Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Raging California Wildfires; Future of Iraq; John Bolton Hands in Resignation

Aired December 04, 2006 - 11:01   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.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Heidi Collins, coming to you from New York today.

Developments keep coming into the NEWSROOM this Monday, the 4th day of December. Here's what's on the rundown.

Out of control. A raging inferno rolling over homes in southern California. Fire crews struggling against high winds.

Live to the scene.

HARRIS: A key Iraqi cleric and political player meeting with president today. Iraq policy a central focus from Washington this week.

COLLINS: E. coli outbreak. A dozen people get sit after dining at a New Jersey fast food restaurant. Medical investigation in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: Raging wildfires. At one point, near hurricane-force wind gusts. A dangerous mix in southern California. Hundreds of homes in Los Angeles threatened this morning by the fast-moving inferno. Some people have already lost everything.

CNN's Chris Lawrence is on the scene in Moorpark. That's about 30 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This fierce wildfire has destroyed at least five homes and scorched more than 4,000 acres in Ventura County, just north of Los Angeles.

DORANN LAPERCH, LOST HOME IN FIRE: We've lost all our personal belongings, my mom's and dad's wedding pictures. My dad's ashes were in mom's house.

LAWRENCE: Fueled by Santa Ana winds gusting up to 70 miles per hour, the fire has spread quickly through the area, forcing the mandatory evacuation of at least 150 homes. The fierce winds have been blowing for the past four days, making conditions on the ground very dry and providing a lot of the fuel for the wildfires. And conditions aren't letting up. The Santa Anas are expected to continue into today, and fire officials warn that up to 3,000 homes could be threatened by the fire.

Fire officials urged residents to voluntarily evacuate. Those who chose to stay behind did the best they could to protect their homes.

MARGARET FIGUEROA, VENTURA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, RESIDENT: Well, I'm pretty OK. As long as I don't see flames over the ridge, I'm OK. I'm just watering down just in case.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: CNN's Chris Lawrence joins us now.

And Chris, we can take a look at the collar of your jacket there. It is still being blown around by the wind out there.

Talk us through how the high winds impact the ability of the firefighters to do their jobs.

LAWRENCE: Well, at times, Tony, you know, some of these gusts were kicking up around 50 miles an hour or more. Some of the firefighters said they could barely stand up straight, even with all their equipment at times. Other times they said the fire would whip up the smoke and the ash so much that they could barely see...

HARRIS: Wow. The winds out there obviously just knocking Chris Lawrence right off the air.

We will try to get back to Chris, boy, when the weather -- when the winds permit.

And I understand Chris Lawrence is back with us.

Chris, evidence there of how strong the winds, it knocked you off the air.

LAWRENCE : Yes, Tony, we're exposed. It's not like where you can kind of get in behind a concrete wall or anything like that

HARRIS: Yes.

LAWRENCE: I mean, there's nothing to stop the winds up here. And I don't know how much of that you heard, but basically the two things firefighters have told us is that when these gusts kick up, 50 miles an hour or more, they can barely stand up at times. And then you've got the smoke and the ash that are also making it very hard for them to see at times.

HARRIS: All right. Chris Lawrence for us, boy, braving the elements, to be sure.

Chris, thank you. A chilly warning for Missouri residents. The mayor of St. Louis says as long as there's no power, people are at risk with temperatures today below freezing.

An early winter storm is blamed for the deaths of 19 people in the Midwest. Right now, hundreds of thousands remain without electricity in areas of Missouri and Illinois. Crews are working to restore power, but the cold temperatures are making repairs difficult.

COLLINS: A morning of whirlwind developments at the White House, and a common thread to all of them, the future of Iraq.

CNN White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux scrambling for all of the details. Suzanne joining us now live.

There's a meeting today, we've got John Bolton, we've got several things happening there. You can take us from the top to the bottom.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: OK, Heidi.

Well, it's a very busy day here at the White House. Of course, news that the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., John Bolton, will no longer be serving in this position after this week. That is, of course, when his recess appointment expires.

