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Democrats' Debate Cause For Verbal Sparring, But Voters Still Leaning Toward Clinton
Aired June 04, 2007 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: Good morning, everyone. I'm Heidi Collins.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: Good morning, I'm Tony Harris. Stay informed all day in the CNN NEWSROOM. Here's what's on the run down.
U.S. soldiers missing in Iraq, now their photos appear on an insurgent web site. What does it say about their fate?
COLLINS: Treasure in a trunk, one family's find is the answer to another's prayer.
HARRIS: It is Monday June 4th, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Some new information coming into the CNN NEWSROOM on those two U.S. soldiers missing in Iraq. The two disappeared May 12th after a battle with insurgents south of Baghdad. To the Pentagon now and CNN's Barbara Starr.
Barbara, good morning to you. What can you tell us?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, the insurgent group, the Islamic State of Iraq, has now posted what by all accounts appears to be the official military I.D. cards of the two U.S. Army soldiers still missing some three weeks after they were attacked in southern Iraq.
This is the I.D. cards, by all accounts, of Private Byron Fouty, 19 years old, of Waterford, Michigan, and also Specialist Alex Jimenez, 25 years old of Lawrence, Massachusetts. This was posted on the web site of the Islamic State of Iraq, a so called umbrella group for Al Qaeda in Iraq.
U.S. military officials say they of course cannot absolutely confirm that these are authentic, but they have every reason to believe they are. They certainly do look authentic. This is not, however, what one would refer to as a proof of life. We want to be very clear. U.S. Military officials say even though the cards have now been posted, it tells them nothing directly about the current status of these two men.
The hunt for them continues in the so-called triangle of death south of Baghdad, where they disappeared after an attack on May 12th.
We can also tell you their family members, at least some of them, certainly, have been contacted by the military which had some information leading them to believe this type of material was about to appear on the Internet. They didn't want the families to hear it themselves, or see it. So, they had been trying to contact them.
There is also video out there that is expected that, again, will have more personal effects of these two men, but again the hunt for them goes on, Tony.
HARRIS: Our Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr for us this morning. Barbara, thank you.
We want to credit terrorism expert Laura Mansfield for first identifying this posting on the Internet.
COLLINS: The month of June off to a deadly start for the U.S. military in Iraq. The Pentagon says at least 14 American troops lost their lives Saturday and Sunday, most of them killed by roadside bombs. Another soldier killed Friday as the month began. The attacks concentrated in and around Baghdad.
Other troop deaths, in two northern provinces, Diyala and An Anbar. The U.S. death toll since the start of the war is now at least 3,494.
HARRIS: Heading to Iraq and having to say good-bye to their three children, a Tennessee family separated by the war. The story is coming up for you in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: An alleged plot targeting JFK International Airport, and the new development this morning. And extradition hearing for two suspects. More now from our CNN Justice Correspondent Kelli Arena, who's joining us.
Kelli, there is this extradition hearing taking place in Trinidad, right now?
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. The expectation is those two men will be sent back to the United States. The U.S. historically has a very good relationship with Trinidad and, obviously, does have an extradition treaty in place. So it's expected those two men should be back in the United States in the next couple weeks.
And of course, there is another person who is in custody already, here, in the United States. One, Heidi, as you know, remains on the loose. Officials say they have some leads to suggest that he is also in Trinidad. And, you know, expect that with cooperation they may have him in custody fairly soon as well.
COLLINS: We'll be watching that. This plot, though, Kelli, allegedly hatched the beginning of last year. They've been watching for a long time. So in a nutshell, take us back and what we know about it.
ARENA: We know that the person that hatched this plot was a man that came to the United States in the early '60s, his name is Russell Defreitas, and he is a former cargo worker at JFK Airport. And he came up with this plan, and enlisted -- allegedly, of course, enlisted help of these other three men.
They also tried to recruit, according to the government, an informant that was working with the FBI and were very impressed and convinced by this informant. That is what tipped off law enforcement at the beginning.
So they were tailed for all this time, and they had allegedly done surveillance, they had mapped out escape routes, tried to discuss what type of explosives would be necessary, because they were targeting pipelines and fuel storage tanks at the airport, possible some buildings as well. And then, this group, actually, according to the government, made some contact with an extremist group in Trinidad, looking for some funding, looking for some backing to help them with this plot. That's when officials moved in.
