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Rolling Out the Welcome Mat for the Senate's Top Democrats; Bolton at the U.N.; Northwest Floods; Veterans Day Through Eyes of One Soldier

Aired November 10, 2006 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: You're with CNN. You're informed.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Carol Lin. Heidi Collins is off today.

New developments in to the NEWSROOM on this Friday, November 10th. Here's what's on our rundown right now.

The Democrats are coming. The new Senate leaders sit down with President Bush this hour. They're going to talk over Washington's power shift.

HARRIS: A soldier's story this Veterans Day. Life on the front lines in Iraq, danger always in the back of his mind.

LIN: First floods, now snow. Somebody give Washington State a break, and a snow shovel. Look at that, a winter preview, right here in the NEWSROOM.

Rolling out the welcome mat for the Senate's top Democrats. President Bush playing host to senators Harry Reid and Dick Durbin at the White House this hour. The dialogue with the Democrats, the latest attempt to make nice after the midterm elections.

CNN's Kathleen Koch live from the White House with a preview.

Kathleen, when exactly is that lunch going to start? Anybody arrive yet?

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not that we've seen. That's supposed to start shortly after 11:30. But it should be very interesting.

Right now, obviously everyone is smiling, shaking hands, pledging to work together, when less than a week ago they were calling one another names. And it's going to be very tough, obviously, for the Democrats and Republicans to mend fences, especially on very tough issues.

The president would like to see congressional approval for his domestic surveillance program. That's going to be very tough to get through Congress. Agreement on the war in Iraq virtually impossible to achieve. One of the senators he'll be meeting with, incoming Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, wants to see a national summit on Iraq. So it will be interesting this morning to see how similar this meeting is to a meeting that the president had yesterday morning also in the Oval Office with the incoming House Democratic leaders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The elections are now behind us. And the congresswoman's party won. But the challenges still remain. And therefore, we're going to work together to address those challenges in a constructive way. We won't agree on every issue. But we do agree that we love America equally, that we're concerned about the future of this country, and that we will do our very best to address big problems.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: Just a sign of the fact that things will not be easy, Senator Harry Reid speaking out at a rally yesterday, celebrating the Democratic victory in the Senate. He took a shot at Republicans saying, "They've set a very bad example in not working with us. We're not going to follow that example" -- Carol.

LIN: So, Kathleen, at this lunch, do they actually bring up specific issues like minimum wage or the guest worker program or the president's education agenda? Or is it just social?

KOCH: They are expected to tackle those sorts of issues. Basically, the way Press Secretary Tony Snow described the session yesterday with the House leaders, was that it was a very serious business-like session where they focused on the business at hand, and that's the lame-duck session that starts next week. So, yes, they will be talking about these concrete issues. Basically, the president focusing on what he wants to accomplish, and the Democrats, the first orders of business on their plate.

LIN: All right. You'll be watching for the arrivals and also the statements at the mic stand later, right? Stakeout positions.

KOCH: You bet. We'll be there.

LIN: All right. Thanks very much, Kathleen.

HARRIS: So I guess you know this already. Democrats don't think much of John Bolton as U.N. ambassador. Let's talk about what other diplomats at the world body think of him.

CNN's Liz Neisloss joins us from the United Nations.

Liz, good to see you.

First of all, how is John Bolton perceived there at the U.N.?

LIZ NEISLOSS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, that's a very good question. Like the Democrats, he is seen also here by diplomats as a bit confrontational.

This is a time when the United States certainly seems to need the United Nations. They worked through issues like Lebanon, like North Korea, and now they really need the U.N. on Iran.

Diplomats behind closed doors find Bolton to be a very sharp guy. He often has an encyclopedic knowledge of the issues. They say he even has a great sense of humor.

But his big problem here, he is confrontational. He's not a consensus builder. He's a guy that likes to tell it like it is. And that's something that doesn't always go down well at the United Nations, where's it's about making consensus, building consensus.

