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Tom Cruise to Run United Artists Studio; Raymond Lee Oyler Accused of Esperanza Fire; Sizing You Up; Suspect Caught In Phoenix Workplace Shooting; Civilian Contractors in Iraq Face Dangers; Study Shows Seafood Could Be In Danger; Roseanne Returns to Stand Up
Aired November 02, 2006 - 13:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: It's the top of the hour.
And Carol Lin, what are you working on for us?
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, a story about Tom Cruise, Kyra.
This just crossed the wires, and I was just reading the press release about it. Tom Cruise and his longtime business partner, Paula Wagner, are reviving the United Artists movie studio. I mean, this is one of the oldest studios in Hollywood, about 85 years old, actually started by actors who wanted to have more control over their careers.
You recall the controversial split between Tom Cruise and Sumner Redstone, right, at Paramount Pictures?
PHILLIPS: Sorry. They were telling me about another developing story there and I didn't hear what you said, Carol. Say it again. I apologize.
LIN: No problem.
PHILLIPS: Go ahead.
LIN: Well, you know, the big stink started with Paramount Studios, when Sumner Redstone said that he didn't renew Tom Cruise's production deal.
PHILLIPS: That's right. There was all this talk about he wasn't going to be able to be that big in the business anymore.
LIN: Right.
PHILLIPS: Or was he becoming insignificant, did people not want to work with him, what kind of issues were they having, was it personal.
LIN: Yes.
PHILLIPS: We talked a lot about that.
LIN: Well, now the new story is, is that Tom Cruise and his longtime partner are going to be running United Artists Studios in conjunction with MGM Pictures. Paula Wagner is going to be the chief executive officer and Tom Cruise is going to be essentially the star, as well as producing films for United Artists. And he and his partner will be responsible for green-lighting projects from development all the way through production. But it appears that the duo, Paula Wagner and Tom Cruise, essentially heading a new movie studio.
PHILLIPS: Well, it will be interesting. I wonder what their first project will be, what type of film, what type of Hollywood stars will participate. We're going to learn a lot more about it. There has been so much focus on his personal life and his new baby.
LIN: Yes.
PHILLIPS: Now it will be interesting to see what happens professionally.
LIN: Maybe it will be a family film.
PHILLIPS: That could be interesting. Something on Scientology, that would be interesting.
All right, Carol. Thanks a lot.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Kyra and Carol. Take a look at this.
We're standing by for a live event in the NEWSROOM. Authorities investigating the fire that killed five firefighters in southern California, they say they have a significant announcement.
So let's listen in here.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
SHERIFF NEIL LINGLE, RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: ... and myself knew an arsonist was responsible for the Esperanza Fire. It was evident to both of us that it was an intentional act, a crime that resulted in the murders of five United States Forest Service firefighters. Since that time we have been working in a unified command to not only knock down a fire, but we have also worked tirelessly to find those responsible for the crimes of arson and murder.
Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to share with you today that we have done our job. Today I am announcing that we have a suspect in custody for the Esperanza Fire, Raymond Lee Oyler, 36 years old, from Beaumont, California.
We have recommended to our district attorney that he charge Mr. Oyler with the five murders of the United States Forest Service firefighters, along with 11 counts of arson of forest land and 10 counts of use of an incendiary device in those arsons.
Our hearts go out to all of the families who suffered a loss of a loved one in the Esperanza Fire, and to all our brothers and sisters in the fire service.
As you can well imagine, this was a rapidly evolving and complex investigation. And there really are a number of people to thank.
I particularly want to thank Captain Allen Flannery (ph) and his crew over at the central homicide unit here at Riverside County Sheriff's Department for an outstanding job.
I want to thank partners our partners in the federal government from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Here in the state of California, the California Highway Patrol, Commissioner Michael Brown for the use of his unlimited resources, and, of course, the California Department of Forestry for the use of their arson investigators and their cooperative spirit, as well as the those from the United States Forest Service. Without their resources, commitment and team work, this would not have been brought to fruition as rapidly as it was.
I want to thank our district attorney, Grover Trask, our district attorney-elect, Rod Pacheco.
I want to personally thank the both of you for your tremendous support that your offices provided throughout this investigation.