COLLINS: It is interesting, we were talking in the newsroom, they had been watching them for so long, as they often do, with situations like this. When they actually decide to go in and make their move.
ARENA: That's right. Well, one guy was actually allegedly on his way to Venezuela. We do not have an extradition hearing with Venezuela. So, in that case you could lose a suspect. So, they wanted to move in on that front.
And also, you keep something going as long as possible to find out if there are any tentacles that reach overseas, or elsewhere in the United States. Let's find out if this group has any connection to Al Qaeda or any other formalized group. If they're getting money transfers, you know, the wire tapping, and so on.
So you try to run it as long as you can, according to investigators, until you risk either losing someone or actually having something take place, and in this case, it was the risk of losing someone.
COLLINS: Yes, a very delicate balance, too. All right, CNN Justice Correspondent Kelli Arena, thank you.
ARENA: You're welcome.
COLLINS: Well, Florida got some much-needed rain over the weekend. We were thinking we would get it here. But did it help put out those wild fires that have been burning near the Georgia border?
HARRIS: Chad is following that story for us, has the answer in the Weather Center.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: From city blocks to cell blocks -- oh, I'm sorry. Take a look at this.
COLLINS: That's actually a better shot, even. HARRIS: How about that? That's a mug shot, believe it or not. Paris Hilton.
COLLINS: A lot of makeup.
HARRIS: Yeah, full hair and makeup, making it glam.
In jail this morning, Lynnwood, California. She turned herself in late last night. Just hours after attending the MTV Movie Awards.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PARIS HILTON, BEGINNING 45-DAY SENTENCE: I am trying to be strong right now. I'm definitely scared. But I'm ready to face my sentence. Even though this is a hard time, I have my friends and family, and my fans who support me. And it's just been really helpful in this really scary time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Hilton was sentenced to 45 days in jail for violating probation on a reckless driving conviction. She could be out in 23 days if she behaves.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Mary Snow in Manchester where Democrats clash in their first New Hampshire debate. That's coming up in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Securing Baghdad, a new assessment says it's not going nearly as well as planned. Details in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Wheels on shoes. Some kids are zipping around in those fancy roller shoes, you know? Are making a quick trip, though, to the emergency room. Details on this, coming up here in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: The road to the White House, and the way station of war. Eight Democrats faced off in a CNN debate. Iraq a major focus. CNN's Mary Snow is in Manchester, New Hampshire, where the debate was held.
Mary, the headliner out of this one, as usual, kind of seems to be the candidates differences, but particularly over Iraq. Where else do we see differences?
SNOW: Heidi, you're right. Iraq was really showcasing the sharpest differences, as John Edwards challenged Senators Clinton and Obama. But also there were differences on terrorism, John Edwards repeating his claim the war on terrorism is bumper sticker politics, and Senator Clinton answered him back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN EDWARDS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: But what this global war on terror, bumper sticker, it's a political slogan. That's all it is, that's all it's ever been, was intended to do was for George Bush use it to justify everything he does, the ongoing war in Iraq, Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, spying on Americans, torture.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am a senator from New York, I have lived with the aftermath of 9/11. And I have seen firsthand the terrible damage that can be inflicted on our country by a small band of terrorists who are intent upon foisting their way of life and using suicide bombers and suicidal people to carry out their agenda. And I believe we are safer than we were.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNOW: Now, for Senator Clinton saying that the United States is safer since 9/11, that's something we haven't heard her say very much on the campaign trail. Now, this morning Elizabeth Edwards, wife of John Edwards was on "American Morning" and she, too, tried to drive home her husband's point.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELIZABETH EDWARDS, WIFE OF JOHN EDWARDS: Mrs. Clinton said last night that she thinks, in fact, we're safer because we have the global war on terror. We're not safer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNOW: John Edwards is really seen as running third in most polls. Last night was a chance for him, as we've seen, to try to differentiate himself. And he had challenged Senators Clinton and Obama on a couple points, but of course, we said the strongest one being on Iraq.