Here he's shown doing what he often likes to do. He goes to the microphones. Journalists love this, Tony...

HARRIS: Yes.

NEISLOSS: ... because he gives us the sound we love to hear, tough talking, straight talking, but it's not what diplomats like behind closed doors.

HARRIS: And this is such an important time for the United States around the world, certainly at the U.N., Liz. What's at stake? Sort of capsulizes it for us for the U.S. right now at the United Nations.

NEISLOSS: Well, it's a tough time, as I said.

HARRIS: Yes.

NEISLOSS: And what's at stake right now seems to be Iran. The United States really is looking for the U.N. to do the business it needs done to put sanctions in place on Iran. And right now what we're seeing in the diplomacy is that there are a lot of splits. This is going to be a time when some real consensus work, some real old- fashioned, roll-up-your-sleeves kind of diplomacy is going to be needed.

On the one side, we have Russia pushing very firmly. On the other side, we're seeing the United States and Bolton, a lot of tough talking.

So this is very much what's at stake right now. And it's consensus building that will be needed -- Tony.

HARRIS: Liz Neisloss at the U.N. for us.

Liz, appreciate it. Thank you.

LIN: Well, Republicans looking for a new leader. According to several GOP sources, Republican National Committee chairman Ken Mehlman is leaving his post. Sources say his decision is not the result of Republican losses at the polls this week. They say Mehlman had already made up his decision before the midterm elections. Now the White House is looking for a replacement to lead the party into the 2008 presidential campaign. A decision expected in January.

Well, his win gave Democrats control of the Senate. Jim Webb's opponent has conceded after that bitter cliffhanger in Virginia. And now Webb says he's ready to put the campaign behind him and work with Republicans in the Senate.

He talked about that with CNN's Larry King last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES WEBB (D), VIRGINIA SENATOR-ELECT: I spent four years as a committee counsel in the Congress, another five in the Pentagon. One as a Marine, four -- I know how to work in the American political process. I have got a lot of friends on both sides of the aisle. I'm really looking forward to getting in there and trying to address the issues that are facing our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: By the way, Webb has a son serving in Iraq, but he says the war would be a top concern even if he didn't.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WEBB: It's somebody's son and somebody's daughter over there. If my son were not there, I would feel the same way.

In fact, I was warning about this war six months before we went in, in a peace in "The Washington Post" saying what was going to happen. And my son wasn't there then. I have tremendous admiration for my son and for everyone else who is serving there, but they need to be led properly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Webb defeated incumbent Republican senator George Allen by fewer than 9,000 votes.

Now, of course we want to ask you to stay with CNN, the best political team on television. You certainly did on Election Day. More viewers came to CNN than any other cable news channel.

And you also made CNN.com the number one news site on Election Day. As the countdown to 2008 begins, stay with CNN and the best political team on television.

HARRIS: October was one of the bloodiest months for U.S. troops in Iraq. November is not shaping up to be much better.

Today, the U.S. military announced three more deaths. A roadside bomb killed two American soldiers in Baghdad, and a Marine died in combat in Anbar. That pushes the month's death toll to 23. Lou Dobbs salutes the men and women in uniform protecting Americans at home and abroad. CNN celebrates "America's Heroes" tonight at 7:00 Eastern.

This weekend, CNN goes beyond the headlines to show the frantic fight to save the lives of wounded troops. "Combat Hospital," don't miss this compelling "CNN PRESENTS" documentary this Saturday and Sunday night, 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

Let's take you to the New York Stock Exchange right now, where just a few moments ago -- at the top of the hour, to be more precise, there was a moment of silence remembering all of America's heroes who have died in service of this country to keep us all free on this veterans day.

2,842 have died in Iraq, 347 in Afghanistan. When you think about all of the service personnel who have died in all of the wars fought by this country, two numbers jump out -- 43,185, 893 Americans have served in combat, 653,708 have died in battle.

