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Body Identified; Iraq Funding Debate; 91-Year-Old Beaten; Gerri's Top Tips; The Search In Iraq
Aired May 24, 2007 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: We turn the numbers on Thursday, May 24th. You are in the NEWSROOM.
Just another reminder for you. In just about an hour, President Bush will hold a Rose Garden news conference. We're expecting a five- minute opening statement from the president on the war funding bill and immigration reform and then plenty of Q&A. We will bring it to you right here live in the NEWSROOM.
U.S. troops on the search for missing comrades today. The hunt narrows to two. U.S. military officials confirm the identity of the body pulled from the Euphrates River. As feared, it is one of three American soldiers who vanished May 12th. CNN Baghdad bureau chief Cal Perry is in the capital.
Call, good morning. What is the latest that you have for us?
CAL PERRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi. Good morning to you, Tony.
Well, yesterday morning, at about 11:00 a.m., Iraqi police found a body of a U.S. soldier wearing camouflage pants. We do understand that late last night that body was identified as Joseph J. Anzack. He is a private first class from California.
The search, of course, continuing now for the two that remain missing. Some 4,000 troops backed by Iraqi soldiers sweeping through the Triangle of Death, continuing that search as we speak.
Tony.
HARRIS: And, Cal, tell us about that particular area where the search is most intense. Why is it such a difficult area to search?
PERRY: Well, first and foremost, it's an incredibly dangerous area. It's an area in which al Qaeda is known to operate. They're known to operate there on a daily basis.
The U.S. military in this area, known as the Triangle of Death, has taken heavy casualties throughout this war. In fact, the unit before this one, the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, took some of the heaviest casualties of any unit in the war. It's an area that's based on a series of canals, very thin roads running on top of those canals. And on either end of the canals, very, very thick brush. So it's very difficult to find evidence.
The other big problem that American troops are having in that area, is they are getting literally thousands of tips from locals. You'll remember about a week ago, they dropped fliers offering a $200,000 reward for any information leading to the discovery of these three soldiers. So they're getting thousands of tips. And the job of sifting through those tips to find out which ones are legitimate and which ones are not is a painstaking process.
But, Tony, I can tell you, from being embedded with U.S. troops, they'll tell you they will not stop. No matter how exhausting it is, they will not stop until they find these remaining two soldiers. Their motto, of course, we will leave no man behind.
Tony.
HARRIS: CNN's Cal Perry for us.
Cal, thank you.
And still in Iraq, even a funeral procession is a target. The latest proof in the volatile city of Falluja. A parked car explodes. Dozen of funeral mourners are killed and wounded. The latest casualty figures, 28 dead, 52 injured.
Elsewhere, in Anbar province, the military says two more U.S. soldiers have been killed in combat. That pushes the U.S. death toll in May to 84.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We are just about one hour away from a news conference by President Bush. He is expected to talk immigration reform and funding for the Iraq War. CNN's Dana Bash looks at the dilemma Iraq funding is posing for Capitol Hill Democrats.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you all very much for being here.
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The question to Hillary Clinton was straightforward, will she vote to fund the war without a plan to bring troops home? She ducked it.
CLINTON: Today we're talking about this very important immigration issue. There will be time to talk about that later.
BASH: When pressed later by CNN, she snapped, "if I have something to say, I will say it."
Senator Barack Obama told CNN, he still hasn't decided how he'll vote either.
The Democratic presidential contenders face a wrenching dilemma, how to vote on an Iraq War funding bill after Democratic leaders gave in to the president's demand and dropped a time line for troop withdrawal. If they vote no, they're breaking a promise to fund troops who are currently in harm's way. If they vote yes, they break a promise to anti-war primary voters to do everything possible to bring the troops home. And those voters are watching.
ELI PARISER, MOVEON.ORG: There's a price to be paid for Democrats and Republicans who endorse the president's failed strategy here. And I think, you know, that's what you're doing if you're voting for this bill.
BASH: Powerful anti-war groups are up in arms. Moveon.org alerted its 3.2 million members to contact their representatives and they're delivering this flier, "Congress, show some backbone on Iraq."
PARISER: People want to see an end to the war. And so I think a candidate who stands for more war without end and with President Bush is not going to go very far, not in the Democratic primary.
BASH: Meantime, the undecided democratic '08 candidates are also getting hammered by their opponents on the left.
JOHN EDWARDS, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Any compromise that funds the war through the end of the fiscal year is not a compromise at all. It's a capitulation. Every member of Congress should -- every member of Congress should stand their ground on this issue.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: And Dana Bash joining us now this morning.
