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Presidential Q&A; North Korean Threat; Baghdad Blasts; Keeping Kids Safe on the Internet
Aired October 11, 2006 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Tony Harris.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Heidi Collins.
Watch the news happen live right here on Wednesday, October 11th. Here is a rundown for this hour.
North Korea's regime. It says sanctions would amount to war. We watch for President Bush's response. His news conference coming up in just one hour.
HARRIS: A staggering loss of life. One estimate counts more than 500,000 dead because of the war in Iraq.
And, fall, is that all you've got? Well, the season's first winter storm rolls across part of the country making autumn just a mere memory. The cold reality in the NEWSROOM.
President Bush facing tough global challenges. Next hour, he faces the media for some Q&A. You'll see his news conference live right here in the NEWSROOM. That will happen at 11:00 a.m. Eastern. We, of course, will be on top of it for you.
North Korea, Iraq, the Foley factor. Those are the issues likely to be discussed front and center. White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joining us to sort through it all.
Good morning to you, Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
This is really, according to one senior administration official I talked with, a chance for the White House and Republicans to get back on the offense before the midterm elections just four weeks away. The Republicans and this administration have been very, very frustrated that you have got the Foley scandal. You've got Iraq casualties. You have this face-off with North Korea. That all of these things have really drowned out the message that they have been trying to highlight.
There was a campaign weeks ahead, of course, leading up to the midterm elections to focus on national security. That is where the Republicans really, their strength shows in the polls, as well as with voters. That is what they're trying to do, get back on message.
So what you'll hear from President Bush in about an hour or so, he's going to start off with a statement and he is going to talk first and foremost about North Korea. That he's going to be explaining the policy, why it's important to push North Korea's allies in tougher sanctions, why it's important that the Bush administration not get caught up in kind of a showdown with North Korea in one-on-one talks. That is the belief here.
He'll also talk about Iraq. As you know, of course, new numbers on Iraq casualties. He will certainly talk about the difficulties, but we also anticipate that he will try to convince American voters once again to stay the course.
And then, finally, he is also going to talk about some good economic numbers. That is something that he's going to be talking about in a speech later today. But you can bet that without this press conference, no guarantees that would have gotten on the news. So the thinking at the White House here is, get him out before the cameras, take the questions from reporters and get back on message.
Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Suzanne. We will have it right here. One more time, 11:00 a.m. Eastern today, President Bush, live news conference. He's going to be taking questions on all of those issues that Suzanne just mentioned. Don't miss it.
HARRIS: Pressing for punishment at the United Nations. The U.S. and Japan leading the charge for sanctions against North Korea. Council members are now considering a plan. As the world waits and worries, with North Korea claiming one nuclear test, is another coming? CNN's Dan Rivers feels the tension along Korea's DMZ.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Measuring underground blasts from hundreds of miles away is not easy. But two days after North Korea's test, there's still confusion as to what really happened. Whether the blast could have been a nuclear device that didn't perform up to expectations. Now the question, will there be a second test?
CHO JAE HONG, NORTH KOREAN AMBASSADOR TO AUSTRALIA: It would depend on national interest and security of our nation.
RIVERS: And why did they test in the first place.
HONG: We are under intense threat of United States of nuclear war.
RIVERS: Kim Jong-il's regime is notoriously secretive. But this is what unnamed North Korean officials have sold the South Korean news agency Yonhap. "We hope the situation will be resolved before an unfortunate incident of us firing a nuclear missile comes."
Meanwhile, a South Korean newspaper, Hankyoreh, quotes an official saying the test was an "expression of our intention to face the United States across the negotiating table." In the past, this is where crucial talks between the north and the south have taken place, Panmunjom (ph), right in the hart heart of the demilitarized zone that divides North and South Korea. I took a tour of this sensitive border area, now the focus of a global crisis.
You get a real feeling of the proximity of the North Koreans right here. It's just over there. You can see where those mountains are. That is North Korea. That's how close these two opposing armies are. And this is what they've been like for the last 50 years, facing each other off through the razor wire.
You can just make out North Korean villages on the other side, cut off from the outside world. Only a handful of roads cross the border. This river crossing heading north has been named Unification Bridge.
Obviously the army aren't particularly happy about us filming here and it's raised tensions and very sensitive here. So we'll have to get out of the way. But you can see this is as far as most people are allowed to go.
Next stop, a section of fence that's become the focal point for a nation. People in South Korea are angry and anxious about the test. Their country is reconsidering its so-called sunshine policy of engagement with its northern neighbor, with China signaling it may back sanctions.
As this crisis deepens, the barrier that divides the two Koreas seems greater than ever.
