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Los Angeles Firefighters Battle Massive Blaze; Al Sharpton Under Fire; Gitmo Hearing; Flooding Across Missouri; Reflections on Iraq
Aired May 09, 2007 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Don Lemon.
Five levees break and Big Lake, Missouri, goes under. We will hear from the county about other places at high risk.
PHILLIPS: And we know what he said. It's what he meant that's in dispute. Al Sharpton has some 'splaining to do after a pointed remark about Mitt Romney's chances of winning the presidency.
LEMON: And, as Pope Benedict head for Brazil, he takes politicians to task on abortion. Is he or isn't he threatening excommunication?
You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
It is the top of the hour.
Flames are spreading. Waters are rising. Storms are coming. It's a battle against the elements on both coasts and in between. A Western landmark is scorched, Midwest levees busted, and two Eastern states facing fires on the ground and the first named storm of the season on the horizon.
PHILLIPS: Let's get you straight to a live news conference now, the mayor of Los Angeles talking about those fires being battled.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA, MAYOR OF LOS ANGELES: Firefighters from 70 engine companies are on the scene. This includes four water-dropping choppers, two fixed-wing aircraft from the state, and one L.A. County helicopter as well.
We have more than 100 LAPD, General Services and Park Rangers on the scene at this time. The fire is under control and 50 percent contained. We're giving special attention to the zoo, the observatory and the Condor Reserve, the Veterinary Hospital, and the boys camp.
At this time, conditions are extremely dry, and wind conditions are a major factor. The winds remain in our favor. We're hopeful that we will have full containment within 24 hours. But we're not letting our guard down. Our firefighters are doing an outstanding job, a heroic job here. If the winds turn against us, we're prepared to do whatever it takes to protect life and property.
I want to reiterate that we're facing an extremely difficult fire season right now. We're increasing patrols throughout the area in high-risk areas on high-hazard days. And we must ask the public to be extremely vigilant during this season. Clear your brush. I want to say it again. Please, clear your brush. You don't need the fire department to tell you that your brush is overgrown. You need to clear it as soon as possible.
Do not leave open flames in our parks. And comply at all times at -- and with the instructions of the L.A. Fire Department and the L.A. Police Department.
Last night, we evacuated about 300 people. About 25 refused to leave. When they will refuse to leave, they put our police officers and our firefighters in jeopardy, because someone has to stay with them.
And, so, we're please asking you to cooperate with the police department and the fire department when they knock on your door and ask you to leave. They're only doing it to protect you, your family, and your property.
I want to also say that Griffith Park is closed, and will remain closed through Thursday. And we're pleased to announce a governor's executive order to provide assistance as well.
Tomorrow's engagement here at the Greek Theatre has been canceled. For further information, you should contact the Greek Theatre.
With that, I would like to call up Fire Chief Barry, who can give more information on this issue.
DOUGLAS BARRY, LOS ANGELES FIRE CHIEF: Good afternoon.
Let me begin by saying that all the agencies that worked on this incident, the firefighters from throughout the regions, the Los Angeles Police Department, General Services, Park Rangers, all the agencies worked very well in this incident to bring about the successes that we have had so far. And I think it's very important for me to point that out.
The humidity right now is -- it's somewhere in the range of 2 percent, which is extremely low. So, we do have a lot of concern about that. We still have some challenges ahead. But, as the mayor says, the fire is under control. And we expect containment within 24 hours.
Behind me is a map that represents the burned area. I'm just going to point out just a couple of areas just to get you a reference as to what did burn and what is unburned. So, I will take the time right now to do that. We are currently located in the parking lot of the Greek Theatre, which is right here. To give you a reference, is the -- the observatory is right to our west, as Council Member LaBonge is pointing out.
The zoo is far north of us. It is not a problem at this time. And, also, the condor sanctuary is north of us as well.
The houses that were in danger last night are on the southeast flank of the fire. And, again, we have made a stop with all the help of all the agencies that were involved and the evacuation efforts as well.
You can get kind of an overview of what the fire burned this time. Up in the upper right-hand corner is the fire we had several months ago. I believe it was March. So, you can get a reference of how close this was to that.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two fifty-eight -- 258 acres.
BARRY: Two hundred fifty-eight acres, as the mayor said.
This is 817. So, again, we're very comfortable and confident that we are going to be able to contain this fire completely within 24 hours. That's a guarded confidence, because of the fact, if the wind does kick up, we have challenges ahead of us.