I also want to thank Chief Deputy Sarah Danville and Deputy D.A. Mike Hestron (ph), who worked very closely with me throughout this investigation. I want to thank them for their candor, their insight, and certainly for their collaboration.
We have had a lot of support from the state of California from the governor and our state representatives.
Ladies and gentlemen, the governor has been personally invested in Riverside County from the beginning. It was his leadership and commitment to our efforts on behalf of the people of Riverside County that made this happen.
Governor, I know you are watching. And on behalf of all the residents of Riverside County, I want to personally thank you.
Our assemblymen here locally, Russ Bogh, John Benoit and Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia (ph) have been with us every step of the way. We have unmitigated support from our congressional representatives led by Congressman Jerry Lewis, Congresswoman Mary Bono, and Congressman Ken Calvert.
I also want to make certain that we notice the elected leadership here in Riverside County who continue to place public safety as our number one priority. We are indeed grateful for their continued commitment to public safety, and it was clearly demonstrated through their action during this event.
And we all wanted to make certain that we had what we needed to keep Mr. Oyler in custody. It's so very important that those of us in public safety work together.
And I want to say that with Mr. Trask and Mr. Pacheco, that happened. And we are indeed at a point where the D.A. supports our recommendation today. And I would look to ask our district attorney- elect, Mr. Rod Pacheco, to please come forward and share his thoughts at this time -- Rod.
ROD PACHECO, RIVERSIDE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Thank you, Neil.
Good morning.
Let me begin by thanking you for coming, all of you coming on a matter of extreme significance to our community.
It is important also to recognize the exemplary work done by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, the men and women of that department, the collective leadership of that department under the guidance of the sheriff, Robert Doyle. They have worked tirelessly in the last several days and weeks to solve what our county has seen to be a most heinous crime, and they have done so effectively and professionally.
In addition, the California Department of Forestry and its expert investigators worked tirelessly to come to a just conclusion.
The district attorney's office, its own bureau of investigation played a critical support role throughout the investigation, as did a team of seasoned prosecutors from our office. We also received valuable assistance from the -- from ATF, the FBI and the United States Attorney's Office.
Today, our office will be filing a complaint against Raymond Lee Oyler which contains the following charges, five counts of murder.
Each count filed alleges that the murders were of the first degree. Two special circumstances: one that alleges that the murders were committed during the commission of an arson, another special circumstances allege -- excuse me, circumstance alleges that multiple murders were committed. Lastly, the complaint alleges a variety of counts regarding arson and paraphernalia regarding arson, regarding other fires that were committed during the last year.
It is important to note that the charges we are filing today include the possibility that life in prison without the possibility of parole is one possible sentence, as well as death. To prosecute this case our office has assembled a seasoned experienced team of prosecutors, investigators and victim witness advocates to work with families of the slain firefighters.
In the next 60 days our office will make its determination whether or not to seek the death penalty against the suspect and soon- to-be defendant, but only after a careful and sober review of the evidence, the defendant's background, and the particular nature and circumstances of this case.
The lives and tragic deaths of the five-man fire crew of the United States Forest Service Engine 57 will be considered the murders of firefighter Jesse McLean, firefighter Mark Loutzenhiser, firefighter Daniel Hoover-Najera, firefighter Jason McKay, and firefighter Pablo Cerda. And the impacts of their deaths on their family, friends, loved ones and children will be weighed and added to the balance to make that determination.
The feelings of the surviving family members of the victims will be consulted and be given great weight by our office in what is always a difficult decision.
Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Mr. District Attorney-Elect.
Our next speaker will be, Chief John Hawkins.
CHIEF JOHN HAWKINS, RIVERSIDE COUNTY FIRE DEPT.: Good morning. I am pleased to be here.
I'm pleased to beep here on behalf of all CDF Riverside County Fire Department. We are very pleased to see what is being announced to day by the district attorney's office and the sheriff's office.
One week ago today, at 1:12 a.m., a fire started southeast of Cabazon, that by 7:50 hours or thereabouts ran over a house and over a seasoned five-person engine company that was located on Gargonial View Drive (ph). Those firefighters were rapidly overrun by fire and killed -- three immediately at the scene, one subsequently at the hospital, and the last a day or two ago.