Dan Rivers, CNN, on the border of North and South Korea.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Quickly we want to take you to Burlington, Vermont. Update a situation there. There has been a missing student. University of Vermont student by the name of Michelle Gardner-Quinn. You are looking at a live news conference on any updates that they have in that situation.
And today is the fifth day now that she's been missing. Her parents reported her missing over the weekend, which I believe was homecoming weekend. They were in town visiting her. She did not show up for a breakfast or brunch meeting on that Saturday morning and has been missing ever since. So police, obviously, looking for her desperately.
You may go to Pipeline if you are interested in viewing the entire news conference that is happening right now once again in Burlington, Vermont. We'll keep you posted on that.
Meanwhile, the Bush administration standing by its approach to North Korea. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the U.S. has no plans for an attack or invasion. But Rice warns any attempt by North Korea to fire nuclear missiles would be a major miscalculation. She talked with CNN's Wolf Blitzer in "The Situation Room." (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, I think the North Koreans know that firing a nuclear missile, shall we say, would not be good for North Korean security.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: They've heard that for years. They've been hearing that and they are still moving forward.
RICE: The North Koreans are not confused about what it would mean to launch a nuclear attack against the United States, one of our allies or somebody in the neighborhood. They're not confused about that.
BLITZER: Did they conduct a nuclear test?
RICE: Well, we're still trying to evaluate what really happened here and I think it will take a little while to evaluate it. But we have to take the claim seriously because it's a political claim.
BLITZER: If you're Kim Jong-il, or Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for that matter, the leader of Iran, the only real guarantee you have that the United States or other countries are not going to overthrow you or invade you or do to them what the U.S. and its coalition partners did to Saddam Hussein is a nuclear weapon.
RICE: Oh, Wolf, I think we shouldn't even allow them such an excuse.
BLITZER: That's what they believe.
RICE: Well, let's be very clear. Iraq was suigenerous (ph). Iraq had been under 12 years of sanctions for its weapons program. It was at the conclusion of a war that Iraq had launched against its neighbors. That was a very special situation.
The president has said, and, in fact, the joint statement which we signed with the other parties, the six parties, on September 19th of last year, tells the North Koreans that there is no intention to invade or attack them. So they have that guarantee.
BLITZER: They don't believe it, though.
RICE: Well, I don't know what more they want. The United States of America doesn't have any intention to attack North Korea or to invade North Korea.
BLITZER: So the military option is really not practical.
RICE: The president never takes any of his options off the table. But the United States somehow, in a provocative way, trying to invade North Korea, it's just not the case.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: "The Situation Room" keeping you updated on the nuclear tensions with North Korea, speak there with the current secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice. Wolf Blitzer will speak with the former secretary of state, Colin Powell. That will be tonight on "The Situation Room" at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
HARRIS: North Korea, the new blame game in Washington. The politicians are pointing fingers. Here's CNN's Brian Todd.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The political infighting in the U.S. over who lost North Korea has gone nuclear.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) NEW YORK: Some of the reason we are facing this danger is because of the failed policies of the Bush administration. And I regret deeply their failure to deal with the threat posed by North Korea.
TODD: Specifically, Senator Clinton's aides tell CNN, she believes the Bush administration should have done more than rely on six-nation talks that have so far failed to get Kim Jong-il to give up his nuclear ambitions. The man who may run for president against her in two years has this to say.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) ARIZONA: I would remind Senator Clinton and other Democrats critical of the Bush administration policies, that the framework agreement her husband's administration negotiated was a failure. We had a carrots and no sticks policy that only encouraged bad behavior. When one carrot didn't work, we offered another. Now we are facing the consequences.
TODD: Contacted by CNN, a spokesman for President Clinton said North Korea conducted no nuclear weapons development during the eight years of that administration. And on McCain, "it is unfortunate that anyone would attempt to rewrite history to score political points at a time when we need to address this serious threat." But security experts say North Korea likely would have pursued this program regardless of the approach.
MICHAEL GREEN, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Kim Il-sung, the great leader of the father of Kim Jong-il, the current leader, saw what nuclear weapons did for Malsidong (ph) in China four decades ago.
TODD: And Chris Hill, the current U.S. negotiator for North Korea, points out that the north built what he calls its first ramshackle nuclear reactor back in the 1970s.
One expert points out this current debate could even be harmful to U.S. national security. The North Koreans, he says, are watching this, looking for seams inside America's political system to see how much maneuvering room they can get.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE) HARRIS: And, once again, another reminder. President Bush is holding a news conference at 11:00 a.m. from the Rose Garden. North Korea and Iraq, obviously, will dominate. But expect plenty of questions on Mark Foley. The president, in general terms, trying to change the subject a bit.
