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82nd Airborne Loses Nine in Bomb Attack; White House, Congress Escalate Rhetoric Over War Funding Bill; Jessica Lynch Testifies Before Congress about Falsehoods from Military; Branson and Boeing Try for Eco-Friendly Jet Fuel

Aired April 24, 2007 - 13:00   ET

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


(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN TILLMAN, PAT TILLMAN'S BROTHER: With any luck, our family would sink quietly into our grief, and the whole unsavory episode would be swept under the rug. However, they miscalculated our family's reaction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DON LEMON, CO-HOST: The family of Pat Tillman demanding the truth on Capitol Hill and pointing fingers at the Pentagon. Was there a cover-up at the highest levels?

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CO-HOST: Plus, a huge blow to the 82nd Airborne. The bombing that took nine lives from one of the U.S. military's most famous units. We're live in Ft. Bragg.

LEMON: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

MALVEAUX: And I'm Suzanne Malveaux in for Kyra Phillips, and you're in the NEWSROOM.

LEMON: When Pat Tillman was killed in Afghanistan, did the truth die with him? A House panel has opened a hearing into the way the military handled the 2004 death of the former NFL star.

Investigations found the military knew friendly fire killed Tillman but told his family the enemy was to blame. Tillman's brother says these were more than just mistakes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TILLMAN: Writing a Silver Star award before a single eyewitness account is taken is not a misstep. Falsifying soldier witness statements for a Silver Star is not a misstep. These are intentional falsehoods that meet the legal definition for fraud.

Delivering false information at a nationally televised memorial service is not an error in judgment. Discarding an investigation that has not fit a preordained conclusion is not an error in judgment. These are deliberate acts of deceit. This is not the perception of concealment. This is concealment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Also at issue, allegations the military exaggerated accounts of the capture and rescue of former POW Jessica Lynch in Iraq. Lynch testified herself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PVT. JESSICA LYNCH (RET.), U.S. ARMY: At my parents' home in Wirt County, West Virginia, it was under staged by media all repeating the story of the little girl Rambo from the hills of West Virginia who went down fighting. It was not true.

I have repeatedly said when asked that, if the stories about me helped inspire our troops and rally a nation, then perhaps there was some good. However, I am still confused as to why they chose to lie and try to make me a legend when the real heroics of my fellow soldiers that day were legendary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And we're reaching out to the Pentagon for reaction. We'll have much more from senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre next hour.

MALVEAUX: And brazen Iraqi insurgents, bomb-filled trucks, casualties on a scale U.S. troops have not seen in a long time.

Nine Army paratroopers killed, 20 wounded in a twin suicide truck bombing at a small base in Diyala province. It happened yesterday, the deadliest attack on U.S. ground forces in Iraq since December of 2005.

Early reports say insurgents used bomb-filled dump trucks, causing a huge blast that collapsed two walls at the base.

The Islamic State of Iraq claims responsibility. The same group said it pulled off a deadly attack at the Iraqi parliament complex two weeks ago.

LEMON: And Suzanne, they're an elite unit, a true band of brothers. And now nine of their own are gone. All the soldiers killed in the Diyala attack are from the 82nd Airborne at Ft. Bragg, which hasn't seen a loss like this in years.

CNN's Rusty Dornin is at the base in North Carolina for us -- Rusty.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Don. You were saying it's been the deadliest attack against U.S. forces since 2005. But for the 82nd Airborne, a very tight knit group, this has been the deadliest attack since the Iraq war started.

Now nine of their own, of course, killed in this fierce attack, 20 people wounded. Fifteen of those were able to return to duty, but five are still hospitalized. Base officials here say it's been devastating. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. TOM EARNHARDT, U.S. ARMY: The loss of any one paratrooper is -- is catastrophic to us, and it's unacceptable. But at the same time, when you talk about losing nine paratroopers, nine of your brothers that aren't coming home with the unit, it's a gut check for the entire division. And, you know, we're all profoundly affected.