The fire department was very pleased to be part of an interagency investigation effort. That interagency investigation effort today leads us to where we are.
We also -- we, as a fire department, are very proved our investigators because you probably don't know this, but they've been working 7/24s most of the summer investigating fires. If you were to check their time sheets, you'd probably find that some of them haven't been off more than a day or two all summer long.
During the fire-fighting effort, the elected officials stood behind us. Often, people might criticize elected officials or the political process. I personally watched the process unfold the first day of the fire, October 26th, when supervisors Ashley (ph), Stone (ph), Buster (ph) all came together and brought forth the state and the federally elected officials to do two things. Number one, develop a reward, and number two, find and develop a firefighter's appreciation fund.
To all of those ends, we as the CDF Riverside County Fire Department are very proud of what is being announced to day.
Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Chief Hawkins.
Our next speaker from the United States Forest Service, (INAUDIBLE). UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Forest Service would like to thank the Riverside District Attorney's Office, the Riverside Sheriff's office -- thank you -- the California Department of Forestry, the FBI, ATF, and all the other agencies who have so diligently followed the facts in this investigation leading to an arrest. We have full confidence in the investigation and expect that justice will be served.
This has been a very difficult time for the fire service and the families of the fallen firefighters. And as our days have been consumed with grieving and mourning, we really do recognize that there has been an extensive amount of work that has gone into this arson investigation, and we truly appreciate it.
Many families, friends, co-workers, and an entire nation have been affected by the tragedy that occurred one week ago today. This arrest really does help with some of the closure, the healing that we in the forest service community and in the families need.
The lives of five brave men were lost in this fire. Mark Loutzenhiser, Jess McLean, Jason McKay, Pablo Cerda, and Daniel Hoover-Najera will not be forgotten.
Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
Our next speaker, James Crowell, the assistant special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and firearms.
JAMES CROWELL, ATF: Good morning.
On behalf of the men of the women of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Los Angeles field division, and especially on behalf of John Torez (ph), the special agent in charge, I would look to offer our condolences to the family members and to the United States Forest Service for the tremendous loss of life for the firefighters that perished on October 26th.
It has been an honor for ATF to able to assist and to play a very small part with Riverside Sheriff's Department, the Riverside District Attorney's Office.
Again, we offer our condolences to all those who lost their lives.
Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
LEMON: All right. You've been listening to a press conference happening in Riverside, California, about those deadly fires that killed five firefighters.
Essentially, what their -- what investigators are saying is they have in custody now 36-year-old Raymond Oyler of Beaumont, California. He has been charged in this. Five counts of murder, they're seeking, murder in the first degree, 11 counts of arson. Ten counts, they say, of using incendiary device.
And this may include life. The district attorney there has not decided whether he will seek the death penalty in this, but it does include either life in prison or possibly the death penalty.
Let's not forget, five firefighters died in all of this. Again, Captain Mark Loutzenhiser, 44; Jason McKay, who's also a firefighter; engine operator Jess McLean, who's 27; Daniel Hoover-Najero, who's 30; and Pablo Cerda, 23.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, if you think you know a lot about the candidates, just wait until you hear what the candidates know about you.
CNN's Randi Kaye joins us from New York with a look at the massive efforts being made by the parties to size up potential supporters.
When I first saw this piece last night, Randi, I had to really -- I had to look at, what is she talking about? They can actually look at what I drive...
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly.
PHILLIPS: ... and what my house looks like?
KAYE: You look at the list and you say, oh, wait, that's me. That isn't me. That is me. How can I be both?
PHILLIPS: Right, a checklist.
KAYE: Well, Kyra, I'm sure that you don't like people knowing your personal business, especially the politicians. So you might as well stop drinking coffee, shopping online, buying cars or even using Caller ID. That is because both Republicans and Democrats are keeping a close eye on your habits and your hobbies and paying experts millions to use that information to swing your vote.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE (voice-over): Kovanna and Vic Tandon have two children, drink gourmet coffee, shop online and drive a Toyota Camry. May not mean much to you, but to Republicans and Democrats, knowing that could mean the difference between a victory and a loss.
KOVANNA TANDON, PENNSYLVANIA RESIDENT: I don't know if it's necessarily such a good idea to categorize people and to say that they're Democrats or Republican based upon how many people are in their households or what they have a tendency to purchase.