VILLARAIGOSA: I would like to ask Chief Bratton to come up and say a few words as well.
As you know, we work on a unified command system. In a situation like this, the fire department is the lead agency, but, obviously, the police department, General Services, the Park Ranger, all of the city assets, traffic, everybody's involved in this effort.
To Chief Bratton.
WILLIAM BRATTON, LOS ANGELES POLICE CHIEF: Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
Our three missions remain the same: one, to support the fire department for any particular issues of concern they would have; two, working with the city traffic department on traffic control and control of people coming in to the area.
Only residents will be allowed into the affected areas where the home evacuations occurred. They will have to show identification. We are strongly discouraging anybody from coming into the area for sightseeing purposes. You will not be allowed into the area.
As is indicated, the park is closed. And the venue here at the Greek Theatre has been canceled. The third mission of the department is certainly, in the event of evacuation, to assist the fire department with that evacuation. And I would emphasize the point the mayor made, that every person that stays behind ties up a resource, fire trucks, police officers, makes the job much more extraordinarily difficult, as well as raising the danger to themselves.
Fortunately, as the chief has indicated, it seems that this fire is being brought under control. But the danger still remains. And, so, if houses are once again affected, please, you're going to have to leave. It's that simple.
VILLARAIGOSA: You know, the people of the 4th Councilmanic District are very fortunate, let me just say, to have a council member like Tommy LaBonge. He knows Griffith Park about as well as anybody. He's got that map in his brain. And, I will tell you, he's been here throughout the day and night, making sure that the residents are safe.
Tom LaBonge, council member.
TOM LABONGE, L.A. CITY COUNCIL: Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mayor, for your leadership and your staff and everyone here. And, as Chief Barry spoke and Chief Bratton spoke, this is a unified effort of many departments.
And I also want to thank everyone who's been involved, especially the front lines of the city, county and other agencies of the fire service for stopping the fire into the homes of (INAUDIBLE) Homes were threatened where fire came right up to the homes on the eastern flank, and they did make a difference. The pilots of the county and city helicopters did a tremendous job. And they also benefited from great water from the Department of Water and Power, because we upgraded the system three years ago.
I walked from Mount Hollywood this morning, mid-morning, through Dante's View, which was destroyed. Dante's View is an oasis on our 65 miles of hiking trails. It's a beautiful garden formed by Dante Orgolini in 1964 and the late great Charlie Turner.
It will be rebuilt, Mayor. We're going to put a plan together with our park system and Mr. Muckrie (ph), our general managers, to come together.
They did save the bird sanctuary, thanks to water-dropping helicopters. Captain's Roof (ph) was destroyed on the western flank. So, some of the favorite spots of hikers -- where, last night, you would have seen the 300-plus firefighters on these trails, you usually see 300 Sierra Club hikers. They will come back. We will rebuild this park. It's been unfortunate. We got to hope the winds don't come up this afternoon, though.
Thank you.
PHILLIPS: All right. And the good news is, as you heard there from the mayor, also the fire chief, they believe this wildfire will be under full containment within 24 hours. Right now, it's 50 percent contained. Our Peter Viles is also there live in Griffith Park.
Peter, what do you think? You have been watching the firefighting efforts. Does it look like it's getting better, from your point of view?
PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, definitely.
One of the most encouraging things you can see in a wildfire is firefighters leaving. And they have been leaving this morning. The surrounding community firefighters, Glendale and Burbank, have left. It's just the L.A. Fire Department. You have gone down from 500 firefighters to 300. That's a great sign that they have this thing under control.
I don't know if we can see to my left. Just to give you an idea of how difficult it is to mop up around here, they had to climb up the side of this hill with a 258-foot stepladder to get up in there. They literally could not walk up the side of this thing. That's the kind of rugged terrain that made this thing so dangerous and so hard to fight on the ground last night.
Last night, this thing was a live television event in Los Angeles. And it was scary, Kyra. These flames were huge. One CNN producer who could see them from his house said he estimated the fire was a mile-wide.
In any event, they were heading towards homes at the edge of this park. Firefighters did an excellent job last night. They literally went into these homes, walked right through the homes to the backyard, and turned around, put their back to the fire to get water on these roofs and get water on these houses.
