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War on Terror; Bin Laden: Dead or Alive?; Clinton's War; Food Recall; Missing Kids Dead; High-Tech Balloting

Aired September 24, 2006 - 16:59   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: More doubt being cast on a newspaper report that Osama bin Laden is dead. Today France and Saudi Arabia both said the claim cannot be confirmed. It's based on a French intelligence leak, the report is. The French reporter says he stands by his story.
Former president Bill Clinton lashes out at critics of his record on fighting terror in a contentious interview aired on FOX News. Clinton says he tried to kill Osama bin Laden and pursued him harder than the Bush administration before 9/11.

Three missing children found dead in East St. Louis, Illinois. The horrifying discovery in the family's own apartment came hours after the arrest of the suspect. The suspect is charged with murdering the children's pregnant mother after removing her 7-month fetus from her womb. A complete report coming up.

Severe weather is blamed for eight deaths in Kentucky and one in Arkansas. Thousands of homes have been lost -- or rather lost power. More storms are expected today and flood warnings still stretch from Illinois to Tennessee.

Also today, five more illnesses blamed on tainted spinach. The total now up to 171 people in 25 states. At least one person has died of E. coli poisoning blamed on spinach traced to California's Salinas Valley.

First this hour, the war in Iraq and the view of the United States intelligence. A classified report delivers a sobering view on whether the war with all its costs has made us safer from the threat of international terrorism.

Reporting for us from the White House, CNN's Elaine Quijano -- Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon to you, Fredricka.

Well, it's important to keep in mind what we're seeing here is certainly being driven by politics. Now, the stories that we're talking about appeared in "The Washington Post" and "The New York Times" today, outlining conclusions that were selectively leaked from a classified national intelligence estimate that was finished back in April dealing partly with Iraq.

Now, the estimate cites the Iraq war and the insurgency as the main recruiting vehicle for new Islamic extremists. But intelligent sources and experts say that the information being leaked, certainly while sobering, is not new, that we have known for months that the terrorist movement is decentralizing. We've known for months that Iraq continues to be a major problem.

But six weeks away from congressional midterm elections, Democrats are pouncing on this report. A flurry of statements released today by Democrats, including House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, who said that the news reports on the NIE were further proof, in her words, that the war in Iraq is making it harder for America to fight and win the war on terrorism. And as I said, other Democrats issuing similar statements.

Now, what is unusual about this, as this political debate unfolded today, we got a statement from the director of National Intelligence, John Negroponte, saying "The estimate highlights the importance of the outcome in Iraq on the future of global jihadism, judge that should the Iraqi people prevail in establishing a stable political and security environment, the jihadists will be perceived to have failed and fewer jihadists will leave Iraq determined to carry on the fight elsewhere."

So back and forth certainly on this issue of what to do about Iraq. These latest reports, though, Fredricka, only fueling the political debate that is sure to intensify as those all-important congressional midterm elections coming up in November come closer -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well, Elaine, while John Negroponte is making comments, is the White House releasing any sort of official statement on this estimate?

QUIJANO: Well, it's interesting. Their statement essentially was that, while they don't comment on classified documents, they said that "The New York Times" characterization of this NIE was not representative of the complete document, something also that we should mention John Negroponte said in his statement.

What is very clear here, Fredricka, is that at a time when Republicans have been fractured over this issue of detainee legislation and national security -- we saw that with Senator McCain going up against the White House on this detainee legislation -- Democrats are trying to pounce on this issue of the Iraq war. They know that has been a weakness for Republicans. They know it's been a weakness for President Bush.

And so they are looking at this estimate, again, to try and send voters the message that they believe President Bush and those Republicans who have supported him and are up for re-election need to be held accountable for what they say is mismanagement of Iraq and the larger war on terror -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: OK. Elaine Quijano at the White House.

Thanks so much.

Well, that report about Osama bin Laden's death is prompting more official denials. Today the French foreign minister said as far as he knows bin Laden is still alive. Saudi Arabia says the same, as do officials in the United States and in Britain. But one day after his story came out, the French reporter is standing by it.