And automatically, we shift to thinking about the families because our families are our backbone. If they're not there, we can't get our job done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DORNIN: The base's officials do describe what they do. There's always someone from the 82nd standing by to help these nine families get through this crisis. They help them with the funeral. They help them with counseling.

Now they are not telling us whether all the families have been notified. And even after all have been notified, there's another 24 hours before they will release the names of those men who were killed in this attack.

Now, we do understand that at least three families of the men who were killed live here at Ft. Bragg. So those families perhaps have been notified. But it's unclear whether the other families have been notified -- Don.

LEMON: All right. Rusty Dornin, Ft. Bragg. Thank you so much for that report.

U.S. casualties in Iraq still climbing. With the most recent deaths, the number of American military personnel killed in the war now stands at 3,332. The official number of American G.I.'s wounded is approaching 25,000.

And you can put a name to the face and story behind each of the American casualties of the Iraq war in a special report. It is on CNN.com. Just go to CNN.com/war -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Now everybody knows, when someone says it's not about the money, it is about the money. But the long-running standoff between Congress and President Bush over funding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan really isn't about the money. It is about the timeline for pulling combat troops out of Iraq.

President Bush calls it a surrender date, and almost daily promises to veto any bill that contains it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The American people did not vote for failure. And that is precisely what the Democratic leadership's bill could guarantee. It's not too late for Congress to do the right thing and to send me a bill that gives our troops and commanders the funds and flexibility they need. I'm willing to meet with leaders in Congress as many times as it takes to resolve our differences.

Yet, if the Democratic leaders insist on using the bill to make a political statement, they will leave me with only one option. I will veto it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Now Congress is a big step closer to finally putting that veto threat to the test. CNN's Dana Bash has the latest from Capitol Hill.

Dana, of course, we see the president out there day in and day out making his case, obviously, trying to control the debate here. What is Congress' next move?

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're doing exactly the same thing, Suzanne. That is what is so interesting to watch as this heats up. The Democrats are trying to control the debate just as well.

And what we have seen already today is a verbal volley match, essentially, up and down Pennsylvania Avenue. You just saw the president go out to the South Lawn, make his case once again. He will veto this measure, which calls for U.S. troops to come home from Iraq, when he gets it.

Democrats here today and from the House to the Senate, on every level, are making clear that they think their policy is the right one, and they do intend to send it to the president.

And they are also trying to hit back against many of the accusations the president -- are making. Like, for example, the fact that Democrats are -- will, in the end, hold up important funding for troops in the field.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOSEPH BIDEN (D), DELAWARE: If the president vetoes the emergency spending bill, Mr. President, he's the one -- he's the one -- who will be denying our troops the funding they need. He's the one that will be denying the American people a path out of Iraq. The president's double talk in Iraq is reaching new heights of hypocrisy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: There you hear the Democrats making the case that they believe, in this particular case, on this major, major issue that the president is isolated, even stubborn and misguided.

At the White House, you hear the president making the case that Democrats are political -- overly political, irresponsible and misguided. And that is where we are, Suzanne. That is where we are going to continue to be until they actually get to the point we all know that they're all heading for, which is the Democrats sending the president a bill, the president vetoing it and then finally, everybody going back to square one to figure out just how they're going to reconcile this very important issue, which is how to fund the troops in Iraq and how, from the Democrats' point of view, they can try to steer the Iraq policy in a different way and, for the White House, to try to stop the Democrats from doing that.

MALVEAUX: Dana, do we are any idea when this is going to happen, the bill presented to the president?

BASH: Well, the House is going to take this up tomorrow. The Senate will do that on Thursday. Democratic leadership aides tell us they're not exactly sure when they're going to send it to the president. It probably will be by week's end.

And as you well know, we can expect a big veto ceremony at the White House in order to keep making the political point the White House is trying to make, that the Democrats are simply doing the wrong thing in sending him, just as you heard him say, a bill that he thinks is overly political and the wrong thing to do.

MALVEAUX: Dana Bash, thank you so much. We'll be watching.

LEMON: Most of us would high tail it out of there, so to speak, if we saw this. Look at that, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Oh, my goodness. That is incredible. Look at those pictures.

