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President Bush to Unveil Plans for Trying Guantanamo Prisoners; Trials & Terror; Atlantis on Hold

Aired September 06, 2006 - 10:59   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And spend a second hour in the NEWSROOM with us.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Heidi Collins.

President Bush with a new way to try terror suspects. Our top legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, weighs in live this hour.

Unfolding on Capitol Hill at this hour as well, political shots aimed at Donald Rumsfeld. Democrats want him fired.

And Atlantis waits once again. The problem in a live report from the Kennedy Space Center coming up.

HARRIS: President Bush faces the country's top decision-makers today. First, members of his cabinet, and now he turns to an even more powerful force, you, the voter. The topic, the politically- charged war on terror. Specifically, a way to try terror suspects that will meet Supreme Court approval.

First it has to muster support on Capitol Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Congress is coming back into town, and we welcome them back and we look forward to working with them on a variety of matters. One of the most important tasks is for Congress to recognize that we need the tools necessary to win this war on terror. And we'll continue to discuss with Congress ways to make sure that this nation is capable of defending herself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: More on the president's plan from CNN's Kathleen Koch at the White House.

Kathleen, good morning.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony.

This is the third in a series of speeches on the war on terror. And as you mentioned, the president is going to try to lay out what is the administration's plan to resolve this very complex situation of the roughly 445 detainees who are being held right now at Guantanamo Bay.

The administration has always said they are not prisoners of war, they are enemy combatants, they don't deserve the same rights as prisoners of war, but then the White House received that stinging setback from the Supreme Court back in June where they said that this military commission, this tribunal system that the administration had set up, was illegal, that it didn't meet U.S. military or international justice standards, and it also wasn't authorized by Congress.

So, what the president is going to try to do today is lay out a way that it can -- the administration can meet the needs of the Supreme Court. They are working with Congress.

Press Secretary Tony Snow earlier briefed reporters somewhat on what the president was going to lay out but wouldn't give a lot of details. He said there's been a lot of discussion, a lot of thoughtful, passionate discussion. And they've had extensive congressional consultation, but they're not agreeing on every point. And it's important to -- to speak to that issue.

Some in Congress are concerned about the plan that the president will lay out. Even Republicans. A spokesman for Senator John Warner said when it comes to their views they have somewhat different views.

Now, Tony Snow did say that both Warner and Senator John McCain will be very much briefed on what the president is laying out in advance. But it's clear that there may be a bit of a battle ahead on Capitol Hill, not only with certainly many Democrats, but even members of his own party in getting this passed.

But when we asked Snow this morning, "Well, can you tell us, if you can't give us any details, if you believe that this will pass muster with the Supreme Court?" And he said certainly the White House would not send up legislation that wouldn't pass constitutional muster -- Tony.

HARRIS: OK. Kathleen Koch for us at the White House.

Kathleen, thank you.

COLLINS: So there is sort of the legal side to this and a military side to this as well. So, therefore, the military is keeping a close eye on how Guantanamo prisoners could be treated in the future. In fact, some changes may be already under way.

Here to explain it all, CNN Senior Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre.

Good morning to you there, Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Heidi.

Well, you know, the White -- what the White House is talking about is how they would try detainees, suspected prisoners. And what the Pentagon is going to talk about today is how they will treat detainees and how they will question detainees.

This has been a big controversy over the last several years with allegations from some groups that U.S. policies amount to torture. And what we're going to see today in a directive that we've just obtained in advance of today's announcement is essentially the U.S. policy will embrace the Geneva Conventions instead of replace them.

In fact, if I could just read for a moment from the directive, it will say, "All detainees shall be treated humanely and in accordance with U.S. law, law of war, and applicable U.S. policy." And here's the important part. "All persons subject to this directive shall observe at a minimum the standards articulated in Common Article 3 to the Geneva Conventions of 1949."

Now, that's important because in the past the Pentagon had argued that those Geneva protections were too broad and they were going to try to rewrite protections that would perhaps be more narrow. The other question here is whether there should be any interrogation policies that were secret, that were part of a classified report. And a decision has been made not to do that, to keep all the procedures in the open so that there can be no question that they're humane, that they call for correct treatment of detainees, and that they are in accordance with the Geneva Conventions in order to blunt international criticism.

And that's what we're going to hear from the Pentagon in just about a half hour from now -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes. And just to remind everyone, too, Jamie, obviously the issue here is that the U.S. is claiming that the detainees are not on U.S. soil; therefore, they do not have the protections of the U.S. Constitution, thus all of the questions laid out.