Here's CNN's Jim Bittermann.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In a town square in rural France, the reporter whose article set off speculation about bin Laden's death is convinced the intelligence memorandum he published is accurate. Laid Sammari, a national reporter for the regional paper "East Republican," frequently writes about intelligence matters, but rarely has he seen a leak of this sort involving classified information from France's Foreign Intelligence Agency, a memo stating that a reliable source had given Saudi intelligence officials exact details of bin Laden's death.

LAID SAMMARI, "EAST REPUBLICAN" JOURNALIST (through translator): That is to say that on the 23rd of August in Pakistan, after coming down with typhoid, and the memorandum adds that he could not be treated because of the absence of medical assistance.

BITTERMANN: French and American intelligence sources could not confirm the contents of the memo and said there was no new information on bin Laden's health. But there was tacit confirmation that the memo is authentic from French president Jacques Chirac, who said Saturday that he had ordered an investigation into how the memo found its way into print.

Sammari says he cannot reveal who gave him the memo but that it circulated three days ago through the president and the prime minister's offices, as well as the offices of the interior and defense ministers, passing through the hands of perhaps 50 people, in addition to those in the Foreign Intelligence Service. The reporter believes the memo will turn out to be true.

SAMMARI (through translator): The note ends with information according to which the Saudis are waiting to localize the burial place of the body before making an official announcement of bin Laden's death.

BITTERMANN (on camera): Sammari says it's up to someone else to prove whether bin Laden is still alive. All he is sure of is that Saudi intelligence has a source that claims the leader of al Qaeda is dead.

Jim Bittermann, CNN, Nancy, France.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: CNN is committed to bringing you the most reliable news about your security. Stay tuned day and night.

Former president Bill Clinton got his dander up a bit over his record fight international terror. In an interview aired today, Mr. Clinton said the effort to kill Osama bin Laden lost focus after he left the White House. CNN's Gary Nurenberg reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Former president Clinton was asked why he didn't do more to put Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda out of business. He compared his efforts to the early months of the Bush administration.

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Do you think you did enough, sir?

WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No, because I didn't get him.

WALLACE: Right.

CLINTON: But at least I tried. That's the difference in me and some, including all the right-wingers that are attacking me now.

They ridicule for me trying. They had eight months to try. They did not try. I tried.

So I tried and failed. When I failed, I left a comprehensive anti- terror strategy, and the best guy in the country, Dick Clarke, who got demoted.

NURENBERG: Clinton says he particularly focused on bin Laden after the 2000 attack on the USS Cole, and then drew a contrast with the Bush administration.

CLINTON: What did I do? I worked hard to try to kill him. I authorized the findings from the CIA to kill him. We contracted with people to kill him.

I got closer to killing him than anybody's gotten since. And if I were still president, we would have more than 20,000 troops here trying to kill him.

Now, I've never criticized President Bush, and I don't think this is useful. But you know we do have a government that thinks Afghanistan is only one-seventh as important as Iraq.

NURENBERG: The White House Sunday issued a statement saying only, "The records paints a very different picture than what President Clinton is suggesting. Looking forward, we will fight the war on terror by staying on the offense."

John McLaughlin helped run the CIA in both the Clinton and Bush administrations.

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: President Clinton did aggressively pursue Osama bin Laden. I give the Clinton administration a lot of credit for the aggressiveness with which they went after al Qaeda and bin Laden. NURENBERG (on camera): Five years after 9/11, presidents Bush and Clinton do have one thing in common. Each wants to avoid history's judgment that his administration is responsible for failing to stop bin Laden before the attacks.

Gary Nurenberg, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Ooh -- now we want to hear from you. Who do you think is to blame for not finding Osama bin Laden?

E-mail us at weekends@cnn.com. We'll read some of your responses later on this hour.

Now, bad weather all over the map. Homes ripped apart in north Texas after a weekend of violent weather there. High winds tore the roof off an apartment building. Then the ceiling started to cave in, forcing residents to evacuate fast. The area was also hit by heavy rain and hail.

That same storm system brought this to Indiana: heavy rain and flashfloods. Some streets were inundated with up to three feet of water. Several people had to be rescued just like that.

The same scene in Kentucky. People stranded in flooded streets and in need of rescue. Some parts of the state gotten 10 inches of rain, forcing hundreds of people to evacuate low-lying areas.

At least nine people were killed in the storms, most of them in Kentucky. Two of the victims were pulled into a storm drain by fast- moving floodwaters.