And they saved, Kyra, every single one of them. So, it was a successful effort last night. I'm sure that was probably the first thing the mayor said, which we didn't hear, that the firefighters did an excellent job last night. And the good news, as I say, is they have -- some of them have started to leave here this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAPTAIN BRIAN SANDWICK, LOS ANGELES FIRE DEPARTMENT: You will see almost like tornadoes of fire. And that's typical of real unstable conditions, plus the heating and those kind of things. And those tornadoes spread embers into areas that haven't burned before. If the winds have changed directions, it makes the fire pretty much scatter in all different directions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VILES: Yes. That's a fire official talking how these fires can create their own weather.
Even if the winds are not kicking up, sometimes, the fire itself will create some wind. But the good news on weather is, the winds are not blowing at all today. It's a very calm day. The bad news, as you may have heard from the chief there, it is 2 percent humidity, temperatures in the mid-90s.
As you know, Kyra, from working out here, we're not supposed to get these severe fires this early in the year, but we are because we didn't get much rain. We didn't get hardly any rain in February and March. So, this looks to be a very long and possibly very severe fire system in Southern California.
PHILLIPS: Indeed, Peter. I do remember working wildfires right there in that same area.
And I remember, with the hydrants -- there was a time, 10 years ago, they didn't even work. But those are up and running, and have been improved, I understand.
VILES: Yes, I would say two big successes, not just the work the firefighters did on the ground last night, but the work the city has done in the -- in the time to get those fire hydrants.
As you say, there was a time when the fire hydrants in the park were not working well. They are working well today. There's one right over my shoulder. The water's coming out. The water pressure is good. So, that's an advantage of fighting an urban fire. The disadvantage is, the houses are right over your shoulder.
The advantage is, you have running water right here in the park.
PHILLIPS: All right. Peter Viles, live from Griffith Park, sure appreciate it.
VILES: Sure.
PHILLIPS: And, on the East Coast, the fires are bigger, stronger, and there's a lot more of them. One of two huge wildfires burning in Georgia has spread into Florida, forcing hundreds of people on the state line there to move out.
The Sunshine State's already under a state of emergency, dealing with more than 200 fires and one of its worst droughts ever.
Check out these live pictures right now from Florida, where part of the Florida Turnpike is closed this hour. Live pictures coming to us from our affiliate, WKMG.
Let's get back to Fredricka Whitfield. She's got more on that for us.
Hey, Fred.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.
And there, in Central Florida, the reason why part of that Florida Turnpike is closed, as you saw in those pictures, is because of the smoke, not necessarily because of the flames are jumping the highway as of yet. But you can see the fire trucks there are at the ready, just in case. But the smoke is causing a real problem for visibly. And that's oftentimes what happens, especially in Florida this time of year, when it's especially dry, like it is, with the winds also whipping up those flames.
And this is something that is pretty remarkable for this time of year, Kyra, because, right now, of the 67 counties in Florida, 64 of those counties have some sort of wildfire, a raging fire under way right now.
Earlier in the last hour, we told you about the Alligator Alley area and how that fire had scorched some 15,000-plus acres, that far south from the pictures that you're looking at right now. But, as you see in this wildfire, while it doesn't necessarily look like it's that huge and too close to too many homes, it's causing a real problem on the Florida Turnpike.
PHILLIPS: All right, Fred, thanks.
LEMON: He keeps a sharp eye on what other people say, but now his own remarks are in question. Ahead in the NEWSROOM: Al Sharpton is accused of bigotry after comments on Mitt Romney's religion.
PHILLIPS: You can't stop a tornado, but you can stop one from killing you, or at least improve your odds. Ahead in the NEWSROOM, we're going to show you what it takes to build a safe room.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Seventeen past the hour. Here are three of the stories we're working on for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
It's gotten better. That's Vice President Cheney's take on Iraq during an unannounced visit to Baghdad. A mortar exploded inside Baghdad's sprawling Green Zone while Cheney was there. No one was hurt.
That raging wildfire in L.A.'s historic Griffith Park is now about half contained. It's burned more than 800 acres so far. And firefighters are hoping that rising temperatures won't dampen their progress there.
Two lightning bolts coursing through an underground cable, a new report says that's probably what torched -- touched off, I should say, the blast that killed a dozen miners at West Virginia's Sago Mine last year. Some victims' families don't buy it, though.
PHILLIPS: Politics and religion, Al Sharpton and Mitt Romney, you do the math. Romney is trying to become the first Mormon ever elected to the White House.
Monday night, in a debate with outspoken author and atheist Christopher Hitchens, Sharpton appeared to question Romney's faith.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP) AL SHARPTON, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: As for the one Mormon running for office, those that really believe in God will defeat him anyway. So, don't worry about that. That's a temporary...
