Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
America Votes 2006; Mexico Elections; Drilling Success; The Fight For Iraq
Aired September 05, 2006 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: My partner Heidi Collins.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: How are you?
HARRIS: Welcome.
COLLINS: It's Tony, right?
HARRIS: Tony Harris, thank you.
And I have a short list of things that you need in the morning. We start with coffee. And no doughnuts.
COLLINS: I got that down. No doughnuts.
HARRIS: And your programmed in the phone. So we're good to go. We're good to go. Great to have you here.
COLLINS: OK. Thank you. Thanks for having me.
HARRIS: Well, the news keeps coming. Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.
COLLINS: And I'm Heidi Collins. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM for Tuesday, September 5th.
President Bush works up a new speech today on the terror battle. An eye-opener the White House promises.
Congress back on the job now. Democrats make noise about the defense secretary. Is he the next war casualty?
And Australia remembers the croc hunter. Steve Irwin, so loved he may get a state funeral.
HARRIS: Well, Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer and the start of a new political season in Washington. Congress is back in session with a laundry list of objectives and the high stakes of a midterm election hanging overhead. Here's CNN congressional correspondent Andrea Koppel.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The Republican to-do list is long. REP. ROY BLUNT, (R) MAJORITY WHIP: We're dealing with energy policy, immigration policy, national security in a way that I think we can explain where we're for.
KOPPEL: And that's not all. Over the next five weeks, the Republicans ambitious agenda includes whether to authorize warrantless wiretaps and legalize military tribunals for Guantanamo detainees, completing a bill to authorize defense spending for next year and wrapping up negotiations on money for Homeland Security. But privately, Republicans admit, only days away from the 9/11 anniversary, and only weeks before midterm elections, their primary goal -- to convince voters Republicans are strong on national security while Democrats are weak.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL, (R) MAJORITY LEADER: The main thing to remember is that we went on offense after 9/11 in order to protect Americans here at home. That policy has been a 100 percent success.
KOPPEL: And a new CNN poll by Opinion Research Corporation shows why that's their strategy. Iraq and terrorism rank among voters top concerns. But Democrats are fighting back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This time, the liquid explosives.
KOPPEL: Firing the opening salvo in what they say will be an intense partisan battle to cast Republican leaders as incompetent, while insisting Democrats are tough on security, too.
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER, (D) NEW YORK: The overall grade the government gets in Homeland Security is c minus. Better than failing. Not a d. But close to not good enough.
KOPPEL: Also this week, Democratic leaders penned a highly critical letter to President Bush about his Iraq policy, telling him he must replace civilian leaders at the Pentagon. And later this week, Senate Democrats also intend to call for a vote of no confidence on Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld. Still, political strategists say don't expect much substance to get accomplished.
STU ROTHENBERG, ROLL CALL: That's an opportunity for photo ops. This is much more about strategic positioning than passing legislation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And Andrea Koppel joins us on Capitol Hill.
Andrea, such a long list of things to do that you outlined for us there. Is any of this likely to be accomplished in the five weeks left?
KOPPEL: Some of it will certainly, Tony. The most important is going to be continuing to fund the U.S. government and to get money for the Defense Department for next year. Certainly we're going to see progress on that. There could be some movement on the wiretapping and on what to do, how to try detainees at Guantanamo. But realistically, as one Republican strategist and, in fact, one GOP leadership aide told me is they are going to be focused on one thing and that is national security. They feel that that was a winner for them in '02 and '04. And they're going to take a page out of that old political playbook.
Tony.
HARRIS: We will see how it plays out over the next five weeks. Congressional correspondent Andrea Koppel for us.
Andrea, thank you.
And you'll want to stay right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. We have got President Bush's war on terror speech covered for you. It's coming up live at 1:20 p.m. Eastern Time.
COLLINS: A closer look at the midterm elections and the coming campaign season. Our senior political correspondent Candy Crowley is in New York for us this morning.
Good morning to you, Candy.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
COLLINS: Talk to us a little bit about the state of play right now on both sides of the fence.