LIN: And when you know the frenetic activity on that trading floor, that's so dramatic that they stopped and they paused and they honor the fallen.

HARRIS: And then a moment of silence lasting a minute, and then it was back to work. And as we check the totals on the Big Board right now, the Dow still down 10, 11 points so far in the trading day. We will get the complete market wrap from Susan Lisovicz a bit later in the hour.

LIN: You got it.

In the meantime, up in the Northwest they're cleaning up, picking up the muddy pieces up there. Massive floods put parts of Oregon and Washington under water. Another storm is coming, but it's not expected to be nearly as bad.

Jane McCarthy is there. She's with CNN affiliate KING, reporting from the scene.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JANE MCCARTHY, REPORTER, KING (voice over): Mile after mile, roads are starting to be cleared of mud and debris and pumps are working overtime.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got about a foot out. I'll probably have to go get one of the big two-inch pumps.

MCCARTHY: All across western Washington, the damage is starting to be tallied.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I watched everything just go right down the -- down the river. You know?

MCCARTHY: Ron Caldwell (ph) checks in at a Red Cross disaster center. Like so many, he's forced to start over.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I lost everything. Everything on my property. I'm still in the water three feet right now.

MCCARTHY: Along the Skykomish River, the sooner these trees fall, the better the chance of saving these homes. They must be moved as raging waters along the Skykomish are eroding their property. Two homes next door have already washed away.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's tragic. We feel terrible. Yes, we really do. And we're just -- just keep them in our prayers. That's all we can do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And still to come now, a U.S. soldier in Iraq, a Veterans Day remembrance, a story you're not likely to forget. And it is straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

LIN: That's right.

And a home away from home. Can it help wounded soldiers heal? Troops connecting with families and finding comfort in one special place.

That story in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: The horrors of war. Those who have seen combat will tell you words can never capture the flashes of hopelessness, the bottomless grief, the moments of sheer terror.

One U.S. soldier in Iraq shared his thoughts with us. He gave much more.

CNN's Arwa Damon is in Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm specialist Will Mock (ph) from Harper, Kansas, with 22 Infantry here in Falluja. Mission accomplished.

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It was during the fight for Falluja in November 2004 when we got to know the soldier everyone simply called Mock (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just like every other man, distressed, a little scared. But, you know, this is what we do. And I thought about telling my family about it, but no way. I didn't want them to worry.

How would I describe Falluja to someone else that had never been there? First I'd say, "You might want to rethink about going." And say, "Make your peace with God, because you might not come back."

It's a living hell. It was a living hell. Some moments lasted a lifetime.

DAMON: No pretenses with Mock (ph), not about the mission, not about his love for being a soldier, despite all the emotional turmoil of his experiences.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's not only me that's changed. I think everybody that was there, enemy, friendly, everybody walked away changed. The ways that we changed, you have a different outlook on life. You don't take nearly as much for granted. And when you tell your girlfriend or your mother, father, "Hey, I love you," you really mean it.

This right here is my family.

DAMON: He was afraid then of going back home to Kansas, worried he had changed too much. His motto, tattooed on both arms, "Strength and honor."

A tough soldier, apologizing to us for being rough around the edges. He wasn't. In many ways, still the gentleman his family brought him up to be.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no reason in me saying, "Hey, Ma," you know, "I got shot at a lot today." Or, "Hey, Ma, we had to fight the enemy and, you know, some people didn't make it out, friendly and foe." It's just something better left untalked about.

DAMON: His first one-year tour of duty finally ended in February 2005.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A big relief. Overwhelming joy. You've got a deep feeling of our part is completed here.

Nobody wants to die out here. Even though the soldiers would for our country, any of them would, that's not a question.

I heard my grandfather once say, "Somebody's got to do it." I goes I'm that somebody.