LEMON: Yes. But we're not storm chasers. So we're a little bit more afraid than they are. Some storm chasers spotted this huge tornado yesterday. It was tearing across open fields, as you can see, in south central Kansas.

The folks there say they lucked out. What's happening? Can we take that banner down a little bit? Is it tearing up stuff up on the ground? Say no one was hurt there, so they lucked out.

MALVEAUX: It looks like it's a clear area.

LEMON: Yes. The damage amounted to a broken window, some uprooted trees and a bit of flooding. Wow.

MALVEAUX: Look at the power of that thing.

LEMON: It's always amazing to see that video, and to -- you know, for people to get that close to a tornado.

MALVEAUX: Well, let's check in with Jacqui Jeras. Obviously, there are a lot of stormy days ahead. We could see snowstorms, thunderstorms and the threat of tornadoes now. Right, Jacqui?

(WEATHER REPORT) LEMON: Thank you very much for that.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Sure. Glass half full.

LEMON: And we can count on -- we were just talking about that. That raging Georgia wildfire won't die down. We'll see how it's affecting people's lives, sadly. That's coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM.

MALVEAUX: Sectarians, insurgents, al Qaeda. Exactly who's the enemy in Iraq? We'll ask a foreign policy expert about shifting alliances and increasingly deadly tactics aimed at U.S. troops.

LEMON: And a little girl fights for her life after eating tainted spinach. Well, today, her mother talks to Congress. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta has the family's ordeal. That is just ahead, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: 16 past the hour. Here are three of the stories we're working on right here for you in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Pat Tillman, killed in Afghanistan. Jessica Lynch captured in Iraq. Were they also casualties of misinformation? House lawmakers have opened a hearing into allegations the military made up accounts of Tillman's death and Lynch's rescue. Tillman's family and Lynch herself accused the military of flat-out lying.

Former presidents Bush and Clinton heading overseas. They are leading the U.S. delegations at tomorrow's funeral of former Russian president, Boris Yeltsin.

The health of Vice President Dick Cheney is in the spotlight again. Cheney had a troubling blood clot in his left -- in his left leg checked out today. His spokeswoman says the clot appears to be thinning out.

MALVEAUX: Iraq's Diyala province more than ever a major battleground for U.S. forces, and this week proves it. A brazen attack on a small base yesterday killed nine U.S. paratroopers. American ground forces have not seen the kind of casualties on that scale in Iraq in a year and a half.

Now, are insurgents getting stronger? Is the U.S. war effort getting weaker? We're going to bring in Michael O'Hanlon from the Brookings Institution to talk about that.

Michael, you and I talk about this quite a bit here. And we are seeing things perhaps get worse. The group that claimed responsibility, called the Islamic State of Iraq, who are these people? Are they a part of al Qaeda?

MICHAEL O'HANLON, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: Hi, Suzanne. Well, I think we have to assume that. You know, a simple assumption in Iraq typically is that suicide bombers are affiliated with al Qaeda. It's probably not always true.

But most of the other major perpetrators of violence are not using these sort of tactics. You know, the Saddam Fedayeen sometimes but for the most part, former Saddam cronies, they want to live. They want power and money, and they're sort of old-fashioned autocrats. It's al Qaeda that tends to have the willingness to use martyrdom tactics, and that's probably what happened here.

MALVEAUX: Now you followed what's happened in Iraq. And we've seen various attacks. We have the Sunni insurgents, the Shiite militia and, of course, the al Qaeda terrorists. Which group is the most dangerous right now? Which group poses the greatest danger to security?

O'HANLON: It's a tough one to -- it's a tough one to answer, Suzanne. But I would say that the Shia militias, in one sense, are the largest group, but they are also the most potentially containable part of the program.

For three years they didn't fight that much except al-Sadr's people, once in a while. They basically were patient. The Shia, overall, I think, were relatively patient, and they said, "We are going to try to build a new Iraq. Democracy should work to our advantage." The Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani in that period was trying to encourage patience and tolerance.

But al Qaeda and the Sunni Ba'athists kept coming after the Shia. And I think those two groups bear primary responsibility, historically, for the war being where it is today.