COLLINS: Mary, forgive me. I'm trying to understand what John Edwards' point was. He was talking about the global war on terror being a bumper sticker, saying it really wasn't doing anything? Was that his point?
SNOW: Well, his claim is -- he's been saying this on a number of occasions, that he feels it's too broad of a term. And there has to be more specific policies. And he does not believe in the whole concept of a global war on terror, and that there really needs to be very much more specific points.
COLLINS: OK, All right. CNN's Mary Snow, thank you so much.
HARRIS: So where do the democrats stand in the eyes of the voters? We crunched the numbers of the national polls conducted over the past four months.
Senator Hillary Clinton, has the top rank for the Democratic presidential nomination. Her support numbers have been consistent from February through May.
Senator Barack Obama has seen a slight uptick. John Edwards saw a spike in April, but last month he returned to the same number he had in February. Now, tomorrow the Republicans are up to bat on CNN. Their debate is scheduled at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Our prime time coverage begins at 6 p.m. Eastern.
COLLINS: The alleged plot to attack JFK Airport, fuel tanks the main target. Could it have really worked? We'll take a look at that, coming up in the NEWSROOM.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: I'm Gerri Willis. Gas prices may still be high, but you can catch a break on vacation. "Top Tips" is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Oh, no music? OK. Here we go. Just an hour into the trading day. We're taking a look at the Dow, the Big Board. The Dow down 28, 29 points. I don't have a number on Nasdaq, but we're following all of the business headlines, all of the news of the day, with Susan Lisovicz in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Gas prices are making summer vacations more expensive this year, so some tourism companies are helping to take the sting out, they're offering gas rebates. We'll tell you how to get your fill. CNN Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis has all the answers, as usual, in her "Top Tips" today.
WILLIS: Hi, Heidi.
COLLINS: It sounds like a good deal if you know how to get it.
WILLIS: That's right. Start with the hotel discounts. Hotels are encouraging people to travel, and they're doing that by trying to take the bite out of high gas prices. Go to hotels.com. If you book two or more nights before July 2, for stays through September 9, you'll get a $30 rebate on your gas, which is nice.
If it's a bed and breakfast, you're traveling to, check out BnBfinder.com; or BedandBreakfast.com. Now, these web sites have a list of inns across the U.S. that are offering special discounts and packages.
If you're heading for the mountains in Colorado, Utah or Idaho, check out Resortquest.com. Now, Heidi, when you spend four more nights on one of their properties, you get a $50 gas credit.
COLLINS: Wow! Nice. Sounds good. I like that.
WILLIS: Nice, huh?
COLLINS: What about local discounts, though? You can get those, too?
WILLIS: Yes, well, it's not just the hotels and inns that are trying to entice business. City tourism boards are also rolling out incentives. For example, Branson, Missouri, is giving visitors a card worth up to $50 in discounts at local restaurants, retail stores and shows. Of course, you have to show gas receipts of at least $40. Go to explorebranson.com for details.
Traverse City, Michigan is offering shopping discounts to drivers. For more info, go to PumpUpYourSummer.com. And maybe you're not going to Traverse City, or other places, if you find out whether the city you're traveling to is offering any kind of promotion at all, go on-line to the local convention and tourism bureau. And there you'll get information on individual cities.
COLLINS: Oh, All right. I like that one, too. What about this, though, take a walk? What do you mean by that? You getting paid to walk?
WILLIS: It's not just cold hard cash in discounts that you're being promised. Making life easier for pedestrians is another incentive. Florida's travel planning web site, VisitFlorida.com, lists pedestrian-friendly destinations that can be reached by public transportation.
There's also -- now this is important -- a fuel calculator on its web site. Drivers can plug in where they're coming from and where they're heading, enter some details like your car's MPG rating, and you'll get a breakdown of what the cost of the entire trip would be.
COLLINS: Wow.
WILLIS: Isn't that nice? I love calculators on line. It makes life easier.
COLLINS: It does. Very much so. All right well, these are These are great tips, Gerri. Thank you so much. We can also go to your web site, right?
WILLIS: That's right, cnnmoney.com/tips, and send us your e- mails. We answer them every Friday. Love, love, love to hear from you.
COLLINS: Everybody loves a deal, too.
