Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Sunday

U.S. Capital Metro Beefs Up Security; Tiger Woods Wins Second British Open

Aired July 17, 2005 - 18:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Carol Lin. Our top story in a moment, but first, other stories making news right now.
Violence between the Israelis and Palestinians today. Israeli forces fired two missiles into a car in Gaza wounding a Hamas militant. In other incidents, troops also shot and killed a Palestinian militant, and Israeli army fire killed a commander of the military wing of Hamas. Also, Israeli officials say a Jewish settlement was hit by mortars fired by militants. Seven Israelis were wounded.

More now on those six men arrested in Leeds, England. Police now say they are suspected of immigration violations. While the investigation of the recent London terror bombings has focused heavily on the Leeds area, police say at this stage, today's arrests are not being linked to the London attacks.

"Time" magazine Matthew Cooper identifies Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff as one of his sources for a story about an under cover CIA agent. Cooper says he talked to Lewis Libby after talking to presidential adviser Karl Rove who Cooper also identified as one of his sources. CNN's Elaine Quijano will have more on this story live from the White House coming up at the bottom of the hour.

And record sales for the new Harry Potter book. Early reports indicate J.K. Rowling' sixth tale of the boy wizard sold 6.9 million copies in its first 24 hours of sales. If confirmed, that will break all publishing records.

Now to our top story: Hurricane Emily. The storm is howling toward Mexico's Caribbean coast. It is a menacing category 4 storm and can cause extensive damage. Some 130,000 tourists are along Mexico's vulnerable Yucatan Peninsula, many are being evacuated by buses.

The airport in the Mexican tourist mecca is now closed. The storm is expected to strike the area later today or early tomorrow.

Emily swept south of Jamaica yesterday. Its torrential winds and fierce winds dealt a glancing blow to the island causing flooding and landslides.

Emily lost a little bit of its punch today. But it's still a dangerous storm. Our meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is keeping tabs on where Emily is now -- Jacqui. JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, Fredricka, it's just over 100 miles away from Cozumel, Mexico. That's the little island that you see here right there off the peninsula. A lot of sprang breakers familiar with Cozumel, a lot of tourists familiar with that area, and Cancun as well.

And it's going to be a lot -- a very long night for those folks right now that are going to be into some of those shelter areas as the storm is expected to make landfall in the overnight hours, I'd even say somewhere in a window between maybe 11 p and 2:00 a in the Eastern time hours.

This is the forecast track. And it has changed a little bit. It hasn't change for landfall here across the Yucatan Peninsula, but it has changed a little farther out into the forecast period. It's turned a little bit farther on up to north. Still too early to tell where the second landfall is going to be. But Southern Texas really needs to be paying very close attention, because it is getting a little bit closer to you rather than in the northern parts of Mexico.

It is a category 4 storm right now, with maximum sustained winds at 145 miles per hour. It's moving west, northwest at 20 miles per hour. So it's moving along at a good speed.

Hurricane warnings are in effect across much of the Yucatan Peninsula from Campeche all the way around the peninsula, down towards Chetumal. And that means that hurricane conditions are expected in the next 24 hours, 5 to 8 plus inches of rainfall can be expected with storm surge on the range of 8 to 12 feet. And this covers, again, both sides of the peninsula.

What will a category 4 when it makes landfall? Well, in addition to those strong winds, it's going to be causing some widespread structural damage. Very large trees can be blown down. And that flooding could be as much as 6 miles inland. And that causes all those evacuation routes to be cut off -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jacqui Jeras, thanks so much from the weather center.

Well, the last hurricane this powerful to head toward Mexico was Hurricane Gilbert in 1988. It killed some 300 people.

Mexican officials aren't taking chances with Emily. There are resorts along the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. Authorities are warning people to take shelter. Our Karl Penhaul is in Playa del Carmen and filed this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are ancient ruins of Mexico's Mayan civilization. This stone fortress at Tulum has withstood the ravages of sand and sea, war (ph) and wind. Now, there's a fresh menace on the horizon.

(on camera): In the next few hours, Hurricane Emily is expected to hit this coastline. Experts forecast the winds could be so strong, they may put much more modern buildings to the test.

(voice-over): A few miles away, here in the tourist resort of Playa Del Carmen, some residents are following the time honored hurricane ritual of boarding up. This workman says he's not afraid. He says he was only six when the devastating Hurricane Gilbert pounded this area, Mexico's so-called Mayan Riviera, it's part of the Yucatan Peninsula.

