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No Break for Scooter Libby; Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to Dissolve Government Amid Growing Violence; Attacks and Retaliation in Iraq

Aired June 14, 2007 - 14:00   ET

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

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And hello again, everybody. A lot going.
I'm Rick Sanchez, in today for Don Lemon, here at CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kyra Phillips.

Appeal if you like, but do it from prison. The judge who sentenced Scooter Libby to 30 months sees no reason to put it off.

SANCHEZ: And if there were ever any doubts, the so-called unity government in the Palestinian territories has become a casualty of the war in the Gaza.

You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

As you heard when we reported it for you just a little while ago, no break for Lewis "Scooter" Libby. A federal judge had just ruled Libby must report to prison even while he appeals his perjury conviction.

Our Brian Todd was in the courtroom for this hearing. He's joining us now from Washington.

Still some loose ends, we should let our viewers know, but go ahead and pick it up for us, if you would, Brian.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Rick, still some loose ends. Nothing seems to be ever final in these cases, but the judge trying to put some finality on this, essentially ruling that Scooter Libby, if he is to appeal this case -- and he say she will -- will have to do so likely from federal prison.

And that should start within 45 to 60 days. That's when Mr. Libby likely will report to a federal facility.

This now goes to the Bureau of Prisons to find out, essentially, to determine where Scooter Libby should go and when. But it should be within 60 days that he will have to report.

The judge essentially ruling that the merits of the defense's appeal probably would not be strong enough to allow him to be free pending appeal. The essential case that the defense had argued was that the prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald, had way too much latitude, way too much authority vested in him by the Department of Justice in this case and essentially overstepped.

And the judge not really agreeing with that. Not saying that that argument is going to hold up in the appeal process, Rick.

So, he has put some finality to it, says Scooter Libby will have to report to prison within about 45 to 60 days. But even this decision is likely to be appealed by Mr. Libby's attorneys. So you will have appeals upon appeals in this case.

SANCHEZ: Well, we should probably -- I should probably ask you a question about Fitzgerald, because it seems like you're telling us what they were arguing is that Fitzgerald just didn't have the proper standing in this particular case, and that's why they seem to want it thrown out, or they want that argument heard.

Was Fitzgerald there today in court, and has he responded to this accusation?

TODD: He was there today. He did respond to it.

He said that essentially the authority that he was given in this case to prosecute was appropriate, that the authority that he was given to not only find out who leaked the name of CIA operative Valerie Plame to the media, but also just some of the tangential issues, issues related to the case, he had the leeway he says to go after others for obstructing the investigation. And that's what he did.

That's what he got Mr. Libby convicted on. He made those arguments.

The appellate attorneys essentially were saying that, look, no other special prosecutor in history was given the leeway that Mr. Fitzgerald was given. The appellate attorney had one great quote in the courtroom today, Rick. He motioned to Patrick Fitzgerald and said, "He thinks he's the attorney general, and given his authority, I don't blame him."

The defense essentially arguing that he never should have been given this authority, the judge didn't buy it.

SANCHEZ: And just a quick question before I let you go, if you happen to know the answer to it. Do you know how long it will take for this next appeal to be heard?

TODD: That should go through relatively quickly. I don't know the exact timetable for that, but the judge essentially with this motion has set everything in motion to essentially remand Mr. Libby to prison, and that should go forward as scheduled, likely within two months.

SANCHEZ: All right. We'll wait and see. Hey, thanks so much.

Brian Todd following that story from right outside the courthouse.

Kyra, over to you.

PHILLIPS: And I understand we're getting reaction from the White House now.

Let's go straight to the White House lawn. Kathleen Koch there to tell us what was just announced -- Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, it was just as I had predicted earlier. The statement coming from spokesperson Dana Perino, and it reads, "Scooter Libby still has the right to appeal, and therefore the president will continue to not intervene in the judicial process. The president feels terribly for Scooter, his wife and their young children, and all that they're going through."

CNN also, Kyra, reached out obviously to Vice President Dick Cheney's office. They are not issuing a new statement at this point, but they did refer back to a statement that they had issued on June 5th which expressed very similar sentiments. And I'll read just a portion of it.