At this point, though, you're asking me about which of these three groups is the worst. It's a little hard to answer because you really now have a situation where you have mutual antagonism and open civil warfare.

MALVEAUX: Sure. Sure. And Michael, also what we're seeing is a change in tactics. It looks like we focused on these IEDs, these explosive devices and then also, it seemed at some point, they were shooting down helicopters. Now they're going back to the car bombs here. What are you seeing? How do you explain why they use this approach?

O'HANLON: Well, Suzanne, I'm not sure that their tactics have changed that much. I think to a large extent their tactics have sometimes been more effective at one moment or another. For example, the shooting down helicopters, we figured out a response to that.

The car bombs have really been there for four years. And I don't know that we can detect a trend. IEDs are certainly a huge problem, still, for our forces. I think overall, al Qaeda keeps doing what works. And sometimes our tactics are a little better. Sometimes theirs are a little better. But I haven't seen any huge trend line one way or another.

MALVEAUX: So it looks like they're recycling this. Does it create any kind of confusion or make the mission difficult for this U.S. surge?

O'HANLON: Well, this is obviously a huge problem. We cannot afford to lose nine people in a given attack. And April is becoming quite a deadly month.

Ever since we began the surge we've been losing about 80, 85 people a month. That's a little higher than our average, but it's not astronomically higher. And it's less, for example, than December.

But April is headed in a very bad direction. We're going to have to find a way to prevent this sort of attack from happening or we are in serious trouble.

MALVEAUX: And looking at the scale of violence here, there have been reports, obviously, that the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri al- Maliki, that people within his own government are not confident in his ability to really get things done, particularly push forward legislation.

President Bush says that he is confident in him, but there are a lot of people who seem to have a problem with his leadership. Do you think he's effective?

O'HANLON: He's not that effective. The question is, is there really anybody better at this point or are Iraq's politics just so fractious and are the ethnic divisions so great that nobody could really pull it together? That's the harder and bigger question.

I think al-Maliki at some level is trying. But he is a Shia partisan, and he's also not very effective, and frankly, the odds are against him at this late date.

You know, other people have had this job before including, frankly, Paul Bremer, a similar position the first year. And he couldn't get all the decisions made that were needed and create the kind of consensus that was needed. So Al-Maliki has got a very high standard for success. And I'm not sure he can pull it off.

MALVEAUX: Michael O'Hanlon, thank you for your insights.

O'HANLON: Thanks, Suzanne.

LEMON: A little girl fights for her life after eating tainted spinach. Well, today her mother talks to Congress. And now Dr. Sanjay Gupta has the family's ordeal. That is straight ahead, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LYNCH: When I remember those difficult days, I remember the fear. I remember the strength. I remember that hand of that fellow American soldier reassuring me that I was going to be OK.

At the same time, tales of great heroism were being told. At my parents home in Wirt County, West Virginia, it was under staged by media all repeating the story of the little girl Rambo from the hills of West Virginia who went down fighting. It was not true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: She was the most famous POW of the Iraq war. But retired Army Private Jessica Lynch says she's also a prisoner of information. Lynch just testified at a House hearing on allegations the military made up accounts of her rescue, as well as accounts of Pat Tillman's friendly fire death in Afghanistan.

And Jessica Lynch joins us now live from Washington.

Jessica, how are you doing?

LYNCH: Hi, I'm doing good.

LEMON: You're doing well? You certainly look well. I was looking at you as that sound bite was playing from you testifying. And the look on your face, at first you sort of smiled and then you got very serious.

LYNCH: Yes.

LEMON: What is today -- speaking, what has it -- testifying, what has it meant to you?

LYNCH: To me it was just about -- it was important to come out here and tell the truth and let -- you know, set the record straight, you know. And I think I've done that for the past four years, and, you know, now it's kind of more up to everybody else to, you know, to not believe the fake lies anymore. To know what I did.

And I was here for the Tillmans, you know. I think it's really important for them to get their answers to the questions that they -- that they need.

LEMON: Yes. And we're going to talk about the Tillmans in just a minute. You say you want to get the truth out.

