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Bush Prepares for News Conference; Limbaugh Makes Controversial Remarks on Stem Cell Research; Setting Benchmarks in Iraq
Aired October 25, 2006 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: You are in the CNN newsroom.
I'm Heidi Collins.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone.
I'm Tony Harris.
For the next three hours, watch events unfold live on this Wednesday, the 25th of October.
Here's what's on the rundown.
Just announced minutes ago, President Bush holding a news conference 90 minutes from now. It comes just days after a shift in what the White House is saying about the war in Iraq, less than two weeks before mid-term elections. CNN, extensive coverage here in THE NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Stem cell research actor Michael J. Fox backing a Senate candidate, but Rush Limbaugh says Fox is not telling the truth. His controversial remarks and what he's saying about them now.
HARRIS: And he terrorized a college town and became Florida's most infamous serial killer since Ted Bundy. Today, he pays for his crime.
You are in THE NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Countdown to the mid-term elections, and counting on making a connection with voters. President Bush set to hold a news conference next hour. Of course, we'll bring that to you live right here in THE NEWSROOM when it happens.
But you don't have to wait for a preview.
Our Elaine Quijano is at the White House right now with what we can expect to hear -- Elaine, good morning to you.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Heidi.
Well, as you might expect, the president is going to be starting with a statement this morning on Iraq. A senior administration official is calling it a "substantial statement," saying it'll be about 12 to 15 minutes long. This aide says that we're told we can expect to hear the president expand on what the American people heard yesterday from the top U.S. and military and civilian officials in Iraq yesterday.
You'll recall that news conference with General George Casey and Ambassador Zalman Khalilzad. This official says, though, do not expect to hear any announcements about troop withdrawals or troop additions to Iraq, something that certainly has gotten a lot of attention over the past couple of days.
Now, this aide says this will really be an opportunity for the president to update the American people on the status of the conflict. But this news conference, of course, is coming at a time when the president has watched his approval ratings continue to hover in the 30s, way down, in large part, by the Iraq conflict.
Republicans, of course, at this critical time in the election cycle, are very nervous about the effect that the Iraq war will have on their reelection prospects.
So Mr. Bush is certainly having to find himself walk that fine line between staunchly defending his Iraqi policy, trying to remain resolute, but at the same time, Heidi, as we've heard in the recent days or so, also say that his administration is remaining flexible when it comes to the tactics in Iraq -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Elaine Quijano watching things for us at the White House.
Again, 10:30, that press conference coming our way.
We'll have it live right here.
Elaine, thank you for that.
Meanwhile, the mid-term elections a major focus for the president and his party.
CNN's John King is on the political beat for us regarding that -- good morning to you, John.
JOHN KING, CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
It's an interesting moment for the president. He has had success in the past few election cycles, including his own reelection cycle back in 2004, of rallying the conservative base late in the campaign season. And that is the biggest challenge in the mid-term elections. The turnout is traditionally lower than in presidential elections.
But as Elaine just noted, she's dead on -- there's dissatisfaction, opposition, uncertainty, anxiety, call it what you will -- about the Iraq war. That is THE biggest determinant right now in a national mood that is pretty sour.
And the president is upset about that because he thinks the economy is doing pretty well, he thinks other things are going in his direction. But the country doesn't think so right now and the Republican Party is in trouble, Heidi. So, a big challenge for the president trying to answer doubts. And there's a big reason for this in the shifting rhetoric, the shifting strategy in Iraq at the White House. It's not just because the American people are increasingly skeptical. It's because fellow Republicans are increasingly telling the White House, what you are saying, a message that sounded like stay the course, stay the course, stay the course, simply was not selling, not only across the country broadly, but in many of the tight, competitive Republican races across the country.
So, a big challenge for the president today, trying, trying to change the climate, with the elections now less than two weeks out.
COLLINS: A substantial announcement, they say, coming our way at 10:30.
We will be watching that.
John King, thank you.
KING: Thank you.
HARRIS: Embryonic stem cell research -- a divisive and emotional debate. And it's emerging as a major campaign issue. Now a popular actor and a top talk show host are front and center in the debate. It started with a campaign ad by actor Michael J. Fox.