MCINTYRE: Yes. And, of course, this policy for the treatment and interrogation of detainees predates the Supreme Court decision. But no doubt it's influenced by the decision, because the Supreme Court said, look, it doesn't matter, these procedures have to conform with international law.

And it appears that the Bush administration has essentially conceded that point and said, yes, we're going to meet the highest standards of treatment of detainees and interrogation of detainees. And this army field manual which will become a standard will go out to all the troops in the field spelling out exactly how prisoners are to be treated from the moment they're captured until the day when they might be released.

COLLINS: All right. And Jamie, before we let you go, I know that you would be the man who may have the answer to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's whereabouts. Receiving some medical treatment.

Was he in that cabinet meeting today, or do we have any verification of that?

MCINTYRE: We're told that he was still at Walter Reed Hospital where he is recovering from this shoulder surgery. No complications, we're told.

He had some work sent over. Apparently, Rumsfeld, in typical Rumsfeld fashion, thought he was going to be back at work at his desk this morning. The doctors apparently have had a different opinion, but they're staying that he's probably going to be released sometime today from that shoulder surgery.

Seventy-four years old, but he's in very good health and he's anxious to get back to work. He's got some more commitments to make. So we're looking for him to get out some time today.

COLLINS: Yes, I imagine he thought he would just breeze right through that recovery room. But, you know, they have rules about that.

All right.

Jamie McIntyre from the Pentagon this morning.

Thanks so much, Jamie.

MCINTYRE: You're welcome.

HARRIS: Well, Democrats stepping up their plan to get Donald Rumsfeld fired. A push under way right now on Capitol Hill for a no- confidence vote on the defense secretary. Congressional Democrats say the Pentagon's Iraq strategy is a failure. They want Rumsfeld to pay with his job.

The White House said it's not going to happen. The Dems' resolution is expected to come up for debate today, but Republicans are likely to kill it before a vote.

We'll be following this one for you all day.

COLLINS: Controversy over comments about Osama bin Laden. The Pakistani ambassador to the U.S. says a spokesman for his army has been "grossly misquoted."

An ABC News report quotes General Shalkot Siltan (ph) has been saying that bin Laden would not be captured -- that is if he agrees to live peacefully in Pakistan. ABC standing by its report. The network also reports a peace accord has been signed by Pakistan and pro- Taliban militants. In effect, it carves out a sanctuary inside Pakistan for Taliban and al Qaeda leaders.

Meanwhile, "In the Footsteps of bin Laden," a "CNN PRESENTS" investigation seen by more than 10 million people around the world, you can watch it this Saturday and Sunday night. Catch it 7:00 Eastern only on CNN.

HARRIS: A U.S. Air Force officer is missing in Kyrgyzstan this morning. The military says Major Jill Metzger disappeared while on a shopping trip yesterday. She had gone to a mall with others from her air base.

A task force of U.S. military and embassy personnel and local officials are now searching for the Metzger.

Launch of shuttle Atlantis delayed. We'll tell you what the problem is. And...

COLLINS: Potentially a pretty big one.

HARRIS: Yes. We'll find out whether or not NASA can fix it in time. That's ahead in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Also, terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay in limbo.

And today in the spotlight, CNN's senior legal analyst weighs in on President Bush's new plans for those detainees.

HARRIS: And this reminder. The global war on terror the topic of President Bush today. CNN brings you the speech 1:45 Eastern. That's 10:45 Pacific. Kyra Phillips will be in the NEWSROOM with that coverage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Guantanamo Bay and the terror suspects held there. President Bush wants a new way to get those detainees to trial. He will announce details in just a couple of hours. We're watching that for you.

So, to do that the best way possible, CNN Senior Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin joining us on the big show.

Thanks for being here, Jeff.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, Heidi.

COLLINS: Let's talk for a minute about the history of this just really quickly to remind everyone who exactly these prisoners are that we're talking about here.

TOOBIN: For the most part, there are about 445 prisoners still at Guantanamo. And they were mostly, not exclusively, picked up in Afghanistan during the first part of the war there right after 9/11. And they are -- according to the administration, they are what's called enemy combatants. They're not prisoners of war, they're not regular soldiers. They are people who were helping al Qaeda in Afghanistan, and they've been at this base in Cuba under American control, some of them for more than four years.

COLLINS: All right. So what is the current system then? If we're not going to have military tribunals, which is still up for debate, but what are the proceedings they would go through?