Here's Sarah Lane with our affiliate WLEX.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARAH LANE, REPORTER, WLEX (voice over): Emergency crews had hoped they'd be working an overnight rescue. Just after 2:00, two women were seen hopping out of a taxi and into standing water on Nicholasville Road (ph). But as they waded through, the currents proved too strong.

CHIEF BOB HENDRICKS, LEXINGTON FIRE DEPT.: It's certainly a very sad situation.

LANE: Police were already watching the waterlogged road when they heard cries for help. They say one woman got pulled into the storm sewer drain, the second sucked under when she tried to help. A third person tried to lend a hand and was rescued by officers.

Several hours later...

JOHN JESSUP, RESIDENT: It was a shock. I had to go inside and gather my thoughts together a little bit. It was very tragic.

LANE: City workers knocked on John Jessup's door needing some help.

JESSUP: Later on I discovered there was a body in our -- right in our yard.

LANE: The first victim was found in a pool of water just off Bobalink Drive (ph).

JESSUP: I went inside and got a blanket, and we covered the body then of a young girl. It was just so sad.

LANE: The second discovered near Spring Hill Drive (ph) in a creek just behind Lafayette High School. A tragedy that has fire chief Bob Hendricks making this plea...

HENDRICKS: So, please, please -- I emphasize to your family members and your neighbors -- do not go into even what appears to be standing water.

LANE: Covering the news in Lexington, Sarah Lane, LEX 18 News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, that is horrible. And still a lot of violent weather out there.

Let's check in again in the severe weather center with meteorologist Jacqui Jeras.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Coming up, the rift between Venezuela and the United States just got a little uglier. Hear what happened at JFK Airport that's got American officials apologizing.

Also...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have an election coming. You're going to have a lot of people, a couple million people voting. Why take a risk? Let's just go low tech, let's err on the side of safety.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: ... casting doubts on casting ballots? More electronic trouble.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you had to place your bets, you would place them on warmer-than-average temperatures. And the likelihood of having record and near-record summers will continue to increase.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Heat and haze not going away. Now the Earth, some say, is literally melting away.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Here are some of the most popular stories on CNN.com.

Emergency crews in Nepal are searching for a missing helicopter full of diplomats and American aid workers. They reportedly crashed in a remote village yesterday. No trace has been found.

More stormy weather in the Midwest. It caused nine deaths in Kentucky and Arkansas. Tornadoes caused more trouble and damage in parts of Missouri and Michigan.

And a strange love triangle in Nashville, Tennessee, turns into an even more bizarre murder case. A woman says her lover who lived in a closet of the home she shared with her husband killed her spouse. Now she, too, is under arrest.

Read more about these stories and more at CNN.com. Click on the "most popular" tab.

Saying he was harassed and abused, Venezuela's foreign minister is lashing out against the U.S. after he was detained at JFK Airport. Nicolas Maduro says it's payback for his boss' criticism of President Bush. An apology has already been issued but Maduro wants more.

Ines Ferre has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Venezuela's foreign minister, Nicolas Maduro, calls his detention at JFK Airport Saturday part of the regular abuse of the U.S. government, coming just days after his boss, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, berated President George W. Bush at the United Nations. He sees no coincidence.

NICOLAS MADURO, VENEZUELAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): The intent of political retaliation against our country, the Bolivian Republican of Venezuela, why? Because President Hugo Chavez came to say the truth to the southern countries?

FERRE: Maduro says he was illegally detained for more than an hour by airport security and that officials violated his diplomatic rights when they tried to frisk him and at one point handcuff him.

MADURO (through translator): As soon as we explained who we were numerous times with our passports and invoked ore international rights, at that moment it got worse. The verbal violence and abuse increased.

FERRE: A State Department spokesperson confirms there was an incident with a foreign minister, saying it "... regrets this incident. The United States government apologized to foreign minister Maduro and the Venezuelan government." But a senior administration official said Maduro didn't identify himself ahead of time to airport security officials and that there were several red flags that prompted the additional security check.

That official also saying "... the Venezuelan mission working out of New York knows better. There are procedures and processes to request airport courtesies for dignitaries. You don't come to the airport and buy a ticket with cash a half hour before the flight."