WILLIS: That's right.
COLLINS: All right, Gerri. Thank you.
WILLIS: Thank you, Heidi.
HARRIS: Still to come this morning, roller shoes, have you heard of them? The kids zip around on those wheeled sneakers everywhere, sidewalks, malls, playgrounds. Now a bit of a warning for you; doctors blame them for a rash of injuries landing kids in emergency rooms. They're recommending kids that wear the shoes also put on helmets, wrist protectors, knee and elbow pads.
COLLINS: Candidates in combat over combat. The campaign battlefield leads to the one in Iraq, Democrats debate in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Child care concerns, parents going to work half a world away. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to think that they'll come back home safe.
HARRIS: Mom and dad off to war, in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And coming up in the half hour, you're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.
COLLINS: And I'm Heidi Collins.
And Democrats, toe-to-toe, and mostly seeing eye-to-eye. The eight presidential candidates in the primary battleground of New Hampshire for this CNN debate. The dominant theme of the night, the war in Iraq, it touched off one of the most terse exchanges of the night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN EDWARDS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Senator Clinton and Senator Obama did not say anything about how they were going to vote until they appeared on the floor of the Senate, voted.
And there is a difference between making clear, speaking for your followers, speaking to the American people about what you believe needs to be done.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The fact is that I opposed this war from the start, so you're about four and a half years late on leadership on this issue.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is George Bush's war. He is responsible for this war. He started the war, he mismanaged the war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Analysts say there was no knockout punch thrown in last night's debate, nor was there a runaway winner. The score card echoed by many, high marks to Senator Joe Biden, lower marks to Governor Bill Richardson. Tomorrow the Republicans are up to bat on CNN. Their debate is scheduled for 7 p.m. Eastern. Our primetime coverage begins at 6:00 p.m. Eastern.
HARRIS: Target JFK, an alleged terror plot to attack the airport. Could it have worked? CNN Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This is a fuel tank fire at Denver's airport this 1990. It is spectacular, but confined. If the plotters hoped to cause a chain reaction of massive explosions and destroy JFK International Airport, expert opinion is split on whether the scenario would succeed. Breaching the thick steel side of a tank would take several pounds of plastic explosives, experts say. According to the criminal complaint the plotters talked about dynamite.
JAKE MAGISH, SIGAM ENGINEERING: Even if they're successful in making a tank fail, and you get 100,000 gallons of jet fuel gushing out and you're able to ignite it, I mean, it's emotional, it's dramatic, but the tank next to the tank that's gushing and spilling fuel isn't going to fail.
MESERVE: This schematic shows a system of underground pipes which carries fuel directly to gates and to aircraft, like the one at JFK, but much smaller. One of government aviation official says at JFK those pipes sometimes contain vapor and an explosion at a fuel tank could trigger other explosions in the pipes, spreading destruction throughout the airport, perhaps even to aircraft at the gate. John Goglia disagrees.
JOHN GOGLIA, FMR. NTSB MEMBER: To have that happen would be extremely, extremely unlikely.
MESERVE: Goglia investigated the crash of TWA Flight 800, which was brought down by an explosion in its fuel tank. Investigators found it very hard to find a mix of jet fuel, heat, vapor and oxygen that would explode, so Goglia is skeptical the plot was viable.
GOGLIA: You couldn't control or count on having vapor in those pipes from the tank -- the supply tanks, the fuel farm, to the gates. You just -- no way you could get that done.
MESERVE (on camera): So opinion about the feasibility of the plot could not be more split. On the one hand, a government aviation official says it could have shut down JFK for some time. On the other, an expert calls it a "Mission: Impossible" scenario.
Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Rebuild it and they will come back, but for how much? And how long? CNN's Chris Lawrence checks out the high cost of wildfire insurance.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Homes burn as firestorms torched San Diego suburbs four years ago. Insurers rebuilt those homes, but the costs just keep on coming.
Some insurers have doubled premiums and ordered homeowners to clear brush, cut down trees, and install fireproof roofs. The improvements can cost homeowners up to $20,000, with no guarantee their policies won't be canceled.
