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Los Angeles Fire; Florida Drought; Cheney In Baghdad; Tainted Food Case; Gerri's Top Tips

Aired May 09, 2007 - 10:00   ET

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

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, good morning.
I can tell you that -- you can see some firefighters right behind me. They are catching a much needed break after working a very busy 24-hour shift. These people have been extremely aggressive about knocking down those hot spots that you see right here. They've been doing this all morning long. One of the fears (INAUDIBLE) embers will pick up, get kicked up with the winds picked up this morning and that they would go and spread out through the hillside and perhaps like this hillside on fire once again. And so it has really been a challenge for them all day long to stay on top of those embers. We have seen these rivers of embers and debris, you know, fall off the mountain right onto the street down here at Griffith Park.

Now this fire is 40 percent contained. And the good news is that 300 homes were evacuated yesterday. Those evacuees will be allowed to return home today. And so that is a very good thing. They'll be allowed to return home this morning, we're told.

Now the weather conditions, we're hoping that they do hold up. So far they have. It is not windy. It's been a little bit cool. But later today it's expected to reach about 97 degrees. And it's also expected to be a little bit windy.

We're trying to catch up to our fire captain here.

Hello, captain.

Been talking to him all morning long.

What can you tell me about the fire conditions right now? It's looking pretty good.

CAPT. BRIAN SANDWICK, LOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT: Yes, here it is, it's looking real good. They're starting to relieve companies, bring in fresh troops. And I don't know what's going on the rest of the fire, but just in this area, it's looking good.

GUTIERREZ: And you've been very aggressive about staying on top of this fire, haven't you?

SANDWICK: Yes.

GUTIERREZ: On this side. Why is that?

SANDWICK: They just assigned this to us and that's our job is to get out here and make sure that we take care of what they've given us, and that's to keep it where it's at on this side of the road.

GUTIERREZ: Now are you concerned at all that the winds may pick up a little bit later? I know that you told me earlier you were hoping that the fire wouldn't make it into those trees and torch those trees, perhaps jump the road. And, you know, you've got the 5 Freeway down below.

SANDWICK: Right. Yes, we have enough people in place right now for the anticipated weather conditions, and that's what we're going to do is go ahead and keep the companies here until we get full containment.

Thank you.

GUTIERREZ: Thank you so much. That was the Captain Brian Sandwick. And again, 600 acres have burned in Griffith Park, which is about a 4,000-acre park. Of course, those numbers will be updated now that the sun is up and they're able to fly. And then also be able to have better assessment of the acreage that has been charred. But as we were driving around up here, it's all black. One very positive thing is that this fire is moving west. It is moving away from the homes. And right now, no homes are threatened.

Heidi.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, that's terrific news, Thelma. Earlier we had thought that these temperatures of today were really, really going to be an issue for firefighters. Just really tough to fight. But some good news now hearing that folks are going to be able to go back home this morning.

Thanks so much. Thelma Gutierrez coming to us near Griffith Park there.

I want to go ahead and show you this as well. We see Air Force One there, wheels down as we say, Wichita, Kansas. It's McConnell Air Force Base. The president is -- his visit much anticipated, I think it would be fair to say, by the people of Greensburg, Kansas. Another area, obviously, completely devastated by mother nature.

The horrible tornado that hit this weekend has left the town virtually nonexistent. People there without their homes and some of them without loved ones. As we know, nine people were killed in this horrible tornado. So the president will be there taking a look at the damage and talking with the folks at Greensburg, Kansas, today. We'll follow this one for you as well.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's talk about Florida. Surf, sand and smoke. Some 200 wildfires are burning across the state as it reels from a devastating drought. As the rain deficit climbs, so do the problems. CNN's John Zarrella explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Thunder, lightning, and rain. Wonderful rain. It came down hard in south Florida this past weekend. But for all the sound and fury, it did nothing to break or even put a dent in what is fast becoming what could be the worst drought in the state's history. Dry conditions have sparked fires. More than 200 are burning from one end of the state to the other.

CAROL WEHLE, SOUTH FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT: We've been getting rain, but we get like an inch. Like little teasers.