According to local government officials, an estimated 130,000 tourists are on vacation on the Mayan Riviera. More than half are international visitors, and many of those from the U.S. some were bargain hunting in this tourist bazaar Saturday, enjoying the sun before the storm.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What are you going to do? It's mother nature.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, no one seems to be panicking.

PENHAUL: This is a big, strong wind.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is strong wind, oh, we get them in Scotland where we live. So...

PENHAUL: In the tourist mecca of Cancun, government meteorologist Jose Chi pours over charts and listens out for the latest forecast. He's seen many hurricanes blow through, and believes Emily could be massive.

Across the other side of the Yucatan Peninsula lies some of Mexico's biggest offshore oil fields. They produce more than a million barrels of crude a day. Much of that is exported to the U.S. Experts say if there is significant damage there, or even risk of damage, international oil prices could surge.

Hurricane protection and relief operations are coordinated from Cancun. Civil protection director Roberto Vargas says about 3,000 volunteers, officials and soldiers are involved in the effort. And just hours before Emily is due to strike, they're trying to stop the flood of sun seekers to the hurricane threatened coast.

When the hurricane does strike, possibly late Sunday or early Monday, Mexicans and tourists alike will be keeping their fingers crossed that homes and hotels are as rock solid as these ancient remains.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And that was Karl Penhaul reporting. Stay with CNN as we track Emily throughout the day. We're your hurricane headquarters.

Iraq's special tribunal has filed its first charges against Saddam Hussein. And the first criminal trial of Iraq's former leader could begin as early as September. Officials say Saddam eventually could face up to a dozen separate trials. And if convicted, he could receive the death penalty.

The charges that were just filed are related to the 1982 executions of an estimated 150 Shiites in retaliation for a failed assassination attempt. An attorney for Saddam Hussein today questioned the legitimacy of the charges.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIOVANNI DI STEFANO, SADDAM HUSSEIN'S LAWYER: As of today, we still do not have a single document purporting to be anything where we can be ready for trial. And under their own rules and regulations, article 20 of their own statute, we will require time to be able to prepare a defense. Anything other than that would make it a show trial a farce. And that's not something we will be prepared to entertain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Also, in Iraq, nine people were killed, 28 wounded today in five different bomb attacks around Baghdad. Four of the strikes were suicide car bombings and two of the suicide attacks targeted Iraqi police patrols.

Another car blew up outside an electoral commission office while a separate attack targeted two government vehicles. Meanwhile, the death toll from yesterday's suicide bombing near a stolen propane fuel tanker has climbed to at least 90, making it the second deadliest terror attacks since Saddam Hussein was overthrown.

What does fighting street gangs in America have to do with fighting the insurgency in Iraq? Still to come, what a critic of the U.S. military strategy in Iraq says needs to change in order to win the peace.

Up next, changing the way public transportation is protected in the nation's Capitol. Why passengers may have to accept random searches.

And coming up later, could it become the summer of Tiger?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: British officials say they have identified 47 of the 55 victims of the London terror attacks. The announcement come as Britain's largest Sunni Muslim group condemns the attacks. The Sunni Council in Birmingham says the bombings went against the teachings of Islam and it also declared that any type of suicide attack violates the Koran. Earlier on CNN, Britain's defense secretary said the battle against terrorism reaches far beyond the London attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN REID, BRITISH DEFENSE SECRETARY: What is absolutely clear to all of us, is even though the four people of which we know are residents in a particular part of this United Kingdom, the spector we are facing is an international battle of enormous proportions. It is not the clash of civilizations. It is a relatively small number of people who want to impose their will by the use of terror on the rest of civilization.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: British police have identified all four men suspected of carrying out the bombings, Mohammed Sidique Khan and Jamaican-born Germane Lindsay are the latest to be identified. Hasib Hussain is believed to be the bomber of the double-decker bus and Shahzad Tanweer has been linked to the Aldgate station blast.

Those bombings have prompted transit officials in the U.s. to take a harder look at security operations here. In Washington, official have beefed up security on the Metro rail system and are considering measure that is some say may cause unnecessary complications. CNN's Gary Nurenberg explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When bomb squads rushed to investigate a suspicious package at a suburban Washington subway stop only hours after the London bombings, passengers didn't mind the delay.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 15 minutes. That's it.

NURENBERG: Metro knows it is vulnerable.