You don't -- you're not that hero that everyone is making you out to be. You did good things, absolutely, but why do you say you aren't the person that you were made out to be by the government and by the media?

LYNCH: Well, because I didn't do any of those, you know, I didn't go down shooting like a Rambo/G.I. Jane. I didn't -- didn't even shoot off my weapon. So, you know, I just felt that it was important to set the record straight.

LEMON: Why do you think those stories came about then? What's the reason?

LYNCH: I don't know. I have no answer for that.

LEMON: This is the first time that you've met the Tillman family today, correct?

LYNCH: Yes, it is.

LEMON: What was that like?

LYNCH: They're a wonderful family, and they deserve to know the truth. They do.

LEMON: Deserve to know the truth?

LYNCH: Yes, they do.

LEMON: Do you think that this, by you testifying today, will that help them get the truth?

LYNCH: I don't know so much as, you know, me doing it, but I think using both of our testimonies as an example that, yes, it may bring them about answers.

LEMON: I want to talk to you about your life over the past couple of years. You have a 3-month-old daughter, right, named Dakota Ann. And you named her Dakota Ann, and it has something to do with your best friend...

LYNCH: Yes.

LEMON: ... who died in the war. Tell us about that story.

LYNCH: Yes. Well, Dakota means "friend" in Native American. So we named her Dakota Ann, and Ann obviously after Lori Ann.

LEMON: Yes. And your best friend who was Native American.

LYNCH: Yes, he was Native American, Hopi.

LEMON: Yes. Your daughter is doing well?

LYNCH: She is.

LEMON: She is?

LYNCH: She's doing great.

LEMON: What are you doing now, Jessica?

LYNCH: Well, really I took the semester off so that I could spend with Dakota. And then start full -- full time in the fall for the fall semester.

LEMON: Yes. Jessica, we're going to run in a second, but I want to ask you. I would imagine today was sort of a pivotal moment for you, meeting the Tillman family for the first time. What did you say? I imagine there's a bond there, even though you don't know each other. There's a bond there that you have because of the war and because of your experiences. LYNCH: Yes, there's always a connection, you know, even though if you don't know someone, there's a connection just because of the stuff that we have been through. Even though our, you know, our situations were different, they're similar in the same case that we both needed answers to why we were created into fabricated stories.

LEMON: Private Jessica Lynch, we wish you the best. And we thank you so much for taking the time and the opportunity to come speak to us today.

LYNCH: Thank you so much.

MALVEAUX: A $2.8 billion deal brings together an iconic American company and a flamboyant British billionaire. Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with the details on Virgin Atlantic's big purchase. Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi Suzanne. Sir Richard Branson is teaming up with Boeing to develop a new bio fuel to power jet engines. If successful it would mark the first commercial plane to run on the more eco-friendly fuel. The two companies hope to launch a test flight next year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD BRANSON, CHAIRMAN, VIRGIN ATLANTIC: Over the years, there's been enormous progress, which has made traveling better and better with each step change. And now, our planet needs the biggest step change of them all. We need the technology to be developed, which will reduce carbon emissions put out by all airlines who contribute nearly 2 percent of all global carbon emissions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LISOVICZ: Virgin Atlantic and Boeing also working to cut aircraft emissions on the ground by testing new taxiing procedures. Suzanne?

MALVEAUX: Susan, it's an awfully big order but it's only one airline. Are there more likely to follow suit?

LISOVICZ: That's the goal Suzanne. Virgin Atlantic says the biofuel plane could soon prompt changes in the entire airline industry and also announced today the British carrier Virgin is ordering 15 Dreamliners, which is Boeing's new jumbo jet. The Dreamliners are 27 percent more fuel efficient than the planes Virgin Atlantic currently uses. That order is giving shares of Dow component Boeing a small boost. Dow 13,000 in the meantime, still within reach thanks to solid earnings from AT&T and Dupont as well as IBM's move to increase its quarterly dividend. The two week economic reports inhibiting that perhaps just a bit. The Dow industrials on the plus side, though, up 28 points at 12,947. The Nasdaq Composite is flat.