ZARRELLA: Carol Wehle heads the South Florida Water Management district. She has never seen it this dry. Lake Okeechobee is less than nine and a half feet, five feet below normal, and dropping fast. A prime source of drinking water for 5 million people, the lake is so low water can no longer flow from it.

WEHLE: This the entire water shed for the Everglade system is totally dried out.

ZARRELLA: Everywhere you look on and around the lake, water has been replaced by land. Pontoon boats sit high and dry. New islands emerge every day.

For Dave Self, the drought has dried up his business.

DAVE SELF, WYLD WEST ANNUALS: These are Pentus (ph). These are a great half hardy perennial.

ZARRELLA: A nursery owner, Self's business is down 90 percent, about half a million dollars in seasonal sales.

But nobody's buying.

SELF: Nobody's buying. You can't give them away. I told people I'd be glad to give them some to move them so I don't have the extra labor in it and they said, Dave, why should I plant these when I can't keep them alive?

ZARRELLA: Can't keep them alive because of ever tightening restrictions on outdoor water use.

RON PARKINSON, HOMEOWNER: It's not only for the lawn. The lawn is not the most important thing. It's the lake that needs to rise so that we can have water in our homes.

ZARRELLA: Watering twice a week in much of south Florida is going to once a week by Monday.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Boy, and John Zarrella joining us now from Lake Okeechobee, Florida.

And, John, we're starting to see some real consequences here. Have to ask you this question. Did last year's hurricane season impact this year's drought in any significant way?

ZARRELLA: Yes, in a very strange way, actually, Tony. You know, this lake is surrounded by the Herbert Hoover Dike. And there have been great concerns over the years that in the event of a major hurricane with high water in this lake, that the dike might be susceptible to breaching.

So the Army Corps of Engineers in the lead-up to the last hurricane season, which was predicted to be terrible, they dumped a foot and a half of water out of Lake Okeechobee, which is a 700 square mile lake. That's a lot of water.

HARRIS: Yes.

ZARRELLA: Well, we didn't get hurricane season. We didn't get much of a rainy season. And as a result, now you can see around me, Tony, this is lake bottom. I'm standing on the lake bottom.

HARRIS: You're kidding me.

ZARRELLA: No. This is nutrient rich muck. Everglades muck. And this is literally the bottom of Lake Okeechobee, where I'm standing, dried out, cut up, all of this. That's a fishing pier back there, completely out of water. Those domes you see back there are manmade. They're supposed to be a fish hatchery. Well, obviously, that's not taking place right now. Those islands back there, all of this ,Tony, was be submerged under water if this were a regular rainy season.

So, yes, very serious concerns in Florida. The possibility that one day a week watering will be cut out completely in south Florida if we don't get some rain very soon. And also, four well fields on the east coast of south Florida are going to be shut down because of major concerns of salt water intrusion. So some tough times ahead.

Tony.

HARRIS: A pretty dramatic way to demonstrate the problem there for us, John.

ZARRELLA: Yes.

HARRIS: Appreciate it. John Zarrella for us this morning. Thanks, John.

COLLINS: In Missouri, swollen rivers burst through levees forcing residents to higher ground. The tiny town of Big Lake, Missouri, submerged by flood waters. Levees along the Missouri River gave way, inundating the town. Most of the 150 permanent residents had evacuated and there are no reports of injuries.

Flooding, though, is still a major threat across the Midwest. Thousands of people have fled their homes. Between four and eight inches of rain fell on parts of Kansas, Iowa and Missouri in a 24-hour period. At least 19 Kansas counties have now declared local disaster emergencies.

HARRIS: Boy, and, Dave Hennen, if we could only get some of that water -- it doesn't work this way, though -- to Georgia, to Los Angeles. But it doesn't work that way.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Nowhere in Iraq is immune. This scene the latest evidence. A suicide truck bomb ripping the interior ministry headquarters in the Kurdish city of Irbil. At least 14 people were killed, dozens more wounded. Irbil and other Kurdish areas have been relatively calm. It is the first big attack there in more than three years.

COLLINS: Vice President Dick Cheney in the war zone and armed with a terse message for Iraq's government. Want to go straight to Baghdad now live with CNN's Arwa Damon.