Dana, I'm wondering, we heard from John Edwards there, a couple other candidate on the Democratic side for the presidential nomination. What does the rest of that Democratic field think about this issue? They're really caught between a rock and a hard place.
BASH: So to speak, exactly, Heidi.
Well, there are two other Democrats in the Senate now, of course, who are running for president. And we do know how they're going to vote. Joe Biden said yesterday that he is actually going to vote for the war funding bill. He said he just can't vote against something that he thinks would perhaps harm troops in the field. However, Senator Chris Dodd, he came out and said he is going to vote against it. He said that it is important for Congress to stand up to the president, he said, with clarity and conviction.
Heidi.
COLLINS: Probably not a surprise. We knew that a lot of people were going to have trouble with this when it came to actually taking action.
BASH: For sure.
COLLINS: All right, Dana Bash, thanks so much for that.
BASH: Thank you.
HARRIS: Death from a dust cloud. For the first time, New York link as woman's death to dust from the World Trade Center attack on 9/11. Felicia Dunn-Jones was engulfed by the toxic cloud as she ran from her office a block away from the Trade Center towers. She developed a series cough and breathing problems. Jones died five months later. The city's medical examiner has ruled "beyond a reasonable doubt that the 9/11 dust contributed to her death." Her name will be added to the official list of World Trade Center victims.
COLLINS: Politics became personal on the daytime talk show "The View." It got down right nasty yesterday between co-host Rosie O'Donnell and Elizabeth Hasselbeck. O'Donnell accused Hasselbeck of not standing up for her when reports suggested she had called U.S. troops in Iraq terrorists. Here's how it went down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELIZABETH HASSELBECK, "THE VIEW" CO-HOST: People were criticizing you for saying that because it suggested something. OK. So I said, look, take your opportunity now. You have a show right now to tell the world what you really think.
ROSIE O'DONNELL, "THE VIEW" CO-HOST: I don't (ph) want to take my opportunity to tell the world.
HASSELBECK: Why?
O'DONNELL: I wanted to know what people like you -- but you are my friend.
HASSELBECK: Yes.
O'DONNELL: Since September.
HASSELBECK: Yes.
O'DONNELL: Do you believe that I think our troops are terrorists? And you would not even look me in the face, Elisabeth, and say . . .
HASSELBECK: What are you talking about?
O'DONNELL: No, Rosie, I can understand how people might have thought that.
HASSELBECK: I asked you . . .
O'DONNELL: Why don't you take this opportunity, like I'm six.
HASSELBECK: Because you are an adult and I am certainly . . .
O'DONNELL: So are you.
HASSELBECK: Not going to be the person for you to explain your thoughts. They're your thoughts. Defend your own insinuations.
O'DONNELL: I defend my thoughts.
HASSELBECK: Defend your own thoughts. O'DONNELL: Right. But every time I defend them, Elizabeth, it's poor little Elizabeth that I'm picking on.
HASSELBECK: You know what, poor little Elizabeth is not poor little Elizabeth, OK?
O'DONNELL: That's right. That's why I'm not going to fight with you any more because it's absurd. So for three weeks you can say all the Republican crap you want. I'm not -- I'm not going to do it.
HASSELBECK: It's much easier to fight someone like Don Trump, isn't it, because he's obnoxious.
O'DONNELL: I never fought him. He fought me. I told a fact about him.
HASSELBECK: How do you know he . . .
O'DONNELL: He didn't like the conversation.
JOY BEHAR, "THE VIEW" CO-HOST: I was in the middle of that conversation.
HASSELBECK: I gave you an opportunity to clarify.
O'DONNELL: You don't give me anything. You don't have to give me. I asked you a question.
HASSELBECK: I asked you a question.
O'DONNELL: And you wouldn't even answer it.
HASSELBECK: You can answer your own question.
O'DONNELL: Oh, Elisabeth, I don't want -- you know what . . .
HASSELBECK: You can answer you own question.
O'DONNELL: You really don't understand what I'm saying?
HASSELBECK: I understand what you're saying. And I think it's sad because I don't understand how there can be such hurt feelings when all I did was say, look, why don't you tell everybody what you said. I did that as a friend.
O'DONNELL: What you did is not defend me. I asked you if you believe that I thought that . . .
HASSELBECK: You couldn't answer your own question. I don't believe that your suggestion was right.
O'DONNELL: Listen, every day since September . . .
HASSELBECK: Yes.
O'DONNELL: I have told you, I support the troops. HASSELBECK: I have done the same for you.
O'DONNELL: I asked you if you believed what the Republican pundits were saying . . .