DANA KAUFFMAN, METRO BOARD CHAIRMAN: Metro is the only transit system serving the nation's Capitol. We are serve the bull's eye, if you will. And we need to have the best safety system in the country, if not the world, for our riders.

NURENBERG: So the system has increased security, has replaced regular trash cans with bomb resistant ones, cameras monitor metro operations, bio and chemical detectors are supplemented by explosive sniffing dogs. Now, Metro is considering random searches of passenger bags, an idea some welcome.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is not safe. It is so easy I could have anything in my backpack or purse.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think random search is a good idea. Because you never know what people are carrying, you know. And I don't want to be on a train if it is blown up.

NURENBERG: Other passengers worry about the inconvenience.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think we should waste too much time.

NURENBERG: Constitutional scholars say some random search program would have to be carefully structured to deal with issues of privacy and potential discrimination.

MARY CHEH, GWU LAW SCHOOL: It is impossible to simply say to your officers go out in a given area and randomly search people without specific instructions. That is improper. And it wouldn't be upheld.

NURENBERG: Some terrorism experts question the merit of random searches.

RAFI RON, NEW AGE SECURITY SYSTEMS: Why go for random checking? It doesn't make a lot of sense. And end up checking a 5-year-olds as well as 82-year-old when none of these people have ever carried out a major attack in terrorist history.

NURENBERG: Metro thinks that passengers should do some visual screening of their own and report the unusual.

KELLY MCCANN, SECURITY/TERRORISM EXPERT: If it is summer and someone comes in inappropriately dressed with a very heavy jacket that might be too long, you have got to ask why would that person dress that way? What could they be concealing?

NURENBERG: Metro wants what is it calls layered security.

LISA FARBSTEIN, METRO SPOKESWOMAN: We think it is important to mix it up so that it is never the same. There's no pattern that can be detected. We think that's very important.

NURENBERG: Random searches, Metro says it is studying how to find a system that's legal and effective.

Gary Nurenberg, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: For more on the fight against terrorism in this country and abroad, tune in tonight's CNN special, "Winning the War on Terror," that's at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, 4:00 p.m. Pacific. And stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news for your security.

Insurgent attacks are on the rise and death tolls climbing in Iraq. So, why does a U.S. general think progress is being made in that country? Hear from the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq next.

And still to come, a medical checkup 101. We'll explain what it means for the vice presdient president to have dilated arteries in his knees. It just may teach you something about your own health.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Every week we bring you some of the more personal stories from the frontlines. Today, a look at the situation on the ground in Iraq. Who is winning the war, coalition forces or the insurgency? Let's check in now with Jamie McIntyre who says it depends on who you ask.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Iraq's vags desolate western desert, a lone U.S. Marine battalion patrols 40 miles of border with Syria trying to stop the foreign fighters streaming into the country. Without much help from the Iraqis, it is pretty much mission impossible.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no real Iraqi forces that's coming. That's in the future, but not right now.

MCINTYRE: Everyone seems to agree that in the end, only Iraqis can save Iraq.

GEN. GEORGE CASEY, CMDR. MULTINATIONAL FORCE IRAQ: The average insurgency in the 20th Century has lasted about nine years. So it is the Iraqis who are going to defeat this insurgency with our support, but not necessarily with our total commitment.

MCINTYRE: George Casey, commander of the U.S. led forces in Iraq, has a task every bit as daunting as the troops on the front lines. He sat down with CNN during a recent visit to brief Pentagon brass on how things are going.

Do you think you've been dealt a winning hand?

CASEY: You play the cards you're dealt, Jamie. And I walked into the circumstances. And my job is to take it from there to success.

MCINTYRE: Casey argues and insists he believes that despite the rising death toll and an insurgency that appears to be growing, Iraq is making progress every day and will be able to defeat the insurgents after the U.S. leaves, even though he can't say when that will be.

CASEY: I am optimistic. I am.

MCINTYRE (on camera): Why?

CASEY: Because I see the Iraqis wanting something better, both politically and economically. And I see Iraqi security forces coming forward every day to join the army, to join the police, and going out and fighting for the future of Iraq.

MCINTYRE (voice-over): The number of those Iraqi forces and their combat worthiness is the subject of hot debate. The Pentagon cites 160,000. But concedes so far, only a small number, fewer than 3,000, are fully capable of fighting insurgents without U.S. help.

Still, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld argues, just because most Iraqi forces cannot deploy, doesn't mean they aren't providing security.