TOOBIN: Well, at the moment there's nothing there, because the Bush administration set up a system of military tribunals where they would have some protections like criminal defendants, but not -- not anything like an American criminal trial. And earlier this year in the Hamdan decision, the Supreme Court said that' unacceptable, not good enough, go back to the drawing board. And today the president's speech is really an attempt to address the Supreme Court's complaints and come up with a system that the Supreme Court regards as fair.

COLLINS: All right. So what about those changes that would likely be proposed?

TOOBIN: Well, it will be much more apparently of an independent tribunal. Jamie McIntyre got the first report of it a couple of minutes ago, and apparently the most important aspect is the American government will abide by the Geneva Convention.

COLLINS: Yes. And while you tell us about that, Jeffrey, I'm going to put that on the screen if I could...

TOOBIN: OK.

COLLINS: ... because we do have that quote from Jamie's report here coming to us from the Department of Defense talking about the Geneva Conventions of 1949.

TOOBIN: Right. And what this directive means is that the government, unlike it's previous statements, will abide by the Geneva conventions. Again, the devil may be in the details about what precisely that means, but it certainly means no torture.

It means due process of law, independent lawyers. It means the government will allow the detainee to see the evidence against him.

There are other aspects of it that are probably still -- that will be controversial. Will the government allow detainees to see -- to have hearsay evidence used against them? What that means is, will the government have to bring in other terrorists to testify about whether the accused were part of a terrorist network? That's something the government very much doesn't want to do.

COLLINS: No.

TOOBIN: So hearsay evidence sounds like a sort of hyper- technical issue that's not very important, but it's actually very significant because it means, who will the witnesses be? Will the witnesses simply be FBI agents who will say, "Well, I interviewed terrorist number one, and he said terrorist number two is guilty"? Or will they actually have to bring in terrorist number one to testify at the military tribunal?

That's going to be something very interesting to watch in the course...

COLLINS: Yes, and...

TOOBIN: ... of what the president proposes.

COLLINS: And I'm certainly not a lawyer, but it sounds like a serious issue of credible witnesses as well.

TOOBIN: Well, and that's right. And some of these detainees, according to previous administration proposals, will be eligible for the death penalty. So the stakes are very high in these tribunals. Guantanamo also has become a tremendous international symbol of the United States. You know, I was in Europe this summer, and I was shocked. I was actually covering the World Cup in Germany, and I was surprised about how many people were talking to me about Guantanamo. It's a very big issue in Europe...

COLLINS: Sure.

TOOBIN: ... in many respects, bigger than it is in the United States.

COLLINS: All right. Well, we will be watching that speech, once again, at 1:45 today to get more details on this.

Jeffrey Toobin, thanks so much for your expertise today.

TOOBIN: See you, Heidi.

COLLINS: Good to see.

TOOBIN: OK.

HARRIS: Have you heard this? The British tabloid "The Sun" screams it out today.

Prime Minister Tony Blair will be leaving 10 Downing Street next year. The paper claims Blair will step down as Labour Party leader May 31, 2007 after exactly 10 years and one month on the job. "The Sun" says Blair will call for a leadership election, then formally quit before the queen on July 26th.

Despite what "The Sun" says, Mr. Blair has repeatedly denied that he plans to step down early.

Your life is in their hands, but they may be stretched to the max.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A doctor working for 24 hours straight is just as impaired as someone who is drunk.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Doctors working round the clock. A medical mistake waiting to happen.

See it on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: All right. Just want to show you what's going on right now.

This is in western Montana.

And Chad, they're battling, as you know -- this is a massive 280- square-mile wildfire.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right.

HARRIS: Low visibility. A lot of the fire-fighting helicopters, airplanes have been grounded.

MYERS: It couldn't take off yesterday. Too much -- too much smoke.

HARRIS: Can't take off. And smoke's the big issue.

MYERS: Right.

HARRIS: And as you look at the map here, I don't know, is there any relief there? I know you're going to talk about Florence as well, but just a...

MYERS: Here's actually I-90.

HARRIS: Yes.

MYERS: And the Derby fire is south of I-90. The reddest spot here, right here, you can actually see where the fire is active.

The orange, where it was active 12 hours ago. And the yellow is where it was active 24 hours ago.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Chad, good to see you. Thanks, man.

MYERS: You bet.

HARRIS: Atlantis waits. The space shuttle was scheduled to lift off about an hour from now, but this morning NASA scrubbed the launch.

Live now to CNN Technology Correspondent Daniel Sieberg at the Kennedy Space Center.

Daniel, good morning. What happened?

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Tony.