KAYE: But the Tandons are categorized. They live in Folcroft, Pennsylvania, outside Philadelphia, one of the most microtargeted areas in the country, according to consultant Alex Gage.
ALEX GAGE, TARGETPOINT CONSULTING: It's a way to manage your voters as individual customers.
KAYE: The Republican Party pays Gage millions to figure out voters' political DNA. The Democrats spend millions, too. The parties buy your personal data, just like any other company, but then cross reference it with your voting habits, such as which elections you voted in. Their computer spits out a voter profile, your political DNA.
TANDON: Big Brother may be matching.
KAYE: Microtargeters know what you read, what kind of coffee you drink, even if you have caller I.D. These tidbits help political parties customize their business and bring it to your front door. Did I mention microtargeters know where you live, too?
(on camera) Here in Folcroft, Pennsylvania, how do microtargeters know which house is Democrat and which house is Republican? Well, a Republican household's DNA includes a playset in the front yard, a minivan in the driveway, a computer that's a PC and more dogs than cats. Republicans also, according to microtargeters, watch football, not basketball. Oh, and they don't smoke.
Their neighbor, the Democrat, has a very different political DNA. They're more likely to have a hybrid car, an Apple computer and a platinum credit card. They shop at upscale stores, buy gourmet wine and cheese and own both dogs and cats.
(voice-over) Armed with tiny electronic databases, canvassers from both parties go door to door, pushing issues your political DNA tells them you care about.
If you've been identified as a likely opponent of the Iraq war, Republicans may target you with messages about other issues, while Democrats may focus on the war.
GAGE: We can build all sorts of models. And we can build models that say, well, here's some Democrat voters that happen to be socially conservative and are high turnout voters. So if you want to go in and try and pull out and generate some defection, you can do that.
KAYE: In a sense, the politician is choosing you instead of the other way around.
After the canvassers get a sense of which way you're leaning, they rush that information back to the computer, so you can be sliced and diced some more. Sound like dirty politics?
JACK HORN, PENNSYLVANIA RESIDENT: I think it's dirty, I really do.
KAYE (on camera): Is it dirty? Is it disingenuous?
GAGE: I don't think so. It's about getting information. Now, is it propagandized? Absolutely. Is it, you know, put together and argued in the most persuasive possible way from each side? Absolutely.
KAYE (voice-over): Privacy rights advocate Lillee Coney argues microtargeting manipulates voters instead of sticking to the issues.
LILLEE CONEY, ELECTRONIC RIGHTS GROUP: It's an undermining of the fabric of personal information, literally buying and selling lives.
KAYE: Voters like the Tandons think politicians should spend a little more time examining their own DNA.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: I asked Alex Gage whether or not this actually works. He is from TargetPoint and he works with the Republicans who you saw in that story. He says that the party wouldn't be spending millions on it if it didn't work. He said the Bush-Cheney campaign spent more than $3 million to produce microtargeting models and to get those votes.
So, also speaking with the folks at Working America, which is affiliated with the Democrats. They told me that they expect 70 percent of the people that they microtarget to actually vote their way -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: So, could they peg you, or did you not even give them a try?
KAYE: You know, I didn't even want them to. I said, stay away from my personal information. But I gave them your name. And we're going to see what they come up with.
PHILLIPS: Oh, perfect. Fantastic. Appreciate that. Nonpartisan. Thanks. Thanks, Randi.
KAYE: Sure.
LEMON: The president is on the campaign trail trying to help out House and Senate Republicans. But his own popularity could be a handicap in many areas.
Now, let's check the president's approval rating in our latest poll of polls.
In four surveys taken last weekend, Mr. Bush registered a low of 34 percent to a high of 41 percent. That gives him an average approval rating of 38 percent.
At first glance, Montana senator Conrad Burns should be cruising toward re-election. His state often tilts Republican, and he's been in office since 1989. But polls show Burns is in trouble against Democrat Jon Tester. So much trouble, in fact, that President Bush showed up in Billings this morning to try to give him a boost.
The president has another campaign stop later today in Nevada.