CROWLEY: Well, the state of play nationally is that Republicans are mighty nervous. The Democrats need 15 seats to take control of the House. They need six seats to take control of the Senate. The House looks doable. Nearly every political pundit will tell you that, in fact, there are about 36 vulnerable Republican seats and a lot of the polling is showing that it's quite within Democratic reach.
Having said that, the Democrats are trying, as you saw in what Andrea Koppel was saying, they're trying to kind of nationalize the race, whereas Republicans are saying, listen, this is -- you know, politics always comes down to one candidate versus another candidate. So they're trying to localize the race and that's the pull and tug right now.
COLLINS: Seems like that get as little bit personal when they go at it with that type of strategy.
CROWLEY: Absolutely. If I had to guess -- and I don't think I really have to guess -- I think you're going to see a lot of what's called negative advertising, which basically is to try to frame your opponent. Now Republicans say we haven't even gotten started yet. We haven't put a lot of ads up on the air in a lot of these races. And once we do and people understand what the choice is, they're going to go with Republicans. We'll see.
COLLINS: Think they'll be able to avoid -- talking about the GOP -- they'll be able to avoid what could be season as major, major losses here?
CROWLEY: You know, there are a lot of people that are comparing this election in 1994 when Republicans swept into office, picked up an enormous amount of seats in the House. There's some differences here, though. First of all, in the time since Republicans came to power in 1994 and now there's been a lot of redistricting. And those kind of insulate some of the Republicans that are in trouble because there's more Republicans now in some of those districts.
Then, too, 1994 took a lot of Democrats by surprise. Republicans have been told since January, you guys are in trouble. You need to know that. You need to position yourself for that. And also in 1994 we're thrown out as a lot of freshmen Democrats. A lot of these people who were under challenge right now are veterans. They know how to run a race. So there are differences. There are things Republicans can do to try to keep this from being a tsunami.
COLLINS: All right. We will be watching all of it through your eyes, of course.
Candy Crowley, thanks so much for that.
HARRIS: And, Heidi, this just in to CNN. Dr. Mark McClellan, the man who served as administrator for the center of Medicare and Medicaid services and the Department of Health and Human Services, is stepping down, as expected. It's a post he's held since March of 2004. Mark McClellan served as commissioner for the Food and Drug Administration and previously served as a member of the White House council of economic advisers. His brother, as you know, was former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan.
So once again, just into CNN, Mark McClellan stepping down as administrator for the center for Medicare and Medicaid services. We'll get White House reaction pretty soon on that.
And also just another reminder. Stay in the CNN NEWSROOM. We've got the president's speech, his war on terror speech. That is coming up live at 1:20 p.m. Eastern Time.
Well, Mexico is closer to having a new president today. About an hour ago, the head of the country's top electoral court gave his recommendation on July's contested election. More now from CNN's Harris Whitbeck in Mexico City.
Harris.
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Tony.
The Mexican federal electoral tribunal is meeting now. Preliminary reports indicate that they will probably rule that official conservative candidate Felipe Calderon won last July's presidential election. Their decision is final and cannot be appealed and it culminates weeks of legal wrangling and accusations by the leftist opposition that the elections were rigged, that the vote tallying process was inconsistent and that the president himself, President Vicente Fox, got too involved in the election and favored the official candidate Felipe Calderon.
Now the decision being final and it will be made official within a few hours has not been the concern. The concern is how the opposition is going to react. You might hear behind me the voices of several members of the opposition who have been camped out in front of the electoral tribunal to protest. They have also been camped out in Mexico City's main square, Desocalo (ph), and on Preforma (ph) Avenue, which is the main thoroughfare in the Mexican capital. They say that they will not accept the results of the electoral tribunal and that they will continue their acts of civil disobedience to impede Calderon from taking office December 1st.
So the question here is not who's going to be president, but how he is going to govern once he gets into office on December 1st. The country is polarized in political terms. The Congress is very divided. So whoever wins is going to have a tough time governing this country.
Obviously what happens in Mexico very important to the United States. Migratory policies are important, economic policies are important. So it's really -- what happens here is going to be very important. Again, if Mr. Calderon is confirmed as president, which we believe will happen today, he's going to have a tough few weeks ahead.
