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Brushfire in Riverside County, California, Forces Evacuations; Colorado Snow; Who's the Enemy?
Aired October 26, 2006 - 10:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: You are with us in the NEWSROOM. Stay informed.
I'm Tony Harris.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Heidi Collins.
Developments keep coming into the NEWSROOM on this Thursday, October 26th.
Here's what's on the rundown this hour.
Fire and ice. Colorado battens down for a winter blast, the first blizzard of the season.
HARRIS: Meanwhile, California blazing again. Another wildfire this morning to tell you about.
COLLINS: And in the sizzling South, politics heats up. What folks are talking about this election year in the NEWSROOM.
We've been joking it's a little bit like, you know, fire and ice...
HARRIS: Yes.
COLLINS: ... from California, to Colorado, but the situation really pretty serious in both places.
We want to get to Chad Myers now in the severe weather center for more on this.
This one California, obviously. This fire here is just going crazy with all the winds -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, east of Riverside, east of Ontario, still Riverside County, out toward Palm Springs, but just south of Banning now. And the problem is the winds are picking up here, guys, up to 18 miles per hour the past hour. And I suspect we're going to get up to around 40 because we have high wind warnings and red flag warnings throughout the entire area there in southern California.
You like to see the smoke go straight up. When the smoke gets blown off to the right or to the left, you know that that's a pretty significant wind. Look what happens, though. This is almost like a -- like a thunderstorm out there as the fire is going up. Clearly, that was only the beginning of the storm. The center of the heat right there in the middle of your screen now.
Another problem is, the way the wind is blowing, although we're in the mountains now, in the San Bernardino National Forest, south of Banning, we do have another town south of there. That would be like San Jacinto.
That area there is probably, as the crow flies, maybe seven miles away. But as you see -- as you see sparks flying from one side of the mountain to the next to the top of the mountain, then you have a problem.
Let's go to the map here real quick and we'll talk about this wind threat. We'll show you how we're talking -- we're talking about.
San Bernardino, the wind blowing out of the north, gusting here down to 12, but at times on up to 15 and 18. We'll put the map and we'll move it into motion and show you the I-10.
This is the Inland Empire. And if you look down at the bottom, that's Banning right on here. In the mountains area, this is where the fire is. Not so much of a problem for I-10 because the wind is blowing the other way, but if I take you to the other side, literally the seven miles away, as the crow flies, over here in the valley, there's San Jacinto, right there.
HARRIS: Yes.
MYERS: So as this comes over the mountains and maybe back down the other side, if firefighters can't get a handle on it, then they're in trouble, because then you have a lot of people in the way of a fire. So just the winds, if they pick up today, a lot of folks are going to be scrambling.
HARRIS: Hey Chad -- Chad, stay right there. I'm going to put you together with Becky Luther. We talked to her a little bit earlier in the NEWSROOM. She's with the Riverside County Fire Department, and I want you two to sort of talk about where we are right now.
Becky, are you there?
BECKY LUTHER, RIVERSIDE COUNTY FIRE DEPT.: Good morning.
HARRIS: OK. Give us an update. We talked to you, oh, about an hour or so ago. Give us an update on the fire, the size of it and what you're dealing with.
LUTHER: Well, we still have an 800 -- 800-plus acres at this time. We're waiting for a new update on that.
The fire is headed in the southwesterly direction, 243 -- Highway 243, from Banning to Lake Fillmore is closed, and the Twin Pines Poppet Flats, Wonderview area all are under mandatory evacuations. We have two evacuation centers set up, one on the Banning side. There's a Banning Community Center, and the other one will be at the Hemet High School on the Hemet side.
Anybody exiting that mountain needs to exit the south direction towards Hemet off 74.
MYERS: Becky, this is Chad Myers in the weather center.
I want to ask you a little bit about what I was talking about earlier. Winds now are 18 to 20, but some of the forecasts, 40 to 60.
I mean, is Hemet, San Jacinto -- they seem to me -- if I look the way the map goes, they're in the way if this fire continues to move in the direction of the wind, right?
LUTHER: Idyllwild -- it will be up in the Idyllwild area, yes.
MYERS: Idyllwild, of course -- of course -- right.
LUTHER: It will be up in that hillside, yes. That is a very big concern right now.
MYERS: Absolutely. Now, I did see some air tankers on some pictures earlier. What kind of crews, what kind of -- what kind of manpower do we have on this fire right now?
LUTHER: At our last count, which was early this morning, I have over 300 personnel. Now, that has most likely changed and gotten -- grown up more. I know we're starting aircraft going. I don't have a count on the aircraft yet.
MYERS: Ms. Luther, thank you very much.
LUTHER: Thank you.