And our Candy Crowley traveled recently to big sky country to see why Conrad Burns is in the fight of his political life.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Well, sure, they talk about other things -- Democrat Jon Tester.
JON TESTER (D), MONTANA SENATE CANDIDATE: We still have some health care problems, what I hear about when I go around a lot of towns in this state.
CROWLEY: They talk about other things because much of Montana doesn't have much to do with Washington -- Republican Senator Conrad Burns.
SEN. CONRAD BURNS (R), MONTANA: I don't think I've seen a cattle market like it, you know/ And I bought some steers earlier, and thought I just paid a terrible price for them. But I really didn't.
CROWLEY: But this Senate race is not about other things. It's about Conrad Burns and the company he keeps.
Remember this guy, Jack Abramoff, the Republican lobbyist who pleaded guilty to conspiring to bribe public officials? It's about him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: While voting for tax breaks for oil companies, pork barrel earmarks, and getting millions for a client of Jack Abramoff -- Conrad Burns, he's been in Washington too long.
BURNS: I don't know who Abramoff influenced, but he never influenced me.
CROWLEY: Burns had influence over projects of interest to some of Abramoff's clients. He also got campaign money from them. The cash was returned, and there is no proof of anything illegal. But Burns can't shake it.
BURNS: I have been putting up with it for 18 months.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just wanted to give you a quick call, see if you had any questions about the campaign.
CROWLEY: Tester, an organic farmer with a family that goes back for generations here, runs a low-key, unassuming campaign. He pushes his roots in Montana and frames the Burns-Abramoff connection as proof that Burns has gone big city.
TESTER: We've got roots that go deep. And we love this state. And we will not go Washington and get Potomac fever, as Senator Burns has done.
CROWLEY: Burns is a gaffe-prone, boisterous, back-slapping politician who will not be out-Montanaed. But while Tester sells roots, Burns sells reach.
BURNS: Well, when you look at who has the seniority, the effectiveness and the experience, you are looking at him.
CROWLEY: Even without Abramoff, Tester probably would have been looking good in this antiwar, anti-incumbent, anti-Republican atmosphere. But Abramoff piled it on.
TESTER: Oh, I think it's helped, yes. Because I think it's pointed out who Conrad Burns is.
CROWLEY: In response to the stiffest challenge of his career, Burns is counting on a crack voter turnout operation and, of course, his experience.
BURNS: I've never had an easy one. Of course it's not our first rodeo.
CROWLEY: Polls indicate Montana is a tossup.
Candy Crowley, CNN, Billings, Montana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, securing Iraq. It's a tall order, especially when the security forces are part of the problem.
That is straight ahead from the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: A tense manhunt in Phoenix, Arizona ended a short time ago with the capture of a suspect in a workplace shooting. Details now from our Sarah Sarlstrom from our affiliate KPHO in Phoenix -- Sarah.
SARAH SARLSTROM, KPHO REPORTER: Well, yes that 31-year-old former security guard turned himself just about an hour ago. But, it started around 7:30 Mountain time this morning in the parking lot you see behind me. This is the Pitney-Bowes -- it is a private mail- service company.
What we are hearing from police right now is that 31-year-old employee, his name is Michael Rivera, he showed up here in his car, got out of it and shot two people standing in the parking lot with a semiautomatic rifle. Shot those two people, got back into his car and took off.
Now that was at 7:30 this morning Mountain time. The search has been on for him ever since. Just about an hour ago we're told he did call 911 to turn himself in and he was taken into custody without incident. Now, we don't know a whole lot about the suspect, we know he did work here as a security guard. He was either fired or he quit two days ago, but employees here tell me he came here, he had some sort of altercation...
LEMON: And that was Sarah Sarlstrom reporting from Phoenix, from our affiliate KPHO.
(MARKET REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: As we remember the five firefighters that lost their lives in that wildfire in California. Engine captain Mark Loutzenhiser, Jason McKay. Jess McLean, Daniel Hoover-Najera, and Pablo Cerda. We can tell you the latest news -- it just happened within the past 20 minutes that investigators are now seeking charges against this man, Raymond Lee Oyler, 36. Seeking charges of arson and murder. They believe this is the man that set that fire and is responsible for the loss of the five firefighters. Here was a bit of the emotional news conference just a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEIL LINGLE, SHERIFF RIVERSIDE CO, CALIFORNIA: Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to share with you today that we have done our job. Today I am announcing we have a suspect in custody for the Esperanza fire -- Raymond Lee Oyler. 36 years old, from Beaumont, California. We have recommended to our district attorney that he charge Mr. Oyler with the five murders of the United States forest service firefighters along with 11 counts of arson of forestland and ten counts of use of an incendiary device in those arsons.