HASSELBECK: Did I say yes?
O'DONNELL: You said nothing and that's cowardly.
HASSELBECK: No, no, no. No, no, no.
O'DONNELL: Nothing, Elisabeth.
HASSELBECK: That is not -- do not -- do not call me a coward because, number one, I sit here every single day . . .
O'DONNELL: So do I.
HASSELBECK: Open my heart and tell people exactly what I believe.
O'DONNELL: So do I, Elizabeth.
HASSELBECK: But do not call me cowardly, Rosie.
O'DONNELL: It was cowardly yesterday (ph).
HASSELBECK: I did not hide. It was not cowardly.
O'DONNELL: It was.
HASSELBECK: It was honest. What is cowardly?
BEHAR: Is there no commercial on this show?
HASSELBECK: I tell you what's cowardly . . .
O'DONNELL: Me, right?
HASSELBECK: No. No.
O'DONNELL: Put me on PBS?
HASSELBECK: No. No. asking a rhetorical question that you never answer yourself. That is cowardly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: You heard O'Donnell make a reference to three more weeks. She's leaving "The View" next month. After the show, Hasselbeck was quoted as saying they're both mature women and she hopes they can work it out.
HARRIS: President Bush calling a snap news conference for 11:00 Eastern this morning. You will see the give and take with reporters live in the NEWSROOM. COLLINS: Twins. A challenge for any parent. But one new mom has double trouble. Two babies and time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think to myself, oh, my God, I'm 60?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Yes. You heard right. Twins at 60. Tell you more about it in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: A World War II vet, a man in his 90s, beaten in a carjacking. Now he faces the man accused of the attack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He started punching. And said he wanted a light for a cigarette. And before I could answer, he started punching me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Seeking justice, in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: And a reminder, this Memorial Day weekend, something pretty cool. Turn your frequent flier miles into hero miles. Fisher House will use those miles to transport servicemen and women wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan and their families to treatment centers around the country. We're going to be talking with the one, the only, Arnold Fisher himself tomorrow about this and the Fisher House organization. If you want to be involved, just go to fisherhouse.org. Do it right now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And good morning again, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Critically injured in a car crash. Now he is hoping others learn from his near fatal mistake.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JON CORZINE, NEW JERSEY: I'm New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine and I should be dead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Blunt warning about seat belt safety. We've got it for you in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Covering the angles, uncovering the details. See for yourself in the CNN NEWSROOM. HARRIS: President Bush calling a snap news conference for 11:00 Eastern this morning. His 35th as president. You will see the give and take with reporters live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: A blunt warning about the dangers of not wearing a seat belt from a man who should know. New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine uses his near fatal car crash to promote seat belt use. He appears in a new public service announcement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JON CORZINE, NEW JERSEY: I'm New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine and I should be dead. On April 12th, I was critically injured in a car accident where I lost over half my blood and broke 15 bones in 18 places. I spent eight days in intensive care where a ventilator was breathing for me. It took a remarkable team of doctors and a series of miracles to save my life, when all I needed was a seat belt. I have to live with my mistake. You don't. Buckle up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The SUV Corzine was traveling in crashed on the Garden State Parkway. Authorities say the vehicle was going 91 miles an hour. The release of the PSA coincides with the Memorial Day holiday and the national campaign enforcing seat belt use.
HARRIS: A 91-year-old World War II veteran, viscously beaten about the head and face, now facing his alleged attacker in court. Kimberly Craig from Detroit affiliate WXYZ has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And, Mr. Sims, could you tell me how old you are today.
LEONARD SIMS, VICTIM: 91.
KIMBERLY CRAIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Mr. Sims came face-to-face with Deontae Bradley, the young man who police say confessed to beating Mr. Sims during a carjacking that was caught on a store surveillance camera. And in court, Mr. Sims looked at the video as he recalled the attack.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And what's happening now?
L. SIMS: That's -- and he started punching me. Said he wanted a light for his cigarette. And before I could answer, he started punching me. He hit me on the face.
CRAIG: Deontae Bradley barely looked at Mr. Sims, if at all, and the preliminary exam was hard on Mrs. Sims, who said her husband never even took pain pills after the war, but now takes them daily and often.
NORA SIMS, VICTIM'S WIFE: My mind went back to when I saw my husband in that hospital. I did not think he was going to make it. CRAIG: Detroit police officer Kevin White read Bradley's reported confession.
OFFICER KEVIN WHITE, DETROIT POLICE: I hit him a few times, got the keys and drove off in the car. And he initials it. Question -- describe the person you assaulted. His answer -- he was white, gray hair, kind of short, like 75 years old. Question -- why did you commit the crime? Answer -- it was intentionally -- it wasn't intentionally. It's something I did and it was stupid.