Coming up next hour, it's the end of an era for Detroit. I'll tell you about the new king of the road. Don and Suzanne, back to you.

MALVEAUX: What a tease. Thanks Susan.

LEMON: It's been one week and counting, that raging Georgia wildfire. It just won't die. We'll see how it's affecting people's lives coming up right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Hello everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

MALVEAUX: And I'm Suzanne Malveaux, in for Kyra Phillips. You can call the glass half empty or half full. The Georgia wildfires are about 50 percent contained. But firefighters still have miles to go and thousands of acres to tame. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

The dangerous streets of Baghdad. U.S. troops in huge numbers trying to keep the peace. CNN's Hugh Riminton was there as troops faced an insurgent attack.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HUGH RIMINTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just an hour ago, this patrol of the 5th cavalry was narrowly missed by an RPG attack. Their day is not about to improve. It's a buried bomb, an IED, the biggest killer of American troops and then a second one.

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIERS: One behind us, too! We're going to pick up our speed.

RIMINTON: But the patrol leader Staff Sergeant Matt St. Pierre, the problems may just be beginning. They are caught in a classic trap. The Humvees wheel around. If this is an ambush, they are dangerously exposed. Four years and more into this war, there is nothing safe still about Baghdad.

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: Slow down. Slow down.

RIMINTON: Immediately ahead of them, an abandoned car.

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: We're not passing that car. Stop.

RIMINTON: Sergeant St. Pierre bellows in Arabic for the car to be moved. Someone comes. The car is not a bomb. The patrol moves on.

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: Pick it up.

RIMINTON: What happened just back there counts as a lucky miss. But even that gives some clues as to the insurgents' tactics and their increasing sophistication. The first bomb went off seconds too early. It was designed to drive any survivors into the path of the second one. Ironically, the turn into the dead end street thwarted that plan. Then as we reached the main road, one final threat.

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: What was that?

RIMINTON: A burst of small arms fire. Staff Sergeant Matt St. Pierre has spent two of the last three years in Iraq. He is pessimistic now of what might be achieved.

STAFF SGT. MATTHEW ST. PIERRE, U.S. ARMY: We've talked it at length, my soldiers and myself and a term that comes up often is this is our generation's Vietnam. I don't think this can be won. We're caught in the middle of a civil war.

RIMINTON: He says the morale among U.S. troops is still good, but he fears the United States will leave this country worse than it found it, leaving a slaughter behind.

ST. PIERRE: We are the buffer right now. And when you pull us out, the people that support us are going to feel wrath and the people that were against us, and they are the majority, they are going to, I believe, ultimately win. That unfortunate.

RIMINTON: It is one soldier's view from the evidence of his eyes. Hugh Riminton, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Is Nouri al Maliki's coalition crumbling beneath him? Several top Iraqi lawmakers tell "USA Today" they've lost confidence in the Iraqi prime minister. They say he no longer has the clout in parliament to pass crucial laws. Here's what a leading Kurdish lawmaker who used to support Maliki actually has to say, says he is a weak prime minister. This government has not delivered and is not capable of doing the job. They should resign.

LEMON: Tinder, dry and very smoky. Firefighters from across the southeast, they are working to douse flames racing across southeast Georgia. CNN's Sean Callebs is on the front lines near Waycross.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is a graphic example of what Georgia firefighters have had to deal with for the past week- plus. You can see another forest fire has kicked up in this area, a big concern, the embers that are dancing off this brush, the downed trees and also Look at the bases of the pine tree, how it is burning. That's the reason we're asked to wear the fire protective gear as well as this hard hat in case trees would come down.

This has been the worst forest fire in Georgia in more than half a century. So far, 56,000 acres, about 86 square miles, have burned. Down the road you can see some firefighting teams. What they are doing right now is kind of planning a strategy. They are trying to cut fire lines in this area to keep the fire from jumping. We're not terribly far from the city of Waycross. We can tell you, about 18 homes so far have been destroyed, but not all of those have been occupied. It's a very rural area. That's been part of the problem in fighting this. Just look up through the trees, the sky, the sun trying to peek through, the white smoke billowing up.