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: A large number of them are police. They're not supposed to deploy anyplace. Policemen in Washington D.C. don't get in airplanes and fly to California.

MCINTYRE: Whatever the number, critics argue it is clearly not enough.

COL. THOMAS HAMMES, U.S. MARINE CORPS (RET): The battalion comanders and brigade commanders that are there, particularly along the border in the north, constantly say they're playing, in essence, Wack-a-mole. They dont' have enough troops to go into an area and stay. So, they sweep through an area and then have to come back in two or three or four weeks.

We know from past experience with insurgencies that that's a losing approach.

MCINTYRE: TX Hemas is a just retired marine colonel, was a senior fellow at the National Defense University and has written a book on defeating insurgencies. He argues, you have to fight insurgents the way police fight street gangs.

(on camera): Take any tough neighborhood in any American city. If the police show up here only when there's a crime, well, not many people are going to finger the bad guys. Why? Because they know the bad guys will be here long after the police are gone, and they'll pay the price.

(voice-over0: Same thing applies in Iraq's Anbar Province home to most of Iraq's Sunni insurgents and foreign fighters.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: We come in, we attack, they leave, we leave, they come back. The obvious answer is expansion of the Iraqi military's capability to handle these responsibilities.

In the meantime, we do not have and have not had enough troops. And we have paid a very heavy price.

MCINTYRE: Iraqification, it's been the U.S. strategy since day one. To critics, it smacks of Vietnamization.

Vietnamization didn't work in Vietnam. Can Iraqification work?

COL. THOMAS HAMMES, U.S. MARINE CORP. (RET): I'll disagree with you, Vietnammification did work.

MCINTYRE: Hamas argues, the South Vietnamese could have defeated the north if the U.S. had continued to back them.

HAMMES: When they had the resouces -- in '72 they fought, and they fought well, and defeated a major North Vietnamese invasion.

MCINTYRE: So, that's a lesson there?

HAMMES: Yes, it is. They broke our will. So as a result, we didn't support them. That's why the will of the American people is our center of gravity. Our key vulnerability is we have to protect that.

MCINTYRE (voice-over): That's another thing everyone agrees on: Iraq is a test of wills.

CASEY: Frankly, that's one of the things I'm doing here is trying to explain how I see the situation on the ground, which is not nearly as desperate as being conveyed in other places. MCINTYRE (on camera): So who's winning in Iraq today?

HAMMES: Too early to tell. We're two years into a decade-long struggle. It would be like calling a ball game bottom of the second inning.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And our thanks to Jamie McIntyre for that report. For a closer look at the situation in Iraq, tune in tonight for "CNN PRESENTS: Progress Report, the Iraq War." That's tonight at 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

Hurricane Emily spread destruction across Jamaica, now the category 4 storm is heading straight for the resort town of Cancun, Mexico. Should the U.S. mainland also be worried? We'll have a weather update next.

Plus, will the president's policy of standing by his right-hand man cost him in the eyes of the public? CNN's political analyst Carlos Watson weighs in on the Karl Rove controversy.

And still ahead -- oh, yes. He's back. British Open highlights are just 25 minutes away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories you now.

Former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein is facing his first charges from the Iraqi tribunal. The charges come in connection with a series of detentions and executions following a 1982 assassination attempt against Saddam. No trial date has been set. But under Iraqi law, proceedings could be as early as September.

Britain's defense secretary tells CNN the process of withdrawing British and U.s. troops from Iraq could begin within the next year. But British secretary John Reid cautions any withdrawal would likely be extremely gradual. And, he insists, troops won't leave until the people can protect themselves against insurgents.

The man who helped shepherd Britain's entry into what is now the European Union, has died. Former British prime minister Sir Edward Heath passed away earlier today at the age of 89. Heath served as prime minister from 1970 to 1974. He led the Conservative Party for more than a decade. And oversaw Britain's at mirb into the European community in 1973.

Now back to our top story.

Hoping for the best, but bracing for the worst. As Hurricane Emily advances toward the Yucatan Peninsula, thousands of tourists are in the area known as a the Mexican Riviera. They have few options for getting back home quickly now, since the Yucatan Airport is closed.

Many have no choice but to hunker down in shelters and ride out the storm. The dangerous category 4 hurricane is expected to hit later today or early tomorrow.