He sent a letter to the president on Friday, essentially saying that he would not move forward and he didn't want the White House to try to technically create some sort of way of keeping him in office without having Senate approval. Essentially, it really was a no- brainer here.

The Republican senator Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island made it sure that under Republican watch he was not going to get the vote or the approval for Senate nomination. And then, of course, the Democrat senator, Joe Biden, who would be taking over next year, also said it was a nonstarter.

And so Bolton decided it just wasn't worth it, sending that letter to the president. White House officials very upset about this, the president disappointed.

He issued a letter simply saying -- and he's calling this partisanship -- saying, "... their tactics will disrupt our diplomatic work at a sensitive and important time. This stubborn obstructionism ill serves our country and discourages men and women of talent from serving their nation."

And what you are seeing here, Heidi, really is a new reality for this White House. They are simply not going to get everything they want, and the Bolton nomination a very good example of that.

So we'll see President Bush later today at the Oval Office, with Bolton and his wife, thanking them, congratulating him for his service. And then, of course, the next decision that he'll have to make is who they're going to nominate next and how easily that will be to get through the process -- Heidi. COLLINS: I also understand that British prime minister Tony Blair is going to be visiting the White House this week. What do we know about that meeting?

MALVEAUX: Well, we know it comes at a really important time here. It's the day after the Iraq Study Group -- that bipartisan commission is going to release its recommendations to the president on Wednesday. He's going to be taking a full look at that in the next couple of weeks, trying to determine from his own White House internal review, the Pentagon, as well as that commission, what to do next when it comes to U.S. policy in Iraq.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair a very important ally. They'll be discussing that report here at the White House the following day -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. Suzanne Malveaux, keeping her finger on all the action at the White House today.

Suzanne, thank you for that.

We want to head now over to the United Nations, where our senior correspondent, Richard Roth, is standing by to give us a little bit more context for what has happened today with John Bolton.

And as I look at this White House press release here, Richard, I'm reading deep regret from the president. He points to successful negotiations that Bolton conducted regarding North Korea, Iran, Darfur.

What do you make of this? It seems like the president was a bit surprised.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SR. U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Well, I don't think he was surprised. He knew, and many did after the Democratic wins in the elections, that John Bolton's fate may have been sealed. There was talk of some diplomatic maneuvering where Bolton could have been given a different title and still keep the post, but John Bolton, in his letter to the president today, saying, "I've concluded that my service in your administration should end when the current recess appointment ends." And that was a controversial appointment, bypassing official congressional approval by President Bush.

It is true what President Bush said. John Bolton did work effectively with the French, the Chinese on resolutions regarding North Korea. Remember the missile crisis there, the nuclear test. And with the French on Lebanon and the war with Israel and Hezbollah.

But behind the scenes there was -- there were many ambassadors who did not like his style, though just the other night, one ambassador who dueled feverishly with John Bolton over many matters, said that Bolton had changed, that he was more pleasant, that perhaps had he been beaten down. The United Nations secretary-general, Kofi Annan, did not have the greatest working relationship with Kofi -- with John Bolton.

I asked Kofi Annan just a short time ago about the resignation of Bolton.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROTH: John Bolton has resigned. Your thoughts on his term here, relationship with you? I know at times it was stormy.

KOFI ANNAN, SECRETARY-GENERAL, UNITED NATIONS: Well, I think Mr. Bolton did the job he was expected to do. He came at a time when we had lots of tough issues, from reform, to issues on Iran and North Korea. And I think from -- as a representative of the U.S. -- of the U.S. government, he pressed ahead with the instructions that he had been given and tried to work as effectively as he could with the other ambassadors.

ROTH: Did he do enough for the organization, or was he trying to chop down its effectiveness, do you feel, at times?

ANNAN: I think it's difficult to blame one individual ambassador for difficulties on some of these issues, whether it's reform or some other issues. But I think what I've always maintained, that it is important that the ambassadors work together, that the ambassadors understand that to get concessions they have to make concessions, and they need to work with each other for the organization to move ahead. And I have also constantly encouraged the member states to try and speak with one voice where it's possible, particularly in the Security Council, because a united voice is much more powerful than a divided one.