Every time we lose soldiers and we have our ceremonies here for the fallen comrades, and they play the "Taps" for those men, that's probably the moments that will stay in my mind more than ever. From now until the day that I die, every Memorial Day and Veterans Day, when I go to the local cemetery in Hartford, Kansas, and they play "Taps," I'm sure I'll -- it will hit me pretty hard then.

DAMON: This Veterans Day they will be playing taps for him. Mock (ph) re-deployed to Iraq in August of 2006. The last time we saw him was on a rooftop in eastern Baghdad.

Twenty days later, on October 22nd, Mock (ph) was killed by a roadside bomb. One of 11 killed in Iraq that weekend. At his memorial, his commanders and his men echoed his motto, "Strength and honor, Sergeant Mock (ph)."

(END VIDEOTAPE) HARRIS: Arwa Damon joins us now from Baghdad.

I certainly hope that's a name that folks never forget. Arwa, distressed, a little scared, but this is what we do. You make your peace with god.

You know, you can love being a soldier and not particularly like or love the mission. With Mock (ph), did he love the mission -- did he like -- love the mission? Certainly he loved being a soldier.

DAMON: He believed in the mission, Tony. He definitely believed that at least what he was doing and what he was able to see himself do -- remember, a lot of these guys, especially someone like Sergeant Mock (ph), they see their own little area of operations. And in it he was able to see the small signs of progress and he was able to see events that he was specifically able to influence.

But remember, this was his second time back here. And at the end of his last deployment, he may not have thought that he was going to be coming back. And so he came back with a certain amount of perspective on the mission as a whole.

HARRIS: Yes. You certainly don't love it. You certainly don't like it. But I guess you just have to believe.

Did he change in the time that you knew him, that you watched him? Did he change? And I guess this is a question that cuts to stress, the stress that all of these soldiers are under.

DAMON: He changed, Tony. And he said it himself. And if you look at the images when we first see him in that story as the fighting for Falluja had just ended -- that's where that first piece is coming from -- you see his face looks younger. And as the story progresses, especially as we see him back here in 2006, you see his face has gotten older, it's gotten more mature.

There are very few of the people that are involved in the fight here that walk away from it without having changed in a certain profound way. Really, I think everyone who is here, U.S. soldier, Iraqi civilian, Iraqi troops, are all profoundly impacted by what they see and what they're living through. So, for him, it definitely added this element of maturity, perhaps even maturity beyond his years. He was only 23 years old when he died -- Tony.

HARRIS: My goodness. That was my next thought, to remind us of how old he was, 23.

Arwa Damon for us in Baghdad.

Arwa, thank you.

LIN: Sergeant Mock (ph).

HARRIS: It breaks your heart, doesn't it?

LIN: It does. It does. HARRIS: You just want to reach out to his family and just give them a big -- a big old hug.

LIN: What a remarkable young man that they raised, though.

HARRIS: Yes.

LIN: You know?

HARRIS: He made the point earlier that he was always thinking about his family. No need to tell them just how difficult it is.

LIN: But what a burden for him.

HARRIS: To carry it inside.

LIN: Yes.

HARRIS: What a story.

LIN: And, you know, their sacrifice also is paid right here on the home front. You know, on the job in Iraq , but out of a job right here at home.

Soldiers struggling to make ends meet straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Can online video games make your child fat? Well, it's the newfangled way to market food to kids.

CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has the scoop.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Go undercover with Chester Cheetah. Sling syrup for points. Or take a ride on the Pop-Tart slalom. These are the newest Internet games young kids are playing, hours of free entertainment.

But these are more than just games. The Kaiser Family Foundation calls them advergames because of the ads and characters pushing food products as kids play.

VICKY RIDEOUT, KAISER FAMILY FOUNDATION: As we look at the problem with childhood obesity, and as we look at the possible role of food marketing and perhaps helping to address the problem of childhood obesity, we need to be sure we're looking at online food marketing to kids.