MYERS: This is a very rugged area. Firefighters will have a difficult time if they're walking through this land.
Obviously a lot of air power going to be needed to knock this thing down. And there aren't that many roads to be natural fire breaks through this area here -- Tony, Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes. Chad, you know, we want to go ahead and move from this extreme weather situation to the other extreme weather situation.
MYERS: Now that looks like -- that looks like a structure on fire there.
COLLINS: Yes, it possibly could have been. We're talking about how close those flames could be getting to homes, or at least outbuildings. We're not really sure there. We'll keep our eye on that one for you, for sure.
Looking, though, to Colorado, no evacuations obviously because you can't really do that there...
MYERS: No, right.
COLLINS: ... because you get snowed in. But a lot of school closures, a lot of roads closed down that we know. About a foot of snow expected in the area, depending upon where you are, right?
MYERS: Already a foot on the ground at the Air Force Academy. So we're evacuating the roadways here.
Stay home from Denver, all the way down to Colorado Springs, Castle Rock, all the way up I-70, up through the divide. Lots of snow coming down.
In fact, our Jonathan Freed is in Colorado Springs.
And you've been seeing it pile up. You've been seeing it come sideways. So maybe there's more snow on the side of the truck, or on the lens, if you will, because we can barely see you, Jonathan.
How is the snow situation now?
JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I was about to say that I'm feeling a little bit blurry there, Chad. We were going to try to take -- take advantage of that.
MYERS: Well, at least it's wet, not frozen.
FREED: Is that a little better now?
MYERS: Yes, there you go.
FREED: A little bit better.
We're thankful that we're able to say that so far there are no reports of anybody being injured in this at this point. So far, it is a pretty good winter storm here.
It's been -- it's been blowing and snowing for several hours. I heard you say a foot on the ground at the Air Force Academy, which is really not far from us. And it's interesting. We're not seeing that here.
And just a couple of miles sometimes can make a big difference in terms of the nature of the accumulation. The academy is a little bit more exposed than we are right here. That might have something to do with it.
But usual precautions are happening here today. People are being asked to stay inside. Schools are closed, libraries are closed, that kind of thing.
We were hearing earlier that there was some travel possible on the interstate, but that the side roads are really a mess. Now, they're used to dealing with that here, of course. People are hoping this is going to blow through soon enough and that they'll be able to get the plows out. And we are seeing some, but hoping to get the plows up and just get life back to semi-abnormal, as it happens at this time of the year.
MYERS: Maybe just stay home. Not you, obviously, because you can't get home from there right now. Just stay home and enjoy the window, enjoy the look out the window.
Jonathan Freed, stay warm out there. Thank you.
I want to get to one of our I-reports. You can always go to cnn.com/ireport and send us what you're seeing.
Obviously with a still picture here from Colorado Springs, you don't get the feeling of the 24-mile-per-hour wind, but Todd Clifton took this out his window from Colorado Springs. He's actually a union electrician there. He says he's getting his first snow day off of the year.
Todd Clifton in Colorado Springs.
Keep those pictures coming. I also would love to see some from the other side of the divide -- 15.5 inches in Breckenridge overnight. So if you're anywhere from Vail, Vail Pass, the other side, whatever, cnn.com/ireport, take a picture, send it to us.
COLLINS: I guess -- I guess, Chad, since we were talking about the Air Force Academy, the blue and silver, the golf course, probably closed by now.
MYERS: You know, it's a little tough to get around. The bunkers are a little deep.
COLLINS: Yes, they're deep. You can only navigate the snow with the elk at this point.
HARRIS: There you go.
COLLINS: All right. Chad Myers, thank you for that.
MYERS: You're welcome.
COLLINS: Standing on the fence in the fight over illegal immigration, President Bush signs a bill designed to help stem the tide of illegal immigrants. It calls for building 700 miles of new fencing along the U.S.-Mexican border.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Ours is a nation of immigrants. We're also a nation of law. Unfortunately, the United States has not been in complete control of its borders for decades. And therefore, illegal immigration has been on the rise.
We have a responsibility to address these challenges. We have a responsibility to enforce our laws. We have a responsibility to secure our borders.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COLLINS: The centerpiece of the president's immigration policy is a guest worker program. That legislation is currently stalled in Congress.
HARRIS: It's been said know your enemy. That can sometimes be difficult in Iraq. There are groups within groups, but all are bent on one goal.
CNN's Michael Ware has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Facing an enemy that must be defeated, but first you have to know who the enemy is. Here, a U.S. Bradley armored fighting vehicle hit by a roadside bomb. Here, another bomb, this time triggered by remote.
So who is the enemy? Like their bombs, there are many. Nothing unites the insurgents, but they share a common mindset, a readiness to kill Americans until they leave Iraq.