SHARMILA BRUSHAN, HOMEOWNER: Right behind our house we have cleared everything. I even put some irrigation and plants. LAWRENCE: Even with sprinklers and other safety features, Sharmila Brushan says she has been threatened with cancellation and charged exorbitant rates for her home at the bottom of a hill.
BRUSHAN: Basically, they just don't want to take any risk. And that's what insurance is for, to manage your risk.
LAWRENCE: Managing that risk can be profitable. State Farm and Allstate each made $5 billion in profit last year.
DOUGLAS HELLER, FOUNDATION FOR TAXPAYER & CONSUMER RIGHTS: The insurance industry is looking at American consumers sort of like they look at a -- look at a casino. We just hit three blackjacks in a row, let's take our chips off the table and leave.
LAWRENCE: Consumer advocate Doug Heller says the company's message is clear.
HELLER: We're going to force you to spend more money to comply with our -- to comply with our newfangled policy rules, and if you don't spend that money we're dropping you.
LAWRENCE: Starting next month, Allstate will stop accepting new clients anywhere in California. The company says costs have skyrocketed and Allstate has to ensure it has got enough money to help nearly 1 million Californians who already have an Allstate policy.
Insurers are asking, how can we keep rebuilding entire neighborhoods that firefighters are convinced will burn?
CANDYSSE MILLER, INSURANCE INFORMATION NETWORK: They looked at Scripps Ranch and said, I fought that same fire 20 years ago. And there's another firefighter that's going to probably fight it 20 years from now. So it really begs the question: Are we building in safe areas?
LAWRENCE: Sharmila Brushan says her home in Scripps Ranch is safe. Insurers see what that same property looked like four years ago and aren't so sure.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Securing Baghdad apparently not going as well as planned. Three months into the U.S. troop buildup in the Iraqi capital, a new report offers a bleak assessment, that report obtained by The New York Times, quotes commanders on the ground in Baghdad.
They say they U.S. and Iraqi forces control fewer than a third of Baghdad's neighborhoods. In the remaining neighborhoods, troops have either not started operations to root out insurgents, or they still face resistance. The last American forces in the troop buildup are now arriving in Iraq.
COLLINS: Defense Secretary Robert Gates is in Afghanistan today to meet Afghan leaders and U.S. military commanders. CNN's Jamie McIntyre is traveling with the secretary. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In many ways, Afghanistan seems to mirror Iraq, especially since Taliban fighters are adopting Iraqi-style insurgent tactics. Violence is up this spring compared to last year, fueled by a rise in both suicide and roadside bombings.
In fact, the number of improvised explosives or IEDs has doubled since last year. But despite the troubling trends, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates emerged from a meeting with President Hamid Karzai, insisting Afghanistan, unlike Iraq, is on track.
ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: I absolutely think that this is a winnable fight. It is winnable, it is also a long-term undertaking.
MCINTYRE: What gives Gates hope? Despite some heavy fighting, the Taliban's much-heralded spring offensive appears to have largely fizzled, in part perhaps because NATO's counter-offensive has inflicted heavy casualties and taken out several senior Taliban commanders.
That in turn has thwarted Taliban goals of isolating Kandahar and controlling part of Afghanistan's vital ring road. But there are some ominous signs.
GATES: There clearly is evidence that some weapons are coming into Afghanistan, destined for the Taliban, but perhaps also for criminal elements involved in the drug trafficking coming from Iran.
MCINTYRE: NATO confirmed that last week for the first time, a sophisticated armor-piercing EFP, or explosively-formed projectile, was found in Kabul, that was very similar to Iranian-made versions used by insurgents in Iraq. It's another sign that Taliban are following the lead of Iraqi insurgents.
GEN. PETER PACE, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: It indicates that our enemies are adapting and learning, and that they are understanding that those particular devices are effective in many ways. And as you would expect, they're going to use their most effective weapons in whatever way they can. So we need to adjust our tactics, techniques and procedures.
MCINTYRE: As in Iraq, training local security forces is one key to stability, but addressing an international forum in Singapore this weekend, Secretary Gates expressed frustration that NATO, with 2.3 million non-American troops in the alliance, can't seem to fill a requirement for 3,000 more military trainers.
(on camera): That comes as Afghanistan is pressing the U.S. to accelerate the training of its military, with the hoping of expanding beyond the 70,000 troops that's currently the goal.