Tony.
HARRIS: CNN's Harris Whitbeck for us in Mexico City.
Harris, thank you.
COLLINS: Well, he loved nature practically from birth. A look back at the life of Steve Irwin.
HARRIS: The front lines of al Qaeda in Iraq. Go inside the volatile city of Ramadi. The footprints of al Qaeda run deep. A live report from CNN's Michael Ware embedded with U.S. Marines ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Hey, a big find in the Gulf of Mexico with potentially huge implications for the nation's oil reserves and possibly even your wallet. We always like to hear that. Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange to explain this.
Hi, Susan.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi. Good to see you.
Oil giant Chevron and its partners Devon Energy and Statoil say they've successfully drilled for oil in a deep water region of the Gulf of Mexico. About 275 miles southwest of New Orleans. It's the first successful oil production test from that area. And according to "The Wall Street Journal," it could become the biggest new domestic find since the discovery of Alaska's north slope more than a generation ago. There's enormous potential here. The companies say recent deep water discoveries hold more than 3 billion barrels and maybe even up to 15 billion barrels of oil and gas reserve. It's a very difficult and expensive proposition to retrieve all this energy, but the fields could potentially be as significant as Alaska's Prudhoe Bay, which we've been hearing so much about lately. Not always good news coming from that part of the country.
Heidi.
COLLINS: I have an uncle who works on the slope (ph). Maybe he'll get to move. That might be good news -- from Alaska.
LISOVICZ: A little close to you.
COLLINS: Yes, maybe. What does this mean, though, Susan, if anything, for oil prices? I mean, are we going to see a change here?
LISOVICZ: Well, we're seeing oil trade down below $69 a barrel. That's good. Remember the record is around 77 and change. We're down about 30 cents right now.
Long-term effects. Don't expect this discovery to prompt any huge drop in prices, especially in the near term. The U.S. will still have to import a lot of its oil. These Gulf of Mexico fields are big compared to other U.S. fields but they don't come close in size to the enormous fields in oil-rich areas like the Middle East and large-scale production could still be years away. But still, it could help cool the oil market slightly.
By the way, shares of Chevron are up 1 percent today and Devon Energy shares are jumping more than 8 percent. So very good news for the shareholders of those companies.
COLLINS: Yes, I bet it is.
All right, Susan, great to see you.
LISOVICZ: Likewise.
HARRIS: And, Heidi, all the testing, the initial testing, encouraging. And as we bring Chad Myers in.
Hey, Chad, this drilling is going on in an area called Walker ridge. Maybe you can help us pinpoint -- oh there it is.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: There it is.
HARRIS: Yes.
MYERS: About 7,000 feet of water. The total depth of the well over 28,000 feet. So they not only had to go down through 7,000 feet of water, which I'm sure was a lot easier than going down through 20,000 more feet of rock and whatever it is. But there's New Orleans. About 250 miles from New Orleans out in the -- really almost the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. I have another kind of an indication here. The Walker Ridge right through here. So in 7,000 feet of water this floating platform with motors to keep it in the same place has been drilling since 2004 from what I'm getting here. So this has been really a long, long process. But could prove to be 15 billion barrels worth of oil in that area.
So that's kind of an amazing looking map. This is what we call the imagery map. This is from NOAA. There's New Orleans. There's Lake Pontchartrain. Obviously the greener it is, the deeper it is. And right there on that ridge, 7,000 feet of water.
HARRIS: I tell you what, you get that up and running, you know, that's another area that you have to be concerned with when you're talking about possible storms.
MYERS: Absolutely.
HARRIS: And storms getting into the Gulf.
MYERS: No question about it. I mean this entire western side. From Louisiana westward here, this is where most of the platforms are. Not a lot to the east. There are a few, but not as much as here. But this is as far out as anybody's been able to find any oil. So, you know, the farther you get out, the longer it takes to shuttle people on and off. The more damage can occur. Obviously bigger waves, all the like.
HARRIS: And, Chad, what's the latest on we're calling it TD-6?
