is just one of those things many of us may have to face. if you have dreams, and we all do, now is the time to protect them. i enjoy today because tomorrow has a plan. [ male announcer ] help protect your plans with aarp endorsed long term care insurance underwritten by genworth life insurance company, and in new york, genworth life insurance company of new york. call now or go online for free information. joining us on the phone, journalist ian lee with the latest report. we're getting reports of gunfire in the area. tell us what you're seeing. >> reporter: suzanne, we're really not seeing it now, but we're hearing it. earlier in the day, we did see a man with a pistol, one of the pro-mubarak protesters shooting a gun in the air to try to intimidate the anti-mubarak protesters. but as night fell, we started hearing heavy gunfire in the distance in two different places around tahrir square. not from the square itself, but around there. it was definitely sustained, and then there was a lull and then more of it. suzanne? >> and we are seeing pictures of people with machetes, unbelievable pictures, close-ups of people holding makeshift weapons, pieces of concrete. is it your sense that things are getting worse? >> reporter: you know, i've been covering this story since it began, and today i can tell you that it felt

Related Keywords

Nevada ,United States ,Australia ,Chad ,Tunis ,S26 ,Tunisia ,Turkey ,China ,Syria ,Russia ,Washington ,District Of Columbia ,Kabul ,Kabol ,Afghanistan ,Sudan ,Egypt ,East Chicago ,Indiana ,Chicago ,Illinois ,New York ,Egyptian Museum ,Al Qahirah ,Damascus ,Dimashq ,Missouri ,Algeria ,Iran ,Boston Harbor ,North Corner ,Boston ,Massachusetts ,Wisconsin ,Lebanon ,Jordan ,Cairo ,Iraq ,Israel ,Saudi Arabia ,Lake Shore ,Yemen ,America ,Egyptians ,Chinese ,Russian ,Iraqis ,Afghans ,Egyptian ,Afghan ,Yemeni ,Israeli ,Palestinian ,American ,Robert Gibbs ,Arwa Damon ,Kyra Phillips ,Jeanne Moos ,Ali Abdul ,Mary Ann Fox ,King Abdullah ,Ben Ali ,Hala Gorani ,Michael Holmes ,Ray Andre ,Michael ,Anderson Cooper ,Al Qaeda ,Ali Abdullah ,Jamie Rubin ,Andrew Watson ,Tiananmen Square ,Tom Forman ,Benjamin Netanyahu ,Hosni Mubarak ,Ian Lee ,Carol Costello ,El Paso ,