As U.S. commander in Iraq General George Casey says, the situation is difficult and complex.
GEN. GEORGE CASEY, COMMANDER IN IRAQ: And I'm sure for the folks back in the United States trying to look at this, it looks very confusing and very hard to understand.
WARE: America's enemies in Iraq can be divided into two main groups, Sunni and Shia. But there are groups within groups, factions within factions.
Shia militias attack British and American troops, according to coalition intelligence officers, not to defeat them but to keep them in a defensive mode, so they worry about survival instead of the militias' political control and their Iranian backing. But the insurgents most Americans recognize as the enemy are Iraqi-Sunnis.
They are mainly former military from Saddam's regime and account for most U.S. casualties. They are divided into two large categories, nationalists and Islamists, each comprised of smaller groups.
As for the nationalists, their agenda is secular, anti-Iranian, and focused on liberating Iraq from foreign occupation. The Islamists, meanwhile, are more moderate than al Qaeda. They don't offer a religious state. They tolerate other Muslim sects, and also vow to fight until U.S. forces leave.
Both of these large insurgent blocs are willing to talk peace with the United States, but there are still those America cannot reach, the darkest heart of the Sunni insurgency, al Qaeda and the many groups aligned with it. This is the group that sends out suicide bombers and who once cut off westerners' heads. For them, there will be no end until Osama bin Laden's plans for an international Islamic state are fulfilled. And most troubling, the longer this war goes, the more Sunni groups drift toward al Qaeda and the more Shia embrace Iran.
Michael Ware, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And just another reminder. We will hear from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld later today. He is holding a Pentagon briefing just after 1:00 Eastern Time. We will bring it in to the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Want to get you back to California quickly now, the wildfire that we have been following for you all morning. We have a little bit of sound that has come in to us from a television station there, KTTV. This is the helicopter pilot flying overhead with a little bit of detail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK DICKERT, KTTV HELICOPTER PILOT: We do have a structure that is burning. This is the first one that we've seen. And that is just on the ridgeline above the 10 Freeway between Cabazon and the Banning area.
We'll widen out a little bit here, but that's our first structure that we have seen. Cabazon, bottom lower left of your screen, and this structure up in the hills just to the south of the 10 Freeway and of Cabazon. And clearly you can see that is burning.
Now, we did see a tanker come in. They're dropping that faz (ph) check, that fire retardant all over this, and they trying to get at least some sort of containment.
You're going to start to hear that word. What it is is just a line. They're trying to get a line surrounding the fire.
The firefighters want to surround it and starve it. They want to starve that fire. Fires only die off when it's deprived of the fuel, heat, and oxygen which burns -- look at that structure go up there. See, we don't know if it's a residence or some sort of camp at this time, but definitely at least one structure burning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: So, again, as you can see, we at least have some aircraft flying overhead. These are usually the -- well, it's a little bit smaller than -- anyway, the ones that drop the slurry. There you go. And that helps, along with the fire lines as well.
But according to Chad Myers here, the wind is the real situation. About 800-plus acres have already burned, and that was a sound from one of the helicopter pilots overhead, because now we are seeing the fire getting closer to structures.
HARRIS: Yes. Yes.
COLLINS: Very unclear at this time whether or not those were homes or some sort of, as he mentioned, a camp. But we're going to continue to watch this one for you.
A live shot now. And you see that smoke just wafting off to the side, which means the winds are still pretty rough.
HARRIS: Still ahead, an actor with Parkinson's Disease makes a political pitch. The latest on the ad controversy and the battle over stem cell research just ahead.
COLLINS: And the weather cools off but the political races heat up in the South. A look at which candidates and what issues are attracting attention.
You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: We know that the FBI is right now investigating a potential security breach at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Let's get an update on that from Fredricka.
Hi, Fred.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, that they know.
HARRIS: Yes.
WHITFIELD: They are looking into it, but still unclear is how in the world did this classified document in the form of a disk end up in the mobile home of a suspected drug dealer?
It's believed that one of the people staying at that mobile home was once a data entry clerk at Los Alamos. Twenty-two-year-old Jessica Kentana (ph) had apparently glowing references when she left the laboratory. But now the suspected methamphetamine drug dealer Justin Stone is talking to CNN after the arrest and after the search of that mobile home park.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUSTIN STONE, SUSPECT: What people don't realize is the information from the labs is really meaningless to us. I mean, for one, half the people who do meth don't even know how to spell the word "plutonium".
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You think would be interested in trying to trade an arrest record? Have you been dealing it for a long time?