CRAIG: After ordering Deontae Bradley to stand trial, Judge Mark Randen (ph) upped Bradley's bond to $1 million.
N. SIMS: Thank God for that.
CRAIG: Bradley's defense attorney said because of the media attention, he's worried about his client's safety in jail and wants him protected. And that brought out raw emotions for the Sims.
N. SIMS: Well, let the prisoners have him. Let him see what it's like to be hit 21 times.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: If convicted, Bradley could get up to life in prison.
COLLINS: She's old enough to be these newborn's grandma, but think again. 60-year-old mom has twins. Oh, yes, in the NEWSROOM.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Gerri Willis.
Coming up next we'll tell you, are hybrids worth the money? We'll have those answers next on "Top Tips" in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: New York Stock Exchange. Dow Jones Industrial average is about 80 points up. Well, 78, I mean. And 13,604 is where we sit right now.
HARRIS: It will get better.
COLLINS: And we'll be talking about all those numbers and what they mean and where they're headed, coming up a little bit later in our business segment.
HARRIS: Gas prices, they seem to be setting new records every day. So more and more people are turning to hybrid cars and their high mileage appeal. But here's the question, are they more hype than help? Here's to crunch the numbers for us, CNN personal finance editor Gerri Willis.
Hey, Gerri, I need -- and I'm not kidding you here I need your best guidance on this because we're doing a little shopping right now. So help us out here.
WILLIS: Right. There's a little hype here, Tony. I'm just going to say from the get go.
HARRIS: OK.
WILLIS: You know, you paid about 20 percent more for a hybrid car than you would for a non-hybrid. And, of course, hybrid cars generally get more miles to the gallon and there are tax breaks for some of them out there. Most hybrids, though, take at least two to three years to recoup those increased cost of purchase. Let's take a look at some of the hybrids versus traditional cars and you can see how the numbers stack up.
HARRIS: OK.
WILLIS: For example, comparing the 2007 Toyota Camry Sedan with the Toyota Camry Hybrid, it takes two years for the hybrid to be worth the higher price. If you compare the 2008 Ford Escape with the hybrid version, it will takes six years.
HARRIS: Oh, boy.
WILLIS: So the devil's in the details here.
HARRIS: Boy, oh, boy, oh, boy, oh, boy. All right. I'm just -- I'm trying to hang on every word here.
What about tax credits?
WILLIS: Well, you probably are attracted by the tax credits to buying a hybrid, right?
HARRIS: Yes.
WILLIS: If you're thinking about doing it, that's one of the attractions.
HARRIS: Sure.
WILLIS: And the size of those tax credits, it really depends on what kind of hybrid you're buying and what its fuel economy is. But these credits are not around forever. It fades out after the manufacture sell a certain numbers of the cars. For example, Toyota's Prius has already crossed that threshold. Remember, you have to buy a new hybrid get the credit. Buying used doesn't help you one bit. And if you sell your hybrid, Tony, it's unclear if you have to pay back the part of the tax credit that you got.
HARRIS: Are you kidding me?
WILLIS: Could be. We don't -- I mean, a lot of these are unanswered questions. We're waiting to find out how that's going to work. Now check out a list of qualified hybrids and the expiration schedule at fueleconomy.gov.
HARRIS: Are we trying to promote this or not in the country? Are we trying to promote the use of these hybrids?
All right. Here's the other question. The miles per gallon. That can be a little tricky as well, huh?
WILLIS: Well, and, you know, I'm telling you, you're going to be shocked by this. A lot of people equate hybrids with greater fuel economy.
HARRIS: Yes.
WILLIS: And that's true in a lot of cases. But it is not always accurate. Performance hybrids, for example, don't necessarily save you more gas than a traditional car. Plus, hybrids are notoriously far off from the mpg rating that the government tells you. For example, the Toyota Prius was given a mpg rating of 60, miles per gallon, but in real world testing, that number was more like 33.
HARRIS: Are you kidding me?
WILLIS: I'm serious. You've got to go to edmonds.com. They've got all these details on it. You really need to do your investigation before you buy. There's a better way, though, Tony.
HARRIS: Well, will you help me with that, please. I'm discouraged here.
WILLIS: All right. Well, if you're looking to save fuel, and of course money, check out the subcompact car market. Vehicles like the Toyota Yaris and the Honda Fit, they are priced at $12,000 to $16,000. Now hybrid are $10,000 more than that, right? So you're saving a lot of money by buying those subcompacts and, of course, you're saving a lot of dough in gas, right?