Emily's wind have been fluctuating as it creeps closer to Mexico. And it shifted direction just a bit, which could soon be causing problems for U.S. residents as well. Our meteorologist Jacqui Jeras has more on that -- Jacqui.

JERAS: Yeah, Fredricka. The shift actually comes later in the forecast track as it gets closer to the United States. But it is staying on track right now as it heads towards the Yucatan Peninsula. In fact, I was just online, checking the Cancun radar.

And it looks like some of the outer bands, the leading edge of the rain, is getting a little bit closer to the island of Cozumel. So, that could be as much as an hour or so away. So, certainly we're watching for those deteriorating conditions to be coming in. And landfall should be arriving, we think, late tonight or early tomorrow morning. So, you know, we're looking at a couple hour window on either side of the midnight hour, local time there.

It is a category 4 storm. It's packing winds of 145 miles an hour. Gusts are well beyond that. It's going to be moving across the Yucatan Peninsula through the overnight tonight and through much of the day tomorrow. And then it will emerge back over open water.

Of course, it's going to weaken, as it always does, as it moves over land. But you get it back over open watter and that means it's going to intensify once again. And yes, it looks like we'll be looking like a major hurricane, that means category 3 and above, when it makes landfall for the second time.

Yet again, we sat this animation, kind of hoping it offshore, because there's still quite a good margin of uncertainty as exactly where it's going to be making landfall. And the forecast track has shifted as of the 5:00 advisory, a little bit farter on up to the north. There's a little weather disturbance across the nation's midsection here, across the United States that could be taking this a little bit more northward rather than west -- north westard as it has been doing so.

It's moving quickly, though, at about 20 miles per hour. So, we're looking at the second landfall likely coming in sometime late, likely on Tuesday night -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Jacqui. We'll keep close tabs on that. Thanks so much.

Stay with CNN as we track Emily throughout the day. We are your hurricane headquarters.

"Time" magazine Matt Cooper is receiving more information about sources for an article he wrote that referenced a CIA employee. The leak of that employee's identity first revealed by columnist Robert Novak is now the subject of an investigation. For the latest on Cooper and his conversation with top presidential adviser Karl Rove, we join CNN White House correspondent Elaine Quijano -- Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESOPNDENT: Hello, Fredricka.

That conversation between Karl Rove and "Time" magazine reporter Matt Cooper took place during a window of time that is significant. It was in the days after former ambassador Joe Wilson wrote an op-ed piece critical of the Bush administration, and the days before his wife's identity was publicly revealed in the media.

Well today, now, we have a firsthand account of what was said during that conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

QUIJANO (voice-over): "Time" magazine reporter Matthew Cooper says until he talked to Karl Rove in July of 2003, he had never heard anything about former ambassador Joe Wilson's wife.

MATT COOPER, TIME: After that conversation I knew she worked at the CIA and worked on WMD issues. But as I made clear to the grand jury, I'm certain Rove never used her exact name. And certainly never indicated she had a covert status.

QUIJANO: In the latest addition of "Time," Cooper gives his account of that conversation two years ago, a conversation he testified about last yeek in front of a grand jury investigating whether Bush administration officials leaked the identity operative Valerie Plame. Cooper says he vividly remember a reaction from Rove at the end of their discussion.

COOPER: Well, he said, I've already said too much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you think he meant?

COOPER: Well, at the time I thought well, maybe he meant he'd been indiscrete. And then said something importatnt. Later, I thought, well maybe it was actually more benign like, I've said too much, I've got to get to a meeting.

So, I don't really know what he meant. But I do know the memory of that line has stayed with me for a couple of years now.

QUIJANO: While Cooper may be talking publicly, the White House is not commenting.

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: They were not involved.

QUIJANO: Two years ago, press secretary Scott McClellan told reporters Rove and Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis Libby, were not involved. But Cooper now says both were sources.

According to Cooper, he asked Libby if he'd heard anything about Wilson's wife sending her husband to Niger to investigate claims that Iraq was trying to buy uranium.

Cooper says, Libby told him, "Yes, I've heard that, too." It is not clear how Cooper's testimony fits into special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation. Fitzgerald isn't commenting. But some say the fact Rove spoke to reporters at all about the matter, raises concerns.