"Scooter is also a friend." Again, this from the vice president's office. "And on a personal level, Lynne and I remain deeply saddened by this tragedy and its effects on his wife Harriet and their young children. The defense has indicated it plans to appeal the conviction in the case. Speaking as friends, we hope that our system will return a final result consistent with what we know of this fine man."

Now, we did a little bit of checking, Kyra, to take a look basically at President Bush's track record when it comes to pardons, and he has issued very few during his presidency. Second only fewest to his father when it comes to presidents since 1945.

Back to you.

PHILLIPS: Well, and a question, as we're looking at live pictures here of Scooter Libby leaving the courtroom. Actually, I have two questions with you.

With regard to the presidential pardon, Kathleen, because he's within the administration, he's the aide to Vice President Dick Cheney, isn't there a conflict of interest somehow with regard to a presidential pardon?

KOCH: No, Kyra. That's what a pardon is all about, and that is certainly the president's complete choice.

He is at liberty -- he, certainly, or she -- to pardon who he or she chooses when they choose for whatever crime they choose. There really are no limitations -- at least that's my understanding of the law -- as to who they pardon.

But again, it's interesting. A few minutes ago I was discussing the fact that George Bush has issued so few pardons. Again, only his father issued fewer -- President Bush 113 since he was in office, his father, 74. And the person I was speaking with said, well, you know, the first President Bush, he believed that you needed to respect the system. You needed to respect the judicial system. And that issuing hundreds and hundreds of pardons was simply not appropriate as president.

PHILLIPS: Kathleen Koch from the White House.

Appreciate it.

KOCH: You bet.

SANCHEZ: We've got some more breaking news now. This is coming in from California, and word is that there has been a real tough situation to look at here.

This is a school bus that apparently collided, presumably head on, with a car. That is what is left of it.

Let me read you the information that we're getting right now.

A collision between a school bus and a car has left one person dead. This is in Adelanto, California. This is according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.

Sheriff's officials say that a passenger in the car -- now you see the car there in the foreground -- was killed in the crash. The driver of the car is in extremely critical condition. So two people in the car.

Boy, look at that car. It doesn't seem -- it doesn't seem to be much left of the front of it, and the top of it as well. Though sometimes that has a lot to do with the firefighters when they come in and they have to peel out the roof to try to get people out.

So as far as the bus is concerned, let me find out what's going on with that. With the bus, three children were on board this bus.

We're being told, thank goodness, in their case they suffered minor injuries. Or at least that's the report we're getting. Minor injuries with the children.

The bus, as you can see, flipped over on its side upon impact. This coming into us from KABC, one of our affiliates there in Los Angeles. And this is all happening in Adelanto, California.

Breaking news. As we get more info, we will share it with you -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: A lot has been happening obviously within the past half an hour, even within the hour.

One of the other stories we've been telling you about is Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas coming forward talking about declaring a state of emergency, dismantling his unity government.

Ben Wedeman joining us once again on the phone.

We talked to you when this first came across, Ben. What's the latest? What have you heard?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, right now, in fact, a senior aide to Mahmoud Abbas is on television declaring that, yes, indeed, the president, Mahmoud Abbas, has signed a decree that basically dissolves the Palestinian government, a government that was led by Hamas, and has declared a state of emergency.

The reaction has been fairly muted so far. Where I am in a hotel, I'm hearing local residents calling their homes to tell people to stay inside because it's expected that at least in this Fatah- dominated city people are going to start shooting madly in the air as they often do when they celebrate.

So this is a significant event, but many people feel that it's something a little -- too little too late at this point since Hamas has essentially taken over the Gaza Strip. It's a territory no longer under the control of the Palestinian president -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Now overall how does this play in just the battle for peace in the Middle East? When you see what's happening in Lebanon and you see what's happening here in Gaza, I mean, what's your perspective, Ben?

WEDEMAN: It's grim. It's grim. You look around the region, and there are trouble spots just popping up left and right.

And certainly if you look at each individual situation, they're unique, but certainly in the Palestinian territories, this real bloody power struggle, it really does spell the end for any hopes for an independent Palestinian state. Increasingly, I'm hearing Palestinians say that it's hopeless, it's time to leave, that anybody who can get out should get out now because the future does not look good.

