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Foley Factor; North Korea Threat; Diwaniya Raid Targets Mehdi Militia Fighters; Wisconsin School Shooting; Dangerous Work in Darfur; Billboard Backlash

Aired October 08, 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: Hello again. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN headquarters in Atlanta.
You are in the NEWSROOM.

From resignations to much anticipated testimony, the Foley e-mail scandal is about to enter a new chapter.

We're live from Washington with the very latest.

Then the war in Iraq and the U.S. game plan. General Spider Marks weighs in on whether winning is possible.

Plus, a controversial ad campaign. The message: HIV is a gay disease. It's supposed to raise awareness, but is it really hurting the fight against HIV?

First a look at what's happening "Now in the News."

The Mark Foley page scandal escalates even further. A former congressional aide is expected to testify before the House Ethics Committee this week, telling members a top aide of House Speaker Dennis Hastert knew about Foley's contact with pages at least three years ago.

A live report is just a minute away.

U.S. and Iraqi troops are on the move in the southern Iraqi town of Diwaniya. They're sealing off roads and conducting searches after a bloody fight with Iraq's most powerful Shiite militia, the Mehdi army. At least 30 Mehdi fighters were killed in the clash.

A full report straight ahead.

North Korea's threat to carry out a nuclear weapons test is triggering more international condemnation. China and Japan issued a joint statement today saying a nuclear test from North Korea cannot be tolerated. A South Korean politician says Pyongyang is ready to abandon its plans if the U.S. agrees to direct talks.

In Canada, crews are tearing down the remaining sections of a highway overpass that collapsed last week killing five people. A second overpass that runs parallel to this one is also being torn down as a precaution. The recent rash of school shootings is prompting President Bush to hold a conference on student safety. Tuesday the president will meet with educators and with law enforcement.

Let's start with the Foley scandal. Here's what we know.

A former House aide is to testify soon about his efforts to try to stop Mark Foley's advances toward boys in the House page program. Kirk Fordham says he reported the problem some three years ago to House Speaker Dennis Hastert's top aide.

A House Republican close to the scandal may be sinking in the polls. New York's Tom Reynolds now trails his opponent by 13 points, according to a "Newsday" survey. Yesterday Reynolds apologized to voters in a TV ad that more wasn't done to stop Foley's contacts with teenaged boys.

An unnamed U.S. soldier in Iraq has talked to the FBI about Foley. The soldier served as a page on Capitol Hill.

A month before elections, members of Congress consumed today by the Foley sex scandal.

We'll begin our coverage with Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash in Washington.

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, House Speaker Dennis Hastert's allies took to the airwaves today to defend the way he and other GOP leaders handled the Mark Foley matter. It was a robust GOP defense that took nearly a week to materialize, but Republicans are also quite candid about the damage the Foley scandal is already doing to their prospects on Election Day, and there is great concern that damage may not be over.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASH (voice over): A Republican congressional aide who says he warned the House speaker's chief of staff about Mark Foley's inappropriate conduct with pages expects to testify before the House Ethics Committee this coming week. Kirk Fordham's attorney tells CNN Fordham plans to tell the panel under oath what he has said publicly: Hastert's top aide knew about Foley's worrisome conduct long before the speaker's office admits.

REP. CHARLES RANGEL (D), NEW YORK: When you take an oath it's entirely different -- and I'm talking about the perjury that would follow (ph) rather than the absence of memory of what's going on.

BASH: Sources familiar with Fordham's account of events tell CNN he was so concerned about Foley's behavior he arranged a meeting with Foley and Hastert chief of staff's Scott Palmer in or before 2003 to demand that Foley stop inappropriate behavior towards pages. Palmer's only response so far is, "What Kirk fordham says did not happen." And the speaker's spokesman simply says they will let the Ethics Committee determine the facts. This will be the challenge for the Ethics Committee over the next few weeks: is there documentary evidence or witnesses to prove that the speaker's chief of staff met with Foley to raise concerns?

REP. TOM DAVIS (R), VIRGINIA: Anybody that hindered this in any kind of way, that tried to step in the way of hiding this or covering it up, is going to have to step down.

BASH: Meanwhile, the Foley drama is reaching as far as Iraq, to one of Congressman Ron Lewis' constituents, a former page who is serving there.