JEANNE WADE DAVIS, U.S. FOREST SERVICE: Many families, friends, co-workers, and an entire nation have been affected by the tragedy that occurred one week ago today. This arrest really does help with some of the closure, the healing, that we in the forest service community and in the families need.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: This blaze was the deadliest for firefighters since 14 were killed in July of 1994 near Glenwood Springs, Colorado.
LEMON: When predators become prey. Federal agents swoop down in 24 states and come up with nearly 11,000 fugitives, all wanted on charges ranging from kidnapping to gang activities. Maybe the most notable stat from "Operation Falcon III", the arrest of nearly 1,000 unregistered sex offenders. That's the largest number ever snared in a single effort and includes one man who was arrested while babysitting several small children.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALBERTO GONZALEZ, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: "Black Falcon II", which was conducted earlier this year in the western United States, there was a particular focus on sex offenders and gang members. I'm pleased to announce this operation has broken all U.S. Marshals records for the number of fugitive sex offenders and gang members arrested in one week.
(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: This time "Operation Falcon" concentrated on states east of the Mississippi. In addition to the arrests, police confiscated hundreds of unregistered weapons.
PHILLIPS: A U.S. soldier in Iraq went missing ten days ago. The army says he was kidnapped. And, today we know his name, Specialist Ahmed Qusai al-Taai, age 41. He's Iraqi-American, a reservist, and an Arabic translator. An Army spokesperson told reporters today that witnesses saw the kidnapping go down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ahmed left the international zone to visit his family, including his Iraqi wife. Ahmed was at a relative's home when three cars pulled up to the residence. The hostage takers handcuffed him and forced him into one of their vehicles.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: While the general says thousands of security forces are working to get that kidnapped soldier back, no word on ransom demands or contact with the kidnappers.
LEMON: Danger in Iraq comes in many forms. U.S. soldiers patrolling the Iran border area intercepted a half dozen donkeys -- yes, donkeys -- loaded down with explosives, more than 50 mines, bombs and rockets. Two men spotted nearby ran away and military bomb specialists diffused the explosives and set the donkeys free.
PHILLIPS: Rebuilding Iraq carries two costs: the price tag in dollars, and a human toll. Most of the big ticket construction work is handled by civilian contractors who face the full spectrum of danger in Iraq every day.
CNN's Aneesh Raman reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For contractors in Iraq, any day could return into this ...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: God damn! IED on the left side. Two IEDs.
RAMAN: ...the chaotic scenes of an insurgent ambush. This video from last year shows an American truck driver being shot at. The man filming survived; three of his colleagues did not.
It is, for private companies, the human cost of rebuilding Iraq, a cost one of the biggest, Bechtel, knows all too well. In the past three years, Bechtel had two government contracts worth $2.3 billion, completing, the company says, 97 of the 99 projects it was tasked with.
But Bechtel, like many other contractors here, has seen a good number of those projects, ranging from electricity to water plants, sabotaged by insurgents, crippled by lack of security, and has seen 52 of its employees, mainly Iraqi subcontractors, killed.
LT. GEN. CARL STROCK, ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS: We are facing a battle as we build these projects, and so they are not as efficient as you might find a construction project in Memphis, Tennessee. People are actually shooting at you. They're intimidating the workers we have working for us.
RAMAN: In 2003, the U.S. Congress budgeted $18.4 billion to reconstruct Iraq. The lieutenant general says most of the project is budgeted 10 percent for security. And while in some parts they are using less than that, elsewhere security is costing 40 percent. Factor in spiraling sectarian violence ...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They just killed him.
RAMAN: ...and rebuilding Iraq is these days more difficult than ever.
Aneesh Raman, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: And we're going to make a turn here.