Jamie McIntyre, CNN, Kabul.
(END VIDEOTAPE) HARRIS: Five people down in a weekend shooting. Two remain in critical condition this morning in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Police say Mark Galloway shot his girlfriend, three members of her family and a family friend. He is being held on $1 million bond. Police believe it started as an argument between Galloway and his girlfriend. They say he turned himself in after the shooting.
COLLINS: The fall of communism, the move to capitalism, a Polish man missed it all, coming back from a coma after 19 years. It's a story you don't want to miss, right here in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Inside the lost trunk.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROSEMARY BRUN, SOLDIER'S SISTER: His life is in there. He had a short life, but he lived it well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: A treasure chest of memories in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Front and center on the political stage, eight Democrats square off for their party's presidential nomination. At some point in the CNN debate the Democrats touted the common ground they share on issues like the war in Iraq and the administration's efforts to fight terrorism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No. Look, all of us are glad that we haven't had a terrorist attack since 9/11, and I think there's some things that the Bush administration has done well, but the fact of the matter is, is that we live in a more dangerous world, not a less dangerous world, and partly as a consequence of this president's actions, primary because of this war in Iraq. A war that I think should have never been authorized or waged.
JOHN EDWARDS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I reject this bumper sticker, Wolf, and that's exactly what it is. It's a bumper sticker. As the president of the United States, I will do absolutely everything to find the terrorists where they are. To stop them before they can do harm to us, before they can do harm to America or to its allies.
Every tool available, military, alliances, intelligence, I will use. But what this global war on terror bumper sticker -- political slogan, that's all it is, that's all it has ever been, was intended to do was for George Bush to use it to justify everything he does: the ongoing war in Iraq, Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, spying on Americans, torture, none of those things are OK. They're not the United States of America.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have lived with the aftermath of 9/11, and I have seen firsthand the terrible damage that can be inflicted on our country by a small band of terrorists who are intent upon foisting their way of life and using suicide bombers and suicidal people to carry out their agenda.
And I believe we are safer than we were. We are not yet safe enough. And I have proposed over the last years a number of policies that I think we should by following.
SEN. JOE BIDEN (D-DE), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I cannot and will not vote no to fund them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Tomorrow the Republicans are up to bat on CNN. Their debate scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Our primetime coverage begins at 6:00 p.m. Eastern.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
COLLINS: An old trunk bought at a garage sale. Inside an unexpected treasure. Mary Costello with affiliate WKEF in Dayton, Ohio, explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARY COSTELLO, WKEF REPORTER (voice-over): Lieutenant Ralph Wildenhaus was 21 years old when his plane crashed during World War II. He was buried in Dayton, but all of his possessions somehow in the last 60 years, lost, until this trunk showed up at a garage sale two weeks ago in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Susan Zaffater and her husband wouldn't be adding it to their antique collection.
SUSAN ZAFFATER, BOUGHT TRUNK AT GARAGE SALE: Joe (ph) and I looked at it for a little while and realized this was someone's life.
COSTELLO: After searching online, Susan found Rosemary Brun, Ralph's only surviving sister in Dayton, Ohio. And Thursday, Susan and her husband sent the trunk up north.
BRUN: I think I'm kind of nervous. My heart was going 100 miles an hour, bringing that trunk in. Bringing that trunk in, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you today, ma'am?
BRUN: Hi, just fine, thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where would you like to me put this, inside?
BRUN: Yes.
Oh, it's rusty.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my goodness. Oh my goodness me.
COSTELLO: Inside were the things Rosemary had heard about and seen on TV, but now she could hold them in her hand.
BRUN: Oh, I just don't know what to grab first.
COSTELLO: Lieutenant Ralph Wildenhaus died while serving in World War II 64 years ago, but now Rosemary remembers what it was like to be his little sister.
BRUN: His life is in there. He had a short life, but he lived it well.
COSTELLO: Mary Costello, Dayton's news source.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Boy, what a story. And how about this? Catching up after a coma, 19 years for one man. Changes, in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Changing minds on nuclear power, rising prices and greenhouse gases causing many to take a new look at nuclear energy, ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: You already know to catch us weekday mornings from 9:00 a.m. until noon Eastern, but did you know you can take us with you anywhere on your iPod? I hope you know, because we keep on telling you about it. CNN NEWSROOM podcasts are available 24/7 right on your iPod.