MYERS: Well, it just went black on me. It's dark out there in TD-6 land.
COLLINS: Well, we used to know, is that good or bad?
MYERS: It is still tropical depression six. No name yet. It will become Florence. And it's forecast to actually turn into a category one hurricane by Saturday. And some of the models have it much stronger than that by Monday. But it looks like it's going to make kind of a big right-hand turn around the U.S. We'll have to see. Sometimes those turns are slow to occur. Yes, waiting, waiting, waiting and then it never turns. So we'll keep an eye on it.
COLLINS: Please do. We will check back with you.
HARRIS: Thanks, Chad.
MYERS: Hey, Heidi, welcome to our . . .
HARRIS: How about that, huh?
COLLINS: Thank you.
MYERS: Yes, man. The lovely and talented Heidi Collins.
COLLINS: I hear we're kind of neighbors.
MYERS: We are about a mile apart. HARRIS: Carpool.
COLLINS: We're carpooling.
MYERS: Now we can have playdates.
COLLINS: Oh, wait, you come in way too early. Forget it.
MYERS: Our kids can have playdates.
COLLINS: Yes, I love that.
MYERS: OK. All right.
HARRIS: Thanks, Chad. Appreciate it.
Somebody invite my kids.
COLLINS: Your kids, too, of course.
HARRIS: Well, a soggy mess to clean up this morning in Tampa, Florida. This was the scene after severe storms moved through the area. Motorists caught off guard as flash floods swept through parts of the city that doesn't usually flood. More bad weather south of Tampa in Fort Myers. A teenager was killed when lightning struck the tree while he was standing under it.
COLLINS: Larger than life. His death shocked the nation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's like I've lost a son.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've never met the man personally, but I just feel gutted as a (INAUDIBLE) crikey, you'll be missed, mate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: It's amazing the connection everyone seemed to feel. Aussies saluting Steve Irwin. That's all ahead on CNN.
HARRIS: And this. A manhunt mix-up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was seen coming out of the woods and it was a logical thing to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Coming up, tense moments for a fugitive look-alike in New York. That story ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: In the war zone. Iraq's government extends a states of emergency another 30 days. That means a nighttime curfew and extra powers for security forces. They can make arrests without warrants.
Then there is this scene. Victims of brutal attacks taken to a morgue. Authorities say they found the bodies of more than 30 men yesterday. All apparently had been blindfolded, tortured and shot. Their bodies were dumped and buried all around Baghdad.
Today violence claimed at least 10 lives across Iraq. Also today the U.S. military reports three servicemen were killed during fighting.
COLLINS: The front lines of al Qaeda in Iraq. The group has its headquarters in Ramadi and that's, of course, west of Baghdad. You see it there on the map. And CNN's Michael Ware is embedded with the U.S. Marines there.
Michael, this is an interesting perspective. We rarely get outside of Baghdad.
Michael, can you hear me?
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Heidi.
Ramadi, west of Baghdad, is actually the insurgency here is -- yes, I can. Can you hear me, Heidi?
Ramadi is actually the insurgency is owned by al Qaeda. This very much is the al Qaeda front line for U.S. troops. Here they are fighting members of al Qaeda day-to-day, street-to-street. And that's what we see here. U.S. commanders on the ground here say that despite the loss of their high-profile leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al Qaeda is as strong as ever. They maintain their pace of attacks.
We also see that it's from here in Ramadi, and more broadly across Al Anbar Province, that the bulk of U.S. casualties are coming from. This is where we see just a few days ago a suicide car bomb taking the life of a U.S. Marine. Just yesterday morning, we saw three Marines come tearing back into the gates of this camp. Their vehicle hit by an IED. The gunner unconscious. Another Marine holding the door to the Humvee on so it wouldn't fall off. Thankfully, those three are OK. But this is what it is like day-to- day here in Ramadi.
Heidi.
COLLINS: CNN's Michael Ware coming to us today from Ramadi.
We thank you so much for that, Michael.