The Transportation Security Administration says that Maduro was never detained and that everything happened in a open public place following standard TSA protocols. Maduro is demanding an investigation and says he has notified U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Ines Ferre, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: In news "Across America" now, a horrifying story gets even worse. In East St. Louis, Illinois, police find the bodies of three children, two days after their pregnant mother, Jimella Tunstall, was allegedly murdered by a woman who wanted the baby she was carrying. Police say the children, ages 7, 2 and 1, were found dead inside a washer and dryer at their home.

More on this story straight ahead.

In North Carolina, a popular TV show joins in the search for a man suspected of killing his wife at a domestic abuse shelter. A local newspaper says a crew from "America's Most Wanted" is taping in Sylva, North Carolina, for an episode to air next week. A nationwide manhunt continues for John "Woody" Woodring.

And when a missing Florida toddler spurred massive media attention it was more than his mother could apparently bear. In a suicide note, Melinda Duckett says her words were twisted in media interviews, including one with CNN's Nancy Grace. Two-year-old Trenton Duckett is still missing. Police considered her a suspect in his disappearance.

Coming up, it's not just the spinach. An alarming look at how common food contamination is getting in this country.

Plus, you thought his touring career rear was over. Think again. George Michael, he's back after 15 years, and he's still outrageous.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Despite the spinach recall, more people are getting sick. Five more cases of illnesses blamed E. coli bacteria have been confirmed. That brings the number of cases to 171 across 25 states. There's only been one confirmed death from tainted spinach, but two others are suspected.

Well, it's not just spinach making people sick. Right now more than a dozen food products are on the FDA's recall list. All are suspected of being contaminated with one form of bacteria or another.

As our Ted Rowlands explains, food industry experts hope this latest scare is a wakeup call to get tougher oversight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It's not just fresh spinach that could get you sick. Every year dozens of food items that end up on store shelves are potentially deadly. In fact, the current list of recalled food over the last 60 days includes more than a dozen items. There's beef with E. coli, sprouts with salmonella, and botulism in carrot juice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good afternoon.

ROWLANDS: Food industry experts acknowledge there's a growing concern that more people will get sick before they can figure out what's going wrong.

BRYAN SILBERMANN, PRODUCE MARKETING SPOKESMAN: This is a moving target. And I think we have to recognize that.

ROWLANDS: In some cases the cause is identified and the problem is corrected. But many times the cause isn't clear.

While federal investigators search spinach fields for clues in the current E. coli case, the industry isn't hoping that there isn't another significant outbreak involving another food product.

JOE PEZZINI, OCEAN MIST FARMS: And no one in the industry wants someone to be ill from the products that we're producing.

ROWLANDS: Joe Pezzini helps oversee thousands of acres of crop in central California, including this 200-acre plot of spinach which because of the E. coli scare most likely will be destroyed. He says farmers have been aware of the problems for years. In fact, he and other producers received a letter late last year from the FDA that expressed "... serious concern with the continuing outbreaks of foodborne illness."

(on camera): Many growers and health officials are hoping that the current investigation going on here in central California into the E. coli tainted spinach will not only yield answers in this case, but will serve as a wakeup call for the entire industry to reexamine their practices.

(voice over): Growers and food producers are working with federal health officials on new safety precautions. The problem, they say, is that until someone figures out what's causing these outbreaks, it might not be possible to prevent more people from getting sick.

Ted Rowlands, CNN, Salinas, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Coming up, a horrendous crime, a heartbreaking story. Now the case of the slain mother and her fetus takes another sad turn.

Plus, it was supposed to make things better, but electronic voting is proving anything but. Are we ready for November?

And the melting Earth. Is there time to reverse global warming?

You're watching the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Here's what's happening right "Now in the News."

A U.S. intelligence reports questions the war in Iraq and how it relates to the war on terror. According to the national intelligence estimate, the Iraq war is having a negative impact on the war on terror.

In Iraq, the second day of Ramadan observances does little to slow the insurgency there. Four separate car bombings killed a total of nine people, including four police officers.

The French foreign minister says he has seen no evidence to back up a Saturday newspaper account of Osama bin Laden's reported death. The French newspaper cited a leaked intelligence document which alleged bin Laden died last month in Pakistan from a case of typhoid.