ROTH: So now both you and he will not be in the U.N. system, ironically, in a few weeks.

ANNAN: Yes. We are both graduating together.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROTH: I think you saw some hints there from Kofi Annan that he felt John Bolton could have worked in a more cooperative spirit, but many in the U.S. would say the U.N. needed some shaking up.

Back to you -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. From the U.N. today, Richard Roth.

Richard, thanks.

HARRIS: And this just in to CNN. Kansas senator Sam Brownback, a man who is openly and has been openly considering a run for the '08 Republican nomination, looks to have taken that first familiar step on the path, forming an exploratory committee.

The Brownback for President Web site is now up, as you can see there, with a message to his friends and supporters. But in the notes to supporters, he seems to take it a step further. He writes, "Dear Friend, I have decided after much prayerful consideration to consider a bid for the Republican nomination to the presidency." "I am running to spread hope and ideas. We are a blessed nation at an important crossroads. War, corruption, disintegrating families for some, hopelessness that tear at the American dream -- we need hope and ideas."

So, once again, it looks like Kansas senator Sam Brownback is set to launch his bid for the '08 Republican nomination.

More on this story, developing now, as we get it.

President Bush is meeting with a top Shiite leader, underlining the precarious balance of power in Iraq. Some fear today's talks could damage Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, but why?

CNN Senior International Nic Robertson has the answer. But first, a closer look now at Abdul Aziz al-Hakim.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the powerful leader of Iraq's largest Shia party, the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iran, is friendly to the United States.

How much of that warmth is political maneuvering is hard to fathom. Hakim, a quietly spoken Shia cleric spent decades in exile in Iran, only returning after Saddam was overthrown. He wants Iran to help out in Iraq.

ABDUL AZIZ AL-HAKIM, SCIRI LEADER (through translator): They can help Iraq and the Iraqis a lot. They can participate in solving security and economic problems.

ROBERTSON: Hakim still has strong ties with Tehran. His party has an Iranian-trained militia, the 25,000 strong banner brigade.

Many have joined Iraq's national police service. Others pledge to disarm, but the militia, whose commanders got top jobs in the police force, have yet to shake well-founded accusations they're running death squads, killing Sunnis.

Hakim came to leadership by default. His elder brother Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim was blown up by Sunni insurgents. Since then, Hakim has publicly at least preached against retaliation, and steered the Shia towards unity, maximizing their political clout.

But divisions are opening up. Hakim opposed fellow Shia Nuri al- Maliki for prime minister, preferring a candidate from his own party. Now the prime minister is on the political ropes, under intense American pressure to disarm his most powerful backer, firebrand Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's militia. Hakim could benefit if the prime minister fails.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Nic Robertson joins us now from Baghdad. Nic, you addressed this in your piece, but let me ask it directly of you. How much real loyalty does al-Hakim have to the Maliki government?

ROBERTSON: Tony, that's a very interesting question. And I think the best analysis is, if we look at what's happened in Iraq up until now, the Shias have really seen that their best policy, the way to maximize their power here, is to stay united. And that's what we've seen from them now.

But the country is now under pressure to get rid of these Shia militias. So now is the time to choose which side are you going to be on, and that's the position that Hakim is in now. And certainly that gives him opportunity for short-term political gain.

But a lot of people here say if he divides the Shias at this point, they'll lose their power in the future, and that will be very damaging for them. Of course, they've been waiting many, many years, decades to get this kind of power. And so far, he hasn't seen -- appear as if he's wanted to throw that away -- Tony.

HARRIS: And Nic, just a quick follow to that. Aren't many of the infiltrators in the Iraqi security forces thought to be from al- Hakim's Badr Brigade, those infiltrators making up what some consider Shia death squads killing Sunnis?

ROBERTSON: Absolutely. And I've sat down and talked to Abdul Aziz al-Hakim about this before. And he said, well, there's no direct proof of this. But if one looks back to just a year ago now, the U.S. forces here went into a police bunker system where there was torture and deaths of many Sunni prisoners going on, and it was run by police loyal to a former Badr corps commander in the -- in the police here.