It's not fake, it's the real thing, and it's all over the Internet. Check this out. This is a tongue in cheek response by eight U.S. soldiers to Senator John Kerry's remarks about the military. And as you no doubt have heard, Kerry got himself into trouble Monday with a self-described botched joke about education in the military and of those in the service.
He says it was supposed to be a critique of President Bush. Kerry apologized yesterday. A military spokesman calls the photo humorous. It was taken by members of the 1st Brigade, 34th Infantry Division in southern Iraq. Nice to see they have a since of humor, at least.
PHILLIPS: Something borrowed, something blue, something that costs $50 million. I'm sure your wedding was nice, but this one was off the chain. And nobody did the chicken dance. Straight ahead, we'll revel in the happy couple, or we'll reveal, rather, the happy couple and why they have some explaining to do.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: You've seen the studies, and one right after the other tell us we should eat more seafood.
PHILLIPS: But will our favorite fish always be around for our culinary pleasure? Rob Marciano with a look at some startling new information just released.
What's the deal?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, a study just released in today's journal, "Science," has some startling information for sure. What is says is that given our current trends, our seafood of the seafood that we currently fish could collapse by the year 2048, or 90 percent of what humans fish and eat could be gone as far as seafood is concerned.
This is a study, it was a four-year deal. They studies almost 100 different data points and experiments, and what they found was that as you decrease the biodiversity, you start to accelerate that trend downward. Basically, the oceans use their productivity, their stability, and you know, it's like what you learned in the food chain back in grade school. If you take a link out of that food chain, the whole chain begins to collapse.
The cause of this or what you expect, you know, overfishing, pollution, just destruction of habitats mainly by humans. The good news from this story is that they think it is not too late. There is time to reverse the trend.
On the to-do list would be to manage fisheries properly. Basically, don't overfish is what that means. Also create marine reserves, protected areas. Right now less than one percent of the total of all of the oceans in the world are protected. So if you can bump that out by even two or three percent, we would be doing us a good deal of good here. Maintain habitats, obviously, and then control pollution.
But it is going to take, as you would imagine, Don and Kyra, a huge international collaboration because what is going on in the fisheries and oceans beyond the realm of the United States is out of our control. And some places, that's where a lot of the damage is doing so ...
PHILLIPS: Well, just think of all the ships that are out there at sea that dump and don't think about what they're putting out into the water. It does all build up.
I remember, Rob, when I spending time in Antarctica, there were actually scientists there studying the track of pollution and how some species of fish were becoming extinct and that was, you know, five, six, seven years ago.
MARCIANO: Yes, and now we're talking about in our lifetime. You know, in most people's lifetime at least.
PHILLIPS: And they can actually look forward and say this, look, this kind of fish isn't going to be around if you keep doing this. And we all love -- well, for the most part, people love seafood.
MARCIANO: Yes, and it's a scary thought to think that those fish will be completely gone. But, again, we can reverse this trend. They don't think we are past any sort of tipping point, but it's going to take a huge effort.
PHILLIPS: Something to pay attention to.
MARCIANO: How that happens politically is beyond my realm of thinking for sure, but put it out there to the politicians. LEMON: And it's also nice too, it looks like you have an aquarium in the Weather Center there with that ...
MARCIANO: Listen, we do it all here with these fancy plasmas.
LEMON: aquarium center there. That's very nice.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: Yes.
LEMON: Thank you, Rob, for that report, sir.
PHILLIPS: Well, straight ahead, entertainment news, with Sibila Vargas of "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT."
Hey, Sibila, what is on tap?
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tom Cruise fans unite. Could the action star be heading back to work anytime soon?
And comedian Roseanne Barr -- she is blond and bitchin'. I'll tell you what's got the star all fired up straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Black and white. Something old, something new, for Tom Cruise. And nope, nothing to do with those wedding rumors.
Entertainment Correspondent Sibila Vargas joins me now.
Explain that one. That's kind of a mystery.
VARGAS: Well, if you're a Tom Cruise fan, you are in luck, my friend. Just months after being dumped from his old production company, the soon-to-be-husband of actress Katie Holmes has landed a brand new job. Now just moments ago we confirmed news that the actor has inked a deal to resurrect the United Artist umbrella of MGM Studios. Now under the agreement, Cruise will star in and produce films for the studio while his production partner, Paula Wagner, will serve as chief executive. The studio plans to produce about four films per year, but say that number could increase in the future. So Tom Cruise, heading become to work after his honeymoon, of course.