GUPTA: A report by the foundation says eight out of the 10 brands that advertise to children on TV, some healthier than others, are now trying to reach kids on the Internet. It found 77 unique Web sites which received 12 million visits from children under the age of 12 in just three months. Three-quarters of them featured advergames. Some critics point to food marketing as one of several reasons American kids are becoming more overweight. The latest government figures show the number of overweight and obese children has risen to 17 percent. That's a steady increase over the last 30 years.

RIDEOUT: The Internet is potentially way more powerful than television advertising ever dreamed of being. But it's also way more challenging in terms of any kind of oversight.

GUPTA: Where television ads are regulated in length, Internet ads, for now, are only regulated voluntarily. But advertisers point out that the Internet can be used to market healthy food, as well as junk food.

DANIEL JAFFE, ASSOCIATION OF NATIONAL ADVERTISERS: I believe that if you really did look at these sites, you would find quite a number of foods that are healthy.

GUPTA: Now, studies on food ads for kids have stopped short of saying they cause obesity. But experts say there is evidence to show that advertisements do influence what products children buy or urge their parents to buy. And what they eat.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: What do you say? That live shot from the White House right now. Washington, D.C., the seat of government for the United States of America.

Inside right now, building bridges, bipartisan bridges. President Bush meeting with incoming Senate majority leader Harry Reid and Illinois senator Dick Durbin to talk about the issues to come, bipartisanship, getting off on the good foot.

LIN: Yes. And you really have to wonder what the essence of that lunch is going to be. What are they going to be able to accomplish?

HARRIS: Wouldn't you like to be there?

LIN: I would love to be there.

HARRIS: And just yesterday, the president met with House speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: The elections are now behind us, and the congresswoman's party won. But the challenges still remain. And therefore, we're going to work together to address those challenges in a constructive way. We won't agree on every issue, but we do agree that we love America equally, that we're concerned about the future of this country, and that we will do our very best to address big problems.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: They look good together there. Just work together. Work together, please.

LIN: As long as each other agrees with the other's position.

Frank Sesno saying, what, 10 seconds?

HARRIS: Ten seconds.

LIN: He thought the bipartisanship would last.

HARRIS: Let's hope for longer than that. Pelosi also promised to put aside differences and try -- try to work together.

LIN: You know, this has been all the political chatter for years now, with a Democratic comeback this year, will New York's junior senator try to move back into the White House?

CNN's Mary Snow checks the talk on another Clinton for president campaign.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: Thank you. God bless you. God bless New York and God bless America!

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Her landslide Senate victory was light on suspense, heavy on speculation about 2008, so heavy that even before Election Day, Senator Hillary Clinton was front and center on "New York" magazine with the declaration "and now the real race begins."

Political columnist Chris Smith.

CHRIS SMITH, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE: She's for the past year said, I'm focused on running for re-election. Now re-election is complete, and she's got to come up with other ways to say she's still hasn't made a decision about running for president.

SNOW: An example...

QUESTION: When will you address the question of whether you'll be running?

CLINTON: You know, I am going to relish this victory.

SNOW: That decisive New York victory could prove fruitful, say observers, should she make a run for president. They say trends in New York may be used to make the case she can win over critics. Specifically strategists point to her winning the more conservative areas of New York State, areas that she lost during her first campaign.

HANK SHEINKOPF, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: They didn't vote necessarily with her in 2000, but they voted with her in 2006, a real shift in how people view Senator Hillary Clinton.

SNOW: Polls show she's often viewed as a polarizing figure, and that may be one of her biggest hurdles. Observers say it's all part of a bigger picture being taken into consideration by her team, a team that has time on its side.

SMITH: One of the advantages of the machine she's put together is that she's not forced to do anything soon. I mean, she is by far and away, the best known potential candidate. She's got more money, she's got more campaign staff in place, so she can wait.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And still to come on this Veterans Day, a home away from home. Can it help wounded soldiers heal? Troops connecting with family and finding comfort in a special place. That story in the NEWSROOM.