CNN's Mary Snow has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We've seen him before campaigning on behalf of stem cell research, but this year television viewers could clearly see the toll Parkinson's Disease has taken on Michael J. Fox.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM MCCASKILL FOR SENATE CAMPAIGN AD)
MICHAEL J. FOX, ACTOR: They say all politics is local, but that's not always the case. What you do in Missouri matters to millions of Americans, Americans like me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNOW: Fox is campaigning for Missouri U.S. Senate Candidate and Democrat Claire McCaskill. In the ad, Fox urges voters not to support Republican Senator Jim Talent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM MCCASKILL FOR SENATE CAMPAIGN AD)
FOX: Unfortunately, Senator Jim Talent opposes expanding stem cell research.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNOW: Fox did similar ads for Democrats in Wisconsin and Maryland. It drew a strongly deliberately response from conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh, who on his nationally syndicated show, called into question why Fox was shaking so much.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP FROM "THE RUSH LIMBAUGH SHOW")
RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: This is really shameless, folks. This is really shameless of Michael J. Fox. Either he didn't take his medication or he's acting, one of the two.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNOW: In Illinois Tuesday, Fox made a reference to Limbaugh's comments during a campaign stop for Democrat Tammy Duckworth, who's running for Congress.
FOX: I'm kind of lucky right now. It's ironic, given some things that have been said in the last couple of days, that my pills are working really well right now.
SNOW: Some conservatives who oppose embryonic stem cell research don't agree with the way Limbaugh handled it.
RAMESH PONNURU, "NATIONAL REVIEW" SENIOR EDITOR: I don't think Republicans are going to be hurt because one talk show host, however influential, said something foolish, although it wasn't helpful. I think the key thing that Republicans are going to have to do is explain that these ads oversimplify the issues.
SNOW: Embryonic stem cell research has gained much attention in Missouri because there's a state ballot initiative that basically supports stem cell research and any therapies that come of it. Proponents of the initiative have spent nearly $3 million in advertising, compared to the $111,000 from the opposition. Still, there is competition on the air waves from groups who have their own message.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM VITAE CARING FOUNDATION AD)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Embryonic stem cell research will require millions of eggs and women will pay a terrible price.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW (on camera): That price, say some critics of embryonic stem cell research, will include cloning and egg farming. That is something Michael J. Fox says he opposes and does not want to see happen.
Mary Snow, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
HARRIS: OK, we should note, Rush Limbaugh did offer an apology, saying: "Now people are telling me they have seen Michael J. Fox in interviews and he does appear the same way in the interviews as he does in this commercial. All right, then. I stand corrected. So I will bigly, hugely admit that I was wrong and I will apologize to Michael J. Fox, if I am wrong in characterizing his behavior on this commercial as an act."
After his apology, Limbaugh went on to say: "Michael J. Fox is allowing his illness to be exploited and, in the process, is shilling for a Democratic politician."
Let's bring back our chief national correspondent, John King, to talk about the stem cell debate and the Missouri Senate race -- John, I know you spent some time in that state. You can help us with the tone and tenor of this debate.
Let's talk about where the two candidates stand on the issue of embryonic stem cell research/cloning.
KING: Well, they both say they're against cloning, Tony.
HARRIS: Yes.
KING: And Claire McCaskill has said she is for lifting the federal restrictions on embryonic stem cell research. Senator Talent, the incumbent, who was with the president in opposing any expansion, had moderated his position somewhat.
This is one of a handful of states where this issue could be a big factor, mostly in Missouri, because, as Mary Snow noted, you do have the statewide ballot initiative, as well.
But it's a complicated issue. It helps the Democratic challenger, Ms. McCaskill, who is the state auditor, it helps her in the Democratic areas, it helps her in the moderate suburbs of St. Louis and Kansas City, which are critical to her. But it also could hurt her in the southwest part of the state, which is the home of the pro-life, the anti-abortion movement here in the United States, a very conservative bible belt area in southwest Missouri.
So, Missouri is a big, complicated state. It is a bellwether state nationally. So how this turns out in Missouri could actually give us a snapshot of how this debate will continue in the future.
But nationally, remember, the president will still be president for two more years...
HARRIS: That's right.
KING: ... and he opposes expanding federal research, federal embryonic stem cell research. And he has a veto pen.
HARRIS: Yes.
Let's see if we can get at the back and forth here, Michael J. Fox and Rush Limbaugh, for just a moment here, John.
How much of this is about this sort of confusing amendment on the Missouri ballot and how much of this is about Michael J. Fox being featured in an ad for McCaskill and against Senator Talent?
KING: Well, Rush Limbaugh is trying to fire up a base, like many conservative voices are in this country. Many liberal voices are doing just the same thing. His last statement, where he says Michael J. Fox is out shilling for a Democratic candidate, shilling is perhaps a word some would take as a pejorative. But that fact is, that's a true fact. Michael J. Fox is out supporting Democrats and Rush Limbaugh has every right and every reason, if you do what he does for a living, to point that out.
I think we should take Rush at his word. He has issued this apology.
HARRIS: Yes.