REP. RON LEWIS (R), KENTUCKY: We had someone who is in the military, in Iraq, contacted my chief of staff to let us know that he had been approached by Mark Foley in 2001 and that he is speaking to the proper authorities.

BASH: The lingering questions make it hard for Republicans to quiet the Foley storm, which they admit will hurt them on Election Day, one month away.

REP. RAY LAHOOD (R), ILLINOIS: This is going to be the most difficult 30 days in the last 12 years that we've been the majority party.

REP. ADAM PUTNAM (R), FLORIDA: I can think about three seats that are under a little more heat now as a result of the fallout from the Foley scandal.

BASH: One of those seats is Tom Reynolds of New York. He abruptly canceled a long-planned TV appearance Sunday after this stunning move...

REP. TOM REYNOLDS (R), NEW YORK: Looking back, more should have been done, and for that I am sorry.

BASH: ... airing an ad in his Buffalo district, insisting he told the House speaker about a questionable but non-explicit e-mail from Foley to a former male page.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: On talk show after talk show this morning the House speaker's Republican colleagues rallied around him and continued to charge Democrats with knowing about Foley's explicit e-mails to leaking it to make -- to the media now to make a bigger splash close to Election Day. Now, no Republicans offer proof of those claims, but one GOP lawmaker told CNN Democrats should be investigated. And Congressman Rahm Emanuel, the man in charge of getting Democrats elected this year, said he didn't see the Foley e-mails until they were in the press, and he accused Republicans of taking their dirty laundry and throwing it over the fence -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Dana Bash in Washington.

Thanks so much. And stay with CNN for ongoing coverage of the midterm elections from the best political team in television.

Also, make sure you get your daily dose of political news from our new "Political Ticker". Just go to cnn.com/ticker.

Potentially positive movement today on North Korea. Its powerful ally, China, has apparently sent a warning not to go through with a threatened nuclear test. Some had thought the test might happen today. It didn't.

Live to the White House now with CNN's Kathleen Koch -- Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fredricka. And there has been no trace of any nuclear weapons test in North Korea today. It there was one, the U.S. would certainly know about it with more than 100 monitoring stations, as well as spy planes and satellites, keeping a very close eye out for any evidence of that kind of action.

Most action today actually came on the diplomatic front. And this was an unprecedented meeting, first meeting in five years between the leaders of Japan and China. Meeting and issuing a very stern warning to North Korea, that a nuclear weapons test there "cannot be tolerated."

Of course, there is also word that North Korea has let China know that it would hold off on this test that it has threatened if the United States would agree to one-on-one talks with North Korea. It has been asking for just such a dialogue since the six-party talks aimed at getting North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program, since those talks broke down more than a year ago. But right now the White House says no deal.

A White House spokesperson saying, "Our position on bilateral talks is clear. We continue to encourage North Korea to participate in six-party talks."

But some, including the former secretary of state for President Bush's own father, believe that now it would be very helpful for the U.S. to talk with North Korea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES BAKER, FMR. SECRETARY OF STATE: I believe in talking to your enemies. I don't think you restrict your conversations to your friends. At the same time, it's got to be hard-nosed, it's got to be determined. You don't give away anything. But in my view, it's not appeasement to talk to your enemies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: Now, so far the only provocative action today came in on the -- in the demilitarized zone between North Korea and South Korea. In a very rare move, several North Korean troops -- we don't know the exact number -- crossed over a line of demarcation and did not retreat until South Korean troops were forced to fire more than 60 warning shots, Fredricka.

That a very rare move. Only the second time this year that that's happened.

Back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Kathleen Koch at the White House.

Thanks so much.

Well, stay tuned day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

The expense of the fight for Iraq grows with each American casualty. That cost went up again this weekend with the U.S. military reporting six soldiers killed. That makes 27 military deaths already in the first week of this month.

But U.S. soldiers are taking the battle to the insurgency in the streets of Diwaniya. The latest now from CNN's Arwa Damon in Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Heavy fighting broke out in the southern city of Diwaniya. That is 95 miles south of the capital of Baghdad, and a known Mehdi militia stronghold. That is the Shia militia loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

The U.S. military saying that they were launching a raid, alongside with Iraqi security forces, into the area looking for a high-value target. As they entered the area overnight on Saturday, they say they came under heavy small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire.