JEFFREY SMITH, FRM. CIA GENERAL COUNSEL: Any senior government official who talks with a member of the press and the identity of a CIA officer emerges in the course of that conversation, a red flag ought to go up. And the government official ought to pause and think before he or she says anything to confirm the identity of that individual as being employed as the CIA.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUIJANO: Now, Democrats are continuing their calls for Rove to be fired or for his security clearance to be pulled. Republicans are calling these questions just partisan politics. And while President Bush himself is not commenting, citing the ongoing investigation, the administration, Fredricka, has made very clear, sending out signals that Karl Rove is very much a part of the president's inner circle -- Fredricka.

WHITIFELD: Elaine Quijano at the White House, thanks so much.

Well, with me now to talk more about the CIA leak investigation and other topics, CNN political analyst Carlos Watson. Good to see you, Carlos.

CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good to see you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. So, some of the named sources: Karl Rove of course, and Lewis Libby, does this indicate that there just might be a few other close White House advisers' names that might come up?

WATSON: Well, we certainly may be on our way to phase two, if you will, in the investigation. You say that in almost every White House scandal story. There's been Monica Lewinsky, or Watergate, which is were higher ups involved? Does the story expand beyond the initial focus of a person, in this case, Karl Rove. And so, I think we'll stay tuned to see.

If it does expand, and people -- every day people in places like Miami where I am, may start to pay attention instead of it being just an inside the beltway story.

But there's also another opportunity, which is, once again, President Bush may be misunderestimated when he tangles with the media. It seems that every time he tangles with the media, whether he was being called not very smart in 2000 and ended up going on to win the presidency, or whether it's Rathergate. Remember last year around the National Guard story, or more recently "Newsweek's" story about the Koran down in Gitmo, it seems that the president always comes out on top.

In many ways, Fredricka, I start to think sometimes that the media for President Bush is very much like Newt Gingrich was for Bill Clinton, kind of the perfect foil, always makes him look better in the end. We'll wait and see which direction it goes. And a lot of it depends on the special prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald.

WHITFIELD: And that's interesting you bring that up. Because the last time, I think this nation remembers a name associated with a special prosecutor was Ken Starr. And now they have got to get used to the name Patrick Fitzgerald. Is he going to become a household name? Who is he?

WATSON: If he does become a household name, this veteran prosecutor, than that means that this will -- this story will take on legs, like Archibald Cox back during Watergate, like Ken Starr. But on the other hand, if he becomes a nameless special prosecutor, much like the special prosecutor who went after former housing secretary Henry Cisneros, than this is something that will probably go away.

So, one canary in the coal mine, if you will, will be how well my parents and your parents and other everyday people come to know his name.

WHITFIELD: Inside the beltway and outside as well, this has taken up a lot of time in conversations and interests. What other issues, politicwise, perhaps are being ignored as a result of the Karl Rove investigation?

WATSON: Well, a story that certainly affects you, me, and lots of other folks, which is education. Fredricka, while students have been enjoying the summer in many parts of the country, state legislators and even federal lawmakers have been throwing some pretty sharp elbows over educational questions.

For example, on the national level, scores just came out that showed that elementary and middle school students made gains, but not high school students. And so there's some big questions about whether or not this changed standards of No Child Left Behind.

And on a state level, Fredricka, almost a dozen states health special sessions or really detailed focus on educational questions.

And what's the result of all this? It means that this fall when students go back to school, teachers may be showing up early because they're under pressure to deliver on these high stakes tests. You will also, by the way, may see more teachers as more states have to spend more money on education in order to meet the goals.

WHITFIELD: Presidential election still a ways off. But we saw at the last election that campaigning has evolved quite a bit. The use of technology, computer, et cetera. And now it's taking yet another step, this time involving iPods. Explain.

WATSON: You bet, Fredricka. I want to give people an early one to watch for. Kind of get people ahead of the curve. If 2004 in terms of politics, was the year of the Internet, I'm going to say right now, three years early, that 2008 is going be the year of handheld devices. So devices like Blackberries, iPods, even your cell phone, will be super important to who wins the presidency next time around.

Whether they are being used by people who are organizing campaigns in order to direct people in terms of where to go. They're using cell phones and Blackberries to send messages. Or whether they're being used in order to get the message out you to.

Remember how Howard Dean used the Internet to get people excited. The next Howard Dean might have a Podcast, which is kind of a radio broadcast online which could get downloaded on to your iPod. And given that iPods have become so popular, these handheld devices may not be just about entertainment, but they may be about winning big political races in 2006 and 2008.

So, keep an eye out for iPods, which they just announced by the way -- Apple just announced -- a record 6.6 million iPods were sold in the last three months alone.