STONE: Not necessarily. Off and on. I mean, I only deal what I have to do to get by to be able to eat, to have a place to stay, just enough to be able to pick up meth again, you know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: So, it's a convoluted investigation, because you're dealing with a methamphetamine drug ring problem. This suspect, Mr. Stone, is facing drug-related charges. There are no federal charges imposed as of yet. And this investigation ended up sparking yet now a much larger investigation involving this potential security breach at the Los Alamos lab.
So, still unclear what exactly is on that classified disk. It is clearly marked, so the investigators knew that this disk has something to do with the Los Alamos lab.
HARRIS: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Why in the world has it ended up in this mobile home park?
HARRIS: Right.
WHITFIELD: The only real link here, Tony, is that one of the people living at that home used to work at Los Alamos.
HARRIS: Yes.
WHITFIELD: So, again, still no federal charges have been imposed because they're trying to figure out whether there was an intentional removal of the disk, what's going on. And all of this in what seems to be a kind of strange drug haze as well.
HARRIS: Yes, to add to the mix.
All right, Fred. Appreciate it. Thank you.
WHITFIELD: OK.
COLLINS: A battle of political ads in Missouri, it started with a controversy over an ad featuring actor Michael J. Fox. Now it is drawing national attention to a stem cell research measure.
CNN's Mary Snow brings us that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Days after this political ad featuring Michael J. Fox first hit the air waves in Missouri, the stem cell debate is heating up with a counter ad addressing a state ballot measure on the subject.
JEFF SUPPAN: Amendment two claims it banes human cloning. But in the 2,000 words you won't read, it makes cloning a constitutional right. Don't be deceived.
SNOW: Athletes and actors are featured in the spots by a private group. A group spokeswoman said they sped up its release because of the Fox ad for the Democratic Senate candidate who supports embryonic stem cell research.
MICHAEL J. FOX, ACTOR: As you might know, I care deeply about stem cell research. In Missouri, you can elect Claire McCaskill, who shares my hope for cures. SNOW: It wasn't just the fact that the well known actor was visibly shaking and showing the effects of Parkinson's Disease that grabbed attention far beyond Missouri. It was the controversy that followed when on Monday conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh described the ad by waving his arms and suggested Fox was either acting or didn't take his medication to exaggerate the effects of the disease. Two days later the stem cell debate was still dominating the air waves on Limbaugh's talk show and he strongly defended his comments about Fox.
RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: My apology was if he shows me I'm wrong about my speculations of either acting or being off medication, I will hugely and bigly apologize. That's not good enough.
SNOW: Doctors say it's because of Fox's medication that he shows tremors.
DR. WILLIAM WEINER, UNIV. OF MARYLAND MEDICAL CTR.: There is no question, I want to make that absolutely clear, that any neurologist or doctor who takes care of Parkinson's disease would recognize the movements that Michael J. Fox is making as drug-induced disconesias. In other words, they are a side effect of the medication that he requires to be able to walk and speak properly.
SNOW: The controversy over the comments about Michael J. Fox is just one part of the complicated debate over stem cell research. Some doctors say if there is a silver lining, it will be the attention brought to the issue.
Mary Snow, CNN, New York.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And Mary Snow is part of the best political team on television.
Searching for a killer from within. We'll tell you about the latest advances against cancer's number one killer.
You are watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Lung cancer, it is the number one cause of all cancer deaths, but a new study raises new hopes.
CNN's Judy Fortin explains in our "Daily Dose" of health news.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JUDY FORTIN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A brisk walk is a gift for 66-year-old Thelma Brussel, a former two-pack-a-day smoker who was afraid her lung cancer diagnosis was a death sentence.
THELMA BRUSSEL, LUNG CANCER SURVIVOR: I am alive and there are so many people who are not.
FORTIN: Five years ago, Brussel's doctor insisted on a CT scan, knowing she had been smoking 50 years. Sure enough, it detected a malignant tumor which she promptly had removed.
BRUSSEL: I am considered surgically cured.
FORTIN: The recent deaths of Peter Jennings, a smoker, and Dana Reeve, who was not, remind us most aren't so lucky. Six of 10 people diagnosed with lung cancer die within a year, chiefly because they don't know they have it until it is too late.
DR. CLAUDIA HENSCHKE, RADIOLOGIST: Usually when you're -- when a cancer is diagnosed based on symptoms, it is the late-stage cancer.
FORTIN: Compelling new research gives hope for surviving lung cancer. A "New England Journal of Medicine" study finds using annual CT screening lung cancer can be detected at its earliest stage when it is most curable in 85 percent of patients. And when caught early and treated promptly, 92 percent of stage one lung cancer patients survive a decade or longer.
HENSCHKE: This essentially turns lung cancer from being a highly deadly disease, where essentially 95 percent of people who develop lung cancer ultimately die of it, to being a curable disease.