The U.S. military saying that they were attacked by at least 10 of these rocket-propelled grenade firing squads. They say they destroyed six of them in the fighting thereafter. They say at least 30 suspected terrorists were killed.

Violence again erupting across Iraq over the weekend. At least 23 Iraqis were killed, over 60 wounded. Violence stretching from Taladbad (ph), all the way south through Salah Hadin (ph), Diyala Province, and in the capital, Baghdad. And in Baghdad, Iraqi emergency police saying that over the weekend they found at least 75 bodies.

All of this, of course, as the U.S. and Iraqi security forces are continuing operations to try to bring stability to this country, and a growing sense of despair amongst the Iraqi population.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Tired of hearing how the U.S. is losing the war in Iraq? Stick around for our military analyst's take on what must be done before declaring victory in Baghdad and beyond.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG. GEN. SPIDER MARKS (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: What we need to do is concentrate the forces in that area where the attacks are predominant and do what's called an economy of force or minimize our presence elsewhere. That fundamentally is called an oil stain strategy. And what that means is you work the problem from the inside out in several selected areas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And more with Spider Marks in just six minutes.

Students at a Wisconsin high school are preparing for their first full week of classes since a deadly shooting there. On September 29th, a 15-year-old student entered Weston High School in Cazenovia, armed with two guns. A janitor wrestled one weapon from the teen but he still managed to shoot and kill the school's principal. Tapes of the first calls to police now have been released.

Vince Vitrano reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OPERATOR: 911 -- what's your emergency?

VINCE VITRANO, REPORTER, WTMJ (voice over): The first call comes from Dave Thompson (ph), a school maintenance worker.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Weston school district. We've got a kid that come in the front door of the high school with a gun and he's got something in his pocket. I don't know if it's a handgun. I took the rifle from him and I've got it down in the kitchen. I'm one of the maintenance guys.

OPERATOR: You took a rifle and he still has a handgun?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know. He had something in his pocket. I don't know where he went now, but we're all in lockdown.

OPERATOR: Do you know where the kid is now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was up towards the high school office. I had come out down this way to try to get kids cleared out.

OPERATOR: OK. All right. Get as many people out of there as you can, whatever your (INAUDIBLE) OK?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get them rolling.

VITRANO: The next call is from teacher Chuck Keller (ph), moments after the principal was gunned down.

OPERATOR: OK. So you have the offender in custody?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. He's down.

OPERATOR: And do you have his gun?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe so.

OPERATOR: OK. And you think you have the gun also.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, there was two guns. There was -- there was a rifle -- stay there. Stay there! Guys, come here.

We have the principal who has been shot.

OPERATOR: OK. The principal. And what is his condition?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know.

OPERATOR: OK. Do you know where he's at?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's in the hallway, I think.

OPERATOR: Off in the hallway.

We have several units en route. We have EMS en route. We have Richland County en route.

If you're willing to, I'd like to keep you on the line with me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. I think I can do more out there right now.

OPERATOR: OK. All right. If you...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no. That -- I mean, there's nothing we can do.

VITRANO: Principal John Klang was rushed to a hospital but died a short time later.

(on camera): Counselors will remain on hand and a sheriff's deputy will be stationed at the school for at least the next two weeks.

Vince Vitrano's, Today's TMJ 4.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And 15-year-old Eric Hainstock is charged with first- degree murder. Hainstock told police he was upset with the principal because he was disciplined earlier for having tobacco at the school. Hainstock also was upset with teachers for allegedly failing to stop a group of kids who harassed him, accusing him of being gay.

In another school tragedy, the gunman who shot and killed five girls and wounded five others at an Amish school has been buried in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Dozens of Amish neighbors attended yesterday's burial of Charles Carl Roberts IV. Roberts' rampage last Monday ended with a suicide.

A fifth victim of that massacre also was buried yesterday at a farmland cemetery.

In Colorado, a big turnout for an event honoring a school shooting victim. Five thousand motorcyclists took part in a caravan to honor Emily Keyes. She was shot to death last month at Platte Canyon High School.

A deadly torture chamber. Next, what police found inside the basement of this California home.

Billboard backlash. A new controversial ad campaign asking gay men to own it and end it.