(LAUGHTER)
SHARPTON: That's a temporary situation.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, the Romney campaign has issued a statement, saying -- quote -- "Bigotry toward anyone because of their belief is unacceptable."
But Sharpton's calls Romney's reaction a blatant effort to fabricate a controversy. In his words: "In no way did I attack Mormons or the Mormon Church when I responded that other believers, not atheists, would vote against Mr. Romney for purely political reasons."
Now, Glenn Beck took notice when Sharpton and Romney went at it.
Glenn, of course, hosts "GLENN BECK" on our sister network, Headline News. He also happens to be Mormon. We will talk about that in a minute. But Glenn joins me live from New York.
Glenn, I know you're talking about this tonight.
GLENN BECK, HOST, "GLENN BECK": Yes.
You know, it's really -- I got to tell you, it's very, very tempting to throw Al Sharpton underneath the bus, and say, how dare you be such a bigot? The man does have a history of making it outrageous statements.
However, I am going to try to practice what I preach and say, I'm not going to read into a man's heart. I'm not going to read in and say that's what he meant. I will take Al Sharpton -- and maybe I'm naive for it -- but I will take him Al Sharpton at his word, and say, this is not what he meant.
What he meant was a slam against Hitchens, or atheists, and saying, those who believe, looking at Hitchens, in God will defeat him.
PHILLIPS: Now -- OK. Now, you're -- now, maybe I should -- let me see if I phrase this properly.
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: I want to ask you that question as a host.
BECK: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: And I want to ask you that question as a Mormon.
BECK: Yes.
PHILLIPS: So, let me take it to the other side.
As a Mormon, when you heard this, OK, did it offend you? Did it bother you? Did you feel it was a discriminatory comment?
BECK: You know, I am so used to feeling...
PHILLIPS: Being discriminated against.
BECK: Yes.
No, not being discriminated against.
PHILLIPS: No?
BECK: Just feeling people -- having people come up and try to say that I'm not a Christian because I'm a Mormon, or saying that I'm going to hell because I'm a Mormon, or whatever, I'm so used to that kind of stuff, that I get over it.
The interesting thing to me that I find refreshing in the Mormon faith is, here's a group of people that most of their men folk were killed off. They were hunted with torches and guns and pitchforks. The women were driven into the snow without shoes. They -- many of them had been raped.
They were the only religion in American history that had an actual extermination order against it. And they went from state to state, finally left the country, to a place in -- called Utah, that was part of Mexico at the time.
Then, they got there, started to establish themselves, started to prosper, and the United States government came after them again. And, yet, what they did with that, instead of turning it into hatred or poor me, they turned it into something that became their strength.
And I admire that. Nobody in my religion that I have heard at least is oh, poor, us. Look, we're always -- we're always put out. We can't make it.
We make it. You can make it.
PHILLIPS: Interesting.
So, on that note, we're obviously hearing more about the Mormon religion...
BECK: Sure.
PHILLIPS: ... and talking about it in this manner.
But isn't Harry Reid a Mormon? And why -- why aren't we hearing more... (CROSSTALK)
BECK: Thank you for...
(LAUGHTER)
BECK: Thank you for saying that.
(LAUGHTER)
BECK: You know, this is what kills me.
I do a radio program as well. And people have called up and said, you know, I lived in the South for years. And they will never vote for a Mormon.
I will say, really? How come this is such a big deal when it comes to Mitt Romney, and, yet, you never hear anybody talk about Harry Reid's religion or Orrin Hatch's religion? They're both Mormons as well.
And, in the case of Harry Reid and Mitt Romney, they couldn't be more politically different. How is it we're controlling people in the basements of temples, or whatever it is that we're supposedly doing, if you have two people who are now looking to lead the country in very prominent positions, and they want to take the country in different directions?
PHILLIPS: All right, Headline Prime, I know you will be talking about this.
BECK: Yes.
PHILLIPS: Give it a plug. Are you going to talk about the fact that Mormonism may play an interesting role in this presidency, in this run?
BECK: No.
(CROSSTALK)
BECK: From time to time.
On this particular case, I think it's interesting that we are not going to play the same cards that Al Sharpton played against Don Imus. I will accept his word. I'm not going to read into the man's heart. I think he might have misspoke. He might have been -- he might have misunderstood. I'm not going to read into his heart.
PHILLIPS: Glenn Beck.
BECK: It doesn't affect me or Mormons.
PHILLIPS: Interesting perspective.
BECK: Thank you. PHILLIPS: It always is. I appreciate your time.