The evidence was pretty much there, but he denied it. That was a year ago. The emphasis has really switched to this firebrand Shia cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi militia as being the real troublemakers now.

But what is the Badr Brigade still doing? Well, they're still there in the police force, and it's still a big worry.

HARRIS: Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson for us in Baghdad.

Nic, thank you.

COLLINS: Donald Rumsfeld and a parting shot heard around the world just before his resignation. A secret memo to the White House. Details in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: It is a page out of a spy thriller, all to Russia in the hunt for the killer of a former Russian spy. That story in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: Well, a desperate search under way at this hour for three missing U.S. troops. They were aboard a Marine helicopter that made an emergency water landing in Anbar Province.

One Marine was killed, 12 passengers survived. The U.S. military says it's not clear whether the chopper went down in a lake or a river. The military says it doesn't appear enemy action is to blame for the emergency landing.

COLLINS: Car bombings, kidnappings, torture and death. Shaky security in Iraq. And this afternoon, President Bush talks about it with a powerful Shiite leader, but we're talking about it now with international security expert Michele Flournoy. She joins us from Washington.

Michele, thanks for being here.

Let's get straight to that meeting between President Bush and Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the Shiite leader. What do you make of that, and what could come out of it?

MICHELE FLOURNOY, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: I actually think it's a very positive thing that the administration is meeting with the full range of political players in Iraq. We need to be engaged in as much of a dialogue as possible.

What's really been missing in Iraq is an initiative to bring all of the parties in Iraq to the table, to chart some way forward for political reconciliation, and to avoid a civil war. So anyone that should -- that we can talk to like this, who has credibility and leadership on the ground, I think it's a positive move.

COLLINS: Well, how does Muqtada al-Sadr factor into these type of discussions?

FLOURNOY: Well, he's certainly been a very difficult player to deal with in the past. He doesn't always have interests that overlap with that of -- those of the United States. But he is a powerful player, and he, too, needs to be brought to that negotiating table.

But rather than meeting people one off in bilateral discussions, what we really need is a process that brings together all of the Iraqis inside Iraq to have that -- that heart-to-heart session, if you will, about how do we avoid civil war? How do we keep this country together and move forward?

COLLINS: Well, how open are the Iraqis to that idea?

FLOURNOY: Well, I think they -- they need to experience some pressure to be pushed in that direction. I think as long as they think that the civil war can be avoided, they may try to avoid having -- putting everything on the table that way.

But I think you -- they really are at the brink at this point. And that kind of leadership is really what we need from the Maliki government. COLLINS: So as we look for specific ways to secure this country of Iraq, what are some of the best options? Those that will lead to success by the United States?

FLOURNOY: Well, I think beyond pushing for an internal process, I think the U.S. has a real leadership role to play in terms of bringing various countries in the region, some of whom have been mischievous and helpful, like Iraq and Syria, and some who have just simply not weighed in with all of their influence, like Saudi Arabia and Jordan and others on the positive side. But to build a regional process that would put regional pressure on Iraq to move forward.

The other thing I would say is very important adjustments in our military posture and activities there.

COLLINS: And when you talk about these leadership positions, then, of course, talking about the military, and Robert Gates as possibly the next secretary of defense. What does he bring to the table?

FLOURNOY: Well, he is the consummate Washington insider. He has a great track record of building bipartisan centrist consensus.

He's not an ideologue. He listens, he learns, and so forth. So he has a very deep well of experience to bring to this.

And I think he knows that the president is bringing him in to focus, first and foremost, on Iraq. The question is whether he can bring the rest of the administration forward to endorse a new plan.

COLLINS: And when we talk about that new plan, it's hard not to think about the Rumsfeld memo that was published on Sunday, talking about more troops and possibly moving troops around a bit. What was mentioned in that memo was moving troops into safer areas in Iraq and then also Kuwait.

Would that help with the security situation, in your view?