Arwa, what did Cheney have to say?

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, to sum it up, according to a senior administration official, the message that Vice President Cheney is carrying is that it is now game time. It's time to pull it together. That directed straight at the Iraqi government.

Now, he has been meeting with a number of senior U.S. military officials and Iraqi officials, to include the Iraqi president, Jalal Talabani, and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Now Prime Minister Maliki did come out and say that the meetings were very productive and serious, focusing mainly on how to help. He says the Iraqi government start to come together and address a number of issues that they have yet to address, such as national reconciliation, stemming down the violence, trying to lay out the groundwork for Iraq's politics and economy to finally begin moving forward.

Now, Vice President Cheney's visit comes at a very difficult and delicate time for the Iraqi prime minister. His so called coalition government is fraying at the edges. His vice president -- the Iraqi vice president, a Sunni, Tariq al-Hashemi, going so far as to say that he, in fact, to a certain degree, regretted signing up to this government. We have heard from a number of members of parliament, they, too, voicing their discontent with what they are calling an increasingly paralyzed government. Many people here no longer even calling it a government of national reconciliation.

Now, the vice president's last visit to Iraq was, in fact, back in 2005, right after Iraq's elections. And back then he had called 2005 a watershed moment for Iraq. Going so far, in fact, as to say that Iraq had reached a turning point. But reality on the ground with the increasing U.S. casualties, the ever increasing casualties amongst the Iraqi people and the current situation that the Iraqi government finds itself in, are really proving to be anything but that.

Heidi.

COLLINS: Arwa, I wonder if you've heard any talk at all about this possibly being about Nuri al Maliki, this visit by Vice President Cheney, and possibly talking about him leaving his post.

DAMON: Well, if they have specifically addressed that in these talks, that to us is unclear. And, in fact, it would be such a sensitive matter that it would be surprising if they came out and publicly made any sort of statement to the media. But there has been talk about replacing Nuri al-Maliki in the past, both within the White House administration and within Iraqi politicians here.

But when you speak with most of them, they will actually tell you that it is not necessarily Nuri al-Maliki's fault. They say that the very structure upon which Iraq's current government was built was one that was built along sectarian lines. It essentially allowed the political parties, each with their own sectarian agenda, to maintain true power, although there are increasing doubts and suspicions about Nuri al-Maliki's intents.

Heidi.

COLLINS: That's true. We have heard quite a bit about that now.

All right, Arwa Damon, watching the story for us live from Baghdad this morning.

Arwa, thanks to you.

And also more insights on U.S. troops and the war in Iraq from the Army's vice chief of staff, General Richard Cody. He'll be joining us live tomorrow in the NEWSROOM, 11:30 Eastern, 8:30 Pacific. You can see it right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: The military tracking increased attacks in Iraq. Live to the Pentagon ahead in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: Also, Chinese company managers detained in a tainted food scandal. CNN talks to one of them. His reaction coming up.

HARRIS: And a pastor who doesn't parse his words about Islam.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every mosque is indeed a breeding ground for terrorists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Now this preacher has an ally in the fight against the mosque. That story in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: And backyard bear. Just hanging around.

HARRIS: Come on. Come on. Really.

COLLINS: Oh, we missed the shot. No, no.

HARRIS: It's a tease.

COLLINS: No unbearable jokes, though, just the story coming up in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And the president. Live pictures now. Just off of Air Force One at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, Kansas. About to step on to Marine One for the short trip over to Greensburg, Kansas. A trip of about, oh, a little more than 100 miles. There he will find a city essentially wiped away by a monster tornado. We are following the president's trip throughout the morning for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Tainted food update. Chinese authorities detain managers of firms that allegedly contaminated flour. CNN's John Vause spoke to a suspect.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): This man, Tien Fong (ph), is one of the main suspects in the contamination scandal that led to the recall of more than 60 million cans and packets of pet food across the United States. He's yet to be charged, but is being held in a detention center in the northern city of Binjo (ph). He insists he's been wrongly accused.

"I've done nothing wrong," he told me.