And on the job in Iraq, out of a job right here at home. Soldiers struggling to make end's meet. You're in the NEWSROOM, and we're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: October was one of the bloodiest months for U.S. troops in Iraq. November is not shaping up to be much better. Today, the U.S. military announced three more deaths. A roadside bomb killed two American soldiers in Baghdad, and a Marine died in combat in Anbar. That pushes the month's death toll to 23.

LIN: Securing Iraq, while their own job security disappears. Answering the call to duty means putting a home-grown business on hold. And this Veterans Day, some of the troops are paying a price for their service.

CNN's Miles O'Brien reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN (voice-over): Bob Griffith is trying to rewire his financial life these days.

BOB GRIFFITH: Measure twice, do it only one time. Makes life so much simpler.

M. O'BRIEN: The electrical contractor and national staff sergeant was ready for the call of duty.

GRIFFITH: Anybody who says I was surprised to get called up, they're full of BS.

M. O'BRIEN: And he thought he was ready to keep his small business intact while he was gone.

M. O'BRIEN (on camera): Thought you had a good plan.

GRIFFITH: I thought I had a good plan.

M. O'BRIEN (voice-over): But while he was guarding terrorist suspects detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, he says his customers stopped paying their bills.

(on camera): So what did you do? Did you shut it down?

GRIFFITH: Had to. The stress was so much on my wife, I just told her, look, said shut it down, shut is down, shut it down. I'll pick up the pieces when I come back.

M. O'BRIEN (voice-over): By the time he came back, this decorated Vietnam veteran said he was $100,000 in the hole.

GRIFFITH: A lot of sympathy, but there nobody out there willing to help.

M. O'BRIEN (on camera): No safety net?

GRIFFITH: No safety net, absolutely zero, zilch, none.

M. O'BRIEN (voice-over): But the federal Small Business Administration does offer loans to self-employed vets in need. So far, 449 have applied for loans and 267 have been approved.

WILLIAM ELMORE, SBA'S VETERANS ADMINISTRATION DEVELOPMENT: A lot of these men and women are kind of reluctant to step up sometimes and ask for assistance. They tend to be self-sufficient, they're entrepreneurs, they're in the Reserves, they're warriors.

M. O'BRIEN: Bob Griffith got help from another veteran, Jerry Rovner, who is a mentor and partner for him and other vets. He says loans aren't the answer.

JERRY ROVNER, SELF-EMPLOYED VETERAN: It's a great program. The problem is it just puts the veteran deeper in debt. So what good is a loan when he can't pay off his existing debts when he comes out of the service.

ELMORE: Additional debt isn't always the answer, and all we can do is try to offer all the services and resources we have, and try to bring them in touch with, for example, our service corps of retired executives.

M. O'BRIEN: The SBA does offer plenty of advice for veterans with small businesses, how to write a business plan, pay the taxes, marketing and PR. All well and good, but not very much help for Bob Griffith as we drowned in debt.

GRIFFITH: Let's take care of the people who actually do something for the country, you know, is that too much to ask for?

M. O'BRIEN: All that said, he says he would go back without hesitation if he got the call yet again.

GRIFFITH: Because I'm a soldier. I'm a warrior. Been there, done that, to use that torrential expression, but it's true. I can't go down to the wall, for instance.

Soldiers are my responsibility, to make sure they're taken care of the best I can. As long as I can do something positive and keep them alive, that's why I'm there.

M. O'BRIEN: Miles O'Brien, CNN, Trenton, New Jersey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Start your morning off right. Join Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien on "AMERICAN MORNING" weekdays at 6:00 eastern.

HARRIS: And still to come, a home away from home. Can it help wounded soldiers heal? Troops connecting with family and finding comfort in one special place. That story in the NEWSROOM. We're right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Daily Dose -- doctors say people with high blood sugar levels are at a greater risk of heart disease and strokes, even if their blood sugar is below the threshold for diabetes. New research links high blood sugar to more than 3 million deaths worldwide each year. And if you're a diabetic, try eating soy yogurt. I'm not kidding you here, researchers say it may help people with diabetes control their blood sugar. They say soy yogurt with fruit works best. Are you taking this seriously?