KING: But, look, Tony, it does two things. It reminds us that in the final two weeks, there's going to be some heated, pointed, some would say inappropriate and distasteful rhetoric. And it also reminds us, though, of the issue, the stem cell debate. It's important in Missouri. It's important in the Maryland race, a few other races around the country. It's a very emotional and divisive issue. And when you have issues like that, sometimes people say things that they later want to take back and wish they had closed those lips.
HARRIS: Well said.
John King for us this morning.
John, thank you.
KING: Thank you.
COLLINS: Chad Myers in the Severe Weather Center now.
We had some snow on that graphic just before you.
Does that mean that that's what we're talking about?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: A blizzard, I guess, could be considered severe weather.
COLLINS: Yes.
MYERS: Although, usually we talk about tornadoes, hail and wind damage as severe. And that could happen tomorrow, as well, on the warm side of this storm.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: Meanwhile, meeting the press -- President Bush set to hold a news conference next hour.
Of course, we're going to bring that to you live when it happens.
And a homeowner's nightmare.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Interest only loans, adjustable rate loans, no down payment options. What we know is that a lot of new homeowners are much more vulnerable than they would have been prior to the housing boom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Ahead in THE NEWSROOM, U.S. homeowners cashing in to debt.
HARRIS: Also ahead today, message from a multiple killer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If only I could bend back the hands on that ageless clock and change the past. But, alas, I am not the keeper of time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He is trying to make a name for himself. He wants to be a poet or something, or a philosopher. He's just an idiot, that's all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: A mother seeks closure today.
You are in THE NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Meeting the press -- you're going to want to watch for this today.
President Bush set to hold a news conference next hour. You see it on your screen, 10:30, to be exact, 10:30 Eastern time.
Expected is a substantial statement coming from President Bush regarding Iraq.
So, of course, we will bring that to you live just when it happens.
Meanwhile, in Iraq, a U.S. raid on a militia stronghold, as troops continuing their search for one of their own.
This, as we get reaction to new U.S. timelines aimed at ending the violence in Iraq.
CNN's Arwa Damon is in Baghdad now with the very latest.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Iraqi prime minister also issuing harsh comments as a reaction to benchmarks laid out in a press conference yesterday by U.S. Ambassador Zalman Khalilzad and the top U.S. commander in Iraq, General George Casey. They laid out a series of benchmarks they wanted the Iraqi government to achieve.
However, Nouri Al-Maliki stating today that no one would be imposing a timetable on his government.
However, many of those benchmarks laid out by the Americans are actually the same goals that the prime minister has set out himself to achieve. He announced those goals over the summer a part of his national reconciliation plan.
Topping that list, and perhaps most important, is the issue of dealing with and disarming the militias.
NOURI AL-MALIKI, IRAQI PRIME MINISTER (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): the state is the only one that has the right to cry weapons, and we will deal with anyone who is outside the law.
DAMON: The core issue for the government is are they going to be pursuing a political avenue to deal with disarming these militias or are they going to be taking aggressive military action?
Overnight, a raid into Sadr City, led by Iraqi Special Forces, backed by their U.S. advisers. The target of that raid, a senior commander believed to be commanding groups that are operating as death squads in eastern Baghdad.
A two hour firefight, at which point coalition forces called in for air support, delivering what the military has called precision gunfire to eliminate the target.
However, the Iraqi prime minister, Nouri Al-Maliki, saying today that he did not authorize that raid.
AL-MALIKI (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Everyone now realizes that the existence of armed groups and militias harms the stability and unity of the state.
DAMON: But other than targeted raids into the Mahdi militia stronghold of Sadr City, we have not seen any real military action taken against the Mahdi militia or any other militia. In fact, Operation Together Forward, that massive operation intended to secure and clear Baghdad of its weapons, stopped just outside of Sadr City.
The U.S. military says that it is waiting for the Iraqi government to OK them entering that area.
Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
HARRIS: Timelines and benchmarks, officials say that's the new focus in Iraq. The goal? Getting Iraqis to take more control of security.
CNN's John Roberts takes a look at the options and the obstacles. (BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go front.
JOHN ROBERTS, SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If things had been going according to plan, this American Stryker battalion would have been home long time ago instead of in its fifteenth month of deployment in Iraq, working the neighborhoods of Baghdad, trying to establish, let alone keep, the peace.
LT. COL. AL KELLY, U.S. ARMY: We were doing search operations a couple of days ago. We found guys on top of rooftops transferring weapons. As we went into houses, they transferred one house to the other.
ROBERTS: The job is overwhelming and may, as General George Casey indicated Tuesday, require even more boots on the ground.
GEN. GEORGE CASEY, COMMANDER, MULTI-NATIONAL FORCE, IRAQ: Do we need more troops to do that?