Tien has been held here since April 25th. The same day police closed down his company which allegedly sold chemically treated wheat flour and passed it off as more nutritious and more valuable protein. Among the customers, Diamond Food and other pet food makers who were forced to recall their products after the reported deaths of thousands of dogs and cats.

The Food and Drug Administration says the tainted flour also made its way into feed for some 20 million live chickens, hundreds of thousands of farm fish, and thousands of pigs. But the FDA says there's no threat to humans. Authorities allege this chemical, melamine, made in factories like this, was mixed into the flour to make it seem to have more protein than it really does.

"I didn't know about melamine. I don't even know what this melamine is," he told me. "I've never heard of anyone using it."

The Chinese government banned the use of melamine as a food additive only last month. Before that, it was not illegal here. This man, whose company makes corn gluten, says he never used the chemical and he's angry because he can't compete with producers who do use it.

"The fake stuff is much cheaper," he says. "So many times a customer looks at our product and then they see a cheaper, fake product and they'll go with that."

China has stepped now stepped up its export controls specifically looking for melamine. What remains unclear, will there be a thorough investigation into what some experts have said was a widespread practice? Or is the government here just looking for a few scapegoats?

John Vause, CNN, Shandong Province, China.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: A town lives up to its name. New pictures. Big Lake, Missouri, overrun when major river levees break. Take a look at these pictures. Flooded in the Midwest. The story in the NEWSROOM.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Gerri Willis.

The steps you want to take after disaster strikes to rebuild your life. That's next on "Top Tips" in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: OK. Here we go to the markets. Well? Dow Jones Industrial average is down about four points right now. Maybe a little less than four. Resting at 13,305. The big story of the day, of course, is the Federal Reserve meeting, talking about interest rates. But we do expect them to stay the same. Of course, we will give you that information as soon as we get it here and watch some of the other business stories, like the gas prices. We'll keep going back to that in just a minute.

HARRIS: Yes. How about this?

COLLINS: And then these pictures, too. New video now.

HARRIS: Right. And can you imagine that's your home? Come on. This, again, Lebasy, Missouri. Very near, I believe, Big Lake, Missouri. And all you need for something like this to happen, obviously, is for a few of those earthen levees along the Missouri to break, to breach and here you go.

What do you do if that's your home and you're in the situation of having to clean up and try to find the pieces, rebuild that home? What do you do? Let's get folks some help right now.

Tornado ravaged Kansas and, of course, the problem there in Missouri. Talking about Kansas, one town virtually erased -- Greensburg. Countless lives forever changed. Many will start rebuilding by filing insurance claims. Oh, boy. Hello, bureaucracy. What you need to know if disaster strikes. Here is CNN personal finance editor Gerri Willis this morning.

Gerri, great to see you.

Help folks here. You saw the pictures of a flooded out home in Missouri. We're talking about Greensburg as well this morning. How do you get in the front of the line? You know you've got a bureaucracy to take on here, but you want to get started early.

WILLIS: You know, Tony, that's exactly the right way to put it. There's a huge bureaucracy. You've got to get through it. First off, get on the horn to your insurance agent as soon as you can. Now, this may be tough because you may not have a home phone. But use a cell phone or a friend's phone. Look, the sooner you're able to make contact with your insurance company, the better chance you have of getting an adjuster to your house quickly.

HARRIS: Yes. And let's mix in -- we're going to mix in some pictures here of the devastation in Greensburg and the pictures that we're getting out of Missouri as well, because folks are going to find themselves in a similar situation regardless of the city that you're in if they're in the Great Plains.

Now where do you go? Let's talk about Kansas now. Where do you go to get some assistance right now?

WILLIS: Well, right now, residents in one Kansas county can apply for individual assistance from FEMA right now. But if your area is totally devastated, you can also see what other help FEMA can provide. Here's where you call, 800-621-FEMA.

You may also be able to apply for low-cost federal loans that will cover part of the cost of constructing, say, a safe room or rebuilding your house. You know, we talked about safe rooms on Monday. Those are the rooms that keep you safe. They're re-enforced to withstand high wind speeds of 250 miles an hour. But there is help out there. You need to get the ball rolling right away.

Tony.

HARRIS: And one of the ways to get the ball rolling is to document your damage.