That has been a trademark of this fire. The smoke can be seen as far away as Tennessee, well down into Florida. Now they say they have the fire about 50 percent under control. They are going to have to monitor it, though, even once they believe they have it contained because there's been so significant rainfall here in more than two months. So until there's a good downpour, these bone-dry conditions are going to exist and the danger of spreading fires will linger. Sean Callebs, CNN, near the town of Waycross, Georgia.

LEMON: Certainly could use some rain there. Here's another view of those wildfires. This one is from the air and it's from an I- reporter. His name is Logan Cortez. He took this picture from a private plane. His father was at the controls of that plane. They were heading home to Macon. It was about 135 miles north of those fires. Send us your I-reports. Go to cnn.com and click on I-reports.

MALVEAUX: A little girl fights for her life after eating tainted spinach. Today her mother talks to Congress. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta has the family's ordeal ahead in the NEWSROOM.

LEMON: And too much texting? Some states are taking a closer look at the latest activity keeping drivers dangerously preoccupied. It's called being driven to distraction, maybe. Straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: There are two new studies which show migraines can be a mixed bag. Researchers say men who suffer migraines are at a higher risk for heart disease and also heart attacks. Now that tracks with an earlier study on women, but women with a lifetime history of migraines show less mental decline as they get older than women who don't get them. Scientists say it might be due to anti-migraine medications or diet and behavior changes.

MALVEAUX: Right now, it is pet food. Before it was peanut butter and spinach. Now Congress is taking a closer look at the safety of the nation's food supply and its government's role in maintaining it. A House subcommittee heard emotional testimony today, some of it from a family directly affected by contaminated food. Dr. Sanjay Gupta spoke to them first.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A year ago Ashley Armstrong was a healthy, rambunctious two-year-old. Some kids won't eat vegetables, but Ashley, no problem.

ELIZABETH ARMSTRONG, MOTHER OF E.COLI VICTIM: We were very healthy eaters. We love lots of salads, lots of fresh vegetables, fresh fruits.

GUPTA: Last September after a family dinner of lasagna and spinach salad, Ashley got sick with vomiting and diarrhea. What happened next with Ashley?

ARMSTRONG: We found blood in her diaper and that didn't seem right. It started getting worse, more frequent. That's when they saw her kidneys were failing.

GUPTA: The culprit, e. coli, 0157-h7, the bad kind. Once it was a problem in tainted hamburgers, but since 1995, there have been more than 20 outbreaks linked to fresh greens, like the baby spinach in the Armstrong salad. After weeks of fighting for her life and months of dialysis, Ashley is home again, but life will never be the same. She's on several medications. Doctors say she'll need a kidney transplant in a few years. Fresh vegetables are strictly limited.

ARMSTRONG: We thought it was safe. It says washed three times. We put it a bowl and we ate it for dinner. Our lives were changed forever.

MICHAEL ARMSTRONG, FATHER OF E.COLI VICTIM: I was pretty angry, actually, especially after we found out this is an ongoing problem. We came back and said, in two or three weeks after the outbreak, it's fine now. Spinach is fine. You can eat it. It's back on the shelf. What do they do differently? What have they changed to make it safe?

GUPTA: Most spinach growers are now taking voluntary steps to keep their spinach safe. Now Congress must decide if that's enough. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Fishers, Indiana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: So a little tot, he takes a late hit. Thankfully, though, he comes out OK. Don't worry, Suzanne. The question is, who let him get this close to the action, right?

MALVEAUX: Unbelievable.

LEMON: We'll tackle that issue coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Weapon scares in schools are sadly common these days. What is not is a hand grenade brought by (sic) school by a fourth grader. Officials at Old Union elementary near Ft. Worth, Texas, said the grenade appeared to be hollow, but still had the pin in it. So they called the bomb squad and cleared the building. The weapon did prove inactive, a war souvenir from Iraq. And the kids went back to class.