FORTIN: So will your doctor start prescribing an annual CT scan for you if you smoke? Not yet. The American Cancer Society says the study shows promise, but before ruling on its effectiveness and making recommendations, it will require results from ongoing trials. Questions remain about false-positives, findings on CT scans that appear to be lung cancer but aren't, exposing a patient to unnecessary and sometimes dangerous procedure and cost effectiveness. A CT scan costs hundreds of dollars and often is not covered by insurance.
DR. DAVID JOHNSON, VANDERBILT CANCER INSTITUTE: This is not a test that should be recommended routinely to patients with a smoking history. It remains an individual decision for an individual patient and his or her physician.
FORTIN: Brussel believes smokers should be screened.
BRUSSEL: I would not be alive today. It is that simple.
FORTIN: Judy Fortin, CNN reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: To get your "Daily Dose" of health news online, log on to our Web site. You will find the latest medical news, a health library, and information on diet and fitness. The address, cnn.com/health.
COLLINS: The battle at the border. This morning President Bush signed a bill to crack down on illegal immigration. He said the U.S. is a nation of immigrants but the borders must be secure. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: The bill authorizes the construction of hundreds of miles of additional fencing along our southern border. The bill authorizes more vehicle barriers, checkpoints, and lighting to help prevent people from entering our country illegally.
The bill authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to increase the use of advanced technology like cameras and satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles to reinforce our infrastructure at the border. We're modernizing the southern border of the United States so we can assure the American people we're doing our job of securing the border.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The bill the president signed today does not include any money for the fence. An earlier bill makes a $1.2 billion down payment on that cost.
Illegal immigration, an important issue for many Americans, but for a New Mexico man and his family, it is a daily reality.
I visited with them earlier this year.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's 8:40 in the morning, the new Mexico-Mexico border. James Johnson and his father head out to survey the family business.
For five generations, this family has ranched and farmed an 18- mile stretch along the U.S.-Mexican border. The Johnsons say there have always been people crossing their land illegally from Mexico. But in the past few years, it's gotten much worse.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And that's a...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A pickup.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... pickup with about, what do you think?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably 10 people in it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ten people.
COLLINS: It's the end of the morning rush across the Johnsons' land.
(On camera): It's now 10:45, and for the last 45 minutes, we've been looking all over the Johnsons' land for new trails, new footprints, and they are basically everywhere you look.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can see individual footprints. I mean, you can see a man's footprint right here. This looks like a man's work boot. And over here is probably a man's tennis shoe. COLLINS (voice-over): The family says at least 500 people try to cross every day. Damaging fences, destroying water supplies, and leaving trash everywhere.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But if you look in, I mean, there's cans of tuna, there's bottles of water, there's actually, I think, a Pedialyte looking bottle there on the ground. This has kind of become a shelter for illegals.
COLLINS: In the past year and a half, border trespassers have caused more than $40,000 worth of damage to the Johnsons' ranch. The family's been threatened with guns and is afraid to let the children out of their sight.
Here's where it starts. This small Mexican town, Los Chapis (ph), has become a staging area for illegal crossings. It's just a stone's throw from the ranch. The once thriving village, now dilapidated, full of guns and drug dealers.
The Johnsons can give you the play by play.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He'll go down and he'll basically unload at the little store. A lot of people will go inside the store and get water bottles and burritos and things like that though. And then these people will -- they'll find their way basically from there to find their guide for the night.
COLLINS: From there, pickup trucks take them high into the hills where a coyote, or a human smuggler, will guide them down and across the Johnsons' land into the United States.
Last summer, the human rush hour got to a point where New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson declared a state of emergency. In response, the Mexican government tore down a cluster of the abandoned buildings, hoping to take away some shelter for the illegal crossers.
But here on Johnson's ranch, things only got worse.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think they are more bolder, and I think there's more of them.
COLLINS: The stakes for the game of hide and seek here only went up. The coyotes found new routes and new hiding places. The Border Patrol is adding 250 new agents. With better surveillance, infrared cameras and eyes in the sky, they're saying, you can run, but you can't hide.
We watch as one chopper circles and spots a target. A few minutes later, a group of illegal immigrants are brought down the hilltop. We ask, why do they take the risk? The answer? They need work.
(On camera): It's 12:40 in the afternoon, and now the next stop for these 16 people is Columbus, New Mexico, just a little ways down the road where they'll be processed. If they are, in fact, all Mexicans, they'll likely be back across the border by 5:00 o'clock tonight.
(Voice-over): As for the Johnsons, whose ranch is ground zero for this high-risk game, they fully support legal immigration. James thinks many of these problems would end with a good guest worker program.