In fact, right now I hear in the distance some machine gun fire. So people are very, very, very pessimistic at this point.

PHILLIPS: Ben Wedeman, stay safe. We'll stay in touch with you there in Nablus, West Bank.

Appreciate it.

SANCHEZ: Let's take you now to Iraq, Samarra, the day after religious tension simmers throughout Iraq after yesterday's attack on this mosque. A deep holy sight for Shiite Muslims -- or deeply held, I should say.

It was the second bombing there in 16 months, and now, as then, there is payback. And we should say, as expected and as predicted by our own Karl Penhaul, who was following the story yesterday. He's embedded with U.S. troops in Samarra. He's joining us now to bring us up to date on what's going on.

How much payback thus far, Karl? KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, here in the city of Samarra, Rick, things have remained calm. The civilians have been obeying a curfew. They stayed off the streets and stayed inside for the most part of the day.

We have heard sporadic insurgent gunfire, also mortar fire and rocket-propelled grenades. But that's been directed at the Iraqi police and also at the U.S. forces here in the city. This isn't civilian-on-civilian fighting.

Nevertheless, what goes on in Samarra does not stay in Samarra, and the bombing of that mosque has reverberated firmly throughout Iraq. And there has been a backlash through much of the rest of the country.

A Sunni mosque has been burned down in Baghdad, and between Baghdad and the extreme south of the country, a further nine mosques have either been bombed or burned in revenge attacks. And we also hear from authorities down towards the southern city of Basra that Shia and Sunni militiamen have been fighting it out amongst one another. We hear reports of at least four people dead in those clashes -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: All right. Thanks so much for bringing us up to date on that situation. We'll certainly continue to check in -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, raised in captivity only to be killed in captivity. Will South Africa put an end to canned hunts?

SANCHEZ: Also, a fare to remember. Hail this New York City cab and you'll meet a driver from a world away in many, many ways.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: 2:15 Eastern Time. Here are three of the stories that we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM.

A judge tells former vice presidential aide Scooter Libby he'll have to go to prison while he appeals his conviction. Libby was found guilty of perjury in the Valerie Plame CIA leak investigation.

More testimony in the ethics trial of North Carolina prosecutor Mike Nifong. A defense lawyer testifies that Nifong waited months before turning over DNA data that cleared Duke lacrosse team members of rape.

Scientists still working on the computers that control water and oxygen supplies aboard the International Space Station. They say they're making good progress and the computers are partially working again.

We expect a NASA news conference at the bottom of the hour.

SANCHEZ: A religion and a region in turmoil. For many months now we have been focusing on Darfur, part of western Sudan. The United Nations estimates that more than 200,000 people have been killed there. At least two million people have been forced out.

One of the lucky ones fled to New York City. You were probably wondering why we were showing you a map of New York City while we were talking about Darfur.

Here is CNN's Richard Roth, who recently caught a ride with this story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IBRAHIM SHUMMO, TAXI DRIVER: West and...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At West 12th.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN SR. U.N. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): That corner of Manhattan is a long way from Darfur, Sudan. That's where cab driver Ibrahim Shummo escaped from.

SHUMMO: The situation is still very bad. It's very bad.

ROTH: The Sudanese driver had been arrested twice.

(on camera): So how do you feel working in New York as a taxi driver?

SHUMMO: It is very stressful.

Oh! Many people drive crazy.

ROTH: Do you get bigger tips when you tell them you're from Darfur?

SHUMMO: No, no.

49th and 8th.

HILLARY LOVE, PASSENGER: When did you come here?

I came almost like eight years ago.

LOVE: Oh. Before the genocide. That's good.

I'm very upset about it. I think it's terrible. I think the worst thing is that we could definitely do something about it, and we haven't done anything.

SHUMMO: This is the one from...

LOVE: Is that your family?

ROTH (voice over): Ibrahim sometimes shows riders pictures of family back in Sudan. His wife and two children live with him in Brooklyn.

LOVE: Just give me back $5.

SHUMMO: Five? OK.