Again, the president, a news conference, 11:00 a.m. Eastern. We will bring it to you right here in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: A quake mistake. A 5.8 earthquake shook Japan's northern coast today, but the shockwaves had many Japanese rattled. They thought North Korea had detonated another nuclear device. We want to make sure it's clear that it appears that was not the case. But you understand the intentions and nervousness there.
HARRIS: Absolutely.
And still to come, well over 500,000 Iraqis dead in the war? That's the claim in a controversial new study. Details in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Call is the ad wars. And topic one for some congressional Democrats, the Mark Foley scandal. That's coming up in just a moment.
HARRIS: And you want to get the attention of your kids? Put them in front of the television. While they're there, they can learn something about Internet safety. Details from two safety experts, John Walsh of "America's Most Wanted," Baby Einstein creator Julie Clark, live in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Tony Harris and Heidi Collins.
HARRIS: Once again, President Bush holding a news conference this morning, 11:00 a.m., from the Rose Garden. The president will issue a statement on the U.S. policy on North Korea and on Iraq. Eleven days into October and already more than 30 U.S. soldiers killed in that country. And the president talking about that and more, 11:00 a.m. Eastern. We will bring it to you right here live on CNN.
COLLINS: And as we wait for that press conference, we want to go straight to the Pentagon now. Our Barbara Starr is standing by with new information, Barbara, about U.S. troop levels in Iraq.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, that's right.
The chief of staff of the U.S. Army, General Peter Schoomaker, has just concluded a briefing with reporters here in the Pentagon. And he made some very interesting remarks about what he foresees coming down the road in Iraq. Now what should be said first is General Schoomaker's job is to basically make sure there's enough troops trained and equipped for war. And what he said about Iraq is this. That his planning scenario now is to keep current troop levels in Iraq through 2010. What General Schoomaker is talking about is having the troops ready to go. Things may get better in Iraq, he said, but he has to make sure he's got enough soldiers to be able to maintain current troop levels through 2010.
When he was asked whether he thought the U.S. Army was winning in Iraq, he said he thought that the military part of the fight in Iraq is going very well. He said, however, it's not useful to say that it's hard. It's not useful to ring our hands, he said. Everybody knows it's hard. So things could get better in Iraq, but the chief of the Army is saying, he's going to have enough troops ready to go, 15 brigades, about 140,000 troops, through the year 2010.
Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Barbara Starr, thank you for the update on that.
Meanwhile, three new attacks in Baghdad this morning. All targeting Iraqi police. Two were roadside bombs. The other was a car bomb. They killed three people, wounded 15 others.
A staggering death toll estimated in the Iraq War. According to a new study, some 655,000 Iraqis have died as a direct result of the conflict. The survey says Iraq's mortality rate skyrocketed from 13 percent before the U.S. invasion to 87 percent after.
It estimates more than 600,000 of the deaths were due to violence with the rest attributed to deteriorating living conditions. This study's toll eclipses other estimates of civilian deaths. They ranged from about 30,000 to nearly 50,000.
But keep in mind, these new numbers are not based on an actual count. This is important. Rather, they were extrapolated from a survey of random households. Some critics have dismissed the method as inexact. Other experts say the methodology is sound.
HARRIS: It looked like shock and awe again. Powerful explosions rocked Baghdad and rattle nerves. CNN's Arwa Damon joins us live from the Iraqi capital.
And, Arwa, what are U.S. military officials saying about the explosion?
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, just like you just mentioned, it really did feel like another version of shock and awe. What we do know from the U.S. military is that militia forces fired an 82 millimeter mortar round into a U.S. military base in southern Baghdad, in the neighborhood of al Dora. That round landing next to an ammunition holding center causing the ammunition there to "cook off." Basically detonate. The type of ammunition that was at that location, we're talking about tank rounds, we're talking about artillery ordnance, we're talking about small arms fire ammunition. The explosions were massive. And it lasted for about three hours. Just one blast after the next. Our location is about four miles away from where this base is located and we could feel the building, hear the roof I'm standing on, actually shake with every explosion. The Baghdad sky was filled with this massive fire.
Now the U.S. military is saying that they immediately sent in emergency response teams and that they evacuated all U.S. military and civilian personnel from that location. What we do now know, though, is that one U.S. soldier was slightly wounded. Also an interpreter. These are very minor injuries. They have both been returned to duty.
Additionally, though, for the local Iraqi population living in that area, and, in fact, across all of Baghdad, this caused massive widespread panic. Within moments of it happening, phones were ringing. People all across Baghdad believing that their neighborhood was coming under attack. Eventually, though, the Iraqi minister of interior did make an appearance on state-owned television trying to explain the situation. So far we have no reports of any Iraqi casualties.