HARRIS: Yes. You know what, I'm trying to opt out of gas. The new floor on gas is going to be $2.50 a gallon. That's the new floor. And I'm trying to opt out. And this doesn't seem to be a viable option.
WILLIS: Well, look. Look.
HARRIS: Yes.
WILLIS: If you just want to be a responsible citizen . . .
HARRIS: That's part of it.
WILLIS: Yes. Then you can go and buy the hybrid. But you should understand that there's a little hype in here. And they're being sold as a little better than they are. You can't always get the tax credit. The miles per gallon may not be what they seem. So, you know, I mean, it's the usual thing, buyer beware.
HARRIS: I am forwarding your notes to the misses as we go shopping here for whatever we're going to end up with.
All right. The big "Open House" show coming up this weekend, Gerri.
WILLIS: We're talking more about gas. More about gas. How to save gas. What you need to know. And what about property taxes? They're out of control. We're going to talk about that. Prepare and protect. Join us right here on CNN, 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning. And if you can't get up that early, Headline News 5:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
You're going to watch, right, Tony?
HARRIS: Yes, I'm going to be there. I need to know more. I need to know more. You've got the information.
Gerri, great to see you. Have a great day.
WILLIS: Great to see you.
COLLINS: Wildfire on the Georgia-Florida border. Smoke spreading as far as Mississippi. We'll take you high above this record-setting monster coming up just a little later on right here in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: And President Bush calling a snap news conference for 11:00 Eastern this morning. You will see the give and take with reporters, live right here in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Tony Harris and Heidi Collins.
HARRIS: And again, coming up on the bottom of the hour. Welcome back to the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.
COLLINS: And I'm Heidi Collins.
Also want to remind everybody, in about 30 minutes or so we will be hearing from President Bush holding a live news conference in the Rose Garden. Expected that he will talk about the war funding bill and some comments as well on immigration reform. And then he'll likely take some questions. So we will bring that to you live from the Rose Garden.
HARRIS: The search in Iraq and the grim find that is unfolding today. U.S. military officials confirm the identity of a body pulled from the Euphrates River. As feared, it is one of three American soldiers who vanished May 12th. Private First Class Joseph Anzack is from Torrance, California. A militant group linked to al Qaeda has boasted it kidnapped Anzack and his comrades after an ambush. That claim can't be verified.
COLLINS: U.S. troops remain on the search this morning for the missing soldiers and the militants who took them. CNN's Arwa Damon is embedded with those American forces and has their story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The mission began with a 4:00 a.m. air assault. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, roger, we're going in.
DAMON: Driven by intelligence that individuals linked to the attack on U.S. forces 12 days ago were in this area, just southwest of Yusufiyah.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a local national male here. He has a fake I.D. And according to the interpreter, he is other than Iraqi nationality.
DAMON: The soldiers test his hands for explosives and gunpowder. He tests positive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Comes up black on here just like this, T&T.
DAMON: This boy is also taken in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This kid ain't (EXPLETIVE DELETED) 11 years old. And his parents are saying that he's like 14, 15. Then all of a sudden his brother's saying, I don't know how old he is. And then he keeps changing he's mind from 11 to now 12, and now it keeps going.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Man this kid is...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can look at him, too, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, he's ain't 11.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Going to head north. All right.
DAMON: Half the platoon breaks off. An unmanned aerial drone has spotted four men running away from the Iraqi army operating to the north.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About 200 meters, 250 meters, supposedly coming from somewhere in those palm groves over there.
DAMON: And then hiding in the reed line.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, same reed line, same grid. There's a house nearby. That's where they moved to.
DAMON: The soldier tread carefully. No one needs any reminders about how dangerous these lands can be.
(on camera): The men are about 200 meters from 650 feet from the reed line where the four individuals were reported to be hiding in. But as they were maneuvering through the fields they came across a directional charge.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's right up there, a wire sticking out of it with a pipe. Probably has an explosive in it, so we've got to go around.
DAMON: Reporter: All males at the house are detained. None of the soldiers believe these men's stories, that they are farmers. For these troops this was a successful mission. They've detained eight people, who they hope might have information about the kidnapped soldiers.
What they don't know at this time is that a body apparently dressed in a U.S. uniform has been plucked from the Euphrates River some 20 miles away. The body was identified as 20-year-old Private 1st Class Joseph Anzack. These men came to Iraq expecting to get shot at. What they didn't expect, the nightmare of searching day after day for their missing comrades.