Plus, how to win in Iraq. A retired military general weighs in what he would do in Iraq.

That's straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Among the most popular stories this hour on CNN.com, police investigating a woman's death discover a torture chamber hidden in a California man's basement.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger an his Democratic challenger, Phil Angelides, have met in their own scheduled debate. Did either candidate draw blood?

And bloggers left and right talk about the future of House Speaker Dennis Hastert. Do they think he can hang on?

Go to CNN.com for details. Click on to the "most popular" tab.

For nearly the past three years we continually hear what's gone wrong for U.S. troops fighting the war in Iraq. But rarely do we hear about a game plan to win.

Here's one proposal from CNN's military analyst, retired Brigadier General Spider Marks.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARKS: Let be address the challenges that our forces in Iraq are facing today and what I think is the way ahead.

Now, in many cases, our multinational core and multinational forces in Iraq are moving in this direction. But I want to highlight some of the things they're doing, and the real commitment that we need to make right now, that this nation needs to make, which is the commitment of time in order to achieve the results that we are all looking for.

Now, if I go to the map of Iraq, what we have right now primarily is a concentration of all the attacks against our forces in these four provinces, centralized around Baghdad, and then north and to the west. Now, within these four provinces that's where we have to focus our effort and time.

The U.S. presence and the coalition presence in country right now is concentrated from the border of Kuwait, all the way up to the Turkish border, out toward the Syrian border. What we need to do is concentrate the forces in that area where the attacks are predominant and do what's called an economy of force, or minimize our presence elsewhere.

That fundamentally is called an oil stain strategy. And what that means is you work the problem from the inside out in several selected areas. And that's what these coalition forces are trying to achieve right now. But it's going to take time.

Let me move back to the map and show you two representative examples of how that oil stain strategy can work. Let's take Baghdad and the border town of al Qaim.

When the U.S. and coalition forces put their presence in those two locations, they will do it in such a way to impose their will on the enemy and the local population very broadly. You need to be able to destroy the enemy, but at the same time, you have to embrace the local population and allow them to see and to feel and to sense the fact that you're making a difference in their lives through the institution of governance and power and electricity and all the forms of life that you and I take for granted.

So if we can put force the in both al Qaim and Baghdad, for example, over the course of time -- and that's the key ingredient -- you'll have an oil stain effect that will spread outside of both of those from the inside out that will take that predominantly red area where the enemy tends to be imposing his will, we will impose our will and make a difference. This will take time.

So essentially, in summary, there are several things that I'd like to talk about.

Number one, in order for us to win and achieve victory in Iraq, we've got to adopt the oil stain strategy. I'd suggest that we are doing that right now. We've got to fix the problems inside out, and you've got to hold them long enough to ensure that the fix is in place. You've got to be able to then move that to those other locations and other areas of challenge.

Number two, this is going to take time. And if it takes time, it's going to take troops and it's going to take money. That commitment must be there from our nation.

Thirdly, I think it's very important that we not lose sight of the fact that it is not business as usual. Our very best officers and noncommissioned officers are involved in the training of the Iraqi security forces. That must not let up. We've got to keep that going full steam ahead.

And then finally, I think it's very, very important that we put larger presence, a larger presence of U.S. forces embedded in each Iraqi unit. We can have liaison teams. I think it's important that we put a larger presence -- for example, a company within a battalion or a brigade -- so that foundation is U.S. trained, the ethos of the professional U.S. military is present routinely with those Iraqi forces.

If those four steps are taken, victory is -- can be achieved in Iraq. It will take time, but it's doable.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And that's CNN military analyst Brigadier General Spider Marks. Later this evening we'll hear from another of our military analysts, Major General Don Shepperd.

Here's part of what he says the U.S. should do in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: To win, we've got to go head-to-head with these militias and take them on. We've got to clear Sadr City. And after we clear Sadr City, we really have to continue to put pressure on the Iraqi forces to take on more of the load and to fight these militias. These are really, really difficult times in Iraq.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And that's military analyst retired Major General Don Shepperd. You can hear more of his proposal for a winning strategy later this evening in our 7:00 p.m. Eastern hour.

And in about 15 minutes, dangerous duties. Out of their comfort zones and in to a war zone. Next in the NEWSROOM, a look at life as an aid worker in Africa.