LEMON: Wow. High-tech distraction at the wheel. That's the subject we're going to talk about now and I'm not talking cell phones or even DVDs. CNN's Alina Cho takes a hard look at the dangers of texting, text messaging while driving.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Investigators say it's possible the driver of the SUV carrying New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine was text messaging at the time of the crash, in addition to speeding.

ROBERT SINCLAIR, JR., AAA: Imagine what you have to do when you are texting. You need two hands to operate the device. So automatically one hand is not going to be on the steering wheel.

CHO: AAA's Robert Sinclair Jr. says drivers only can be distracted safely for two seconds, just two seconds. We've seen drivers doing all sorts of crazy things at the wheel, applying makeup, eating, reading, writing. Now drivers are reading and writing at the same time, a relatively new problem but potentially a deadly one.

LEMON: We want to get live now Vice President Dick Cheney is speaking. Let's take a listen.

VICE PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY: I usually avoid press comment when I'm up here, but I felt so strongly about what Senator Reid said in the last couple of days that I thought it was appropriate that I come out today and make a statement that I think needs to be made. I thought his speech yesterday was unfortunate, that his comments were uninformed and misleading. Senator Reid has taken many positions on Iraq. He has threatened that if the president vetoes the current pending supplemental legislation, that he will send up Senator Russ Feingold's bill to de-fund Iraq operations altogether. Yet only last November, Senator Reid said there would be no cut-off of funds for the military in Iraq.

So in less than six months time, Senator Reid has gone from pledging full funding for the military, then full funding with conditions and then a cut-off of funding. Three positions in five months on the most important foreign policy question facing the nation and our troops. Yesterday, Senator Reid said the troop surge was against the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group. That is plainly false. The Iraq Study Group report was explicitly favorable toward a troop surge to secure Baghdad. Senator Reid said there should be a regional conference on Iraq. Apparently he doesn't know that there is going to be one next week. Senator Reid said he doesn't have real substantive meetings with the president. Yet immediately following last week's meeting at the White House, he said it was a good exchange. Everyone voiced their considered opinion about the war in Iraq, end quote.

What's most troubling about Senator Reid's comments yesterday is his defeatism. Indeed, last week he said the war is already lost. And the timetable legislation that he is now pursuing would guarantee defeat. Maybe it's a political calculation. Some Democratic leaders seem to believe that blind opposition to the new strategy in Iraq is good politics. Senator Reid himself has said that the war in Iraq will bring his party more seats in the next election. It is cynical to declare that the war is lost because you believe it gives you political advantage. Leaders should make decisions based on the security interest of our country, not on the interest of their political party. Thank you.

QUESTION: Mr. Vice president, a question, please?

LEMON: The vice president there speaking out, very, very strong words for the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Just to alert our viewers here Suzanne. Harry Reid is supposed to come out in just a short time to the same camera location and address what the vice president has to say. But again --

MALVEAUX: Don -- LEMON: Before I go into it, I'm going to defer to you. But also he appears to be OK after going to have his leg checked out this morning. But you are the White House correspondent. So I want to get your response.

MALVEAUX: You know what was really interesting here was the fact that usually they play good cop, bad cop here. You have the vice president come out and he'll say something very harsh. The president will hold back. The strategy very different here. Both of them coming out very strong today, the last couple of days. And I think what you are seeing here is a strategy that says, just keep talking. Keep talking. Get this message directly to the American people to try to convince them that this administration, which has been accused of having its head in the sand essentially is paying attention and they are telling the American people just to be patient. You heard him say Senator Reid was blind, trying to use that kind of rhetoric to throw it back on the Democrats.

LEMON: It's so good to have here in moments like this because you give us such great perspective so thank you Suzanne Malveaux. We'll continue to follow this and if Harry Reid says anything, or as soon as he does come to that camera, of course we're going to bring it to you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. You're not going to miss a thing.

But first, as we go to break, let's take a look at the big board for you, big board. Not there. But we'll check on it. There you go. We'll check on it. Dow up 38 points, almost 39. We're going to have an official check of the numbers on Wall Street and business with Susan Lisovicz. You're watching CNN. It's the most trusted name in news.

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