Arwa Damon, CNN, near Yusufiyah, Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: So if you're traveling in some parts of Kansas today, plan on a little extra time. Parts of central Kansas still underwater this morning. Thunderstorms caused flash flooding and forced the closings of several highways and streets. No injuries, no property damage reported so far, but the heavy rain caught a lot of drivers by surprise. Firefighters kept busy rescuing people on the road and those trapped in their homes.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: And speaking of hot, it doesn't get much better than this as far as pictures go, right? Check out Hawaii's Mount Kilauea in all its splendor. The spectacular video of glowing lava flowing from one of the world's most active volcanoes. Kilauea has been continually erupting, did you know this, for 24 years now.
HARRIS: Wouldn't you love to see those pictures in high definition? that would be -- wow!
COLLINS: yes.
HARRIS: Coming soon.
COLLINS: Still to come on the NEWSROOM this morning, President Bush calling a snap news conference for 11:00 a.m. Eastern time this morning. You will see the give and take with reporters live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: We've got a lot to get to between now and the top of the hour when the president holds his news conference. We want to give you a quick check of the markets, the Bib Board, New York Stock Exchange. The Dow up 63 points, and I understand the NASDAQ is up three about an hour into the trading day.
COLLINS: Wildfire on the Georgia-Florida border. Smoke spreading as far as Mississippi. We're going to take you high above this record-setting monster a little bit later in the NEWSROOM. Also get a good check of the weather for you.
Meanwhile, some new information coming in to us via Barbara Starr at the Pentagon regarding the situation that we've been covering now, Barbara, for several days, the Palestinian refugee camp and the Lebanese army in Tripoli.
Let's get the latest now, Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, we have all watched this fighting in Northern Lebanon over the last few days as the Lebanese armed forces have been struggling to fight against militants in Tripoli that are said to be linked to al Qaeda. Several days ago the Lebanese made a request to the United States for vital resupply of military equipment and ammunition. CNN has now learned that the first U.S. military resupply flights into Lebanon are now scheduled to land in that country over the next couple of days, carrying the supplies of ammunition that the Lebanese government has asked the Bush administration for. There will be, we are told, up to half a dozen or so U.S. military cargo flights into Lebanon carrying these ammunition supplies for the Lebanese armed forces.
This is, of course, a very sensitive, delicate matter. The U.S. military does not operate in Lebanon but these will be strictly resupply flights. Nonetheless, it's interesting to note that commanders decided they had to put military cargo flights into Lebanon. The need, they say, by the Lebanese armed forces was so urgent that they did not have time to charter commercial cargo aircraft.
For the last couple of days, they've been looking around the world, at U.S. military ammunition stocks. They've located what the Lebanese say they need and now the decision has been made in about half a dozen U.S. military cargo flights will go into Lebanon over the next couple of days carrying these ammunition supplies.
Security, as you might expect, will be very tight for all of these flights -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Barbara, understanding very well the sensitive nature of this story. I have to ask you, if I was hearing that there were supplies going in by way of food, water and otherwise, I would think differently, but when we're talking about more weaponry, more ammunition, does that say that we are going to see another escalation in fighting?
STARR: Well, that is not what the U.S. is certainly looking for. But, as you say, it is a very delicate matter because it will involve U.S. military aircraft and the people who crew those airplanes. What top U.S. government officials have told us is they know it's sensitive, they don't want to give a lot of details about schedules or timing, but they have two goals in mind. They want it to be seen, the U.S. government, that the Bush administration is supporting the government of Lebanon and they don't want any misunderstanding in the Middle East region. This is strictly a resupply mission -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, understood. Barbara Starr watching this story for us from the Pentagon. Thanks, Barbara.
HARRIS: And once again, President Bush in a Rose Garden news conference this morning. We are expecting a five-minute opening statement from the president on the war funding bill, immigration reform, then plenty of Q&A. The president's 35th formal news conference right here, live, in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And a lovely picture of the White House, framed out. What a great day weatherwise there. President Bush in a Rose Garden news conference this morning. Let's see. How are we going to play this?
Ed Henry in the Rose Garden. Watch your step there, Ed. Dana Bash on Capitol Hill. The 35th formal press conference for the president. We will bring it to you live, top of the hour right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Hundreds of thousands of acres scorched. The threat of new fires ongoing due to the drought we've been telling you about. Crews in the southeast battling blazes, beating some of them back. I saw the fight from the air, flying along with the Georgia Air National Guard.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS (voice-over): They've trained for war, certainly not for a mission like this. But the checklist is the same, pilots and crew of a Black Hawk helicopter in combat of another kind. Nearly 475,000 acres of land in southeast Georgia and north Florida smoldering. We get a rare chance to view the battle from inside a Black Hawk, flying along with the Georgia Air National Guard. It is their job to fight the fire from here while the U.S. Forest Service calls the shots.