But first, AIDS, is it a gay disease? That's what a new ad says. And as you can imagine, lots of people are talking all about it.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All week long CNN's Anderson Cooper has been reporting from Africa and the overwhelming problems confronting many of the people there. For hundreds of thousands of refugees, aid workers are a life line, but aid workers face their own set of challenges.

CNN's Jeff Koinange has more from Darfur, Sudan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF KOINANGE, CNN AFRICA CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They have come from comfortable surroundings far away at an almost risk to themselves. Anne Cecile Mellet and Balginder Heer are part of a fast disappearing breed in this region, foreign aid workers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just, we have to continue to use as a treatment.

KOINANGE: Six months ago, Mellet was a pediatric nurse, making the rounds in one of Paris's leading hospitals, when she was offered an overseas assignment. She said yes even before she learned her destination would be Darfur.

ANNE CECILE MELLET, ACTION AGAINST HUNGER: For myself it was beginning to all my life change completely.

KOINANGE: In her native French, she comforts a young malnourished girl named Yasnina (ph). "Don't worry," she tells Yasnina (ph) and her mother, "it won't hurt."

Yasnina (ph) is 13 months old and weighs just 15 pounds. That's what 6-month-old babies should weigh. What Yasnina (ph) really needs is an intravenous drip to build her up. The best they've got here is some high protein milk and an old plastic cup.

And then, there's the constant danger lurking both within and outside these refugee camps.

(on camera): Here's an interesting statistic for you. Ever since a peace deal was signed five months ago, 12 aid workers have been killed, all of them Sudanese nationals. That's more aid workers than in the entire history of this conflict. The foreigners too are feeling vulnerable that they could very well be next.

(voice-over): 31-year-old Balginder Heer was a researcher into tropical children's diseases for nearly a decade in London. She wanted to put her research into practice, and she chose to do it here. Her parents tried to talk her out of it.

BALGINDER HEER, ACTION AGAINST HUNGER: Of course, this is a conflict zone. It is dangerous. It's not as bad as people may imagine. It can be just as dangerous, if not worse, in some of the big major capitals around the world, like New York or London.

KOINANGE: She's also constantly aware that women here face an unusually great risk of being raped. She spends her nights in a protected compound, a 20-minute drive away.

HEER: Of course, when you hear about instants like this, it has huge shockwaves through the NGO and the U.N. agency communities, very traumatic. And it has huge impacts and direct impacts on the work that we do and how people feel here.

KOINANGE: Both admit what they do out here in the middle of nowhere in Africa is not suitable to everyone.

MELLET: We have nothing, no tools. We have nothing to work with them. So, what we have, we try to do our best.

HEER: Sometimes it can be very hard, especially when you lose a child. It can be very, very difficult.

KOINANGE: There are more than 14,000 aid workers in Darfur alone, and only 1,000 them are foreigners. The risks are huge. So are the rewards.

Jeff Koinange, CNN, Abu Sha (ph) refugee camp in north Darfur.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And in about 20 minutes we return to Africa and another refugee camp. Hundreds of thousands have been killed in that country, and more than a million people left homeless.

CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta gives us his look.

Half past the hour, and here are the headlines.

Tensions mount on the Korean peninsula amid speculation North Korea may carry out a nuclear test. Today the country's state-run media accused the U.S. of preparing for a war against Pyongyang.

U.S. forces are patrolling the streets of the Iraqi town of Diwaniyah after fierce overnight street fighting left at least 30 insurgents dead. The U.S. military reported the deaths of six American soldiers in Iraq this weekend.

Saddam Hussein's trial is set to resume tomorrow without his attorneys. Hussein's lawyers are boycotting the trial. They say the court has violated legal procedures. Hussein is being tried for gassing thousands of Kurdish civilians in northern Iraq in the late 1980s.

More finger-pointing in the Foley case. Kirk Fordham, a former congressional aide on the right of your screen, says he'll testify this week about his contact with House Speaker Dennis Hastert's office on Foley's e-mails.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REYNOLDS: Looking back, more should have been done, and for that I am sorry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A top Republican apologizes, and another page speaks out. The latest on the Foley fallout straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Here's where things stand in the Mark Foley e-mail scandal. Lawyers for former congressional aide Kirk Fordham say Fordham expects to appear before the House Ethics Committee this week. He's expected to testify that Speaker Dennis Hastert's office was warned about Foley as far back as 2003.