Yes, well the shuttle crew that's waited for more than four years, they have been training during that time to get up to the International Space Station and restart the assembly of the space station. They're going to have to wait a little bit longer after NASA discovered a problem with one of the three fuel cells on board Atlantis.

A live picture of Atlantis on launch pad 39B. Of course, as you pointed out, NASA would prefer to be in the final phases of the countdown. Launch was scheduled for 12:28 Eastern Time this afternoon, today. Last night they discovered this problem with one of the three fuel cells.

I'll give you an idea of what's going on here. We've got a model of the shuttle here.

The three fuel cells are behind where the crew sits up here. This is the payload bay here. Inside here right now is a 17.5 ton truss, a large steel girder that's also got some solar flares. They're going to be part of -- solar rays -- they're going to be part of the space station once they get up there.

Behind that are these three fuel cells. These are essential. They provide the water for the crew as a byproduct, they provide all of the electricity on board the shuttle as well.

The problem would be getting in there to make any sort of repairs. Right now they are basically getting a bad reading on one of the cooling pumps.

We've got some file footage of what these fuel cells look like. They're not that amazing necessarily to see, but they are about 260 pounds each.

To do any kind of work on the launch pad itself would be fairly tricky. They would have to remove this 17.5 ton truss, this payload that's in there right now. So that would cause a delay past tomorrow.

That would be the earliest launch time. If they do happen to get off the ground, that would be 12:03 in the afternoon Eastern Time tomorrow.

NASA meeting this afternoon to discuss whether they can actually fix this as a problem. Their launch window is only open until Friday. After that they run into sort of a fighting for a parking place up at the International Space Station with the Russians. So they are really under the gun to try and -- try and complete this -- Tony.

HARRIS: A nice way to put that, Daniel.

I have to ask you, this is the latest, isn't it, in a series of problems in getting this bird off the ground?

SIEBERG: It is. They haven't had a lot of luck with shuttle Atlantis at this point.

It was nearly two weeks ago that what they believed was the largest lightning strike in Kennedy Space Center's history hit the protective wiring system that's around the shuttle, sent about 100,000 amps down that. They had -- they had a bit of a delay with that to determine there was no damage. After that they had to contend with Tropical Storm Ernesto, which came ashore here as part tropical storm, part tropical depression.

They were actually wheeling shuttle Atlantis off the launch pad back into the protective vehicle assembly building. They got halfway down going one mile per hour down that three-mile stretch and changed their mind.

They decided they could ride out Tropical Storm Ernesto and they switched gears. They went basically into reverse, brought it back on to the launch pad.

And actually, if we can go to a live shot now of Atlantis again on the launch pad...

HARRIS: Oh, right. Right.

SIEBERG: ... you can see that the rotating service structure is open. So they're certainly optimistic, Tony, at this point. But we're going to have to wait and see. There's a lot that needs to be sorted out.

HARRIS: Our technology correspondent, Daniel Sieberg, for us.

Daniel, appreciate it. Thank you.

SIEBERG: You bet.

COLLINS: A long ordeal, and a Florida jogger is certainly glad it's over. Check this story out. Sixty-two-year-old Eddie Meadows is back on dry ground after spending four days in a swamp. So what happened and how did he survive?

The story from Berndt Peterson with our affiliate WFTV.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EDDIE MEADOWS, MISSING JOGGER: I feel great.

BERNDT PETERSON, REPORTER, WFTV (voice over): Eddie Meadows is ready to go running again. Only this time he'll stick to a paved path after four days and nights lost in this thickly-wooded area on the UCF campus.

MEADOWS: I was wandering around the whole time. And the only time I wasn't wandering was at nighttime when I didn't have light to see where I could go.

PETERSON: He was taking a short cut and ended up in the middle of nowhere, even though he was never more than a few hundred yards from civilization. Eddie says he could hear the UCF marching band practicing, but nobody could hear him when he yelled for help. He saw the search helicopters hovering overhead, but they could not see him.

After losing his way Thursday, it wasn't until the following Monday morning that UCF Professor Ron England (ph), in the woods searching, heard a cry for help.

MEADOWS: Ron yelled back, "Are you looking for Eddie Meadows?" Ad I said, "I am Eddie Meadows!"

PETERSON: Eddie was severely dehydrated with signs of kidney failure when he made it to the hospital. And his arms and legs are all scratched up. But through it all he says he never lost faith, and his family kept theirs with the help of so many good friends.

ARDIS MEADOWS, WIFE: I don't think there's a word in the English language that would be able to say thank you enough to all of the people that were there for us.