COLONEL JOHN TILL (ph): Some of the fires that are burning down here, can't really put them out, but the forestry knows exactly how to control them and direct them. What we do is try to channel those fires to burn in an area that's not so critical.
COLLINS (voice-over): Lieutenant Colonel John Till (ph) heads up what he calls the "bambi drop." That's the bambi bucket hanging about 75 feet below the helicopter. Pilots and crew have to know exactly how to dip into their water source, usually just small farm ponds, pick up gently and get directly to the dump spot. And they do it 50 to 70 times a day.
(on camera): Did you really understand how massive and how stubborn this fire has been by sitting above it in the helicopter. In fact, the Georgia National Guard has been fighting this thing since April. They have dumped a total of nearly three million gallons of water on it and nearly 3,000 different times they've gone down and picked up those bambi buckets just like you see here, carrying 660 gallons of water every time and, still, they're dealing with this massive smoke and flames.
(voice-over): Smoke and flames so thick, so hot, crew members must fight nausea and disorientation. TILL (ph): When you're down here, the wind can shift on you and the smoke just almost -- your visibility is down to zero at times. If you want to try to avoid those times where you are (ph) in the smoke for a long period of time. You can't see where you're going, obviously.
But there's a lot of army aircraft, civilian aircraft, small airspace at the same time. You're over intense flames and increase the heat around you and reduces the performance of the aircraft. I would say it's even harder on the crew chiefs of that (ph), trying to stay oriented, and -- even guys who are experienced, what they do is our guys are, you can even experience a little bit of motion sickness in the back.
COLLINS: To fire crews down on the ground, the Black Hawks and their precious freight act as the gift mother nature has lately kept all to herself.
TILL (ph): When you look down (ph) at the fire, you've got a lot of forestry guys who are within 15 or 20 feet from 30-foot tall flames on bulldozers. You pick up a bucket of water, you know the flames are just about out of control and the forestry lets you dump 660 gallons of water on a huge fire. You look around behind you and you see that it's nothing but steam when you leave. That's very gratifying.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Yes, it's pretty unbelievable when we were up there. Colonel John Till (ph) was the one who was speaking. He's in charge of the battalion. They have two Black Hawks out there, and they're doing all this firefighting. And -- we were quite a distance from the other one that was going down and in the smoke.
And -- just, it does, it envelopes you and they really have to be careful when they're out there, obviously, because of so much air traffic around them. But not getting sick. And the crews in the back who are operating the thing that they call the bambi bucket, they sometimes can get disoriented because of all of that smoke and the nausea. It just feels very choked off.
HARRIS: How'd they do, fires out?
COLLINS: They're doing great. Yes, we're over about 90 -- we -- they're about 90 percent contained right now apparently. So, but you know, this thing has been going on since April. So, it's been really, really difficult. It's the first time I've ever had a chance to see just how massive something like that is and how stubborn, too.
HARRIS: We have not been getting aerials from the Georgia wildfires. Plenty when the wildfires were in California, but we hadn't gotten that view. That's good stuff. Thanks, Heidi.
And still to come this morning in the CNN NEWSROOM, President Bush calling a snap news conference for 11:00 a.m. Eastern time -- oh -- ten minutes or so from right now. You'll see it right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: We are just minutes away from a presidential news conference. President Bush, expected to make his case for Iraq war funding and immigration legislation -- legislation, that is.
CNN's Ed Henry at the White House for us, and Dana Bash on Capitol Hill. They will lead us up to this Rose Garden event.
Hey Ed, let's start with you. What's the president going to be focusing on today? We have heard immigration reform, we have heard the Iraq war funding bill. Specifically, what do we think he will say on those issues?
ED HENRY, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well good morning, Heidi.
We have heard the president will speak for about five minutes in length in terms of opening comments. He usually does that at the top of a press conference. A couple of issues he wants to stress, obviously on the war funding bill. He doesn't want to gloat too much, but it's obvious that the White House privately feels they got the Democrats to back down on the withdrawal date. You're certainly going to hear the president talking about how he wants to get that money to the troops in the field.
On immigration, the president is going to obviously have to address head-on the fact that this is an issue, this deal -- preliminary deal that senators have reached in a very early stages has really split his own party. There are conservatives obviously calling it amnesty, saying they're going to sink this deal. And the clock is ticking on the president's administration. He's looking for legacy items. Immigration reform is one of them. But given that conservative opposition, it's a tough hill to climb and he's going to try to start that sales job today, Heidi.