WHITFIELD: Unbelievable. And not just for music anymore.

All right, Carlos Watson, thanks.

WATSON: Great to see you.

WHITFIELD: Well, it has been six months since the deadly landside swept through La Conchita, California. Ten people died when their houses were buried in the mud. That mountain of mud is still there. Many are angry that nobody is cleaning up and rebuilding the area. It is the focus of a brewing legal battle. Here is CNN's Peter Viles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If Mike Bell walks just a few blocks from his California house he comes face to face with it, the killer hillsied. When the hill gave way in January, ten people were buried alive.

MIKE BELL, LA CONCHITA HOMEOWNER: One of my neighbors said, oh, my god. Look. And we turned and looked up the alley. And you can see the hill fail.

VILES: Six months later, there are shrines to the dead, damaged houses and something you can't see: a brewing legal battle. The county has always said the area was unsafe, but residents said they had no idea the hill would collapse the way it did.

BELL: No one had any clue that it would, or they wouldn't have be living here.

VILES: But the arguments about the future, too. Bell believes it is possible and feasible to stabilize the hill so it never collapses again.

BELL: I know for a fact it is. And the reason I know that is because there is reputable geological firms that have come into town, they've done a set of drawings on how to stabilize the whole hill. VILES: But Ventura County doesn't want to touch the hill.

STEVE BENNETT, VENTURA COUNTY SUPERVISOR: If the county goes in and says we are going to stabilize that hill and we don't -- and something goes wrong and that hill slides, the liability for the taxpayers is enormous.

VILES: It is a local problem, but a national issue. After all, taxpayers help hurricane victims rebuild in Florida. Why not mudslide victims in California?

For one, FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency that helps hurricane victims doesn't fix hillsides, period. And the county isn't convinced the hill could be fixed, even for $100 million.

BENNETT: No geologist will tell us that if you terrace a hill, we'll guarantee you it won't slide.

VILES: So it is a standoff, leaving a damaged town to live in the shadow of a dangerous hill.

Peter Viles for CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Did doctors find something in the vice president's knees that is could spell trouble for his health? Coming up next, I'll speak with a vascular surgeon about Dick Cheney's annual checkup.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: When you're second in command at the White House, your life is an open book. And so are your medical records. Vice President Dick Cheney wrapped up a second round of tests for his annual physical yesterday. His colonoscopy results were normal. Doctors say he has a mild case of esophagitis, or inflammation of his esophagus, and part of the arteries behind his knees are dilated.

How serious are Cheney's health issues? And what do these test results mean? I want to take that up with Dr. Ross Milner. He's an assistant professor of surgery at Emory University's school of medicine. He specializes in vascular surgery.

All right. We hear dilated arteries behind the knees. What does that mean?

DR. ROSS MILNER, EMORY UNIVERSITY: That means your artery is normally a certain size and it has grown to an abnormal size. And the biggest concern when the artery behind your knee gets large is that it could clot off and put you in a circumstance where you are at risk of losing your leg.

WHITFIELD: How do you detect that?

MILNER: A lot of times it is found incidentally. Sometimes it's just found because on exam, you find that there is a pulse behind the knee that usually is difficult to feel and actually is very easy to feel. And when you feel that, that's when you get an ultrasound, which is what was done to look for the vice president.

WHITFIELD: So, the vice presdient likely was just getting an overall checkup when they detected that? Or when you have clogged arteries like that, is it possible that there are symptoms? Would you know it? Would you feel it?

MILNER: Most you don't have symptoms, because they're small. When they get large, 3 or 4 or 5 centimeters, they can compress the nerves or the veins in that area, and then you would have symptoms. It seems to me from what was found on the vice president, this was done just part of a routine screening and was found because of that.

WHITFIELD: Aneurysms of the knee, would that be the same or just as significant as an aneurysm in the brain or even abdominal?

MILNER: Well, they're slightly different. They're not as well known, obviously. The aneurysms in a brain or in your abdomin, in your belly are at higher risk to burst, or rupture, and those are real life threatening problems, obviously, when that occurs.

Aneurisyms behind the knee tend to either clot off, or throw clot down to your foot, and that puts you at risk of losing a leg. So, it is more of a limb threatening problem, than it is a life threatening problem. But still a very, very serious problem.

WHITFIELD: And then inflammation of the esophagus. What might that indicate?