LOVE: Have a great day.

SHUMMO: OK. Thanks.

ROTH (on camera): How was the tip?

SHUMMO: It was a big tip.

ROTH: Big tip?

SHUMMO: Yes, it was a really big tip.

ROTH (voice over): Ibrahim says Darfur news has affected his driving.

SHUMMO: I'm very aggressive, you know. Maybe I got a ticket, maybe I make accidents like that.

ROTH (on camera): The driver is from Darfur, Sudan.

ISABELLE BORGATTA, PASSENGER: Oh, really? Oh, my.

ROTH: What do you think?

BORGATTA: That's a better place to be from than to be in right now.

ROTH: What do you think about the Darfur situation?

BORGATTA: Oh, well, I think it's just absolutely shameful that we've let it go on so long and that we haven't been more proactive.

SHUMMO: OK. Thank you so much. Have a good day.

BORGATTA: Thank you.

ROTH: The president of Sudan, President Bashir, if he got into your taxi, what would you do or say to him?

SHUMMO: Drive him to jail.

ROTH: Where are you from?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm from Darfur.

ROTH (voice over): Ibrahim says there are more than 100 New York Cab drivers from Darfur.

DIANE VAUGHN, PASSENGER: Do you have family that's still there?

SHUMMO: Yes.

VAUGHN: You want to keep going up to Perry (ph). ROTH (on camera): Does the fact that he's from Darfur, is that going to affect the level of your tip?

VAUGHN: No.

ROTH: You are tough.

VAUGHN: I'm a New Yorker.

SHUMMO: What do you think of the U.S. sending troops in Darfur?

VAUGHN: Oh, I think they should. I think they should send peacekeeping troops, absolutely. I think they should be there instead of where they are.

On the left. Straight ahead behind that motorcycle.

And yes, I have increased my tip because he's such a nice driver.

SHUMMO: OK. Just pray a lot to Darfur people, please.

VAUGHN: You got it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROTH: Now, the driver, Ibrahim Shummo, does not want to spend his life in a taxi. He would like a scholarship to a university. He wants to get a master's degree in business administration -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: You know what's amazing about this story? You told it without you having to read to us a bunch of details and information. And we are always looking for ways to tell a Darfur story that cuts through.

I think you just did it.

ROTH: Well, thank you, but in Darfur, Sudan, they would like to see international peacekeepers or a taxicab, whatever. But the thing is it's been slow in coming.

The U.N. secretary-general says what Sudan has agreed to this week is a milestone in announcing its accepting troops, but there's a lot of skepticism still at the U.N. regarding that.

But thank you for your compliment.

SANCHEZ: Well, you know what else I was thinking about? Everybody seemed to know right away what Darfur was and what it signaled and the United States and other peacekeepers should get in and there do something about it.

Was there anybody who got into his cab who had no clue what Darfur even stood for?

ROTH: Well, incredibly, the last passenger who you Don't see got in the cab and said, "Take me to the United Nations," which you just couldn't believe. And it was a very small sample.

He was from Portugal. He was aware of it, but he was not as interested in having the world get involved there, even though I said, "Listen, your country is even closer."

The Americans here, this is New York, a lot of people are aware of it, and they think -- they actually praised some of the Bush administration. But they said too little, too late.

SANCHEZ: Enterprising reporting.

Thanks so much, Richard.

PHILLIPS: I want to know what the tips were. I wonder if the tips were better for Ibrahim because Richard was there doing the story.

SANCHEZ: He put a little pressure on them?

PHILLIPS: Exactly.

SANCHEZ: Are you going to tip him more? And by the way, I have a camera on you.

PHILLIPS: And you're on CNN. I'd be handing out the $50 there.

SANCHEZ: OK, fine.

PHILLIPS: All right. Well, faced with a potential lawsuit, a leading cereal maker says that it's going to boost it's nutritional standards.

We're going to dish on the details coming up next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Hello everyone, I'm Kyra Phillips live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

SANCHEZ: And I'm Rick Sanchez joining along. Everybody talks about the importance of a healthy breakfast but how healthy is that bowl of flake, pops, or the puffs that you have served your children in the morning from a sugar standpoint, if nothing else.