BECK: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: I want you praying for me.
(LAUGHTER)
BECK: OK. Let's do that.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Glenn.
BECK: Thanks.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: Well, a quick reminder: Be sure to catch CNN's "PAULA ZAHN NOW" at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. The Reverend Al Sharpton will be a guest right here on CNN.
And, of course, don't forget, prime time, Headline News with Glenn Beck.
LEMON: See that? That's a safe room. They say you can't stop a tornado. Of course you can't. But you can probably stop it from killing you, or at least improve your odds there.
Ahead in the NEWSROOM, we will show you what it takes to build a safe room.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Well, it virtually wiped a Kansas town right off the map. Now you may be wondering how you would survive if a monster tornado threatened your home. What room would you run to? Well, for some people, the answer is a safe room.
CNN's personal finance editor, Gerri Willis, joins me now with details on that.
So, Gerri, tell us about exactly how this safe room thing works.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Well, this is about personal safety, not property safety.
LEMON: Mm-hmm.
WILLIS: And it's simply a small room in a house, like a closet or a bathroom that has been reinforced to provide protection. And it's designed to withstand wind speeds of over 250 miles per hour. So, that's a pretty strong tornado.
You want to choose a room that you can have quick access to. You can build a safe room in a basement or in an interior room on the first floor. Now, safe rooms can also be built in a garage or away from the house, Don. To avoid the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, of course, you don't want to put a generator in your safe room.
LEMON: Yes. And, just real quick, it's safer, not 100 percent, because if a big...
WILLIS: It's not 100 percent, no.
LEMON: Right. Right.
LEMON: Tell us about cost. How much will this cost, Gerri?
WILLIS: Well, it's not cheap. If you have somebody build it for you, it can cost from $2,500 to $6,000.
But here's a nice perk. Most states in Tornado Alley, including Oklahoma, Iowa, and Missouri, have incentives, like reduced property taxes for homeowners who build a shelter.
LEMON: OK. You said property taxes. What about homeowners insurance? Will that -- will they pick part of the tab up for it?
WILLIS: Nuh-uh.
You know, your insurance won't pick up the cost of building a safe room. You know, they're all about protecting the property, not the people, with your home insurance policy.
But, if your community is devastated, you may be able to use low- cost federal loans to pay for the construction of the safe room.
LEMON: OK. And, just being on the ground there, Gerri, witnessing that tornado...
WILLIS: Oh, yes.
LEMON: ... some people may want to do this, because, sometimes, going down in a basement doesn't really save you all that much. You can be sucked right out of there.
WILLIS: Yes.
LEMON: Is this something the average homeowner can tackle by themselves?
WILLIS: Well, you can, but you have to be handy.
Look, the materials you would use, concrete block, et cetera, are available from your local home improvement store. And you can go to the FEMA Web site at FEMA.gov to find floor plans if you want to tackle the project yourself.
So, it is doable. It takes a little savvy, a little know-how. But, if you live in Tornado Alley, and particularly in an area where these storms come through on a pretty regular basis, this is something you might want to think about for you and your family. LEMON: Yes, absolutely.
And you said they put them right in -- right in the middle of the home, right?
WILLIS: Right in the middle of the home, so, an interior hallway, maybe a bathroom. You don't want windows in the room.
LEMON: Mm-hmm.
WILLIS: Or, if you have a basement, you can even reinforce this in your base -- you know, make a small room in your basement.
LEMON: Right.
WILLIS: I have to tell you, at the end of the day, if it gives you some peace of mind, it may well be worth the price. And it won't be that expensive, of course, if you do it yourself.
LEMON: Always a pleasure, as usual. Our personal finance editor, Gerri Willis, thank you.
WILLIS: Thank you. My pleasure.
PHILLIPS: New video now -- Pope Benedict XVI has just arrived on his first trip to Latin America, specifically and exclusively Brazil, home to the world's largest Catholic population. His mission is to keep Catholics from migrating to other faiths and to keep activist priests and bishops out of politics.
Now, speaking to reporters on his plane, the pope endorsed excommunication for politicians who support abortion.
Now, the pope's visit comes at a time of serious challenge to the Catholic Church. Here are some of the issues.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Paradise of South America, that's Brazil, with its beautiful beaches, extraordinary rain forests and rivers, and one of the world's premier party cities, Rio de Janeiro.
Brazil is also one of the region's most modern countries, with a thriving democracy and a growing economy. But South America's largest country and home to the world's largest number of Roman Catholics is also a battleground.