Former president Bill Clinton's anger boils over continued questions of his handling of Osama bin Laden. Today in an interview with FOX News, Mr. Clinton said today's complainers were yesterday's naysayers when it came to addressing the al Qaeda leader.

We're taking e-mails, some of which with will share with you later on this hour.

Venezuela's foreign minister is accusing the U.S. government of harassment after being stopped and detained at an airport security checkpoint last night. The U.S. State Department has apologized for the incident. Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez called it a provocation from "Mr. Devil."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPT. CRAIG KOEHLER, ILLINOIS STATE POLICE: Any time you have three deceased children, it's a very emotional time. I've seen my investigators, I've seen East St. Louis investigators, the FBI, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. All of these investigators have worked tirelessly with one outcome in mind, and that was finding these children alive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: But despite their best efforts and intentions, police in East St. Louis, Illinois, didn't find those three missing children alive. They didn't find them until it was too late.

Preliminary autopsy results are forthcoming in a case that shocked both the local community and the nation. Sadly, this tragic ending was closer than anyone might have suspected. The three kids were found dead in their own home. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD (voice over): At this East St. Louis, Illinois, public housing unit, the gruesome discoveries were made.

KOEHLER: I would also like to thank the public for all of their help in this, the volunteers who did searches, and individuals who called in and provided us leads and eventually led to the discovery of the children.

WHITFIELD: Inside apartment 28-J in the washer and dryer the lifeless bodies of 7-year-old DeMond, 2-year-old Ivan and 1-year-old Janela Tunstall.

KOEHLER: I would not say that it was searched before.

WHITFIELD: Overlooked when police first entered the Tunstall family's apartment look for photographs, a tip suggested they go back.

KOEHLER: I have children of my own. All of these investigators have children of our own. So it's a very emotional time for all of our departments and the families involved in this case.

WHITFIELD: The extensive neighborhood search began after their 23- year-old mother, Jamella Tunstall, seven months pregnant, was murdered, her fetus cut from her womb, her body found in a weedy lot. Hours after the arrest of a suspect, 24-year-old Tiffany Hall, described as family friend and sometimes babysitter, the search for the missing children ended horribly.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Suspect Tiffany Hall is being held under a $5 million bond, charged with murder and intentional homicide of an unborn child. As of now she has not been formally charged in connection with the deaths of the three children.

We have more on this tragic story now.

Matt Gamewell reports for CNN Affiliate KPLR television and he's joining us now from East St. Louis, Illinois.

And so, Matt, we know a $5 million bond for Tiffany Hall. What more do we know based on autopsy results about the cause of death for these children?

MATT GAMEWELL, REPORTER, KPLR: At this point we do not know what the autopsy results have yielded. The autopsy results will be released tomorrow morning. They have not wanted to spend a lot of time talking to the media today, wanted to have kind of a quiet day. Police and the coroner are going to speak tomorrow, we're told.

WHITFIELD: Now, what about the community? How instrumental were they in the search or in providing tips to the police to go back to that home and search again? GAMEWELL: Yes, Illinois State Police last night said the community was an instrumental part of this investigation. They had a lot of eyes and ears in East St. Louis. They provided a lot of good information that led them to the different sites that they searched and ultimately back to the apartment.

But they said, you know, the community is in a very emotional state right now. This was a very heinous crime. East St. Louis Chief James Nister (ph) said it was the most heinous crime he had ever seen. So it really took a lot of community support to get the investigation done so quickly.

WHITFIELD: Has anything been heard from any other immediate family members of the Tunstalls?

GAMEWELL: Not as of today. A lot of people were talking on Friday, a lot of people were talking on Saturday. Today they've just been very quiet. They did not want to talk.

There was an emotional service this morning in one of the local churches, but family has been refusing to talk to the press today. It sounds like they might have more to say tomorrow when some of the details come out.

WHITFIELD: Unimaginable crime.

Matt Gamewell, thank you so much for that update.

Well, when it comes to thinking about national security risks, voting machines don't automatically come to mind. But critics of the high- tech gadgets say they pose an increasing threat to this nation's democracy. Many have proven to be susceptible to fraud, and the machines have an incredible price tag.

Kitty Pilgrim has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Across the country, there's a groundswell of action to challenge electronic voting machines and their use in November. In Colorado, half of the two million voters use electronic voting machines. But a nonpartisan group of activists has filed suit saying, state security testing was inadequate.