Maybe. And as I've said all along, if we do, I will ask for the troops I need, both coalition and Iraqis.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our route today...
ROBERTS: At the same time, the United States is setting out a timetable of 12 to 18 months for Iraq's fledgling democracy to achieve benchmarks. It may help end the sectarian violence that threatens to tear Iraq apart.
ZALMAN KHALILZAD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ: Success in Iraq is possible and can be achieved on a realistic timetable. Iraqi leaders must step up to achieve key political and security milestones on which they have agreed.
ROBERTS: With the American elections just two weeks away, President Bush is bending to massive pressure from his own party to fix Iraq.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham warned: "We're on the verge of chaos. The current plan is not working."
Will a timetable help push the Iraqi government to make progress?
The country's national security adviser thinks it will.
(on camera): So what will a timetable do?
MOUAFFEQ AL-RUBAIE, IRAQI NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Well, to push people to work towards a deadline. And these deadlines are good in work. I mean, even in a private company, you need to put that target and a deadline to reach.
ROBERTS (voice-over): Iraq has met several critical deadlines, all part of the political process. But at the same time, the violence continues to increase. More than 90 American troops have been killed in October, by far the deadliest month this year. Car bombings and death squads have taken well over 700 Iraqi lives. Yet the Iraqi government still appears incapable of disarming the dozens of militias that are fueling much of the violence.
KHALILZAD: Unauthorized security forces need to be brought down, whether it's the insurgents, whether it's the militias.
ROBERTS (on camera): Missing from Tuesday's announcement of a timetable was any mention of what will happen if the Iraqi government fails to meet the benchmarks it has agreed to. And while it would appear unlikely that there would be any significant increase in the name of troops in Baghdad before the November 7th election, keep in mind that soon after that, attention will turn to the 2008 presidential race. And Republican frontrunner John McCain is recommending tens of thousands more boots on the ground here.
John Roberts, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
HARRIS: And we want to point you ahead to 10:30 a.m. Eastern time this morning and a presidential news conference from the East Room of the White House. The president usually makes a statement before taking questions, and we understand from White House correspondent Elaine Quijano that the president will be making a substantial, "substantial statement on Iraq."
10:30 a.m. Eastern time right here in THE NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: And we are Minding Your Business.
Andy Serwer here now with a preview -- hey there, Andy.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Hey, Heidi.
How are you doing?
The Federal Reserve likely to leave interest rates unchanged this afternoon. Any conspiracy theories at play here?
We'll explore that.
You're in THE NEWSROOM.
Stay tuned.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Just another reminder for you. Less than two weeks before the mid-term elections, President Bush holding an East Room news conference this morning, 10:30 a.m. Eastern time.
We are anticipating a substantial statement on Iraq.
Once again, 10:30 a.m. Eastern time right here in THE NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: The Federal Reserve meets today to talk interest rates.
And Andy Serwer is Minding Your Business on that -- good morning to you.
What are we going to hear here?
Good news? Bad news?
SERWER: Well, yes, well, Heidi, I know you're sitting there on the edge of your seat on this one...
COLLINS: I actually am.
SERWER: The Federal Reserve is meeting, indeed, today, the second day of its two day meeting and the FOMC, Federal Open Market Committee, will be making an announcement at 2:15 Eastern, so you want to tune into CNN at that point. Very, very, very likely that they will leave interest rates unchanged. That's because they perceive the economy to be not too hot -- there is Ben Bernanke right there, the Fed chief -- the economy not too hot and not too cold.
If they do leave rates unchanged, it would be the third time in a row they will have done so. This is the last FOMC meeting, the last time the Fed is meeting, before the election on November 7th -- Heidi.
COLLINS: When you spell and it starts with an "F," it make me nervous. You know, obviously the focus right now is on the upcoming election.
Any chance this will actually have some impact?
SERWER: Well, you know, it's interesting because the Fed is supposed to be above partisan politics and is supposed to be not involved in the election, not subject to any lobbying by any party, obviously. And some would say, however, that it does have its eye on the election a little bit. Leaving interest rates unchanged would be a neutral focus. Obviously, raising rates might hurt the incumbents.
So I think if there is any doubt in their minds one way or the other, they'd go with rates unchanged. I don't think this is really influencing their decision too much, though.
COLLINS: Well, what about the Dow though? And any chance these meetings might have something to do with that?
SERWER: Well, there is a connection there, Heidi, in fact. I mean there's two reasons why the stock market has been so red hot in September and October. Number one, lower oil prices. We all know about that. Gasoline prices falling, putting more money into the pockets of American consumers.
The other reason, though, is that the Federal Reserve has stopped raising interest rates. Higher rates not good for the stock market. So it seems that their campaign to raise rates is over. That's been benefiting investors in companies and holders of common stock. And we've seen that.