Meanwhile, to another part of the world. A prominent Iranian politician in the spotlight this hour at the United Nations. Not the country's current leader, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, but Iran's former president Mohammad Khatami. He is speaking his mind about some major issues, including Iran's nuclear program. He sat down for an exclusive interview with CNN's Zain Verjee.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Why should the west trust Iran?
MOHAMMAD KHATAMI, FORMER IRANIAN PRESIDENT, (through translator): Why should the west not trust Iran? That's my question? See, at this moment, Iran is a signatory to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty has declared many times it has no interest in building the nuclear bomb. All the inspections have shown that there has been no movement toward building atomic weapons or bombs. This country, as any country who's interested in having nuclear technology for civilian purposes in order to advance its own energy independence in the future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: A new worry today for Iranians hoping to reform their country. The hard-line president, Ahmadinejad, is calling for a purge at the country's universities. He wants liberal and secular teachers off the job. The Iranian leader wants students to return to 1980's styles radicalism.
HARRIS: And still ahead, larger than life, his death shocks the nation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like I've lost a son.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've never met the man personally, but I just feel gutted as a (INAUDIBLE) crikey, you'll be missed, mate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Aussies salute Steve Irwin. That's ahead.
Plus, new images of a trim Fidel Castro. Take a look at this. The Cuban leader talks about his health. All ahead in the NEWSROOM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And welcome back, everyone.
We're learning new details about the death of the crocodile hunter. Steve Irwin's manager says Irwin lived long enough to pull the stingray's venomous barb from his chest. Irwin's body has been returned home. Officials have offered his family a state funeral. And tributes are pouring in from around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FABIEN COUSTEAU, OCEANIC EXPLORER/FILMMAKER: He was a warrior for the planet. He's an environmentalist that leaves behind quite a legacy and quite a message that essential that we listen to whether it's thrill and interests the younger generations into caring about the animals or what's going on, for example, with global warming. I think he was a man that really portrayed his care and love for the planet and for the inheritance that future generations will take on. (END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: As you probably know, Steve Irwin was a native of Australia. So the Australian country is quite shocked by his death. They are flocking to the place he called home.
Brad Schmidt (ph) from Australia's 9 Network reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRAD SCHMIDT, AUSTRALIA NETWORK 9 REPORTER (voice-over): At his beloved Australia Zoo, they mourn Steve Irwin with tears and flowers. The man who was larger than life has saddened the nation with his death.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's just sad that he's gone. It really is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was just a silly guy just like everybody else is. I just can't believe it.
SCHMIDT: An Aussie icon we could all relate to.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's like I've lost a son. I've never met the man personally, but I just feel gutted. As I wrote on his shirt, I just said, crikey, he'll be missed, mate.
SCHMIDT: Today the zoo made the decision to open its doors as it's done for more than 30 years. Management and staff say the crocodile hunter would have wanted it that way.
MICHAL HORNBY, AUSTRALIA ZOO: When it (INAUDIBLE), when we heard the confirmation, there was never a doubt that we had to come back, and you know -- it would be what Steve wanted everyone to do.
GAYLE GIPP, AUSTRALIA ZOO: This morning we've all been remembering experiences with him, funny things that have happened to us, and his character and some of the amazing things he's done for his staff.
SCHMIDT: After undergoing a post-mortem in Cairns late today, Irwin's body was flown back to the Sunshine Coast. Police are now examining underwater footage that shows the moment the adventurer was attacked a giant bull stingray, film his long-life friend and manager says is both shocking and terrible.
JOHN STAINTON, IRWIN'S MANAGER: It shows Steve come over top of the ray, and then the tail came up and spiked him here, and he pulled it out. And then the next minute, he's gone. It's a very hard thing to watch because you're actually witnessing somebody die.
SCHMIDT: While such attacks are considered extremely rare, veteran filmmaker Ben Cropp narrowly escaped a similar encounter with a stingray.
BEN CROPP, FILMMAKER: It just suddenly stopped, spun around, stirred up the sand and then up came its tail and went wack at me. And it missed me, and I backed away and it went whack again. Steve was very unlucky. And that's really what it boils down to. Very unlucky.