MILNER: I think it's completely unrelated. It's a very common problem. It's heartburn, as everybody knows it. And just a little bit of acid gets from your stomach into your esophagus, and causes some irritation. And it's usually very well taken of with medication. So, completly unrelated.

WHITFIELD: Aside from the esophagitis then, would the dialated arteries have anything to do with what we know the vice president has had, numerous heart related issues. Any connection?

MILNER: Absolutely. You know, it is pretty clear -- although we don't know what exactly causes aneurysms behind the knee -- it is very clear that the same risk factors: smoking, high blood pressure, family history, all of those factors can lead to aneurysms behind a knee, just like heart disease.

WHITFIELD: Overall, do you feel fairly encouraged about his checkup?

MILNER: It sounds like his heart is in good shape, which is most important for him. You know, I don't know exactly what the size of the aneurysms are. It sounds as if they're small, and he may need anything other than continued observation and just follow them. But, if it would need need to be treated, there are very good treatments that could take care of it.

WHITFIELD: All right. Dr. Ross Milner, thanks so much.

MILNER: Thank you for having me.

WHITFIELD: Well another historic day for Tiger Woods in Scotland. Up next, highlights from St. Andrews as the gold phenom takes his place among the game's elite.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: News around the world now. A powerful typhoon is barreling toward Taiwan. The storm is packing winds of 119 miles an hour. And is expected to hit the island within hours.

In China, a rescue plan that went slightly awry. This panda became stranded flood waters. Officials decided to get him down by injecting him with anesthesia and breaking his fall with a mattress. Well, instead of falling down, the panda fell asleep in the tree. Well, it would take rescuers another five hours to pull the panda down with a rope.

And Lance Armstrong is widening the gap between himself and the competition at the Tour de France. The six-time winner added an extra minute to his overall lead today. But he wasn't the first to cross the line in today's stage. Instead, Armstrong's American teammate George Hincapie picked up his first ever Tour stage win.

And if there was any question that Tiger Woods is one of the greatest golfers in history, this may settle it. Woods picked up his tenth major today, with a win at the British Open, finishing the old course 5 shots ahead of his closest competitor.

CNN's Don Riddell has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DON RIDDELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The leader board here at St. Andrews resembled something of an Augusta reunion with past masters, Langer, Faldo, Lyle, Alathabel (ph) and Singe and Couples, all playing their part. But in the end, none of them could outwit the holder of four green jackets, Tiger Woods.

TIGER WOODS, BRITISH OPEN CHAMPION: We know these guys are making a run. And they should make a run. I'm they're the best players in the world.

I kept saying to myself that if may make a birdie like Monti is ahead of me. He's making a run. If he makes birdie ahead of me, if I make birdie the same hole, it's moot. We're all square, no blood.

COLIN MONTGOMERIE, FINISHED BEHIND WOODS: How can one be disappointed in a performance where you finish second at home of golf here, to the best player in the world? How can I be dissatisfied with that? I came into here 40th in the world. So, I done a lot better than I should have done.

He is the wrong name to have, having to chase. Yes, I'm sorry, but he doesn't. He's that good, and he's that experienced, and that mentally tough, that you know that might make a mistake, but we needed a series of mistakes. And that wasn't going to happen.

WOODS: I don't want to be like I was in 2000. Why would you want to be like that? When you think you can be better? That's the beauty of it. No matter how good you play, you can always feel like you can you do better. And that's what makes it exciting for the next day.

RIDDELL (on camera): In winning for the second time, Woods has now matched the fete of the great Jack Nicklaus who triumphed on the old course in 1970 and 1978.

With a renewed winning habit, and a rejuvenated swing, who'd now bet against the world No. 1 matching the feat of the great Jack Nicklaus in winning 18 major titles.

Don Riddell, CNN, at St. Andrews in Scotland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well coming up at 10:00 Eastern, we'll hear from the British Open winner. Tiger Woods sits down for a one on one interview on the historic day at St. Andrew's.

And coming up next on CNN, a special look at winning the war on terror. At 8:00 eastern, "CNN PRESENTS" an in-depth progress report on the state of democracy in Iraq.

And at 9:00 Eastern, "LARRY KING WEEKEND." Larry's guest tonight, Nancy Grace.

And I'll be back at 10:00 Eastern. Tonight, new questions are raised about a Missouri execution nearly nine years ago: Did the state kill an innocent man? The hour's headlines when we come right back. And then CNN's special winning the war on terror.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com