FLOURNOY: I think the most important thing that we need to do is increase the training and mentoring effort. We've put the force through basic training, but we need to embed Americans down to a much lower unit level to work day to day, hand in hand, with giving the Iraqi forces confidence they need to operate independently.

That is the most important thing we can do. And then coupled with that, we can probably afford to put some of our combat forces over the horizon or to redeploy them in a strategic manner.

COLLINS: All right.

Michele Flournoy, we appreciate your insight here today from the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Thanks again.

FLOURNOY: Thank you. HARRIS: And this just in to CNN. Just a few moments ago we told you about the search for three missing U.S. troops. They were aboard a Marine helicopter that made an emergency landing in the water in Anbar Province.

And we told you that one Marine was killed, and now we have learned that coalition forces have recovered the bodies of the other three missing service members. There were 12 other passengers who survived the crash.

The U.S. military says it's not clear whether the chopper went down in a lake or in a river. We still don't have clarification on that point yet. The military says it does not appear that the crash was the result of an enemy action.

But once again, all of the service members, the three missing bodies, have been recovered. We will continue to follow developments on this story.

Cold and powerless, and it could stay that way for some days. We're talking about extreme weather making life difficult across much of Missouri and Illinois this morning. Temperatures below freezing, and now word that it could be days before power is restored.

Reporter Erin O'Neill of CNN affiliate KSDK joins us from north St. Louis.

And boy, Erin, let me ask it as directly as I can. Sometimes the best questions are the simplest.

Just how bad is the situation on the ground now?

ERIN O'NEILL, REPORTER, KSDK: Well, right now we have 245,000 customers without power. And Tony, let me show you, this is the culprit, downed trees like this one covered in ice.

Ameren UE is our power company, and it has 7,000 workers on the job right now. That's 1,400 more than July's storm, when 500,000 people were without power.

Now, Ameren says the crews are pulling 16-hour shifts, with eight hours of rest. The cold temperatures are especially hard on the linemen, like Janfrey Hunter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANFREY HUNTER, AMEREN WORKER: It's been kind of tough. It's cold weather. You know, we're doing the best we can, just trying to hang in there.

We've got a lot of wire down more than broken poles. So that's really kind of a good thing. You know, wires go a little faster than putting whole poles in the ground. You know?

(END VIDEO CLIP) O'NEILL: Now, of course during this time of the year the days are shorter, so the linemen are not able to work as long. Ameren says it cannot predict when all the power will be restored, but the company says it's working as quickly as it can.

For CNN, I'm Erin O'Neill in St. Louis, Missouri.

HARRIS: And Erin, just one quick question.

What's being provided for folks there? A lot of folks without power now need somewhere to go, family, shelter. What's being provided?

O'NEILL: Well, you know, Tony, a lot of people are sticking it out. But city officials are not recommending they do that, because during the night, the temperatures were in the single digits. Right now, of course, you can see the sun's out. So it's a little bit warmer, but warming shelters, warming centers are set up across the state, and people are being encouraged to use them.

HARRIS: OK, Erin. We appreciate it. Thank you.

COLLINS: On the case of an E. coli outbreak. This New Jersey fast food restaurant at the center of the investigation.

The story coming up in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: And it is the page out of a spy thriller. Off to Russia, in the hunt for the killer of a former Russian spy.

That story straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Race confronting the Supreme Court this morning. Two cases involve school systems trying to achieve balance in their classrooms. Louisville and Seattle take race into account to determine which school a child attends.

They say it's needed to counter segregated housing patterns. Parents sued, claiming the policy amounts to color coding their children. Three years ago, the Supreme Court ruled racial quotas unconstitutional, but justices said race could be one factor in college admissions.

HARRIS: And Heidi, let's get you to T.J. Holmes in the NEWSROOM now. He is following the story of an amber alert out of Albertville, Alabama. T.J., what's the latest?

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, that's right. Albertville really in the northeast corner of the state there in Alabama. What's happening now, amber alert been issued for a five-year-old boy. Five- year-old Geontae Glass is the name. Now what happened according to police is that this morning around 6:00 a.m. he was in a car with his mother. The mother got out of the car, left the car in front of the store and then a man came and carjacked that car with the child inside.