SCHMIDT: Brad Schmidt, National 9 News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Steve Irwin's long-time manager was one of his best mates, as well. You just saw him moments ago there on the tape. John Stainton has also looked at the tape, as you heard, that showed his good friend dying. He joins Larry King tonight, live at 9:00 Eastern for a tribute to his good friend, the croc hunter.
HARRIS: And Heidi, one of New York's biggest man hunts is getting bigger today. Police are trying to track down a prison escapee. They believe he shot three state troopers. One died Sunday. The latest now from Kyle Clark of our Rochester affiliate WHAM.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAYOR MICHAEL MANNING, N.Y. STATE POLICE: There's a nation of police all unified and looking for Ralph Phillips, who we would suspect as being the murderer of the young trooper.
KYLE CLARK, WHAM REPORTER (voice-over): Rochester is contributing its seven-man SWAT team. Its armored truck rolled out for the morning campaign, alongside a dozen other agencies, from the state police to the DEA. Rochester deputy chief James Shepherd (ph) says his men asked to go down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They'd feel it is their duty.
CLARK: A midday report of a cabin break-in, similar to those pulled off by the fugitive, Ralph "Bucky" Phillips. It brought a storm of uniforms, Rochester's among them; the city cops trading urban streets for rural roads, using familiar tactics in unfamiliar terrain.
When they have to take care of the tactical operation on a building it's the same tactics we use. We allows our people do a little more would searching.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When they have to take a tactical operation on a building, it's the same tactics we use, they use. You know, we -- it allows our people to do a little more woods searching.
CLARK: A comb of the woods turned up this man, who caused more than a few double takes. His name is Greg. It's not Bucky. But even he admits there is a slight resemblance.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bucky with 15 more years on him. A little on the gray side, you know.
CLARK: Just sorry to have scared everyone, Greg Forsgrin (ph) says that the Rochester police and the other officers were polite with him after a few long glances and some very pointed questions. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I understand why they are here. Someone did perceive a probable break in, and I was seen coming out of the woods, and that was the logical thing to do.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: It's great that he was that patient, because you remember the guy that the police pulled over -- or actually who was walking, and they thought that he was the bad guy, checked him out and then let him go? And he ended up being the bad guy.
HARRIS: Yes, yes. Well, I mean, and at least -- at least in this case, it sounds like they've got the manpower on hand, and eventually they will get Ralph "Bucky" Phillips.
COLLINS: Yes.
HARRIS: Still to come, a tale of two princesses told in black and white in the tabloids. The story ahead, on CNN.
COLLINS: Fascinating.
And new images of a trim Fidel Castro. The Cuban leader talks about his health. Ahead in the "NEWSROOM," on CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: See, now, this is the very best part of this brand new television show, "CNN NEWSROOM." You get to see all those fine folks working so very hard behind us and we so appreciate them. So a snappy news show we've got going on. Right, Tony Harris?
HARRIS: I'm with you, I'm with you.
COLLINS: Meanwhile, the worst is over. That word coming from Fidel Castro today. Cuban media released new photos of the 80-year- old president. In a written statement, Castro says he's lost more than 40 pounds since intestinal surgery in July. He definitely looks thinner. Indeed, though, video released over the weekend backs it up. As you see, Cubans got a glimpse of a thinner but still animated Castro. He was chatting with his bed from the Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez.
(BUSINESS HEADLINES)
COLLINS: Meanwhile, some got hot, and others stayed oh, so very cool. An emotional small-town parade with Washington implications.
CNN's Mary Snow has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Their only face-to- face encounter lasted just seconds.
NED LAMONT (D), CONNECTICUT SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: Hey, Joe. Just wanted to say hi. Happy Labor Day to you.
SNOW: The handshake between incumbent Senator Joseph Lieberman, now running as an independent, and his Democratic challenger, Ned Lamont, was civil, but cool, at the start of the Newtown, Connecticut, Labor Day parade.
By the end of the parade, things grew heated among a small number from opposing sides, vying for attention from cameras.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get away from my child!
SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: Well, I don't know what that was, but there's a lot of emotion here. But people ought to express is, obviously. I mean, that's the nature of our politics. But what -- what -- I will tell you what has to stop. There is too much hatred.
SNOW: One of the biggest divisions in this race, the war in Iraq. A heckler wearing a President Bush mask chided Lieberman for supporting the administration's decision for keeping troops in Iraq.
(APPLAUSE)
SNOW: On the flip side, Republicans, like Paul Kelly, support the veteran Democrat and one-time presidential candidate.
PAUL KELLY, CONNECTICUT REPUBLICAN: I have a lot of respect for Joe because of this one issue. And it's a -- it's -- it's a key issue.
UNIDENTIFIED MALES AND FEMALES: Ned Lamont will save the state.
SNOW: Ned Lamont's call to bring troops home helped this political novice defeat Lieberman in last month's primary.
On a holiday when the focus is usually on jobs, many in this crowd say the war in Iraq is key.
LAMONT: Nice to see you.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
LAMONT: Thanks.
SNOW: Lamont was met with both cheers and boos.
LAMONT: The war in Iraq has been a terrible distraction from the fight on terror, has done nothing to protect the United States of America. And I am going to keep carrying that message, as well.
SNOW: And it has left Democrats, like Albert Miles (ph), sitting on the fence, undecided over his choice of a candidate, which he doesn't think is all that bad. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a good thing to see. It makes people active. And people should be involved in the -- in the political process.
(on camera): And as the political process continues, the focus on Iraq is only expected to increase. War veterans back both candidates in opposing ads scheduled to be released this week. Mary Snow, CNN, New Town, Connecticut.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: You see more of Mary Snow's report on "THE SITUATION ROOM." Join Wolf Blitzer weekdays at 4:00 Eastern, and again in primetime at 7:00.
HARRIS: And once again we want to remind you to stay right here in the CNN newsroom. We've got President Bush's war on terror speech covered for you. And coming up in just a couple of minutes, CNN's White House Elaine Quijano gives us a bit of a preview of that speech. It is coming up live at 1:20 p.m. Eastern Time.
And still ahead, a coach watches one of his players brought down by an adult. Have you seen this?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For a parent/coach to come out and attack one of my kids is just something that's just terrifying.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Now this tackler -- look at this -- faces more than a personal foul penalty. That's ahead in the newsroom on CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: I just want to remind everybody, too, that -- to stay with CNN for the instant updates and developments on tropical weather. We are completely tuned in to that for you, because CNN is your hurricane headquarters.
HARRIS: Have you seen this story? Call it a late hit for a late hit. A football coach didn't get flagged, but he could face child abuse charges.
Reporter Rich Ibarra of affiliate -- wow.
COLLINS: What he is doing?
HARRIS: ... affiliate KCRA has this story for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RUDY GARRIDO, COACH: Once he seen him charge and hit him like that from the back of the head, I mean...
RICH IBARRA, KCRA REPORTER (voice-over): Stockton Bears coach Rudy Garrido shows how the assistant coach from the opposing team put the hurt on one of his players, rushing out to hit the player from behind and knocking him to the ground.
GARRIDO: For a parent/coach to come out and attack one of my kids, it's just something that's just terrifying.
IBARRA: The Stockton Bears, in the dark uniforms, face the Redskins from Riveroak. It was towards the end of the game, less than a minute to play. The score had the Redskins leading 16-6. And then a second after the play ended, a late hit; the Redskin player hit by a Stockton Bear. And right after that, the Redskin player's father, who was also an assistant coach, runs onto the field to deliver his own knock-down tackle.
(on camera): Immediately after that, fans from both teams crowded onto this field, and they started to trade punches.
(voice-over): Among those at the game was Jose Santillanes and his 11-year-old son Joseph, who was playing for the Bears.
JOSE SANTILLANES, PARENT: The majority of them were just trying to get all the -- everybody just rushed in all at the same time. And they were just trying to get everybody away from everybody, and trying to make sure that the kids are safe.
JOSEPH SANTILLANES, PLAYER: It was just scary -- just -- a guy just grabbed that kid and threw him and everybody just rushed in. I was scared.