JAMES JOHNSON, RANCHER: We feel for the Mexican people. I almost feel like these people coming across are my people, too because I've lived around them and been with them my whole life.
COLLINS: It's now dusk. Around 7:30. Another group of illegal crossers are returned back to the Mexican border. Most vow to try again. Hide and seek, the game goes on.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: James Johnson is the farmer and rancher you just saw in that piece. He is production manager of W.R. Johnson and Sons. He's joining us now on the phone from Columbus, New Mexico, with reaction to the bill signed by the president today.
James, thanks for being with us.
You know, last we spoke, there were 500 people crossing every day through your land. Can you update us on the situation?
JAMES JOHNSON, FARMER & RANCHER: Well, the situation since we talked last, Heidi, has gotten better for a time when the National Guard first made their presence known here. It almost slowed to a crawl. But in the last few weeks we've seen -- I guess that the organizations are starting to find the weaknesses of the Border Patrol and the National Guard again, and we're starting to see numbers rise again.
COLLINS: And to be clear, there's about 1.2 miles of border fence along the entire New Mexico-Mexico border. The rest, at least from what I saw when I was with you, was about three strands -- we're looking at it right now -- three strands of barbed wire all along that border. This will be a significant improvement, will it not, this bill that the president signed today?
JOHNSON: Well, it will be, but it's only a start. You know, they're talking 700 miles. Unfortunately, that doesn't even include the 18 miles that we farm and ranch on here.
COLLINS: You've got a small chunk there. If we can put that map up again to remind everybody of where these fencing chunks are going to go. There is a small chunk that goes from Columbus to El Paso, I believe, but it looks like it's going to miss your land. That being said, though, James, you have a really good perspective on this because you live it every day. Overall, what is your feeling about a border fence?
JOHNSON: Well, we supported a border fence for, you know -- ever since we started having issues along the border. That's been our No. 1 thing, is we've got to get something done with a fence. Most people don't understand. You know, they go to the border, they see Tijuana, they see Nogales (ph), they see El Paso, they see a large fence on both sides.
The reality of the border situation is, there's areas out here that don't even have that strand of barbed wire. There's really no marking. That's how wide open it is. And I agree that, you know, people can climb a fence, but anything that we have to slow them down is just that much better.
COLLINS: All right, James Johnson, always appreciate your perspective. And I know you'll keep us up to date on the situation. James Johnson, once again, of W.R. Johnson & Sons, out of Columbus, New Mexico, thanks again.
And we want to remind you this week the best political team in television investigates "Broken Government." Our coverage continues tonight with "Power Play," hosted by John King. That's be at 8:00 Eastern Time, 5:00 Pacific.
And just about a dozen days away from the midterm elections, we'll highlight some of the hot races and key issues in the south. That's coming up right here in the NEWSROOM.
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COLLINS: I want to go ahead and bring you back to California now. We've been watching this wildfire pretty much all morning long. These pictures coming in to us from our affiliate KTLA, Riverside County. We were watching just moments ago, and we heard from a helicopter pilot overhead, showing some video of a structure being burned down, and we have to call it a structure because we're not sure at this time whether that was a home, some sort of camp. It was fairly large, but not good any time those flames get close to structures, as you well know.
HARRIS: Well, a new twist in the Madonna adoption controversy. The biological father of the boy she's trying to adopt is speaking out.
CNN Africa correspondent Jeff Koinange joins us by phone from Malawi.
Jeff, as always, good to talk to you.
But, first of all, is this a done deal or not? I thought this thing was signed, sealed with a ribbon and -- but is it?
JEFF KOINANGE, CNN AFRICA CORRESPONDENT: Tony, signed, sealed and delivered. You know what, Tony, I feel so sorry for this man. We actually tracked him down today, because you can imagine, the world's press has descended on this tiny little village in the middle of nowhere, without even cell phone service.
So this illiterate vegetable farmer has been hounded by the world's press. And he just literally got up, locked his house and went to live with his sister about ten miles from the village where he lived. And we tracked him down, and he was kind of surprised that we found him, but he was ready to set the record straight.
He's ready for Madonna to go ahead and adopt his son. In fact, he issued a passionate plea to Madonna, saying, please ignore all the press. Why? Because he's afraid that Madonna might give up the fight and hand the baby back. And he says, if she hands the baby back, then he's certain to -- he said, in his words, he's certain to die. So he wants Madonna to raise him, educate him.
HARRIS: Jeff, let me just ask you something. Let me just ask you something. Madonna is suggesting that this guy has been manipulated by the press to make these statements where he has suggested in some statements that he did not agree to turn over his son, in essence, for life?