Tony.
HARRIS: Arwa, those pictures are certainly dramatic. Have to ask you, will the loss of the ammo impact operations -- military operations at all?
DAMON: The U.S. military is saying that it will not. They are, of course, there was a lot of ammunition that was destroyed in these blasts, as it evident from the images that you're seeing. But they are saying that this will not impact military operations in any way, nor will it disrupt life on the base where the incident happened.
Tony.
HARRIS: OK. CNN's Arwa Damon for us in Baghdad.
Arwa, thank you.
COLLINS: An early snowfall in Colorado. That's what I'm talking about. A little snowmobiling, a little shoveling. Watch your back. And el Nino brewing as well. The outlook for winter coming up in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: And Gerri Willis. Open enrollment season. We're talking about the fall. We're talking about some snow. And we're talking about health insurance and open enrollment.
Good morning, Gerri.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It all goes together, doesn't it, Tony?
HARRIS: Yes.
WILLIS: Hey, it is open enrollment time. And you best get on it because you need the best benefits possible for your family. We'll tell you how next on "Top Tips."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Taking a moment now to check the big board as we call it. The Dow we see down about 34 points now resting at 11,832. Still had a record close yesterday, though. The Nasdaq also down about 6 points. We'll watch this, as we usually do, through the day.
HARRIS: And it's that time of year again. Open enrollment for health insurance. Navigating the plans can be quite a headache. And you have only a few short weeks to make a decision. For advice we turn to CNN personal finance editor Gerri Willis in New York.
Gerri, good morning.
WILLIS: Hey, Tony. Good to see you.
HARRIS: Good to see you.
What can folks expect this year, Gerri?
WILLIS: I've got to tell you, surprise, surprise, you'll be paying more in health care costs next year. Worker contributions premiums will rise about 6 percent. And you'll also be putting about 8.5 percent more in out-of-pocket costs. Now take a look at this chart. Premiums have increased 87 percent over the past six years, while salaries have only grown 20 percent. So you see the squeeze we've got going on here.
So here's tip number one. Be active. You don't want to be sitting on the sidelines when it comes to open enrollment. Look, if you don't do anything, your company may default you into a different plan that you don't even want or possibly no plan at all, according to one expert we talked to. So be sure to review how you've used your health coverage this year and how your life may change in the next year. Look, if mom and dad are moving in or you're thinking about starting a family, evaluate how this is going to affect both your health and life insurance.
HARRIS: Hey, you know what, Gerri, I'm thinking about perhaps trying, going, thinking outside of the box and maybe trying some non- traditional ideas and approaches and instruments here. What do you think of that?
WILLIS: Don't get too far off the reservation, Tony. Look, employers are pushing something called consumer driven health care plans. These are high deductible plans with health savings accounts. And unless you're young with little medical problems, you'll want to stick with traditional health care problems like HMOs or PPOs. Here's why. One recent study showed that people who had these high deductible plans, they spent more money out of pocket on health care expenses than those in the traditional health care plans. So you've got to be careful.
HARRIS: OK. What do you think of these flex spending accounts? WILLIS: Love that. Look, if your employer offers these things, take it. These medical savings accounts let you put aside pre-tax dollars to pay for over-the-counter drug purchases, doctor co-pays, uninsured treatments. Of course the benefit here, you're using pre- tax dollars. But make sure you use up all the money in your account before the end of the year or, guess what, that money goes bye-bye.
HARRIS: Gerri, it's always -- I hear this advice a lot. It's always, it seems to me, a good idea to max out that 401(k) if you can afford to do it.
WILLIS: Yes, you know, I'm just taking an opportunity to do this. Obviously, open enrollment is not about your 401(k). But anytime I have a chance to say, pony up money for your 401(k), do it. It's a good time to do a checkup on your retirement plan. Make sure you're contributing enough to get your employer's full match and look at how your portfolio has performed over the last year. See if you need to do a little re-balancing.
And, Tony, I just want to remind your viewers, send us questions to toptips@cnn.com. We answer them right here every Friday and we love, love, love to hear from you.
HARRIS: All right, Gerri, good to see you. See you tomorrow?
WILLIS: See you tomorrow.
HARRIS: OK, lady, you bet. Take care.
WILLIS: Bye-bye.
COLLINS: Is a U.S. ally tied to North Korea's nuclear test? The possible Pakistani connection coming up. Scary scenario indeed.
Call it the ad wars. And topic one for some congressional Democrats, the Mark Foley scandal.