Gang and drug violence in Rio and other large cities, grinding poverty, and of most concern to Pope Benedict, followers are abandoning the church for evangelical Pentecostalism, in part because of the church's strict doctrine, especially on abortion. A Brazilian sociologist says one main attraction of Pentecostalism is that it is a more emotional religion.
When Pope John Paul II came to Brazil in 1980, 90 percent of Brazilians identified themselves as Roman Catholics. A recent survey found that now some 70 percent consider themselves Catholics. Experts say their doubts are in large part due to the church's strict opposition to contraception, abortion rights and sex outside marriage. Abortion in Brazil is illegal, except in cases of rape, or when the mother's life is in danger.
Another issue hurting the church, Benedict's opposition to so- called liberation theology which links spiritual growth to human rights. In the 1980s, as Cardinal Ratzinger, he spearheaded the Vatican's campaign to wipe out the movement, accusing it of being Marxist-inspired and mixing faith with politics.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Paying attention to detention. A spirited debate over whether to close a prison facility at Guantanamo Bay or keep it up and running.
We'll get a live report up next, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, what to do about Gitmo. Yesterday, a bill to close the Guantanamo Bay detention camp was introduced in the House. Today, a House defense subcommittee held a hearing.
CNN's Brianna Keilar joins us now from Washington with more -- Brianna.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, critics of the Camp Delta detention facility at Guantanamo Bay say detainees aren't treated well, they don't have sufficient access to lawyers, and for a country that prides itself on the rule of law, the United States is just sending a hypocritical message to the world.
Well, today panelists testifying on Capitol Hill before the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee countered most of those criticisms. They said detainees get 5,000 calories in food per day, between two to 12 hours of recreational time, as well as prayer rugs and beads, among other things.
The admiral who runs the camp said lawyers visited the camp more than 1,400 times last year, and mail between the lawyers and clients is not examined because it's privileged.
There's also another criticism of the camp that after years of being in lockdown, can detainees really provide any useful intelligence? That was a sticking point for John Murtha, chairman of this committee, and Daniel Dell'Orto, the principal deputy general counsel at the Defense Department who testified today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For you to say this would cripple our national intelligence effort is beyond my belief.
DANIEL DELL'ORTO, PENTAGON DEPUTY GENERAL COUNSEL: I believe in responding to the possible threats we face against this country and the types of attacks that these people have proven themselves capable of engaging in...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Today's hearing follows the introduction of two related bills, one in the House yesterday and one in the Senate last week, that both propose closing the detection facility at Gitmo -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. We'll continue to follow it.
Brianna Keilar, thanks so much.
LEMON: Those storms that spawned so many tornadoes last weekend dumped more than seven inches of rain in the Midwest. And floodwaters have overrun more than 20 levees across Missouri and in the small town of Big Lake. It is completely underwater.
And joining me now by phone is Mark Sitherwood. He's the presiding commissioner for Holt County, Missouri, and his county includes the village of Big Lake.
Tell me what the place -- what it's like now, sir.
MARK SITHERWOOD, PRESIDING COMMISSIONER, HOLT COUNTY, MISSOURI: Well, right now, the water has stabilized. We do have a lot of vacation homes and permanent residences there under water. We have several communities also that are fighting water right now, not only Big Lake, but the city of Craig and the city of Fortescue, Missouri.
They are stabilized. They don't have any water in town, but they are sandbagging, and pretty well have things under control, we hope.
LEMON: Yes. And you got some people in shelters, right? How many people you got in shelters?
SITHERWOOD: Well, I don't have that number for you right now. But we do have a shelter set up in Mound City, Missouri, right now.
LEMON: OK. And as I understand, another river -- and I'm not sure which one it is -- is threatening, as well?
SITHERWOOD: Yes, it's the Big Tarkio River. It's a tributary of the Missouri River.
LEMON: And so that's -- that's threatening to -- so, if that does happen, what are we looking at here?
SITHERWOOD: Well, it's stabilized, too, today. And from what we're getting from the Corps of Engineers, we hope we've reached a crest here today.
LEMON: Yes. A lot of people are comparing this to that flood in 1993. We all remember that. And there's still -- you know, if you go anywhere in the Midwest, you'll see markings on the wall from the 1993 flood. They call it The Great Flood. In comparison to that, how does this one stand?
SITHERWOOD: Well, we aren't there at the '93 levels yet. We do have a lot of cropland. This is an ag-based community. We have thousands of acres of cropland under water right now, as well as residential area.