PAUL HULTIN, ATTORNEY FOR COLORADO VOTERS: The secretary of state completely delegated that to the vendors. All that's required is that the vendors submit their documentation and recommendations and the secretary of state says that's good enough and approves the security of the machine.

PILGRIM: In Maryland, after a botched primary last week, Governor Ehrlich wants to dump the electronic voting machines and go with paper ballots. The electronic voter records kept crashing. He says in the ensuing chaos, people standing in long lines were discouraged from voting. GOV. ROBERT EHRLICH (R), MARYLAND: I doubt whether it can be fixed in seven weeks. And so my issue here is, you have an election coming, you're going to have a lot of people, a couple million people voting. Why take a risk? Let's just go low-tech. Let's err on the side of safety, get an election everybody can count on, and then go higher- tech next time.

PILGRIM: California was among the first states to require a voter verified paper trail in case a recount is needed. Back in 2004, California decertified certain Diebold machines and demanded those models be put through stricter security and reliability tests before they could be used. The state also demanded stricter federal testing.

In New Mexico, the governor simply gave up on touch screen technology, signing a law last March to require an all paper ballot. Governor Richardson said he wanted to restore confidence in elections.

(on camera): Late Friday, a Colorado judge ruled that electronic voting machines can be used in November's election.

Kitty Pilgrim, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: From skeptic to true believer, Sir Richard Branson becomes the jolly green giant. How Al Gore convinced him to shell out the cash for the cause of global warming. That is coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, his detractors may mock him as a cold fish. There's no denying that Al Gore is hot on global warming. The former vice president and past presidential candidate is apparently so persuasive he was able to pry $3 billion out of British business mogul Richard Branson over breakfast.

Here's part of his pitch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AL GORE, FMR. VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The scientists I most respect are now saying that we may well have as little as 10 years. Not 10 years in which we have to do everything, but 10 years in which we have to make a big credible start to reduce the rate of increase, then reduce the amount of global warming pollution.

And, you know, on these fuels, somebody said a long time ago the stone age didn't end because of a shortage of stones. And the fossil fuel age is not going to end because of peek oil. It's going to end when we move on to something better and more efficient, less polluting and better for business because it's cheaper and better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The $3 billion Sir Richard Branson has pledged will come from his Virgin Airlines and other transportation companies, and he's already got some ideas about where to go looking for a new source of fuel. Branson says the holy grail of alternative energy could be as close as the nearest cornfield.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD BRANSON, VIRGIN GROUP: What we want is to try to develop something called cellulosic ethanol. Cellulosic ethanol is getting the sugar out of the waste product, the stalk of the corn, the prairie grass, the waste product we throw out every day.

And so what we had to do is develop enzymes to break down the sugar which can then be turned into fuel. And there's enough waste product in America, for instance, and in the world to replace dirty fuels 100 percent. And that's the holy grail. And that's where a lot of our money will be spent in searching for that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Scientists have been warning for years about the effects of climate change. Are those warnings coming true?

It's been the hottest year on record so far. The second hottest summer on record. Most startling of all, this may be just the beginning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Still much more ahead in the NEWSROOM.

Carol Lin will be taking you through it.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: 6:00 and 10:00 tonight.

Fredricka, at 6:00 we're going to be talking more about the prisoners, those high-value prisoners who are going to Guantanamo. They're accused in some of the most heinous attacks against U.S. soldiers and tourists.

The International Red Cross is going to interview these suspected terrorists -- terror suspects. And I talked with the International Red Cross about, well, "What do you do if you feel you've gotten credible information about a pending terror attack? Do you, as a neutral body, then cooperate with the U.S. government to warn people off? And how do you personally feel about talking to these people? How do you keep your neutrality?"

So, that's an interview that's coming up at 6:00.

WHITFIELD: Can't wait to hear the response.

LEMON: And at 10:00, I'm talking to this -- he's a performance artist, and he managed to hack his way into an Army -- it's like a virtual reality game that the Army has online. And people play it. He managed to hack into it. And what he does is he broadcasts the names of dead soldiers.