Want to get your kids to pay attention? You can put them in front of the TV. And while they're there, they can learn something about Internet safety. Details from two safety experts, John Walsh of "America's Most Wanted" and Baby Einstein's creator Julie Clark. They're live in the NEWSROOM coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: A quick reminder. We are watching this scene here because President Bush is going to be holding a news conference coming up at 11:00 a.m. So we're about a half hour away or so from that. Our reporters on the ground there tell us that he will be talking about North Korea, Iraq and some new economic numbers that are out today. So we'll watch for that coming up soon.
HARRIS: The House Ethics Committee talking about the Mark Foley scandal. And this man is expected to be front and center tomorrow. A source close to the investigation says former congressional aide Kirk Fordham is scheduled to testify. Fordham says he warned the House speaker's office about Foley as far back as 2003. The speaker's chief of staff denies that Fordham resigned in connection with the scandal.
Meanwhile, a former House clerk who once oversaw the page program has issued his first public statement. Jeff Trandahl is promising to cooperate with the FBI and House ethics investigations. That's key, because Arizona Republican Jim Kolbe says he recommended informing Trandahl years ago about a complaint from a former page, but Kolbe says he didn't confront Foley himself. All this going on less than four weeks before mid-term elections and Democrats aren't missing a beat. Some congressional candidates are taking to the television to tell their version of the Foley scandal.
Howard Kurtz has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOWARD KURTZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Forget about Iraq. Put aside immigration. Democrats running for the House have a hot new issue in the ad wars.
(voice-over): The Mark Foley scandal, with its tidal wave of publicity about the former congressman sending sexually graphic messages to one-time House pages, is tailor-made for Minnesota's Patty Wetterling.
She's a child safety advocate whose son disappeared nearly two decades ago, at the age of 11.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NARRATOR: Congressional leaders have admitted covering up the predatory behavior of a congressman who used the Internet to molest children.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KURTZ: But the ad goes beyond the facts.
While House speaker Dennis Hastert and his lieutenants were slow to respond to warnings about Foley, they haven't admitted any cover- up.
And Wetterling's Republican opponent, Michele Bachmann, can hardly be blamed. She isn't even in Congress.
In Indiana, former Democratic House member Baron Hill is using the Foley issue against Republican Congressman Mike Sodrel, urging him to return $77,000 in -- quote -- "immoral campaign money" he received from Hastert and other Republican leaders who had been told about Foley's interest in teenage male pages.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NARRATOR: ... who knew about, but did nothing to stop sexual predator Congressman Foley.
(END VIDEO CLIP) KURTZ: Sodrel, who has declined to return the campaign funds, fired back today with a counterattack ad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE SODREL (R), INDIANA: Only a Washington politician would exploit tragedy for political gain.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KURTZ: Sodrel has declined to return the campaign funds, but says he barely knew Foley, and immediately urged Hastert to call for an FBI investigation once the scandal erupted.
At least one Republican is playing defense in his advertising.
Tom Reynolds, head of the House GOP Campaign Committee, who received some of the early warnings about Foley's behavior toward pages, is asking his Buffalo area district for forgiveness.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. THOMAS REYNOLDS (R), NEW YORK: Nobody is angrier and more disappointed than me that I didn't catch his lies. I trusted that others had investigated. Looking back, more should have been done. And, for that, I am sorry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KURTZ (on camera): After the convictions of Republicans Duke Cunningham and Bob Ney in illegal lobbying schemes, the Foley debacle plays into Democratic efforts to blame the GOP for a culture of corruption. Whether that will move any votes in districts where Republicans have nothing to do with these scandals remains to be seen.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And for the latest on the Foley fallout, tune into "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer. Watch weekdays at 4:00, with the live primetime edition at 7:00 p.m. Eastern time only on CNN, the most trusted name in news.
COLLINS: And speaking of the Internet, e-mails, IMs and underage kids. Can you keep your kids safe while they're surfing the net? Well, that is the question behind a new DVD, you see it there, called "Internet Safety." It is produced by the Safe Side Company, which was founded by our next two guests. Julie Clark, the creator of "Baby Einstein" and a child safety expert and John Walsh, who you recognize from the host of "America's Most Wanted," also a child safety advocate.
Thanks so much for being here, guys. And I have to say, the timing of this is really pretty spectacular, with the conversations and the discussions we've been having about Representative Foley. I want to go ahead, first, if I could, and throw to one of the clips from your DVD and we'll talk on the back side. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, we're here in the e-mail post office in the cyberworld.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's cool.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes! Anyone in the whole world can send letters and ads and pictures through e-mail.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anyone?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anyone. And if you open e-mails, download or pop-ups from someone you don't know, there could be something bad in them. Something you don't want to see.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: John, I want to start with you. You know, it's a great way to watch this. It's very creative. But, really, break it down for us. Just how dangerous is the Internet to our children?