Fordham's former boss, Congressman Tom Reynolds, is running television ads defending himself saying he did the right thing by reporting his concern concerns to Speaker Hastert.

Meanwhile, another former page has reportedly implicated Foley. A Kentucky congressman says his office has been contacted by a soldier currently serving in Iraq who says he was approached while a page in 2001.

Up until now Republicans had been able to count on strong support from religious conservatives. They'll need that support in next month's elections if they're going to stay in control on Capitol Hill.

CNN's Mary Snow has been talking to voters in Virginia's second district. She joins us now from Norfolk. Is the support still there, Mary?

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, we've been talking to Christian conservatives here in the northern tip of the Bible Belt. They are voicing discontent. And this started before the Foley scandal. And it's showing up in the polls as -- an incumbent Republican congresswoman who is in a very tight race for her re- election.

I caught up with some voters outside of Sunday's services and they say they are frustrated, and that is worrying Republicans. Some strategists are saying that Christian conservatives may sit out this November election in order to send a message since they won't switch parties, and that is seen as a crucial voting bloc in so many tight races around the country, but particularly here in the 2nd district.

And some of the people we spoke with today said that there are a number of issues that they've been unhappy about with the Foley scandal just being the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAT DIFFLEY, VOTER: I think maybe disappointed.

SNOW: Why?

DIFFLEY: Because of what's going on and what's happening. I think some people within the Republican Party, maybe not conservatives, but within the Republican Party have not been holding the values that we hold dear.

MIKE SCOZZAFAVA, VOTER: I can answer for me. When I see this, I want to fight more. I want to get out there and do what I can to promote the conservative values.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: That's why this race here in the 2nd district is being so closely watched. Incumbent Republican congresswoman Thelma Drake is being challenged by Phil Kellam. This is a very tight race. And to give you an indication of how things went this week, the Democratic challenger started rerunning ads this week on the importance of protecting children from sexual content on the Internet -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Mary Snow, thanks so much.

Part of the best political team on television reporting to us tonight from Norfolk.

Well, make sure you get your daily dose of political news from CNN's new "Political Ticker". Just go to cnn.com/ticker.

And now to AIDS and HIV prevention. We'll talk to Keith Boykin, the founder of the National Black Justice Coalition, in just one minute. But first, a leading gay rights group is upsetting many by portraying AIDS as a disease that is unique to gay people.

Here's CNN's Chris Lawrence.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The message is simple, but stunning. And it comes not from bigots, but the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center.

(on camera): For 25 years, you've been saying HIV is not a gay disease. Now you're saying it is.

LORRI JEAN, L.A. GAY AND LESBIAN CENTER: HIV is impacting our community more than any other in Los Angeles, and we've got to do something about it.

LAWRENCE: Lorri Jean says gay men have become complacent about AIDS, and now make up 75 percent of HIV cases in Los Angeles County.

JEAN: It breaks my heart that these numbers are still as high as they are.

LAWRENCE: She aimed billboards above Santa Monica Boulevard at the general public, but sent these posters to bars and bookstores in L.A.'s gay community. Some say the only thing this campaign will end is 25 years of progress.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going backwards.

LAWRENCE: Elizabeth Marte is HIV positive. She's been living with the virus for 13 years, since her boyfriend infected her.

(on camera): When you see a campaign like this, how does that make you feel?

ELIZABETH MARTE, OUTREACH ADVOCATE: It pisses the hell out of me. I'm a 44-year-old woman. I'm a single parent. I have three teenagers. I have a 25-year-old son. What are they going to go around saying, oh, mommy, I can't get infested because only gay men get infected? I don't want that message to go to my children.

LAWRENCE (voice-over): Nationwide, the number of women with HIV is rising. Just last month, the New York Department of Health asked outreach agencies not to solely target gay men. And the CDC is so concerned it's recommending every adult get tested. MARTE: The HIV virus has a face, and there's your face and then there's my face.