WILLIS: Yes, this is 101. You know, the most important part of filing a claim in this kind of situation is documenting the damage. Photograph the outside of your home showing any damage or flooding. Collect canceled checks, invoices, if you have them, receipts, any other paperwork that's really going to prove what you own. Look, you can also call the credit card company if you bought something really expensive recently to prove how much you spent on it. But it's all about documentation.

HARRIS: Gerri, how wise or unwise is it. You come back to your home. You see all of the damage and you know, you've got little or nothing left. But whatever you have, you want to get in and you want to try to repair it, fix it, clean it up. How wise or unwise is it to do that right away?

WILLIS: You know, I've been in these situations where you're seeing the tornadoes. It's come, it's gone. Your first impulse, people I've talked to, they want to rebuild.

HARRIS: Right.

WILLIS: They don't care if the insurance agent is there. They don't care if the adjuster is there. They want to make things right. But, look, you can't go overboard. Cover broken windows, the damaged roof, the walls while you're waiting for major rebuilding to take place. Remember to save the receipts so your insurance company can reimburse you. But don't go too far.

HARRIS: Yes. How many times have you said this, beware of frauds, because at a time like this, the scam artists start to roll in.

WILLIS: It is one of the saddest things. We've seen it before. Scammers prey on disaster victims. So, don't be rushed into signing a contract with any roofing or building company. Beware of building contractors that encourage you to spend a lot of money on temporary repairs. Get references for any roofer. I know this is hard, but you really want to get somebody to tell you how good these folks are. And make sure they're not one of these scam artists, Tony.

And, of course, if you have questions, send them to us at toptips@cnn.com. We answer them right here every Friday. We love to hear from you. And if you're one of these people in this situation and you've got questions, let us know. We'll answer them right here.

HARRIS: Hey, Gerri, great tips. Great advice, as always. Good to see you.

WILLIS: Thank you, Tony. Good to see you.

HARRIS: Thanks, Gerri.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.

Attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq are on the rise. We'll have that story straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: OK, bottom of the hour. Welcome back everyone to the CNN NEWSROOM. Good morning. I'm Tony Harris.

COLLINS: Hi, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.

We quickly we want to update you on the fire we've been following a couple days here coming out of our affiliate KTLA in Los Angeles. We're looking at Griffith Park. About 600 acres has been scorched, but some good news this morning. We're understanding that people who live there had originally evacuated from their homes due to safety precautions are now going to get a little bit closer this morning, and eventually go on back to homes. Very good news, simply because we're learning that the wind is pushing those flames and the smoke westward away from where all of the homes are located. So this is good news, even though the temperatures are going to be pretty darn high, close to 100 degrees or so, as these firefighters continue to try to contain this.

We're looking at about 40 percent containment right now. We'll watch this one for you, as you would imagine we look at some new video coming in as well today of the fight from above and the helicopters.

HARRIS: Tough conditions in Missouri -- swollen rivers burst through forcing residents to higher ground. The tiny tony of Big Lake, Missouri submerged by flood waters. Levees along the Missouri River gave way, inundating the town. Most of the 150 permanent residents had evacuated, and there are no reports, thankfully, of injuries. Flooding is still a major threat across the Midwest. Thousands of people have fled their homes. Between four and eight inches fell in parts of Kansas, Iowa and Missouri. In a 24-hour period at least 19 Kansas counties have declared local disaster emergencies.

Well, they say you have to see it to believe. And this morning President Bush gets a first-hand look at the tornado devastation in Greensburg, Kansas. The president arrived in Wichita a short time ago. He's headed by Marine One now to Greensburg, where he's expected to arrive next house. He'll find a town nearly wiped away by a monster tornado, but determined to recover.

The mayor vows to rebuild a new town with help from the federal government. As much as 95 percent of Greensburg was destroyed by the twister. That storm had winds estimated as high as 205 miles an hour.

Violence on the rise again in Iraq. Now CNN has specific details on what the military is tracking and how bad it is.

Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joins us now live.

Barbara, good morning to you.

You have been talking with military officials this morning. What are they telling you?