JOHN WALSH, "AMERICA'S MOST WANTED": Well, the Justice Department says that one in five children receive a sexual solicitation over the Internet. And I think all Americans have seen the "Dateline" stings with all the different type of pedophiles, doctors, rabbis, priests showing up to have sex with children.
And, of course, Congressman Foley, who completely fooled me and lots of other people on Capitol Hill, meanwhile, he's e-mailing, you know, 16-year-old pages while he's, you know, talking -- he was the chairman of the missing and exploited caucus. I think it proves one thing. Anyone can be a pedophile, and children and parents -- particularly parents. I didn't grow up with the Internet, and I have a 12-year-old son and Julie has two young daughters. You know, we're not as savvy as our kids are. So we've got to open those lines of communication, tell them about the dangers that are out there and give them some solid non-threatening information. That's what this Safe Side Internet safety DVD is all about.
COLLINS: Boy, it is amazing. I have a 5-year-old, and he really is pretty savvy, even at this age. Julie, before we get to you, I want to go ahead and show one more clip about chat rooms. There's an awful lot of discussion and popularity with these chat rooms and kids. Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And now that my dad is here, I'll just log on. Aaah! Oh, no, dad, I think I wandered into a chat room and I'm stuck.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll get you out safely. Chat rooms are not safe.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COLLINS: So, Julie, as John just mentioned, I know you have children, too. How dangerous are these chat rooms? I mean, they're very, very inviting and tempting for kids.
JULIE CLARKE, THE SAFE SIDE: They are tempting for kids. Kids are curious. But what we need to do is equip our kids with the right information. So I think it's important to know that, for children, never give out personal information about yourself when you're online.
It's very, very dangerous. This is like inviting a stranger into your home. When kids are on the Internet in a chat room talking to someone they don't know, it's as if that predator is in your house. And kids need to be equipped with information. It's the very best thing we can do. If you go to the Web site at thesafeside.com, there are great discussion questions. You can start talking to your kids about really important things that they need to know about the Internet. It's incredibly important.
COLLINS: Yes, and like we always say, it's probably -- it's never too early. You're not going to scare them. You've got to make them aware of what can be out there, because it may really blindside them if you don't.
John, one other quick question for you. I want to bring you up this Supreme Court decision that you may be familiar with, back in 1987 (sic). it was called the Communications Decency Act, which actually never came to be because it was unanimously voted down, if you will, by the Supreme Court. It was supposed to have -- dealt with protecting kids from sexually graphic material transmitted through the Internet. Was that maybe the beginning of the problem? Is that a decision that we might need to go back and reevaluate? It was 1997.
WALSH: Yes, well, absolutely. I mean, Interpoll (ph) has said that the child pornography -- I'm not talking about adult pornography. That's apples. Child pornography, which is a record of child abuse, is now a $4 billion business over the Internet. And then we have virtual child pornography, which is -- it looks just like a real adult having sex with a 5-year-old girl or a 5-year-old boy.
I think the Supreme Court has got to revisit this because this is illegal. This is not about freedom of press. This is not about First Amendment rights. This is about the making of money on illegal child pornography. I think it's time the Supreme Court went back and saw the severity of this stuff.
COLLINS: Yes, absolutely. And Julie, quickly, last question for you. How do you enforce these steps? How do you know when your child goes over to some other child's house, they are going to be on the Internet and be safe when you aren't around?
CLARK: Well, here's the best thing you can do. You can give your kids as much information as possible. Knowledge is power. It's really important that our kids understand how dangerous the Internet can be. But it's like anything else, Heidi, you know, you have to equip your kids with the right information. You are their parent. You need to tell them what to do and who supervises them. And when they're out of your control, you can only hope that the information you've given them is powerful enough that they're going to remember it. It's like we tell our kids don't drink, don't do drugs. They go out and at some point, they have to make that decision for themselves, but you have to give them the information so that they can make good decisions.
And let me just say really quick, please don't tell your kids they'll get in trouble. Don't take away their Internet privileges, if they do find something online that's possibly dangerous. Encourage them to come to you. Let them know you won't take away their Internet privileges, they'll keep those privileges, but you can help them.
COLLINS: So the DVD called "Internet Safety," you might want to check it out. Julie Clark, John Walsh, thanks for your time here today. It's important.
HARRIS: That's great information.
Something went wrong. That's what one U.S. government official says about North Korea's blast. That is ahead in the NEWSROOM.