COLLINS: All right.
Andy Serwer Minding Your Business, minding it well.
Thank you, Andy.
SERWER: Thanks, Heidi.
OK.
See you.
HARRIS: The mid-term election coming up in less than two weeks. So, the president focusing on security, the economy, Iraq, the push over the last, oh, four or five days or so, to reframe the debate on Iraq, highlighting progress and the evolving plan to secure that country, all items to be discussed at a 10:30 a.m. news conference from the East Room of the White House.
Catch it right here in THE NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Meanwhile, incredible escape -- a woman has a close call with death involving a beer truck.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just thought this is amazing. I'm, you know, going to die by being crushed by beer and I don't even drink, you know?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: This is really one of the most incredible stories. Her amazing luck, rescue and recovery, coming up right here in THE NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins and Tony Harris.
HARRIS: Heidi, what do you say we sound that opening bell?
COLLINS: Let's do it.
HARRIS: On your mark, get set, let's go.
COLLINS: Now.
HARRIS: Let's get the trading day going here. Mueller Water Products, sound that bell. In case you're wondering, Heidi, a leading North America manufacturer. COLLINS: Look at this. He's got permagrin.
HARRIS: That's the chairman and president of the company.
COLLINS: He's very happy.
HARRIS: Gregory Hyland to ring that bell. OK, we've sounded it.
COLLINS: Oh, we missed it entirely.
HARRIS: We are waiting for the announcement from the Federal Reserve later this afternoon. But we will check in and get a preview of the rest of the business day from Andy Serwer a little later in the hour.
COLLINS: Also something else we're watching for you today, 10:30 Eastern time, about an hour from now, President Bush will be holding a news conference. It will come to you live from the East Room. We are told that he will be making a substantial statement on Iraq as he opens that news conference. I'm sure other issues will come up, as well. But that seems to be the premise. So we'll have it for you when it happens.
HARRIS: America's porous southern border, a major issue. And the mid-elections are now just thirteen days away. In a new poll by Opinion Research Corporation, most Americans favor beefing up the border patrol. But they're not so sure about building a fence to keep out illegal immigrants.
Here's how the numbers stack up. Nearly three quarters of the respondents favor placing more federal agents on the border, 25 percent oppose that idea, 45 percent favor building a fence along the border, 53 percent are opposed. Also in the survey, only 2 percent of respondents say the number of illegal immigrants in the U.S. should be increased. Just over a quarter say keep it the same, and 67 percent say let's decrease the number.
This week here on CNN, a look at so-called "BROKEN GOVERNMENT." Tonight at 7:00 Eastern, Lou Dobbs is live in San Antonio, Texas, with "BROKEN BORDERS." It's something you'll only see on CNN.
COLLINS: Will same-sex marriage become legal in New Jersey? We are expecting to learn the answer to that question this afternoon. New Jersey's highest court is set to post its gay marriage ruling on its Web site, 3:00 p.m. Eastern time. The case was brought by seven gay couples who say the New Jersey state constitution allows them to marry. Right now, Massachusetts is the only state where same-sex weddings are legal.
HARRIS: Serial killer Danny Rolling scheduled to be executed in Florida tonight. The mother of one of his victims plans to be there. Then her family will focus on another execution.
CNN's Susan Candiotti reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Why does it help you to put together these scrapbooks?
ADA LARSON, MOTHER OF VICTIM: It seems like I always have to have a project that involves Sonya.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Ada Larson takes comfort in remembering a daughter frozen in time.
A. LARSON: I have her picture at 18, and she'll be forever 18 for me.
CANDIOTTI: Had she lived, Sonya Larson would be 34 today. Her mother still wears her daughter's high school ring.
A. LARSON: It just warms my heart. It's just a little symbol of Sonya.
CANDIOTTI: The University of Florida freshman was the first of drifter Danny Rolling's five victims. Ada Larson will watch Dan Rolling's execution by lethal injection.
A. LARSON: It will be very humanely done, in contrast to the way he killed our loved ones.
CANDIOTTI: Larson was in court the day Rolling pleaded guilty.
(on camera): I've often wondered what you thought when he said, quote, "There's much I'd like to say, your honor...
DANNY ROLLING, CONVICTED MURDER, ON DEATH ROW: ...if only I could bend back the hands on that ageless clock and change the past, but alas, I am not the keeper of time.
A. LARSON: He was trying to make a name for himself. He wants to be a poet or something or philosopher. He's just an idiot, that's all.
CANDIOTTI: Can you ever forgive him?