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, as you say, we know violence is on the rise, but we rarely get the specific details of just how bad it is. We have been talking to Lieutenant General Ray Odierno, who confirmed to CNN some very specific details about the rise in attacks by explosively formed penetrators. These are the weapons that they believe are coming in from Iran that can penetrate U.S. armored vehicles and be so deadly to U.S. troops.

Tony, just one statistic is really overwhelming. In the month of April, there were 69 of these attacks by these types of weapons, mainly against U.S. troops. That is the highest recorded level that the military has had so far of this number of attacks by these types of weapons. You can see the last several months there, but a huge spike in the month of April, killing 14 U.S. troops and wounding 47, again, by these weapons that they believe are coming in from Iran, based on what they have seized in the past and seen Iranian markings on them.

Earlier today the spokesman in Baghdad, General Caldwell, talked about another front that they see Iran operating in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. WILLIAM CALDWELL, MULTINATIONAL FORCE-IRAQ: We do know that there is a direct awareness by Iranian intelligence officials that they are providing support to some select Sunni insurgent elements.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: So that's another mark, if you will, of concern, that the Iranians now are giving some of their finance, training and support to Sunni extremist elements inside Iraq, because of course, until now, until recent weeks, it's been Iranian support for the Shia elements.

General Odierno, Tony, also confirming that suicide car bomb attacks have basically been on the rise again, about a 30 percent increase, since the first of the year. All of this raising questions of course about the future of this security plan and the higher U.S. troop levels in Iraq -- Tony.

HARRIS: And, Barbara, certainly questions to come on all of this reporting that you're doing for us, of the defense secretary, at a news conference, I understand, just announced a short time ago this afternoon?

STARR: That's right. Tony, we're going to see a lot of both Defense Secretary Robert Gates and General Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. This morning they're on the Hill, testifying about the spending plan. This afternoon, 4:00 Eastern Time, they plan to hold a news conference here in the Pentagon, and all of this, Tony, coming just one day after the Pentagon in fact, announced a troop rotation of 35,000 troops, about to rotate into Iraq beginning in August. So expect to see a lot of questions of the secretary about where this security plan's going -- Tony.

HARRIS: Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr for us this morning. Barbara, thank you.

COLLINS: Iraq war funding up for debate in Washington right now. Both sides trying to decide what comes next. But the American people already have some idea.

CNN's senior political analyst Bill Schneider.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): Most Americans disagree with President Bush's decision to veto the Iraq funding bill that contained a timetable for withdrawal.

What do they think Congress should do now?

FORMER SENATOR JOHN EDWARDS, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The Congress should send him another bill with the funding authority for the troops with a timetable for withdrawal.

SCHNEIDER: The public agrees. In the new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll, 57 percent want Congress to pass another bill with funding and timetables.

Another proposal is to replace timetables with benchmarks that the Iraqi government must meet to show progress toward a political resolution. That proposal gets slightly more support -- 61 percent.

Republicans charged Democrats with failing to support U.S. troops.

PUTNAM: The troops desperately need the funds and the political games that are being played by the Democratic leadership are jeopardizing the reinforcements that they so desperately need to succeed in that country.

SCHNEIDER: Most Americans do not favor a measure that would provide no additional funds for the troops and require them to withdraw by next March. Democratic leaders pledge...

REP. STENY HOYER (D), MARYLAND: We intend to fund the troops, as Speaker Pelosi and I have said. Our troops are in harm's way. We're not going to leave them defenseless. We're not going to leave them unsupported.

SCHNEIDER: Senators Clinton and Byrd want Congress to revoke the authority it gave President Bush to invade Iraq in 2002 and require him to seek new authority to continue the war.

SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: I believe a full reconsideration of the terms and conditions of that authorization is overdue.

SCHNEIDER: Half the public agrees.

(on camera): The public trusts Congress more than President Bush to set policy in Iraq. Congress is more committed to ending the war.

Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: And for all of the latest political news and notes, be sure to log on to CNN.com.

HARRIS: A pastor who doesn't parse his words about Islam.

COLLINS: Every mosque is indeed a breeding ground for terrorists.

HARRIS: Now this preacher has an ally in the fight against a mosque. The story in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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