PETERSON: Eddie will try to forget the experience in the woods, but not the people who brought him out.

MEADOWS: So many people would take that kind of effort to save one simple old runner that went out and made a dumb mistake. And for that I will be forever, ever grateful.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Of course. That's what we do. You're in a pinch, we try to help you, right?

COLLINS: Yes.

HARRIS: You make a mistake, we try to...

COLLINS: I can't believe how long he was there, though.

HARRIS: Can you believe that?

COLLINS: Fantastic.

HARRIS: And just hung in there.

COLLINS: Yes.

HARRIS: Yes.

Still ahead, once they fought crime, now they're fighting for their lives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now I'm on borrowed time. Five percent only live as long as I have.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): John is battling leukemia. Rich, severe asthma and double kidney failure.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now I'm below 40 percent function in both my kidneys.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Just two of thousands who blame their illnesses on Ground Zero toxins.

Their story ahead on CNN.

COLLINS: President Bush's Iraq war policy is in the spotlight as midterm elections draw closer. So, straight ahead, some voters express their views on the issue in a new CNN poll.

We'll break it down for you after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Closed doors, open debate. President Bush has wrapped up this morning's cabinet meeting. And now he turns his attention to an afternoon speech/announcement. There, he will unveil his new plan on how to try terror suspects now held at Guantanamo Bay. Ultimately it has to pass the scrutiny of the supreme court. But it's first hurdle will be on Capitol Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Congress is coming back into town, and we welcome them back, and we look forward to working with them on a variety of matters. One of the most important tasks is for Congress to recognize that we need the tools necessary to win this war on terror, and we will continue to discuss with Congress ways to make sure that this nation is capable of defending herself.

COLLINS: The Iraq war, a big concern for voters two months ahead of mid term elections. It certainly has a lot of congressional candidates worried, too.

Our senior political analyst Bill Schneider is with us now from Washington. He's got some new poll numbers on the war and the vote.

Bill, hello to you. Thanks for being here.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POL. CORRESPONDENT: Thank you.

COLLINS: Let's go ahead and look at some of these numbers. I think the first one we should throw out there is regarding candidates who support Bush administration policies, and I'd like to throw the question out as it was asked, those who were polled. Here's what it is, thinking about how you might vote for a candidate for Congress in your district, would you be more likely or less likely to vote for a candidate who has supported the policies of the Bush administration?

SCHNEIDER: And what you find is that slight majority of voters, 55 percent, said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who has supported the policies of the Bush administration. That's one reason why a lot of candidates are keeping their distance from the White House, why the White House even for Republican candidates in many parts of the country, President Bush is seen as a negative, and he's not doing as much campaigning as he has in the past. But 40 percent say more likely, so in some areas, he's likely to be doing good.

But the net result is that Bush is a negative, and what's interesting thing about that question, is it's very close to the results we got when the same question was asked by the CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll back in October of 1994 about President Clinton.

COLLINS: Yes, I saw that.

SCHNEIDER: Would you be more likely or less likely to vote for a candidate who supported President Clinton's policies? And then it was 38 percent more likely, 51 percent less likely. Not a big difference from the situation now. And you remember what happened in 1994, it was a big defeat for president Clinton's party.

COLLINS: Yes, I do remember. All right, that's fascinating.

All right next question that was thrown out to these folks who were spoken to, 1,000 people, we should remind everybody -- do you favor or oppose the U.S. war in Iraq? Simple question.

SCHNEIDER: And a simple answer, they oppose, 58 percent. That's a very solid opposition. It's about the same as it was a couple of weeks ago when we asked the same question of a national sample. Then 61 percent said they were opposed.

The difference between 61 percent two weeks ago and 58 percent now, three points, is not statistically significant. It's just as likely to be caused by random chance than by a real change in peoples opinions. So what we can say is support for the war has not substantially changed over the last couple of weeks.

COLLINS: All right, Bill, and the last one here to talk about, who do you think is currently winning the war in Iraq, currently winning the war in Iraq, the U.S. and its allies, the insurgents in Iraq or neither side?

SCHNEIDER: Neither side, 62 percent. Again, not a lot of change. This was last asked back in April when 58 percent said neither side, 26 percent said the U.S., 25 percent now say the U.S. There has not been the surge of confidence. This poll was taken late last week and over the weekend when President Bush was just beginning his sequence of speeches, trying to build up support for the war, talking about the war on terror, essentially arguing that the war in Iraq is part of the war on terror.

But as he went into those speeches, you can see here that a lot of Americans said no, we're not winning the war; 62 percent belief nobody is winning the war on terror. It's still a standoff.