HARRIS: The Iron Curtain -- maybe the story of the day -- leading candidate for story of the day. The Iron Curtain came crumbling down and he slept right through it. A Polish man now awake after 19 years in a coma. The railway work was hit by a train in 1988, his injuries so severe, he felt into a coma nearly two decades later, he is recovering.
During his long sleep, his four children got married and he now has 11 grandchildren. One thing he enjoys in the post-communist area is politics.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAN GRZEBSKI, RECOVERING FROM COMA (through translator): I'm interested in politics. Sometimes I listen to politicians talk for half a day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: The man showed his first signs of recovery a couple of months ago.
COLLINS: The Iraq War splitting up a family in Tennessee. Just days from now, a husband and wife are both deploying to Iraq, and they're leaving behind their three children. Their story from WBIR's Stoney Sharp.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZUMA YOUNGS, MOTHER: This is my first tour.
MATTHEW YOUNGS, FATHER: I went over in 2004 and 2005.
STONEY SHARP, WBIR REPORTER (voice-over): Soldiers focus on a new mission far from home. Two faces in the crowd, Zuma Youngs is a high school Spanish teacher, and Matthew Youngs, is a construction worker and volunteer fireman. They share the same last name, wear the same uniform, and are both headed to Iraq.
Z. YOUNGS: We're ready to go, to do what -- you know, to do what our commander tell us to do.
SHARP: Even if that means leaving behind the three children, 13- year-old Johnny...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to think that they'll come back home safe.
SHARP: ... 9-year-old Timmy...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sad because they're going over there.
SHARP: ... and 12-year-old Christina.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the first (ph) time they will be missing (INAUDIBLE).
SHARP: All of the Youngs see this sacrifice as an opportunity.
M. YOUNGS: To go over, do a mission, and come home so my kids ain't got to go in a couple of years.
Z. YOUNGS: This is a decision we made together, and it's just -- we want to do it.
SHARP: While away, home will come second to survival. E-mails and letters will be their only connection.
M. YOUNGS: When you're on your down time, that's the only thing you want to think about what's going on at home. Because if not, you jeopardize the whole mission.
SHARP: They won't have to worry about their children. A friend of the family will make sure they get to school and church, so the Youngs can focus on their ultimate goal.
M. YOUNGS: Coming home safe.
Z. YOUNGS: Coming home safely to our kids and our friends and family.
SHARP: Stoney Sharp, 10 News.
(END VIDEOTAPE) HARRIS: Front and center on the political stage, eight Democrats square off for their party's presidential nomination. Analysts say there were no knockout punches and there was a fair amount of common ground. On one such area of agreement, concern over sky-high gas prices.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHRIS DODD (D-CT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The price of a barrel of oil gets beyond $40 a barrel, well, there's plenty of profit here that those dollars ought to be returned to the consumers in a rebate or plowed back into the research that would allow us to develop alternative technologies.
EDWARDS: The first we have got to do is find out what's happening with these oil and gas companies. Because we know they're making record amounts of money, we know that the same people that are refining the oil are selling it at the gas pump. So there's a huge vertical integration in this operation.
BIDEN: Take away the subsidy, which I've introduced legislation to do. It's about $6 billion, $2.7 billion directly to the oil companies, number one. Number two, investigate as president of the United States, use the Justice Department to go in and investigate this whole issue of price gouging.
Number three, though, we have to do what we all said here, but first and foremost, significantly raise the mileage automobiles get and mandate it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Tomorrow the Republicans are up to bat on CNN. Their debate is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Our primetime coverage begins at 6:00 p.m. Eastern.
COLLINS: Dangerous mix, militants and police. What's being done to keep them separate in Iraq? We'll tell you about it in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Close brush for a police officer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't even remember turning around. I remember getting hit in the back, and I didn't go down or nothing. And we just went right back to work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Man, a big branch (ph) falls 50 feet, the officer lived to tell the tale. The story in the NEWSROOM.
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