HARRIS: Yes.

LIN: It appears to help regulate enzymes that affect blood sugar levels. To get your daily dose of health news online, you just logon to our website. You're going to find the latest medical news, a health library, and information on diet and fitness. The address is CNN.com/health.

HARRIS: Veterans Day in the United States, a time to recognize the sacrifices of those who have served in the military. Earlier on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING," we heard from the nation's highest ranking military officer. He says despite the raging debate over the Iraq war, he is heartened by the American people's support for those serving there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER PACE, GEN., JOINTS CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: It is true that regardless of their stand on the war, that the American people have been extremely supportive of their military in so many ways, whether it's greeting them when they come home at airports or in the cases of those who have been wounded or killed in action, taking care of their families. There are organizations out there that provide scholarships for the children or provide special homes and the like for the wounded. The American people have reached out in amazing ways to our returning veterans. All of us in uniform thank them.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: More than 21,000 soldiers have been wounded in the fight for Iraq. Some of them severely, battling back from injury is hard enough. But doing it alone, far away from your family, that's harder still. One organization is looking to make things a bit easier. CNN's Soledad O'Brien reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): When an IED, an improvised explosive device, blew up under Sergeant Brian Fountaine's Humvee back in June, his injuries were devastating. He had to fight to stay alive.

SGT. BRIAN FOUNTAINE, WOUNDED IN IRAQ WAR: You can see my driver screaming, my gunner just, you know, freaking out. And you see me laying there with pools of blood forming on the bottom side of my legs.

You just kind of sit there and you're, like, "All right. I've got a choice. I can either sit here, lay back and die, or I can save myself." Well, I chose the latter.

S. O'BRIEN: Today he is still fighting to recover. Just 24 years old, Brian lost both legs. They've been amputated below the knee.

FOUNTAINE: They might have took from me, you know, a physical part of my body, but they'll never take from me the fighting spirit.

S. O'BRIEN: Now it is an excruciating battle to get better. It was made worse for Brian, who was separated from his family and his girlfriend while being treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.

FOUNTAINE: Everything hurts my back.

S. O'BRIEN: Now Fountaine is being helped by the Fisher House, a non-profit organization in D.C.

Ken Fisher is the chairman of the foundation which provides homes for families and loved ones of hospitalized military personnel and veterans.

KEN FISHER, CHAIRMAN, FISHER HOUSE FOUNDATION: Our troops today don't make policy. They're out there to do a job, and that is to defend this nation. And Fisher House Foundation is there to support them and their families because, quite frankly, the need is there.

S. O'BRIEN: More than 21,000 American soldiers have been wounded in combat in Iraq. Ken Fisher says these homes away from home are crucial to a soldier's recovery.

FISHER: It's not just having a place to sleep, but it's also having people to help you. So it's the support network that forms in the houses, which is a byproduct of the foundation.

S. O'BRIEN: Brian lives free of charge at the Fisher House with his girlfriend, Mary Long.

MARY LONG, BRIAN FOUNTAINE'S GIRLFRIEND: Just not having to worry, being able just to be here and see for my own eyes that he's walking, see for my own eyes that he's getting better, that this problem is going away. I'm so grateful for it.

FOUNTAINE: When I first started walking, one of the first things that I did was I took her up and I held her hand. And for the first time since we started dating, I was able to just walk down the hall and hold her hand at the same time.

You know, other people might take that for granted. That was huge. That was huge.

Soledad O'Brien, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And we here at CNN want to do our part to help Fisher House with its mission. Take a look here at Warrior One. Carol, this is one of our humvees.

LIN: From the war.