An amber alert was at that point issued. Right now, the last time the car was seen, according to police, it was traveling south on highway, Alabama 206 Highway there. Now, a trooper did report or is saying that the child is believed to be in extreme danger.

Don't know many details about who they think might have carjacked this car or where that person might be heading but in fact the trooper has said they believe the child is in extreme danger. But again, five-year-old Geontae Glass. We'll try to get a photo of him and bring that to you a little later. But keeping an eye on this story. We'll keep you updated on it Tony.

HARRIS: OK. T.J. appreciate it. Thank you.

COLLINS: The future of Iraq, a number of rapid fire developments have made this situation even more fluid than normal. CNN's senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre gathering all the details, joining us now with the latest. Good morning to you once again, Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning Heidi. Pentagon officials confirming that this memo written by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld just a day before the November elections and leaked to the "New York Times" over the weekend is authentic, even as they say they will not release the actual memo.

It's significant because it shows Rumsfeld's private thoughts, which are much more sober and realistic than some of his public pronouncements about how the war is going in Iraq. In fact, he calls for a major adjustment in U.S. policy. Now, just a couple of days after he stepped down, a few days after this memo was sent to President Bush, Rumsfeld in a public appearance almost seemed to be reading from it. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, OUTGOING SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: I certainly can't speak for the new incoming secretary of defense. I will say this -- it is very clear that the major combat operations were an enormous success. It is clear that in phase two of this, it has not been going well enough or fast enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCINTYRE: Well enough or fast enough are words directly out of that memo to President Bush. In the memo, Rumsfeld lays out a series of possible options, but doesn't endorse any of them. They include things like moving U.S. troops back, away from the front lines as a quick reaction force. He talks about deploying more troops along the border with Iran and Syria. He also advocates a tough love policy of withholding reconstruction funds from areas where violence is high and only perhaps deploying U.S. troops into areas where's they are invited and supported by the local populous.

Again, he lists these as all, what he calls illustrative options and doesn't endorse any of them. A few of them though, he puts what he calls below the line, saying things that he doesn't think are necessarily good ideas. Included in that are sending more troops to Iraq or moving the bulk of troops to Baghdad to secure Baghdad completely.

He also sort of dismisses the idea of having a date and style peace conference, which many people say is something that maybe ought to happen in order to get the Sunni and Shia to stop fighting each other and put the country on the path to peace. So, interesting insight into the mind and thoughts of Donald Rumsfeld on his way out -- Heidi.

COLLINS: No question about it. Interesting indeed and the timing of it, too. There's probably two different ways to look at it. If he's writing this, it makes him look possibly a little bit more in tune as you say and realistic about the situation there. Some people might, you know, take that train of thought. Others saying, well why the heck did he wait so long to write this?

MCINTYRE: Well, you know, if you were cynical, you might argue that Rumsfeld was writing this with a eye toward his place in history -- and what history might record he was thinking as he was leaving office. But, those who know Rumsfeld and who were pretty close to him, insist that this was part of his methodical process. He was constantly questioning how things were going, even if in public he wasn't always admitting some of his private doubts and they say this memo is typical Rumsfeld in that it goes over a whole number of options and withholds judgment in the end about which one might be the best one.

COLLINS: He's putting it out there, I guess. All right. Jamie McIntyre, live from the Pentagon today. Jamie, thank you.

HARRIS: Replacing Rumsfeld now. President Bush formally sending his nomination for defense secretary to Capitol Hill today. Robert Gates facing questions from the Senate Armed Services Committee tomorrow. As you can imagine, the focus will be on Iraq. In written testimony, Gates indicates he's against a quick withdrawal. He believes leaving Iraq in chaos would have dangerous consequences globally. Senators from both political parties have said they support Gates' nomination. He ran the CIA for President Bush's father.

Forget diplomacy, Britain wants answers. The investigation into the death of a former Russian spy moves to Russia today.