LARSON: What I think about that is the people that need to forgive him are unavailable. They are dead.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Ada Larson's heartache goes well beyond her daughter's murder. Since then, her husband died of cancer and her son Jim lost his wife Karla, murdered in a carjacking. Her killer also sits on Florida's death row. Jim Larson is now raising their daughter Jessica alone. He'll be with his mother to see his sister's killer put to death.
(on camera): And then will you say, we have one more to go?
JIM LARSON, BROTHER OF VICTIM: Yeah, well, that's the shame of that. We still have something else to do. But, you know, we'll take care of that in time.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): But first comes Rolling. Ada Larson knows what she'll say to her daughter when the execution is over.
A. LARSON: I'll talk to her and say it's done, honey. He got what he deserved, and I'll see you soon.
CANDIOTTI: Susan Candiotti, CNN, Orlando.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Another quick reminder. The president holding a news conference in the East Room of the White House, 10:30 a.m. his morning. The president usually makes a statement. He's going to make one this morning before taking questions. We're anticipating a substantial statement on Iraq. You can hear it, watch it unfold, right here in the NEWSROOM, 10:30 a.m. Eastern time.
COLLINS: A shift in language. Will it get voters to shift their positions? The White House, the Iraq war, and new words. You're going to see it in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Also coming up, whereabouts unknown. The search for a missing U.S. soldier in Iraq. Details in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Presidential news conference this morning, 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Questions all across the spectrum, you can imagine. North Korea, enforcement of the new sanctions program, Iraq, some kind of new security plan. We are expecting a substantial statement on Iraq. What about Iran? The Security Council to start talking about sanctions against Iran this week. You can expect all of those issues to be covered in this news conference. We will bring it to you live 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Cashing out equity, opting for interest-only loans. Well, two ways to end up house poor in America.
CNN's Lisa Sylvester looks at a risky trend in homeownership in the U.S.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Americans have been using their home as an ATM, cashing out more than $500 billion in home equity from 2001 to 2005 to cover expenses like health costs, student debt, repairs and credit cards. That's left many middle class homeowners house poor.
In 1973, the average homeowner's equity was 68 percent. That's dropped to 55 percent today. One reason is the explosion of so-called "exotic loans" that require little or no money down.
TAMARA DRAUT, DEMOS: Interest-only loans, adjustable rate loans, no down payment options. What we know is that a lot of new homeowners are much more vulnerable than they would have been prior to the housing boom.
SYLVESTER: Interest rates have climbed. Middle class families with first and second mortgages with adjustable rates are finding that they take a bigger chunk of their paycheck.
ANN ESTES, CLEARPOINT FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS: We're seeing more clients every day that very sadly, they've gotten into a debt hole that is very difficult to dig out of.
SYLVESTER: Those adjustable rate mortgages are now coming due.
BRUCE GOTTSCHALL, NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING SVCS. OF CHICAGO: We anticipate there's going to be more and more people, the adjusting arms are getting greater and greater. We've heard that over the next 18 months or so, up to a trillion dollars of arms will be resetting.
SYLVESTER: New Census Bureau figures show that home owners across the country are spending about half of their salaries on home expenses.
(on camera): These exotic loans, like interest-only loans have exploded in the last three years. In 2000 they made up only two percent of all homeowner loans. In 2006, they made up about a third of homeowner loans.
Lisa Sylvester, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: A drug bust at a trailer park exposes a possible security breach of a nuclear weapons lab. Police in New Mexico say they found what appears to be classified information from the Los Alamos National Laboratory. They discovered it while arresting a man suspected of dealing methamphetamine. FBI agents traced the documents to a woman linked to the suspect. An FBI official tells the Associated Press the woman is an employee at the Los Alamos lab. The lab has had several high-profile security problems during the past decade.
HARRIS: A crushed car and the woman inside survives. Her amazing close call with a truck from Boyd Huppert of CNN affiliate KARE in Minneapolis.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BOYD HUPPERT, KARE REPORTER (voice-over): It is not uncommon for cars to be crushed when they reach a certain age. But their owners are not usually still inside.
DEBBIE JOHNSON, ACCIDENT SURVIVOR: I couldn't imagine that it was real. It's like, this isn't happening, this isn't happening, this isn't happening -- oh, this is happening, when I heard the big crunch.
HUPPERT: With four compressed vertebrae, Debbie Johnson is flat on her back at Fairview Southdale Hospital.
JOHNSON: Evidently it wasn't my time.
HUPPERT: Flat on her back, the same way she ended up inside her old Subaru Sunday morning when a semitrailer rounding a bend from the cross-town freeway onto 35W rolled over on top of her.
JOHNSON: The roof of my car was here, actually here.
HUPPERT: At first she struggled under the weight to even breathe.