COLLINS: All right, Bill Schneider, we appreciate you looking at those numbers for us very much.

And we want to remind everybody, later today, President Bush continues his focus on the global war on terror. CNN will carry the president's remarks live.

CNN will carry the president's remarks live. The White House event is scheduled for 1:45 Eastern, 10:45 Pacific.

And this weekend, get a look at the man who brought the terror of 9/11 to America. Watch "In the Footsteps of bin Laden, a "CNN PRESENTS" Investigation. That's Saturday and Sunday night 7:00 Eastern.

HARRIS: And this just in to CNN: Israel says it will lift its sea blockade of Lebanon on Thursday evening. You'll recall we learned just a couple days ago that U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan was appointing a mediator to try to work out the remaining issues between Israel and Lebanon, and win the release ultimately of the two Israeli soldiers. Their capture led to the recent fighting in Lebanon, and we're learning today, this just in to CNN, that maybe one of the issues on the table to be resolved is being resolved. Israel deciding that it will lift its sea blockade of Lebanon on Thursday evening. We will, of course, follow the latest developments on this story.

Still ahead, their mistakes can mean the difference between life and death: overworked medical interns, coming up in the NEWSROOM.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Once again, this just in to CNN. Let me update the story just a couple of moments ago, Israel saying that it will lift its sea blockade of Lebanon, that to happen on Thursday evening. Just want to grab the CNN wire, the very latest, just to give you a bit of a change in the language. Not much of a change. Israel saying that it will abandon all -- in quotes now -- "controlled posts" in Lebanon Thursday night. That is slightly different.

So two developments now in the Israel/Lebanon story. Israel saying it will abandon all controlled posts. We will get a little more clarification on that in just a moment for you. But Israel also saying that it will lift its sea blockade of Lebanon. That on Thursday evening. We will continue to follow the latest developments on this story -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Daily Dose now, and it's something that we would all probably be very interested in, and certainly if you spend any time in a hospital. We're looking at doctors working round the clock. A new study shows it's still a problem. Look at the video here of somebody running down the hallway. Despite rules on limiting interns hours, a key concern, of course, your health, it could be at risk.

CNN's senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta examines both sides.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's 7:00 a.m. Ben Walker is on his way to work.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The morning will definitely be really busy.

GUPTA: But unlike most people, it won't be an eight hour day, but a 30-hour shift. Ben is a new doctor in his first few months of residency, often considered to be the most grueling of any medical career.

DR. BEN WALKER, FIRST-YEAR RESIDENT: You want to make sure things turn out OK for the person. And you want to stay extra, do whatever it takes.

GUPTA: And doing whatever it takes once meant that these interns worked around the clock without any limits, driven by their desire to gain medical experience. But in 2003 the medical industry put restrictions into place for the first time. Many say those restrictions are still not enough.

DR. CHRISTOPHER LANDRIGAN, BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL: For the most part the gut reaction of lay people in addressing the issue is that the system is crazy. They can't understand why a pilot is limited to eight hours, a trucker is limited to 11 hours, but a doctor is permitted to work 30 hours, and in fact that that's professionally endorsed.

GUPTA: A new study finds first-year doctors working 24 hours straight make five times as many serious diagnostic mistakes. They are far more likely to accidentally stab themselves with a needle or scalpel, or to get in a car accident while driving home after a marathon shift. Now there's no direct evidence that patient care will improve with fewer hours, but sleep expert Dr. Charles Czeisler has no doubt.

DR. CHARLES CZEISLER, HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL: A doctor working for 24 hours straight is just as impaired as someone who's drunk.

GUPTA: In the United States a resident is not allowed to work more than 30 consecutive hours, and the weekly limit 80 hours when averaged over four weeks. But that's almost twice as many hours as any other country will allow.

The medical body that governs residency in the United States says 97 percent of them comply with the rules. But in a study in which residents were given anonymity, more than 80 percent of them said they falsely reported their hours to stay under the limit.

CZEISLER: Many trainees have told me they feel that they have to falsify their records.

GUPTA: But do better hours for residents mean the best care for patients?

Dr. Joyce Doyle is one of Ben Walker's supervisors, and recognizes that there is a constant balancing act with the work-hour limits.

DR. JOYCE DOYLE, EMORY HOSPITAL: What type of physician are we creating? It is a clock-punching type of doctor who is comfortable saying, well, my shift's over, I know you're sick, but it's time to go.