KOINANGE: That's correct. He actually was manipulated, he told us, by civil society groups in Malawi, people coming up and saying, hey, how could you have just given up your son? Because he told me he didn't get anything for his son and he doesn't want anything. All he wants is his son to be raised by a good family, to be educated and one day come back and maybe help his father out.
Because Tony, a lot of things that the audience doesn't know is that he had two sons before this. Both of them died before the age of two from malaria, the biggest killer disease in Africa in children today. So, again, he was pressured, but he's recanted his story, and he wants Madonna to go ahead and adopt his son. He's not going to fight it at all -- Tony.
HARRIS: Hey, Jeff, is that the last word on this?
KOINANGE: Well, tomorrow, Friday, there is a court case by human rights groups. A whole bunch of human rights groups have taken this group to court. They want Malawi, which basically means potential adoptive parents must live in the country about 18 months before they are granted adoption rights. They want to argue that case, why should it be fast-tracked for certain individuals? But to answer your question, no, it's not the last we're hearing of it. But the biological father of young David Banda, he is not going to fight it.
HARRIS: Jeff, good to talk to you.
You can see Jeff's entire interview tonight on "ANDERSON COOPER 360," 10:00 p.m. Eastern time.
COLLINS: Well, the weather cools off a little bit, but the political races are just heating up in the South. A look at which candidates and what issues are attracting attention. It's coming your way next, right here in the NEWSROOM.
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COLLINS: Election day now just 12 days away. We head south today for our look at politics outside the Washington beltway. We're going to be highlighting some of the hottest races in the South. We also want to find out what issues are on the minds of Southern voters. Both Tennessee and Florida were red states that backed President Bush in the last election.
So joining us from Nashville is Jennifer Peebles. She is the political editor for "The Tennessean" newspaper. And William March...
JENNIFER PEEBLES, "THE TENNESSEAN": Good morning.
COLLINS: Good morning -- is a senior political writer for the "Tampa Tribune." He is joining us from Tampa. Thanks to both of you for being here.
William, I'm going to go ahead and start with you, if I could. I know that, at least in Florida, the congressional races really have been something to watch. We've got Foley to be talking about, but really that's pretty undecided even though he's dropped out.
WILLIAM MARCH, "TAMPA TRIBUNE": Well, that Foley story hit like a bombshell here, as you can imagine, Heidi, and it has greatly increased the prospects that Democrats will recapture some of the Republican congressional seats. Right now, Republicans hold 18 of Florida's 25 seats, and the Foley scandal has greatly increased the prospects that the Democrats will get some of them back.
COLLINS: How exactly are they going to do that?
MARCH: Well, Foley's seat itself is up for grabs. And that's going to be a very difficult seat for the Republicans to hang on to, because, under our law, Foley's name remains on the ballot.
COLLINS: That's right.
MARCH: The Democrats also are looking as if they have a good, strong shot, surprisingly enough, at capturing the House seat that's currently held by Katherine Harris. As you know, she's running for the U.S. Senate.
COLLINS: Yes, indeed.
MARCH: And there are a couple of others that they might have a good shot at, also.
COLLINS: All right. We're going to come back in just a moment, William, and talk about what some of the issues are that those candidates will be running on. But, Jennifer, I want to get to you quickly.
PEEBLES: Yes, ma'am.
COLLINS: All right, this ad, the RNC has pulled it now. But -- against Democratic Senate candidate Harold Ford, Jr. Let's go ahead and take a look at the ad, and then we'll let you talk about it after.
PEEBLES: All righty.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I met Harold at the Playboy party. ANNOUNCER: The Republican National Committee is responsible for the content of this advertising.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Harold, call me!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: All right, so that is the short version of it, about 11 seconds or so. What's the deal here? Why is this such a big deal?
PEEBLES: Well, critics of the ad have said that it has racist overtones. Of course, Congressman Ford is African-American. He is running against a Republican, former Mayor Bob Corker of Chattanooga, who is white. And critics have said the allegation or the implication of the ad is that you would have a black man possibly cavorting with a white woman, which they say is offensive and racist.
COLLINS: Well, forgive me, but isn't it kind of tacky enough to do that overall, just talking about the Playboy Mansion or a Playboy party, white or black?
PEEBLES: Well, I don't know. I think that's something that everybody has to decide for themselves.
COLLINS: All right. So tell me, Jennifer, what are the issues that these candidates will be running on in your state this time around?
PEEBLES: Well, they're talking a great deal about the war in Iraq, Congressman Ford has hit on Mayor Corker about some statements he said earlier in the campaign about wanting to stay the course in Iraq. Congressman Ford wants to try to bring the troops home, I believe, and divide the country up into three sections.
Some other issues are taxation. Congressman Ford has hit Mayor Corker on the issue of raising taxes when he was mayor in Chattanooga. And Corker has brought into the race into, in the past couple of weeks, criticisms of Congressman Ford's colorful family, who are very involved in politics in Memphis.