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HARRIS: Outgoing U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan talking about North Korea.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SECY.-GEN.: And it complicates an already difficult security situation in the Korean peninsula. And we -- I suspect the counsel will come together and take a firm action against North Korea. Discussions are going on, and I hope they will be able to come up with one voice, and decide on measures that should be taken.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You participated in this process for 10 years with the north and the south. Your successor, who I know has not been officially confirmed yet, but it appears he's the man. Should he be more personally involved? He says he wants to go there. Is that something the secretary general of the U.N. would be -- it's time for something different in that situation?
ANNAN: I think he has an advantage in the sense that he's been personally deeply involved with the issue already. He knows the culture and the region well, and he knows the key players involved. And I think that should stand him in good stead. Whether he should go there directly and what and when will determine very much -- will depend very much on the circumstances, and that will be a question of judgment for him to make.
ROTH: Is Kim Jong-Il a major threat to the world or an irritant who should just be left there in his government while the people are starving there unfortunately? ANNAN: I think what is clear is he has not paid attention to the will of the international community and all the appeals that has been made to him. And so the -- he's created a situation which is difficult, which we need to deal with, and I believe we need to engage him and deal with the issue and take the measures necessary.
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
HARRIS: OK, the outgoing U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, speaker of many languages, obviously, talking about the North Korea threat and saying that it is a major threat. Asking -- was asked the question of whether it's a major threat or an irritant, and he sort of evaded the question a bit, didn't answer it talking.
COLLINS: That was our Richard Roth talking.
HARRIS: yes.
And suggested that North Korea has ignored the will of the international community and that North Korea needs to be engaged. That firm action is needed, and something of a chapter seven resolution is being crafted now and should be ready by the end of the week.
COLLINS: It's fascinating, too, the new secretary-general being from South Korea.
HARRIS: Yes, absolutely.
North Korea's claimed nuclear test. Let's take a bit of a closer look at that. Was it a success for the communist nation or a misfire?
CNN's Jamie McIntyre now with a closer look.
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JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): While the intelligence is not yet conclusive, the United States believes North Korea did in fact test a nuclear device in a northeast mountain tunnel Monday, and that something went wrong, resulting in a much smaller-than-expected blast, according to a government official with access to classified U.S. intelligence.
The official tells CNN that North Korea informed China before the test it intended to conduct a test in the 4-kiloton range. But, based on seismic monitoring, the U.S. puts the actual yield at only one-half a kiloton, or 500 tons. In fact, some evidence indicates it may have been as small as 200 tons. That strongly suggests at least a partial failure.
A North Korean diplomat is quoted in a South Korean paper as admitting the test was on a smaller scale than expected, but insisting it was still a success.
PETER ZIMMERMAN, KING'S COLLEGE, LONDON: You don't tell your people, by the way, the Dear Leader's nuclear experts goofed, and we really didn't get the yield we wanted. You tell everybody that, whatever you got, that's what you wanted to get.
MCINTYRE: The U.S. cautions, it has not yet confirmed it was a nuclear blast. Air samples collected by specially equipped U.S. Air Force plans flying out of Japan will help provide that answer, looking for telltale signs of any radioactivity.
But Pentagon sources say the U.S. military has only a limited role to play in responding to the North Korean test. There are, sources say, no plans for military action, because there are no good targets that could set back North Korea's nuclear program, without sparking all-out war on the Korean Peninsula, something that would risk an estimated one million casualties.
Stiff sanctions, like the ones now being discussed by the United Nations Security Council, appear to be the only real option.
ASHTON CARTER, FORMER CLINTON ASSISTANT DEFENSE SECRETARY: They really do need to be made to feel the consequences of this last action, if we are going to have any chance of turning this situation around.
(on camera): Meanwhile, another U.S. official warns North Korea could conduct a second test, even though there are no signs of any preparations at another test site. The official told CNN, I wouldn't say we expect it, but it would not come as a total surprise. Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Questions this morning about whether a U.S. ally is tied to North Korea's nuclear test. That ally, Pakistan.
Senior international correspondent Nic Robertson live from London now with details.
So, Nic, what is this connection? Is it an old one or a new one that we're referring to?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There are two parts to the connection here, Heidi. No. 1, President Musharraf, the president of Pakistan, in his autobiography said that Pakistan supplied North Korea with at least two dozen centrifuges. These are used to make the highly enriched uranium, a fissile material that's used in some nuclear weapons. Now the person who actually went to North Korea for Pakistan and sold them, AQ Khan, who's also known in Pakistan, as the father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb, at the same time was selling missile technology to Libya, and the concern is among international experts, that not only did he go to North Korea and sell them the centrifuges, but he perhaps also went there and sold them this missile-design technology.