JOHNSON: I said, help, somebody help me.
HUPPERT: When she felt liquid dripping, Debbie felt it was fuel, and then felt a can, and realized that heavy truck had been carrying bud light.
JOHNSON: I just thought, this is amazing. I knew I'm going to die by being crushed by beer, and I don't even drink.
HUPPERT: Sensing firefighters didn't know she was under the truck, Debbie pushed on her horn in a way that would get their attention.
JOHNSON: You could hear them yelling. Oh, my God, there's a car under there, and they were just racing to get the beer cans off.
HUPPERT: A woman of great faith, Debbie Johnson believes god laid her seat flat the instant of the crash. This crushed car is now a symbol of her miracle.
JOHNSON: I was definitely being protected.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Holy smokes. And you know, you can't help but say she doesn't even drink. Can you imagine that feeling, though, drip, drip, drip. Immediately you're going to think it's gasoline.
HARRIS: The haulers get there and they are just clearing away the truck, they didn't even realize there's a car underneath this thing, and then a person. Hey, I'm here, help me. What a story.
COLLINS: She's a lucky gal.
HARRIS: She is a lucky gal. Meanwhile, I want to remind you once again. You can watch President Bush's news conference. We're going to have that for you right here on CNN. It will be coming to us from the East Room of the White House, 10:30 or so. We will have extended coverage of this. We have our correspondents getting in place as we speak. We'll head to the White House. We'll head to Baghdad. We'll hear about some of the latest polls, and hopefully we get some analysis, including the Pentagon as well, because it is noted that we are to hear a substantial statement at the beginning of this press conference regarding Iraq.
We'll be back in just a moment, right hear on NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: We will be bringing some thoughts to you from President Bush today at 10:30. We've got about 40 minutes until the president will hold a news conference right there from the East Room in the White House. We're going to be learning exactly what the substantial statement is regarding Iraq. We're going to be getting all kinds of analysis on it before and after to learn what it could mean in the bigger picture, just as we sit two weeks away from the midterm elections. So we'll bring to you when it happens.
HARRIS: You know how we are. We want to know the end and the beginning.
COLLINS: We do. It's a story, beginning, middle and end.
HARRIS: That's what we do. That's what we do. So we want to bring in our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux on the North Lawn of the White House. Suzanne, good morning to you.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
HARRIS: And if we could, sort of looking ahead to the president's news conference this morning, what are we anticipating?
MALVEAUX: Well, what the White House is really trying to do here is come up with some sort of clear message to the American people two weeks before the midterm elections. Essentially, he's going to come out, make a statement about 12 to 15 minutes or so, expounding on what General Casey said out of Baghdad, as well as the American ambassador in Iraq said yesterday. Essentially, that there will be timetables and benchmarks that are set for the Iraqis to try to take control over their own security.
Now he's not going to be talking about the need for more troops or less troops, no kind of announcement like that, but rather, he's going to try to make clear what they're doing here for this next period, this 12 to 18-month period that they've given the Iraqis to try to turn things around.
But there's really a political component to all of this, as you know. They have been trying desperately to put forward a clear, concise message before the midterm elections to try to rally the Republican base. It has been somewhat confusing, if you will, over the last week or so.
HARRIS: And Suzanne, part of the frustration for the White House has to be from the fact that the president clearly has enunciated on several occasions that security is top of the mind for this administration. The war on terrorism and its impact on security not only there, but here at home. And yet, why has this White House had such a difficult time over the last couple of weeks? I guess we can take tick them off, scandals and so forth and other things on the agenda. Why has the administration had such a difficult time bringing together this cohesive message? MALVEAUX: Well, here's the problem. The message keeps changing. For months and months and months, we hear the president saying change the course. He's asking Americans, he's asking soldiers overseas, essentially in the deadliest month for U.S. troops, to believe in this mission, to stay the course. Well, just recently, the last press conference he said, well, that's only a quarter right. Since then he's abandoned this slogan, this rallying cry, altogether.
Vice President Cheney said that the insurgents were in the last throes some time ago. Just yesterday, in an interview with NPR's Juan Williams, he says, well, maybe that's not the case now. So Americans are confused here. It's a confusing message, and the White House really is going to try to make all of this much, much clearer. Because the cynics would look at this and say, look, this looks like a flip-flop here. We need to know what is the strategy here?
HARRIS: You know what? You're going to be there, right, Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: I'll be here at the White House, Elaine will be in the East Room.
HARRIS: Oh, OK. All right. Because I was curious as to what it is that's particularly top of mind for you and what you'll be listening for. But let me ask the question, anyway, because you'll be listening. What will you be listening for from the president, and how do you think he then approaches getting some clarity on this message? What are you listening for?