COLLINS: Yes. He would looking to be, in fact, the first black to be elected to the Senate since Reconstruction.
PEEBLES: Yes, ma'am.
COLLINS: So that also is another interesting fact behind that. I want to go back to William March for a moment. Issues in your state? What's everybody running on, or hoping to make a difference with this time around?
MARCH: Well, there's one local issue that's affecting the races pretty heavily, and that is property insurance, and that, Heidi, is a result of -- as you may remember, Florida's been hit by a lot of major hurricanes recently, and that has sent home insurance prices, premiums through the roof. So that's a local issue that's intruding into the national races. The corruption scandals in Washington have been an issue in some of the congressional races. Even though the Foley scandal is what everybody is thinking about, it's not brought up often overtly as an issue. It's a very touchy thing, as you can imagine, to try to talk about. The Iraq war, the controversy between Democrats and Republicans at the national level over that, is finding its way into the races down here also.
COLLINS: Are people going to get out and vote, William?
MARCH: I think probably you'll see a pretty good turnout for an off-year election. Part of the reason for that is we've got a pretty high-profile governor's race going on. Katherine Harris's presence on the ballot might inspire both her supporters and her opponents to come out.
COLLINS: All right.
And, Jennifer, you have the last word here. Who is going to win the Senate race? I mean, it is neck and neck at this point?
PEBBLES: If I knew the answer to that, I think I'd go out and buy a Powerball lottery ticket and be rich as everything.
COLLINS: Oh, come on.
PEBBLES: It's too close to call.
COLLINS: All right, it is very close to call, indeed.
All right, to the both of you, we appreciate your time here very much for giving us perspective on the races in the south, Florida and Tennessee.
Thanks again, William March and Jennifer Pebbles.
PEBBLES: Thank you, ma'am.
COLLINS: Appreciate it.
So beauty or beast? Supermodel Naomi Campbell accused of more ugly behavior. Details ahead in the NEWSROOM.
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HARRIS: We have a developing situation in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city is West Kendall, Florida.
Fredricka Whitfield is in the "NEWSROOM" with an update for us -- Fred.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, another Florida school lockdown, but this time it is because of a shooting that took place near this elementary school, Christina M. Eve Elementary School in West Kendall. The shooting is not believed to involve anyone at the school. Police are still looking for the shooter and the possible victim somewhere in the proximity of this elementary school. But as a precaution all of the students are being asked to remain inside the school while police do their work outside of the school there in West Kendall.
HARRIS: OK, probably smart to do. Fred, appreciate it. Thank you.
COLLINS: I want to get over to Kyra Phillips with a sneak peek on what's ahead in CNN NEWSROOM, 1:00.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: That's right. We're talking about actually the war in Iraq with the elections just days away now. Lots of talk about changing tactics. And in a few minutes from now, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld will step up to the podium. We'll take that live from the Pentagon as soon as it happens.
And listen to this one, a police chief gets in trouble for asking his officers, are you a jelly belly?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE; If you're overweight, how can you catch somebody? So I think they should be physically fit.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's so many people that are so overweight.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In the Navy, you have to be a certain weight. In the Marines, you have to be a certain weight. And I feel that police officers should be a certain weight also.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, an e-mail asking police officers to get in shape ends up costing the top cop his job.
It's a talker. Straight ahead in the NEWSROOM, join Don Lemon and me, 1:00 p.m. in the CNN NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: I'm so glad you guys are handling that.
HARRIS: Are you a jelly belly?
PHILLIPS: There a lot of people that say, hey, look, our military, they have to be in shape, the got to -- so our cops should be as well.
COLLINS: He got in trouble. Maybe it was the way he said it.
PHILLIPS: Jelly belly.
HARRIS: Yes! Take that one way.
PHILLIPS: How about let me encourage you to run a little bit, a little PT on your off-time.
COLLINS: All right, Kyra, thanks so much. We'll watch it 1:00 today.
Meanwhile, check this out, famed for her beauty, infamous, though, for her ugly behavior. Supermodel Naomi Campbell, yes, in trouble with the law yet again. A woman has accused the 36-year-old of assaulting her. London police arrested Campbell and questioned her. A spokesman for the British foreign beauty says it's merely a misunderstanding that will all be quickly resolved. Campbell's been accused of assaulting at least three people other times before.
There you have it. CNN NEWSROOM continues one hour from now.
HARRIS: I'm stuck on the beauty part.
"YOUR WORLD TODAY" is next happening across the globe and here at home. I'm Tony Harris.
COLLINS: And I'm Heidi Collins. Have a great Thursday, everybody.
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