Now Pakistani officials are saying right now, look, North Korea's tests were using plutonium, not highly enriched uranium. That shows that we weren't involved in it. But what all the international experts are saying is, hold on. There's a lot about what AQ Khan has done in the past that we don't know. That is what concerns us. And right now AQ Khan is under house arrest in Pakistan. The only people that can talk to him are Pakistani officials. And the concern is he may have given vital information to North Korea, and he could tell that to people right now, but nobody can get to him -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Is it a fair question then, Nic? I heard you mention he is under house arrest. The only people who can talk to him are the Pakistanis. Will that information, if, in fact, there is an interview of some kind, a debriefing of some kind of AQ Khan, be shared with the United States?
ROBERTSON: Well, there was a debriefing, and some of that information was shared by the Pakistanis with the United States. But there's a lot of information that international experts in this area believe that AQ Khan still has that he perhaps hasn't even passed on to Pakistani officials.
They do believe that eventually this story will come out. They do believe that he might have passed some of that information to family members. But without being involved in the interview process themselves without being able to specify some of the questions themselves, there's a lot that remains unknown. There's a theory President Musharraf doesn't know the full involvement of AQ Khan around the world in proliferating nuclear weapons and technology -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Seems like a big missing puzzle piece.
All right, Nic Robertson, thank you for that.
HARRIS: Just another reminder, we're about 10 minutes away from the president's news conference, scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time from the Rose Garden. North Korea and Iraq will certainly dominate the discussion. The president will offer a statement on both countries, and then open it up to questions. Again, just 10 minutes from now, 11:00 a.m. The president in a news conference from the Rose Garden. We'll bring it to you live here in the NEWSROOM.
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COLLINS: In northeastern France, frantic search and rescue operations going on right now after a deadly train collision. Officials confirm at least five deaths. A passenger train and a freight train traveling on the same track near the Luxembourg border collided head-on. Authorities say only one track was open at the time because of repair work. A French official blames the crash on a switching error.
HARRIS: Want to bring in our congressional correspondent, Andrea Koppel. She is keeping an eye on the comings and goings of the House Ethics Committee.
Andrea, who is Peggy Sampson and why is she talking to the House Ethics Committee today?
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Tony, Peggy Sampson who we saw go into the committee room just about an hour ago, is the head of the Republican pages. The page program has both Democratic and Republican pages, obviously. And she's headed up the Republican pages for the last 20 years, and she reports to Jeff Trandahl, or she used to report to Jeff Trandahl, who was the head clerk. He headed up the whole program until last year.
And if there were inappropriate behavior that Jeff Trandahl and the page supervisors knew about, Peggy Sampson would be one of those who would be in the know. And so she has just gone in the room within the last hour and could be a corroborating source on some of the stories that we've been hearing about -- Tony.
HARRIS: OK, and Andrea, we were just looking at pictures just a moment ago. I'm assuming that was Peggy actually either leaving -- leaving. Was that Peggy Sampson leaving?
KOPPEL: You know what, I wasn't looking at the monitor, so I don't know. You'd be in a better place to tell me.
HARRIS: OK, all right, just getting a little guidance.
KOPPEL: No, that's someone else. That's someone else.
HARRIS: That's someone else. OK. But pressing forward now, tell us about -- remind everyone of Kirk Fordham and what he is likely to say to the ethics committee tomorrow.
KOPPEL: OK, Kirk Fordham, remember, is the former chief of staff to Mark Foley. And he alleges that he told a top aide to speaker Dennis Hastert about Foley's behavior dating back several years ago. These are charges that the -- that Hastert's office denies. But when he goes there tomorrow, when he talks to the ethics committee tomorrow, Tony, that is what he's going to tell them.
HARRIS: OK. Andrea Koppel for us. Andrea, appreciate it. Thank you, I apologize for the mix-up. We still don't know who that woman was who was going in or out of the room there. But we'll find out, I suppose.
COLLINS: She was just there.
HARRIS: She was just there.
COLLINS: Yes.
HARRIS: And once again, in just a couple of minutes, oh, less than five minutes from now, we're expecting the president any moment now to hold a news conference, 11:00 a.m. is the schedule, in the Rose Garden to talk about North Korea and Iraq and much, much more. Certainly there will be some questions on the whole Mark Foley scandal. That's coming up in just a couple of minutes.
COLLINS: You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. Spend a second hour in the NEWSROOM this morning, and stay informed. Here's what on the rundown this hour.
COLLINS: President Bush in front of reporters momentarily. His take on North Korea's nuclear claim and its threat of war.
HARRIS: A new estimate on civilian deaths. More than half a million Iraqis dead from the war. The controversial findings this hour.
COLLINS: And men in pain. But what about the gain? The E.R. doc can wait. This Wednesday, October 11th, you're in the NEWSROOM.
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