LEMON: OK. So you've got crops. You have thousands of acres of -- that's not good for...
SITHERWOOD: No, it sure is not.
LEMON: Yes.
What advice are you giving people now? Are you holding hope that the waters are receding now?
SITHERWOOD: Well, yes, we are. They are not receding as of yet, but they -- like I said, they are stabilizing. And we certainly hope that they continue.
LEMON: All right. And we certainly hope they continue as well from this, and we're wishing you the best.
Mark Sitherwood, he's the presiding county commissioner for Holt County, Missouri.
Thanks for joining us today.
And talking about that flooding, flooding, fires, a subtropical storm named Andrea. Jacqui Jeras is a busy woman today, checking it all out for us.
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PHILLIPS: The White House sends a message to Iraq via a pretty big messenger. Details on Dick Cheney's visit, and an explosive welcome from insurgents, straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: It's one of those unannounced visits to Iraq. Vice President Dick Cheney turning up in Baghdad for meetings with Iraq's prime minister, its president, military commanders, and also troops. Insurgents got their own point across with an explosion. Supposedly, a mortar round in the Green Zone, but nobody was hurt.
Now, Cheney says he told Iraqi leaders U.S. patience is running out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I did make it clear that we believe it's very important to move on the issues before us in a timely fashion. And that any undue delay would be difficult to explain, and that we hoped they would approach these issues with all deliberate dispatch.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: And my partner here, Kyra, just back from Iraq, from Baghdad.
We're talking about this explosion in the Green Zone. Is this unusual? Because it's supposed to be fortified.
PHILLIPS: Yes. No, not at all. I mean, mortars are launched into the fortified Green Zone practically every week.
I mean, there was a time where it was happening almost every other day, and troops were reporting, "Well, yes, one hit the pool where I was swimming and trying to work out." Another one hit over here by the cafeteria. I mean, it's something that is not unusual.
Whether you are the Dick Cheney, the vice president of the United States, or you're me, or you're just somebody that works inside the Green Zone...
LEMON: It doesn't matter.
PHILLIPS: No, you're always at risk. I mean, and then not only is there the threat of the mortar attacks that happen consistently, but also the vest bomber that made his way into the fortified Green Zone and caused the huge explosion at the Iraqi parliament.
And don't forget -- as a matter of fact, here's the video. I mean, remember when this happened when I was there.
LEMON: You were right near there.
PHILLIPS: Well, and the camera was rolling. They were doing the interview. And this was the first time a vest bomber actually got through and exploded inside the fortified Green Zone. They have found vests prior to this, but this was the first explosion.
And then you'll remember the mortar attack when the new U.N. secretary-general was visiting in the Green Zone.
LEMON: Yes.
PHILLIPS: Now, remember that when he was speaking right here.
LEMON: Yes.
PHILLIPS: And there he is, Ban Ki-moon. He ducked down.
LEMON: Right. And no one else did. No one else moved. They're used to it.
PHILLIPS: No, nobody else flinched. They are. And that mortar landed just outside where he was holding this news conference.
And Nuri al-Maliki, the prime minister, right next to him, he was telling his security guys, "Makooshi (ph), Makooshi (ph)," as in, "Leave me alone." Go away. This is fine. We can handle this.
They are used to it. It's something that happens on a regular basis.
So, this wasn't a surprise that mortars were launched when Dick Cheney was in the Green Zone.
LEMON: Right. And Ban Ki-moon, you know, of course he had no idea, or he wasn't used to it, I should say.
What I liked about what you did over there is you focused on the people. A lot of your reporting focused on the people of Iraq, because they're the ones who are dealing with the violence and all the fighting over there. Much -- their lives are much tougher, and they're suffering because of it.
PHILLIPS: Oh, sure. I've done so many military stories. I focused on the military. I was there for Operation Iraqi Freedom, on the carrier when Shock and Awe happened. And this was the first time I was able to go back and just see the effect of those bombs that were dropped and how the Iraqi people are living and what life is like there.
And you know, your heart really goes out to them, because they can't afford the kind of security that we can, or that wealthy people can, or the U.S. military. The average Iraqi really suffers, especially those trying to rebuild the city.
Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS (voice-over): This is a moment no one takes for granted in Baghdad.
"We all love beauty, and you can see I'm comfortable talking to you, because we are sitting in a nice garden," Baghdad's governor, Hussein al-Tahan tells me. "The environment creates relaxation, so if we increase the gardens and parks in Baghdad, this will help the Iraqi people."