Well, from Tom Cruise to Roseanne Barr. She's sure come a long way since Open Mike Nights. And now the Emmy winner is returning to the stage and bitching all the way.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROSEANNE BARR, ACTRESS: I was too afraid to take testosterone because I don't know what it will do to me. I mean, I knew right away that my I.Q. would decrease by half. I knew that. VARGAS: Over 14 years since her last comedy special. This week, Roseanne Barr will break her silence with a no-holds-barred stand-up routine she call "Roseanne Barr: Blond and Bitching".
BARR: Some of the things I'm talking about, they don't generally equate that to stand-up comedy, like when you talk about God and stuff. And so they were kind of were, you know, kind of like, what are you doing? People say, you belong in a church, or whatever. I've had it all. So then I got real dirty because I just try to find the balance. That's what stand-up is. It's a crafting of, like, your words, you know. A little play. It took a long time. And a lot happened in the country while I was working on it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Sibila, can you say that word on television?
VARGAS: I did.
LEMON: I was going...
VARGAS: But you won't. It's without the g.
LEMON: Yes, yes. OK. There you go.
Has it really been 14 years since she last took the take?
VARGAS: It really has. I mean, I know it's hard to believe, right?
LEMON: Yes, it is.
VARGAS: But it was like 1992 when Roseanne sang that now infamous National Anthem performance. She got a lot of flak for that.
LEMON: Oh, I remember that.
VARGAS: Remember that? Oh, my gosh, who could forget?
Well, you know, she got public humiliation because of it, even death threats, she told us, that went to her home. And that's when Barr says she let fear stop her from doing what she loves most. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARR: And I had a lot of fear over what happened, and being in public, you know, like Barbara Streisand getting hit with a beer bottle or something. I mean, that's pretty easy compared to what I came back from. But, you know, I decided just not to let fear get me and not let fear stop me, because it did for a long time. And I was like, after 9/11, I'm like, the hell with that, you know, you've got to do what you're supposed to do and can't let fear stop you. And that's kind of what my HBO show is about. It's like, don't let fear stop you. And that's kind of me saying that to myself the whole time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Yes, it's amazing. A lot of performers have stage fright. Like, you'd be surprised. A lot of very successful performers.
VARGAS: I know. You know, and speaking to her, she just seems so, she just seems so real, you know. You think, oh, gosh, she's Roseanne Barr, she speaks her mind, she's tough. But you know, she's just a person like everybody else.
LEMON: I was going to say, everybody's human.
Well, tell me about this. She talks a lot about religion in that special. What about political -- what about politics, does she talk about -- after all, the governor of California is an actor like she is.
VARGAS: Of course.
LEMON: Does she talk about that race at all?
VARGAS: Of course she does. And you know, there's been a lot of talk out there, at least out here in Hollywood about how the current Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger seems to be leaning to the left these days in an attempt to capture more Democratic votes. But she told us that she's not buying it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARR: It's show business. He is an actor. I feel like they give him a script and he reads it. And that's what it is anymore. It's show business. You know, all politics is just show business.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VARGAS: Well, you can catch Roseanne's complete hour-long special this Saturday on HBO.
And speaking of good old show business, like she said, coming up on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT", more on the Anna Nicole Smith mystery. She speaks out for the first time just as startling new information raises disturbing new questions about her son's mysterious death. The latest breaking developments on TV's most provocative entertainment news show, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT". 11:00 p.m. Eastern on "CNN HEADLINE PRIME".
Back to you, Don.
LEMON: Wow, you guys are have got a lot ahead. You're packed. Can't wait to see it.
VARGAS: It's packed. Jam packed. You're going to want to seep it, absolutely.
LEMON: All right. Thank you, Sibila.
PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, an invitation to fraud? Well, with the flip of a button, some voting machines could let some people cast more than one ballot. We'll have that story straight ahead.
NICOLE LAPIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: CNN.com is your campaign headquarters online. And we're counting down the days until midterm elections next week. Log on to our special report, "America Votes", for the very latest.
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