MALVEAUX: Well, I certainly think he has to explain this distinction that the administration is trying to make between these benchmarks and timetables for the Iraqis to handle their own security, and a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops. Some sort of timetable for troops to withdraw. The Democrats have been calling for that for some time. The president has accused them of cutting and running.
But when you look at this argument, the case that they're making, the difference is largely semantic here. Because the president has said, time and time again, as the Iraqis can take control over their own security, that's when the U.S. troops will be able to start coming home. That's one thing.
I think the other thing, too, is how is he going to relate or reach out to these militias that are in Iraq? You've got this sectarian violence that's out of control. And one of the most powerful militia leaders, Muqtada al-Sadr, is one that U.S. is not talking to. Is he willing to establish any kind of dialogue between the Bush administration and this very powerful man in Iraq, essentially, who is not a part of the government, but who is certainly part of the violence?
HARRIS: White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux for us. Suzanne, appreciate it. Thank you.
MALVEAUX: Sure, Tony. COLLINS: Securing Iraq. There are new timelines and benchmarks. The goal, getting Iraqis to take more control of their security, as you just heard Suzanne Malveaux talk about.
CNN's Pentagon correspondent now, Barbara Starr, has a closer look at that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With at least 86 Americans killed so far this month in Iraq, it's the worst month for the military in a year.
DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: And there's been a pattern that incidents have gone up during Ramadan.
STARR: Generals John Abizaid and George Casey, the two top commanders, now believe sending in large numbers of additional U.S. troops might only provide more targets and not improve security, according to military sources. Instead, they are focused on getting Iraqis to take more control. The White House may not be talking timetables, but Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is doing just that.
RUMSFELD: The question is, well, when do you think that might happen? When do you think the Iraqis might be ready to do that, to assume those responsibilities?
STARR: U.S. commanders say they asked for six Iraqi army battalions to fight death squads in Baghdad. Only two have shown up so far, leaving the U.S. short of 2,000 badly needed Iraqi troops in the city. The question is whether Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki can stand up to the militias and assure the U.S. of progress.
RUMSFELD: I think people have to be realistic, and our hope is that we can assist them, the coalition can assist them, and -- in assuming responsibility for their country, as I said the other day, sooner rather than later.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: CNN's Barbara Starr joining us now from the Pentagon this morning. Barbara, you know, we've been hearing this for a while now, this debate about more troops, less troops, more troops, do we have enough? We're also hearing from Suzanne Malveaux outside the White House that we don't expect President Bush at this 10:30 news conference to say much about troop levels. Where do we sit?
STARR: Well, I don't -- I think Suzanne is exactly right, of course. I think it's highly doubtful the president would say anything about troop levels, frankly, two weeks before an election, although the political judgments certainly are made not in this building here at the Pentagon.
But make no mistake. Everybody in the military certainly is watching all of these words very carefully. General Casey yesterday reiterating that he doesn't shut the door to the idea of more troops. Of course, they might be U.S. troops, they might be Iraqi troops.
It's an interesting proposition because sometime in November, after the election, after, perhaps, Veterans Day, the military is scheduled, Heidi, to issue its next troop rotation announcement, the next round of troops regularly scheduled to go to Iraq in rotation. Everybody is watching that very carefully to read between the lines and see if there's anything tucked in there that might indicate more troops or might indicate that some troops already in Iraq will be extended.
But from the military's point of view, that would be -- you know, they would expect at best something relatively minor, because the military strategy is such that the feeling is that more troops, another 50,000 troops, another 100,000 troops, fundamentally would not change the security situation on the ground.
Everything we've seen in the last couple of days really underscores the military's view that it is the Iraqis who have to take the critical step, the U.S. military believes, of cracking down on the militias and cracking down hard, getting them to disband, getting them to give up their arms, getting them to stop the violence.
Now, these benchmarks, these timelines that we're hearing about so far by all accounts include no penalty against the Iraqi government if that doesn't happen. So a lot of carrots, if you will. No sticks just yet. And that's what the military commanders might be looking for out of all of this.
COLLINS: Very curious to hear what this substantial statement will be, that's for sure. CNN's Barbara Starr coming to us from the Pentagon this morning. Barbara, thanks.
HARRIS: And the top of the hour, everyone. Good morning. You are in the NEWSROOM. Tony Harris and Heidi Collins.
Just another reminder that in about, oh, 30 minutes from now, we are anticipating a presidential news conference from the East Room of the White House. The president usually makes a statement before taking questions, and we have been promised a substantial statement on Iraq. What will be a part of that statement? We're trying to look ahead and we are talking all of our correspondents as we push forward to that 10:30 a.m. Eastern time news conference.
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