He's heard from some military families about it.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

LIN: He's heard from some gamers about it. Not yet the military, but he talks to us about why he's doing this and why he feels that this is the most effective way to get his political point of view across.

WHITFIELD: And he thinks that he's not violating, I guess, the privacy of any of those family members? He feels pretty strongly about what he's doing?

LIN: Yes, he does. He feels that, look, if you're gaming, if you're playing a war game online, that you're no longer feeling the loss, you know, the price of war. And so this is his way of getting that message across.

WHITFIELD: Wow. We'll be watching, 6:00 and 10:00.

LIN: 6:00 and 10:00.

WHITFIELD: Thanks a lot, Carol.

Well, coming up next, international pop star -- that one right there -- oh, yes, he's back. And he's back making headlines, too, for his performances rather than his personal trials. George Michael talks about life in the spotlight and being on the stage again.

You're watching the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Come on, you know you love his music. Singer George Michael giving the stage one more try. It's his first solo tour in more than 15 years. He's only got European dates scheduled right now.

Ironically, some 19 months ago Michael announced that his pop career was over. The singer's fans apparently felt otherwise, so tickets for this tour sold out in less than two hours. Not bad for a singer whose private life has often eclipsed his product.

Here's Paula Newton.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): After 15 years avoiding the stage, George Michael is luckier than most. Somebody out there wants him back. And there are sold-out concerts around the world to prove it.

Michael last flexed his pipes on stage in 1991, so Barcelona was happy to host the comeback.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Emotional, I think.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, very emotional. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely, because the fans have been waiting for this for a long, long time. So it will be fantastic just to see him back on stage again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are huge fans...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Huge fans.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... of George Michael.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For a long time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We came all of the way from Switzerland here to see him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm from Brazil. And we got to know...

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So we love him very much.

NEWTON: While hasn't stopped making music, he won't say what's kept him from performing. But insiders suspect stage fright. Quite an irony for a prolific rock star who has managed to stay in the public eye for more than just his music. George Michael has been busted for drugs, lewd behavior, and even outed for his promiscuous sex life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But there's only so much you can take.

NEWTON: Through it all he's blamed the media for a bad image. But in truth, many, from Frank Sinatra to Elton John, have told him to quit wining and start singing.

But George Michael seems a different breed of pop star. Many would have used the racy personal life to its full commercial potential. These days, it can be tough to tell the difference between a pop product and a music talent.

George Michael now seems to want to set the record straight. For once, he seems comfortable allowing his music to finally eclipse his personal life.

Paula Newton, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And now to a much fiery topic, your responses to our e- mail question.

Former president Bill Clinton defending his efforts to capture and kill Osama bin Laden after being accused of not doing enough. We've been asking you, who do you blame for not finding bin Laden?

Here are some of your responses.

Teresa says, "Who the heck cares whose fault it is? It was probably everyone's fault for some degree. We have all been asleep at the wheel. Anyway, let's catch the murderer and do away with him."

D. Ford (ph) of Londonderry, New Hampshire, writes, "I definitely believe Bill Clinton was to blame. It wasn't one incident but several incidents of bin Laden attacking our country, and yet he barely responded."

And Lisa writes, "Without a doubt, the Bush administration. They dropped the ball in Afghanistan. They were warned that bin Laden would be their biggest problem, and they did nothing."

And Lloyd in Atlanta writes, "Whose fault is it? Neither one. The fault is that of Osama bin Laden. Any discussion otherwise is not productive."

And Michael of Washington, D.C., writes, "Neither is personally responsible. Yet, the Clinton administration left the United States much more vulnerable and history will confirm this to be true."

And Jan in Evergreen, Colorado, writes, "Frankly, I think both presidents are at out fault in not capturing OBL, just as Congress is to blame. Both Republicans and Democrats are too busy fighting with each other to accomplish anything of significance."

And Chuck of Minneapolis, Minnesota, writes, "Actually, it starts with the Reagan administration. The first time I remember hearing the name Osama bin Laden was during Oliver North's testimony."

Thanks for your responses.

Carol Lin is coming up next. She has more from the 2006 campaign trail, including the push for a new presidential candidate, Oprah Winfrey? When she talks, people listen. And one man thinks he can turn her viewership into votes.

That story and much more ahead in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM.

The hour's headlines when we come right back, and then "CNN PRESENTS."

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