CNN's senior international correspondent Matthew Chance is in London with the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's been confirmed that British investigators have been given visas to travel to the Russian capital to continue their investigations there. It's believed they'll interview witnesses, possibly identify some suspects, but certainly try and bring together the desperate strands of evidence they've managed to gather so far. Britain's press is swirling with rumors and speculation about what may be involved in this case. One British newspaper suggesting that Litvinenko had many potential enemies, not just the Kremlin who he accused of, as I say, ordering his killing. The "Observer" newspaper quotes a Russian academic who met Litvinenko several times and exchanged more than 100 e-mails with him.

He says the former agent was planning to blackmail several Russian tycoons and government officials with incriminating evidence of how they stole millions from Russian coffers and companies. Again, that Litvinenko accused the Kremlin of orchestrating his poisoning. That's something Russian officials have denied. British investigators hope they'll be able to turn up some crucial evidence. But what the government is saying here, is that they won't let any kind of politics, no matter what the sensitivities or any diplomacy stand in the way of getting to the truth.

Matthew Chance, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS; And tonight at 10:00 Eastern on "ANDERSON COOPER 360,"an in-depth look at the poison plot -- the killing of a spy.

Take a look at these pictures just in from CNN live now. Our affiliate KABC showing us the view from Fontana, California. Another wildfire, San Bernardino County. We're talking about Santa Ana winds again. Fontana, east and a little north of Los Angeles. We will discuss this developing situation with Chad Meyers when we come back. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: The death toll staggering in the Philippines today. Red Cross workers fear at least 1,000 people dead after Friday's monster tycoon. Almost 70,000 people are displaced.

CNN's John Vause reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Amid all this devastation, all that is left, it seems, is despair. This woman survived the mudslide, but her three young children, like so many others, are missing.

"I hope the government will help us find our missing relatives," she says. She finds a piece of clothing but little else. Rescue workers, some with sniffer dogs, are finding only bodies.

CARMEN ANDRES, SEARCH AND RESCUE WORKER: Water first, and then mud and then sand. So it's very compact. There's very little possibility of air bubbles. VAUSE: So many bodies have been recovered they're piled on to trucks and buried in mass graves. Many victims remain unidentified because authorities say entire families have been killed in the mudslides, triggered by the torrential rain and powerful winds of Typhoon Durian, which swept across the Philippines late last week. The Red Cross fears 1,000 people have been killed and says many bodies may never be recovered. An estimated 66,000 are now homeless.

Durian is the fourth devastating typhoon to hit the Philippines in as many months. Its winds are starting to ease as it heads for Vietnam, Where thousands have fled to safer ground, others preparing as best they can. Durian has been downgraded to a category one, but there are fears it may still bring yet more destruction.

John Vause, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Health news is next. One Taco Bell restaurant out of business for now. E. coli outbreak in New Jersey. That story in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

HARRIS: "YOUR WORLD TODAY" coming up at the top of the hour. Stephen Frazier in the NEWSROOM this morning with a preview.

Hello, Stephen.

STEPHEN FRAZIER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, Tony .

We are all over the president's meeting with Iraq's interior minister, Al Hakim. What is this all about? And what should we make of Mr. Al Hakim's relationship with Iran, where he spent many years in exile before Saddam Hussein was overthrown. We have analysts telling us what to listen for when they join us for pubic comments after the meeting.

We're also watching British investigators as they make plans to go to Moscow to learn more about what happened to this former Russian spy who turned critic of the Kremlin, poisoned to death recently. Alexander Litvinenko's probe, his investigation still under way.

And we'll take you to France for something you don't normally hear of there. There are hooligans at soccer games in Britain, long known to be a fact of life, but not no France. We'll tell you what kind of anti-Semitism showed up at this game and what has been done since then. Join us for YOUR WORLD TODAY, Tony, just a few minutes.

HARRIS: Appreciate it. Thank you.

Working out at McDonald's. Well, it could happen, really. Details next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

Controversial U.N. Ambassador John Bolton hands in his notice. Details on that coming up in the NEWSROOM. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com