COLLINS: You know, Ed, it seems like this is exactly how the president billed it a while back when we were talking about that non- binding legislation regarding the Iraq war funding bill. He said, you know what, when it -- if it really is going to make a difference, go ahead and vote against it in a real vote, for lack of a better word. And now, we see that Democrats are having a difficult time doing that because of the implications.
HENRY: That's right. But the president also obviously, has to keep in mind that this is one of many battles ahead with this new Democratic majority on Capitol Hill, specifically on the Iraq issue. The president himself this week in an interview with Reuters noted that he believed September will be an important moment in this whole debate. And that's of course when he will receive that progress report from General Petraeus, the relatively new commander on the ground.
So, while the White House may have won a victory in the short term, they're fully aware that there's a lot more that needs to be done in Iraq. They're clearly not out of the woods. And so, the president can't gloat too much. He has to be looking ahead to the fact that this fall, there are going to be a lot of tough questions, a lot of tough issues, specifically surrounding that progress report, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right, Ed Henry, stick around for us if you wouldn't mind. Appreciate that.
HARRIS: Let's get to our Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash. And Dana, good to talk to you again.
I'm curious over the last couple of days at the language being used by Democrats to claim victory in this whole war funding debate. I've heard some call this the beginning of the end of the war. Maybe you can sort of help us sort through the construction that's being used by Democrats.
DANA BASH, CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we're going to see, Tony, by the end of today is the end of what has been going on for the past several months, which is a real collision course, if you will, between Congress and the president over how to fund the war and how to pass this emergency funding bill to get money to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Because the house is going to pass and then the Senate likely afterwards is going to pass a bill that Democrats -- many Democrats are quite unhappy with because it does not contain, as Ed was just saying, a timeline for troop withdrawal that many a Democrat said that they thought was essential to go along with any measure to fund the war. And a member of the House Democratic leadership was just on the house floor a short while ago explaining why the Democratic leadership relented.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JAMES MORAN, (D-VA): The president and his Republican colleagues will be successful today in continuing the Iraq war, but this is a puric victory at best. The Democratic leadership is allowing this bill to pass because unlike the president, they will not leave our troops unprotected in battle. Because it is our troops and their families that are the only ones being asked to make any sacrifice in this war. And this president's policy is unworthy of their sacrifice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BASH: So, you just heard Jim Moran of Virginia, somebody who is a member of the Democratic leadership, and told us he's going to vote against this because it doesn't have the timeline for troops to come home. There is really an uproar among the activists on the left, on this particular issue because they say that they did not send Democrats to Congress in order to fund the war in Iraq without a specific plan to bring troops home.
But it is actually important to note, Tony, that when you look at the Republican side, they are giving a bit here, too. What we are going to see with this vote later today is perhaps no timelines for withdrawal, but there are specific benchmarks that the Iraqis are expected to meet. And not just that, it does say that Congress -- that the president rather, needs to come to Congress and revise his Iraq strategy if the Iraqis don't meet those benchmarks.
So, that will be the first time we are going to see at least in the House, many Republicans vote to challenge the president on his Iraq policy. This is the challenge that many Democrats wanted but it is a challenge very different from what we saw from the Republicans just a few months ago.
HARRIS: I am so curious, Dana, as to the atmospherics of your post over the last few days and how sensitive -- let me ask it as a question, how sensitive are Democrats to the notion that they just flat out caved?
BASH: Very sensitive, very sensitive for sure. You know, when you talk to Democratic leaders, they -- the way that they approach this and the way that they spin this, frankly, is to say that this is just one vote in a series of votes and that there are going to be plenty of other opportunities for Democrats to try to hold the president's feet to the fire when it comes to forcing him to change his policy, so that troops actually will start coming home.
But, they are -- they know that this is a tough vote and -- what's interesting, Tony, is that they've known this was going to happen from the beginning. We saw so many votes on the House floor, on the Senate floor, are trying to make statements, trying to, really, send a signal to their flank on the left, that they're trying very hard to challenge the president.
But, talking to Democrats privately over the past couple of months really, they knew when it got to this point, where they had promised to have a bill to fund the war to the president's desk that he would sign by Memorial Day, they knew that they would have to get in on that fundamental issue, which is the timeline for troops to come home.
HARRIS: Yes, and Dana if you would, help us understand what's going on right now with immigration legislation. Where do we stand right now?
BASH: Where we stand right now is that -- is they are battling it out on the Senate floor, and this is going to take now -- the next couple of weeks, really, to do it ...
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