GUPTA: But for Ben and other young doctors, the pros of limiting hours outweigh the cons.

WALKER: We're at our best when we're fully rested.

Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE) COLLINS: To get your "Daily Dose" of health news online, just logon to our Web site. You'll find the latest medical news, a health library and information on diet and fitness. That address is CNN.com/health.

September 11 rescuers. Five years after the attack now, their bodies are under attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You'll wake up in the middle of night with the -- in corner of your eyes, and it would drip on your pillow, would be black liquid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Leukemia, lung disease. The price of patriotism or something else? Randy Kaye's report raises critical questions. You can see it here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: And we may have a step forward to tell you about in the Israeli/Lebanon conflict. Want to take you there by showing you this map of exactly the area of what we're talking about. We understand that Israel will leave all controlled posts in Lebanon. On Thursday night, the Israeli government is announcing this. What does that mean? It simply means that the Israeli forces will leave the Lebanese seaports and airports. It will happen at 6:00 p.m., which is 11:00 a.m. Eastern time. But being that this is certainly a step forward, it should certainly explain that ground forces do plan to stay in place there in those Lebanese territories.

So we will continue to follow that, as well as Hala Gorani I bet will have that on her show...

HARRIS: Absolutely.

COLLINS: ... "YOUR WORLD TODAY." Hi, Hala.

HALA GORANI, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, hi, Heidi. Hi, Tony. It's a very busy day in international news.

You just mentioned that air and sea blockade being lifted by Israel at 10:00 a.m. Eastern tomorrow. We're going to be taking a fascinating look inside Hezbollah bunkers in southern Lebanon, as they're being discovered by some Israeli soldiers still remaining in that part of the country, a few days before they're due to leave.

Now, we are also going to hear about the Pentagon issuing this day is what we're expecting, a new army manual designed to provide protection for prisoners in U.S. custody. This following, of course, intense criticism and controversy over some of the U.S. military facilities and interrogation policies in Iraq and elsewhere. We're expecting that manual to call for the safe and humane treatment of detainees. Also, and on a lighter note, yesterday we saw pictures of baby Suri, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' baby. Well baby news also making headlines in Japan. Finally a son after more than 40 years for the second in line to the throne and his wife, giving birth to a boy, averting a potential succession crisis. But this is not quashing the debate over there in Japan over changing the constitution to allow women to become empresses.

So we're going to be looking at all those stories. We're going from Washington to southern Lebanon to Tokyo, all around the world for you. "YOUR WORLD TODAY." Join Jim Clancy and myself at the top of the hour. Back to you.

HARRIS: Hala Gorani.

COLLINS: We'll do it, Hala. Thank you so much. See you in just a few.

Meanwhile, Ground Zero toxins. Did they make thousands of rescuers sick, or were those people predisposed to their illnesses? Tough questions as we near the fifth anniversary of 9/11.

Here now, CNN's Randi Kaye.

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RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When al Qaeda attacked the World Trade Center September 11, 2001, more than 50,000 rescue workers poured through the rubble, searching for survivors, clinging to hope, then cleaning up. Thousands of those people got sick. Some of them are dying, many already dead. Was it the exposure to deadly toxins released when the towers collapsed, or could it be coincidence that the victims were predisposed to the cancers and respiratory illnesses that are killing them?

(on camera): Consider this -- when the towers fell, all of the material used to build them and everything inside them turned to dust, which was inhaled by everyone at the scene.

(voice-over): Including NYPD detectives Rich Volpe and John Walcott, partners for 11 years. Rich's kidneys are failing. John has developed leukemia.

(on camera): At any point were you given a mask to wear?

RICH VOLPE, FMR. NYPD DETECTIVE: Eventually we were. Yes.

KAYE: How long was eventually?

VOLPE: I would say, the first two weeks we didn't have anything.

JOHN WALCOTT, FMR. NYPD DETECTIVE: It took about three weeks to get a mask, then a couple weeks later they told us it was the wrong filters. And then they started issuing masks months and months later.

KAYE (voice-over): New York City declined an interview, citing pending lawsuits, but issued this statement to CNN.

"Safety protocols were quickly implemented, including the requirement that respirators be worn, and the city, its contractors and OSHA... supplied more than 200,000 respirators to workers."

But many workers, due to the heat and troubled communicating, chose not to wear the respirators and the soot that was in the air, rescuers brought it home with them.

WALCOTT: We would take a shower, my shower would look like a barbecue grill. Solid black. And you wake up in the middle of the night, and the corner of your eyes would drip on your pillow, would be like black liquid. And, you know, same thing, you would clean your ears out and you just -- chunks and chunks of black would come out. Your teeth, when you scrub your teeth, you spit in the sink, it would just be literally like a barbecue grill.