In Iraq, in this war zone, a park, fresh flowers, new paint are considered gifts.
"Instead of planting bombs, we plant flowers. It's beautiful. It makes me feel comfortable."
"Thank god for the flowers, grass, even cleaner streets. It just makes me feel better."
And that's exactly what Governor al-Tahan wants. He's spending millions of dollars trying to replace the destruction of bombs with beauty.
Now painted with the Iraqi flag, these columns used to be covered with quotes from Saddam Hussein. Hundreds of gardens are blooming. Fountains, art, street work, even blast walls are becoming beautiful murals.
"The security situation forces us to put up blast walls," the governor explains. "Not everyone wants to accept this military environment, so we are changing colors, avoiding the ugly appearance, and painting positive pictures."
However, that ugly picture of war still makes these projects brutally difficult and deadly.
(on camera): You've had 300 workers and engineers die trying to do this job. How do you keep workers coming back?
(voice over): "We are trying to coordinate more security for them. Their job is more dangerous than being a minister in Iraq."
Dangerous for garden supervisors like Monaff Faroon.
"I just want to defy the terrorists and add something to our country," Monaff tells me. "This regains the beauty of our past."
Beauty and bravery, still hard for many Iraqis to believe in.
(on camera): This is Zayouna Park (ph). It cost $500,000 to build this, and it's the first recreation area of its kind since the fall of Saddam Hussein. It has two soccer fields, plus a volley ball, handball and basketball court. It has a garden, and a brand new restaurant. It's beautiful.
The only problem is, Iraqis are still afraid of the terrorists, which means they are still afraid to come here. Today, it's empty.
(voice-over): So, how are you going to get the moms and the kids to the park?
(voice over): "We believe that behind every man, there's a great woman, and those women are led by their children. The children will convince the women to visit these parks and gardens."
Familiar sounds of sirens now combined with samples of new scenery. One more creative attempt at peace in Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: And you know who gave me that story idea? My Iraqi body guard. I mean...
LEMON: Really?
PHILLIPS: ... we would sit around and brainstorm ideas, then Hamdi (ph) gave me that idea. He said, "Yes, there's this park by my house, and they're trying to plant and build this recreation center." And that led us into an incredible story of these workers and the Iraqis trying to just make the city beautiful.
LEMON: And in that park, nobody there. That's what we noticed when that report came. PHILLIPS: Right. I hope when I go back, there will be kids in that park.
LEMON: We certainly hope so.
Kyra, thank you so much. Enjoyed that work all -- the entire body of work you did there.
All right. No discount for you. Who do I sound like? Remember the "Soup Nazi"? "No soup for you."
Well, one state comes down hard on a gas station that tried to give some of its customers a break. We'll have details for you straight ahead, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
PHILLIPS: Is that -- is that?
LEMON: Yes.
PHILLIPS: I thought he was just playing around putting that in my ear. Well...
LEMON: I thought it was a commercial. I'm like, what...
PHILLIPS: So did I. I go, wait a minute, we're live on the air. Oh my goodness.
Are you ready to follow?
LEMON: Yes.
PHILLIPS: Well, one thing is clear after an auction yesterday in San Francisco. Dead Heads are no deadbeats, that's for sure.
Fans who wanted to remember the Grateful Dead with more than tie- dyed T-shirts spent $1.1. million -- $312,000 just for Jerry Garcia's white custom electric Travis Bean electric guitar. Garcia's leather guitar strap went for $20,000, and somebody paid $16,800 for a small suitcase full of Garcia's guitar strings and other accessories.
The loot belonged to the band's long-time road manager, Lawrence "Ramrod" Shurtliff. And he actually died last year.
You know, the drummer of the Grateful Dead, Mickey Hart, huge friends of our show. We've had them on a lot.
LEMON: Oh, really?
PHILLIPS: Yes.
LEMON: You know, what, I have a couple...
PHILLIPS: He's crazy.
LEMON: ... Jerry Garcia neckties. What do you think they'd go for?
PHILLIPS: I'm not sure. I think I find those sometimes for about $5.99. I give them to my dad. But that's a whole other story.
Anyway, I know that Susan Lisovicz likes the Grateful Dead.
LEMON: Yes.
PHILLIPS: I don't know if she's actually a Dead Head, though.
LEMON: Did you go to the Dead concerts? I had a really good friend, and all she would do on the weekends is just go to Dead concerts.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: It's one of my biggest musical regrets, that I never got to a concert.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
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