HARRIS: That served us so well during the war, those initial days in the war. It was overhauled. We brought it back to Atlanta. It was overhauled by the folks at TLC, the Learning Channel. The show "Overhauling" actually did the job, did a wonderful job at refurbishing, cleaning it up, overhauling the humvee. And now we are going to auction it off. You can get more information online of course at CNN.com. We are auctioning it off and the proceeds will go to Fisher House. So if can you help us, we would certainly appreciate it.

LIN: Terrific cause, absolutely.

All right. Let's check in with Jim Clancy at CNN international, our sister network to see what's at the top of the hour on "YOUR WORLD TODAY." Hey, Jim.

JIM CLANCY, CNN ANCHOR: Hi Carol. Listen, I have a treat for you today. Tune in and you are going to see we have a new set. So we're sitting in a different place. But, we're covering a lot of the important stories just like always.

Britain's MI-5 spy agency says now that it's tracking 30 different terror plots, Islamic terror plots, that may involve 1,600 people. And some sources are describing the onslaught of these al Qaeda-inspired groups as out of control. We'll have details of that.

U.S. President George W. Bush meeting with Democrats. This time from the Senate as the administration seeks to map the way ahead between Congress and the White House.

Here's another one for you. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes running off to Europe to get married? Now we think we know the date and we're sending Alessio Vinci into rural Italy to find out exactly where. He's around Brachiano (ph), that's what you see there.

LIN: Not bad.

CLANCY: Carol.

LIN: All right. We wish Alessio well on his research.

HARRIS: Yes, all right Jim. Thank you.

Still to come, caught on tape. The feds are investigating two Los Angeles police officers. Did they go too far with this arrest? That story in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: We've seen it before, police officers using force to make an arrest. And nearby, a person with a video camera. Two Los Angeles police officers are now under investigation by the FBI. This video shot three months ago made public at the arrested man's preliminary hearing. It also turned up on the YouTube Web site. L.A. Police have an investigation of their own underway.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF WILLIAM BRATTON, LOS ANGELES POLICE: There's no denying that the video is disturbing. But as to whether the actions of the officer were appropriate in light of what he was experiencing, the totality of circumstances, that's what the investigation will hopefully determine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Well an attorney representing suspect William Cardenas plans to file suit over the incident.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KWAKU DUREN, CARDENAS' ATTORNEY: He was brutally assaulted. And his human rights, not just his civil rights, his human rights were being violated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: L.A. Police say Cardenas is a gang member. He was arrested for failing to appear in court on a stolen property charge.

HARRIS: You are back in the NEWSROOM 1:00 p.m. Eastern time. Kyra Phillips here on a Friday with a preview for you -- Kyra?

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, TGIF guys.

Well saluting a living symbol of World War I. Yes, I said one. Lloyd Brown says that the boys in uniform were always popular with the girls, but that's just one reason that he joined the Navy. We're honoring our veterans today. So why not start with a sailor who just celebrated his 105th birthday. LIN: Bless his heart.

PHILLIPS: Life lessons and remembering war with a true hero.

And speaking of heroes, depicting great events in American history from a marine's perspective. President Bush set to help dedicate the new National Museum of the Marine Corps in Washington today. We're going to carry that live, 2:00 Eastern time. We hope it hits it right on the mark.

105 years old. Can we just only be so lucky?

LIN: He's still walking around and active?

PHILLIPS: Oh yes, he smokes his pipe, still smokes his pipe.

HARRIS: Nice.

PHILLIPS: He's got some good war stories for us.

HARRIS: Can't wait, can't wait, Kyra.

LIN: You bet.

PHILLIPS: Thanks.

LIN: Well we are wishing a happy birthday today to something that's near and dear to many of us. Susan Lisovicz joins us from the New York Stock Exchange to explain. It's not a who, but a what.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

LIN: All right, thanks Susan, have a great weekend.

Well CNN NEWSROOM continues one hour from now.

HARRIS: "YOUR WORLD TODAY" is next with news happening across the globe and here at home. Have a great day and a great weekend.

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