KAYE: At Mount Sinai's screening center, Dr. Stephen Levin says it is still too soon to know if there is a connection between ground zero and cancer.

KAYE: How do you explain cancer showing up in World Trade Center workers and rescue crews?

DR. STEPHEN LEVIN, MOUNT SINAI MEDICAL CENTER: Many, many of the people who responded were construction workers. Before 9/11 many construction workers had exposure to asbestos and other cancer-causing agents. So it comes as no great surprise that cancer will occur in such a group. That's true of the firefighters as well.

KAYE: But how does one explain Red Cross volunteers, utility workers and others who may not have been readily exposed to cancer- causing materials before 9/11 also getting sick?

DAVID WORBY, ATTORNEY: I want to meet these scientists, I want to meet the doctors from that center, I want to put them in the room and show them the number of bladder cancers, tonsil cancers, throat cancers, stomach cancers, lung cancers.

KAYE: Attorney David Worby did his own research. He says more than 60 of his clients have died from cancer after working at Ground Zero and suggests the unique combination of toxic materials could speed up the formation of cancer. But Dr. Levin does not buy it.

LEVIN: Cancers that are occurring now are unlikely to be related to the World Trade Center exposures, but we can't say with 100 percent certainty that none is.

KAYE (on camera): Based on your expertise, how long after exposure do you think it would take for someone to develop cancer?

LEVIN: There's generally a minimum of 15 years that has to pass from the exposure to a cancer-causing agent to the time you can really diagnose that cancer. And frankly, in most cancer types that latency period, that belay, is more often 20 and 25 years. Is it possible that we could be seeing something in the World Trade Center mix of exposures that could accelerate that? It would really violate our understanding of the biology of cancer but we can't close our minds to the possibility.

KAYE (voice-over): What do you think? Dr. Levin does say leukemia, which John Walcott has, can show up within five years of exposure. But he wonders if John may have developed leukemia even if he had never worked at Ground Zero. And because Mount Sinai is still waiting on federal funds to study this possible link, it may be years before doctors know whether or not any direct correlation between cancer and Ground Zero can be made.

VOLPE: I have one question for him? Where am I going to be in 20 years when you're done with these investigations? You know, whatever kind of studies you want to do? Where am I going to be? You know, where's John going to be? Where are the people that are walking around that are sick, where re they going to be? You know, some people don't have 20 years.

KAYE: While he waits for answers, Rich remains focused on staying strong. Now only able to lift a third of what he used to. But he's eating well and praying a healthy kidney comes his way.

And John? After six months of chemotherapy, he has hope. His leukemia is in remission. The days of coaching high school hockey are over. He's too weak. So instead he skates the ice with his daughter. In the face of death, family is top priority.

Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can see more of Randi Kaye's reports on "ANDERSON COOPER 360" weeknights at 10:00 Eastern. Only on CNN.

HARRIS: The news keeps coming. We will keep bringing it to you. We're back in the NEWSROOM after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: The search for fugitive Bucky Phillips.

Police in western New York state are turning to the public for help today. They are pleading for any information about the escaped convict. He is suspected of killing a state trooper and wounding two others. Police believe he is hiding in the woods somewhere. Some possible leads on Phillips, a report of a suspicious person in Hamburg, New York sparked a big search there and authorities are looking into a possible link to a pair attempted break-ins in neighboring Pennsylvania.

HARRIS: Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs is in Purgatory today. A helicopter brought the former fugitive to the Purgatory Correctional Facility in Hurricane (ph), Utah. Jeffs is due to make his first court appearance this afternoon. He was captured late last month after a routine traffic stop near Las Vegas. Jeffs is accused of rape as an accomplice. He allegedly arranged a marriage between an underaged girl and an older man.

And Ron Goldman's family, making a new bid for O.J. Simpson's money. The family has filed suit seeking ownership of Simpson's right to publicity. They say they have only received a pittance of the millions, actually, that he has been ordered to pay them. As you know, a jury a acquitted Simpson of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman, but a civil jury found him liable for their debts. A hearing on the Goldman's new lawsuit is set for next month.

COLLINS: All right. So they are continuing that fight for sure. Well, CNN NEWSROOM continues one hour from now, Kyra Phillips working hard to bring you the very, very latest on several big stories that are developing today. Make sure you watch them. And YOUR WORLD TODAY coming up next. See you tomorrow.

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