LAWRENCE: But some say previous messages were too soft, and indirectly caused complacency among gay men.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The young kids, they think, oh well, if I get it, I get it. And, you know, there are pills to take. Well, you know, I've seen a lot of people that, you know, it's not quite that easy.

LAWRENCE: Nothing is when it comes to both AIDS and AIDS awareness.

Chris Lawrence, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And joining me now to talk more about the controversy is Keith Boykin. He's the founder and former president of the National Black Justice Coalition and he is the host of Black Entertainment Television's "My Two Cents".

Good to see you, Keith.

KEITH BOYKIN, NATIONAL BLACK JUSTICE COALITION: Good to see you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. So what are you afraid is happening here from this ad campaign?

BOYKIN: Well, the danger, Fredricka, is that if you send the message that AIDS is a -- HIV is a gay disease, you discourage people who are not gay from paying attention. And you also stigmatize gay people into going back to where we were 25 years ago when the epidemic first began. I think it's a dangerous message that requires much more subtlety and complexity than we see here.

WHITFIELD: Are you just as stunned as you are offended that this kind of campaign would be taking place?

BOYKIN: I am stunned. I'm a little offended. I understand the motivation behind it.

I support the goal in terms of reaching the gay community and talking to them about HIV and AIDS, but I don't support the mechanism in which they are going about this. I think it's a dangerous step to try to move this direction and to tell people that their community is largely responsible.

Now, the good thing about this is that it's getting people talking. That may be the only good thing about it. But the problem is that we're talking on the same -- same topic we were talking about 25 years ago.

It's time to make progress and understand that everybody is responsible for HIV prevention.

WHITFIELD: And right. So what I was going to ask you, while it is great to get people talking, because so often people don't want to have dialogue about AIDS as a whole, aren't we kind of backtracking? Are we going backwards and kind of reliving or going back to old dialogue and then trying not to correct it all over again?

BOYKIN: Well, that's exactly the problem, Fredricka. You know, I read a book last year called "Beyond the Down Low: Sex, Lies, and Denial in Black America." And it was all about the problem in the African-American community with the whole issue of the down low, men who have sex with men but don't identify as gay.

And the challenge is to get people to focus on the real issues when we talk about AIDS. We need to talk about what you can do to prevent AIDS. We need to talk about needle exchange programs that we know work, that they help to reduce transmission and don't increase new drug use.

We need to talk about prisons and condoms and safe sex programs in our public schools. But we're not talking about those things because we're spending so much time talking about the sensationalistic, sexy, diversionary issues and not focussed where we should be.

So let's have a serious dialogue about HIV and AIDS and continue that. But let's not sensationalize it just to get attention.

WHITFIELD: And might I say that we did try to contact the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center to try and join us on this program to have this live discussion, but they said they were fairly represented in the piece that we just saw, and so they declined our invitation to be on live.

Now, when we talk about the stigma that now is coming with this and being promoted by this campaign saying that HIV and AIDS is a gay disease, are we not now undermining the fact that among the fastest growing population of those who are contracting this virus happen to be black women who are heterosexual?

BOYKIN: Well, actually -- well, here's the issue. This is part of what I wrote about in my last book.

The real population that's at risk are black men. Black men are primarily at risk. There are 14,000 black male HIV -- HIV cases last year -- AIDS cases last year, and 7,000 black female AIDS cases last year. And so black men are disproportionately at risk, but we don't talk about them. In part because it's easy -- see, here's the issue -- it's easy for us to talk about innocent victims.

The gay community has never been an innocent community according to the public. The African-American community has never been perceived at innocent. So we don't want to talk about those things. We want to talk about the innocent women or the poor children or the people who were infected from blood transfusions, but we have to be sympathetic and compassionate about everyone, not just the people who meet our test cases of suitability.

And that's really the challenge here. The black community is really disproportionately affected, not only here in California, where I am, but also throughout the United States and throughout the world.

Two-thirds of all HIV-AIDS cases in the world are in sub-Saharan Africa. Now, most of those are transmitted from heterosexual -- heterosexual sex, not from gay sex. So we need to get the message out there clearly that AIDS affects everyone, not just gay people.

WHITFIELD: So, if, Keith, everything that you're saying is true, and that this ad campaign is really only provoking more confusion, then what is the real benefit of coming out with a campaign like this?