IBARRA: The assistant coach made a getaway over a tall fence, but later surrendered to police.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Geez.
HARRIS: Some...
COLLINS: Sometimes it's just a little too emotional at that level, you know?
HARRIS: Well, and that's it. And you've got this coming up as Riley (ph) gets older. You know, it is amazing -- and I'm not trying to defend this guy in any way, shape or form -- but it's amazing when you're watching your kids perform and you feel like they've been wronged in some way. It is amazing to how quickly you go from cheering parents to -- blood just starts to boil.
COLLINS: Yes. But as a coach, you're supposed to be the role model for good sportsmanship, too.
HARRIS: Absolutely, absolutely.
COLLINS: Obviously, we'll probably hear more about that later.
HARRIS: Yes.
COLLINS: Meanwhile, a tale of two princesses, told in black and white in the tabloids. This story is coming up on CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Two princesses, one succession crisis and plenty of tabloid fodder. CNN's Atika Shubert has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Princess Masako married Japan's crown Prince Naruhito in 1993, she was hailed as an icon of modern Japanese woman, her flourishing career as a diplomat put aside for the gilded but strictly traditional world of the imperial family. Her most important duty, to bear a male heir to the thrown.
Thirteen years later, there is still no heir. Masako has a daughter, Princess Iko, but only male offspring can ascend to the throne. At 42 years old, Masako's chances of having another child are slim, and has what doctors call an adjustment disorder, a form of depression.
Now, another royal has stepped into the succession crisis. Princess Kiko, wife of Prince Akishino, who is second in line to the throne, is pregnant. If the child is a boy, he will be the only male heir born into the imperial male family in more than four decades.
(on camera): Princess Kiko is due on Wednesday, but as the country waits, the tabloids have turned a success succession crisis into a rivalry between two princesses.
(voice-over): "Popular Women's" magazines compare career-minded Masako with the more reserved and traditional Kiko. A rare smile from Masako during a family holiday in Holland, with Prince Naruhito and their daughter. Why, the critics ask, does she never look happy at home?
The most heated comments come from the blogosphere. This blogger writes about Masako, "She shifts all of her royal duties to Kiko. She is about the princess, she is a wife who isn't a mother. I wish Kiko could raise Masako's child instead."
But another blogger complains, "Do they think that Masako is just a machine for producing baby boys? I'm sorry, but I can't be happy about Kiko's pregnancy when I think of how Masako must be feeling."
But on the streets and playgrounds and in front of cameras, many Japanese women say they feel sympathy for both princesses.
"I wonder if they're really happy," this woman says. "I think they serve the country, but there is such pressure on them, and they don't have much privacy. I feel pity for them."
Japan's imperial family is both revered and the subject of constant gossip, and the imminent arrival of a new prince, or princess,won't end the relentless media spotlight on the royal household.
Atika Shubert, CNN, Tokyo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: And it's decision day in Mexico's hotly contested presidential vote, but it likely will not end the political turmoil there. This morning, the of the country's electoral court recommends that the slim lead of ruling party candidate Felipe Calderon be upheld. The full court must approve a winner, and their decision cannot be appealed. Rival Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador vows to ignore the court's ruling. It is expected later on today. He claims election fraud. His supporters have held weeks of protests.
HARRIS: In a courtroom in Indonesia, the first verdict in the Bali bombing trials. An Indonesian man will serve eight years in prison. He was charged with harboring the alleged mastermind behind those attacks. Those bombings last October killed nearly two dozen people in restaurants on the resort island. The case against three other Islamic militants linked to the attacks is still going on.
COLLINS: And a second hour in the "NEWSROOM," about 30 seconds before, to be exact. I'm Heidi Collins, everybody.
HARRIS: And good morning, everyone, I'm Tony Harris.
Your lawmakers are back from vacation today. It may be September, but Washington feels a November chill. The White House calls it an eye-opener. President Bush works up a new speech on the terror battle.
And meet the man -- he's not president, he's not prime minister, but some think he's Iraq's most powerful politician.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