BOYKIN: Well, like I said, I think the primary purpose and maybe the benefit of the campaign is that it's got us talking about this issue. I don't know that we would be talking about it right now on CNN if it weren't for the campaign.

WHITFIELD: All right.

BOYKIN: But unfortunately -- but unfortunately, what are we going to talk about, though? I mean, this is a conversation we had back in the Reagan administration.

WHITFIELD: Right.

BOYKIN: I remember when -- remember -- I don't know if you remember back in the '80s they said the only people that had to be concerned about HIV were the four Hs: homosexuals, hemophiliacs, heroin users, and Haitians.

If you weren't part...

WHITFIELD: And we know, Keith -- and we know now that that is not the case. Sorry to cut you off.

BOYKIN: Exactly.

WHITFIELD: We are out of time. Keith Boykin of the National Black Justice Coalition, and also of BET.

Thank you so much for joining us this weekend.

BOYKIN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And next in the NEWSROOM, the Darfur crisis. Hundreds of thousands have been killed and more than a million people are homeless. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports from inside a refugee camp.

Plus, murder in Moscow. A prominent journalist and Kremlin critic is gunned down. Was it a political hit?

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Dozens of people are homeless in Apopka, Florida, today. A severe storm collapsed -- or caused the collapse of a roof at an apartment building. No one was hurt.

Heavy rains and hail hit Orange and Lake counties overnight. And in Virginia, rain-flooded roads in Richmond. Nine inches of rain have soaked the city in the last two days.

Meteorologist Rob Marciano is keeping an eye on all of this right now.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Carol Lin up next with a preview of more ahead on -- in the NEWSROOM. On and in.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: On and in.

Interesting phenomena after 9/11. We've discovered that there are several young American Christian women who have converted to Islam post-9/11. So we have an interesting piece from our religion correspondent, and I'll be talking with a woman who made that decision and broke the news to her family on Christmas Day, 2001.

WHITFIELD: Of all days.

LIN: Then at 7:00, such a special story. Fred, this is one of the top stories on CNN.com, this 13-year-old boy who was told that he would never walk. Never walk.

Several surgeries later, there he is. That's just the beginning of his remarkable story. Everybody said, if you watch this story, you are going to cry.

No, no. Not this veteran journalist. Right?

I was just back there, and it is...

WHITFIELD: You were balling.

LIN: It's overwhelming.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

LIN: This little boy's story is very unique and different, and there's something -- you just see the steeliness in his eyes.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

LIN: And so I'm actually going to be talk wig his mother and him.

WHITFIELD: Oh, that's great.

LIN: At 7:00. We just found out that they're going to be able to join us live.

WHITFIELD: Oh, that's fantastic.

LIN: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Both real great sources of inspiration.

LIN: Yes. That mother, boy, hats off to her.

WHITFIELD: I know it. So sweet.

All right. Thanks a lot, Carol.

And we've got much more ahead, including the latest on the Foley scandal. Carol Lin takes over with all the latest details coming up.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield. More of the CNN NEWSROOM right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, this just in. If you bought lettuce on or after October 3rd you're going to want to hear this. Lettuce with the brand name Foxy is being recalled because of possible contamination of E. coli.

This lettuce under the brand name Foxy was distributed in seven western states: Arizona, California, Nevada, Washington State, Oregon, Idaho and Montana, and sold in retail stores in those areas.

So, again, if you have lettuce with the brand name of Foxy, you're being asked to throw it away because of possible E. coli contamination.

Still much more ahead, including the latest on the Foley scandal. Carol Lin joins us with more in the NEWSROOM.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

More of the CNN NEWSROOM right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: You're in the NEWSROOM. I'm Carol Lin.

And straight ahead in this hour, much more on the Mark Foley scandal. Testimony expected this week.

Dana Bash live with that story in one minute.

Also, will there be a political backlash among the faithful? Mary Snow is live in Virginia with that angle.

And the president's brother had to make a hasty exit. We're going to bring you the whole very strange story.

You're watching the CNN NEWSROOM.

You'll be seeing a lot more about the Mark Foley scandal in the days ahead. A former congressional aide expects to appear before the House Ethics Committee this week. Kirk Fordham's lawyer says that Fordham will testify that Speaker Dennis Hastert was warned about Foley as far back as 2003.

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