PHILLIPS: I was never allowed to have it. One top maker gets ready to make some major changes. And we will tell you about it right here, in the CNN NEWSROOM.

OK. First up this half hour though, is it sport or cruelty? It's called canned hunting. Trophy hunters pay a fee to shoot captive exotic animals. The Humane Society says, about 1,000 canned hunting ranches exist in the U.S. alone. Now South Africa is trying to restrict the activity there, but as CNN's Femi Oke reports, the government faces some heavy opposition. We want to give you a warning, too, that her report includes some pictures that you may find very disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FEMI OKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A lion is shot against a fence. Chris Mercer uses video like this, shot by fellow anti-hunt campaigners to make his case for a hunting ban in South Africa.

CHRIS MERCER, ANTI-HUNT CAMPAIGNER: I personally think that it's unethical and immoral to inflict suffering on unoffending animals for pleasure or for a sense of fulfillment or for accomplishment or for a collection of body parts that people call trophies.

OKE: But Mercer lives in a hunting culture and South Africa has built a reputation for being a hunters' paradise. Part of the attraction is due to a practice known as canned hunting. So these animals look like they are running in the wild, but actually they're within the grounds of Sandhurst Safaris.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John, there's definitely a lion there, but I don't think it's a very big one.

John Foster from Boise, Idaho, is spending his vacation hunting lions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If we bump into it, there's going to be a close range and if he does charge you've got to shoot it. Now I don't want you to shoot something that's not going to be good enough.

OKE: John didn't shoot a lion that afternoon. Later in the evening, we talked about canned hunting.

JOHN FOSER, HUNTER: Whenever you're hunting on 20 or 30 or 40,000 acres, it's pretty much -- you feel like it's free range. Occasionally you do go through a fence that borders the property, but other than that, while you're inside the area, you know, the animals have plenty of freedom and plenty of range of movement and places to hide.

OKE: Lion breeder, Clayton Fletcher, is co-owner of Sandhurst Safaris. And manages 250 farmed lions. But raising lions like this is about to die out. The South African government is introducing new regulations in February, which require lions to have two years of freedom before being hunted.

CLAYTON FLETCHER, SANDURST SAFARIS: People pay tens of thousands of dollars or euros, of whatever the case may be, even hundreds of thousands, to hunt animals that are basically tame animals. Bred in captivity, put out in the fell, in a small enclosed area, and animals that cannot really think for themselves. So it's not putting the wits of the hunter against the animal. It's basically slaughtering and that will be outlawed now. OKE: John Foster shot two lions a day after we finished filming. Within a year, this kind of hunting will be banned.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Femi Oke now joins us live and what's interesting, if you look at just the history of hunting, it's just like that gentleman pointed out, this seems cowardly, as in you're paying to definitely kill a tame animal.

OKE: Well, you saw John Foster from Boise, Idaho, in that report, and he was very adamant that when he goes hunting, the grounds are so big out there at Sandhurst Safari and he really does have to track the lion. That he feels that what he's doing is legitimate hunting.

PHILLIPS: Now, the U.S. really keeps this going because it's the majority of Americans that pay the thousands and thousands of dollars to go do this, right?

OKE: There are a lot of Americans that pay a lot of money. For instance, those two lion that John shot that we saw in the pictures there, each lion cost him $25,000. So there's one part where Clayton was saying, I think I found a small lion. Do you want me to go track it? Are we going to be out? Because if they track it, he has to shoot it. You're out there in the wild with the lion, you have to shoot the lion.

So, then that costs you $25,000. In the end he shot two lions. That was $50,000. That's before they even paid for the lodge, for their accommodation, for their food. That's $50,000 for an African village that would keep them going for years. This is the whole reason why the industry makes so much money and why the canned hunting industry in South Africa is extremely successful, because it does feed a lot of the African villages.

PHILLIPS: I know you found out a lot the information off the record that we can't talk about, but you did discover some interesting ties to politicians and money that keeps this going.

OKE: Yes. There were a couple of very big safari hunt clubs, very exclusive clubs as well. Think about a golf club but as far as hunting is concerned. And these are hunts that will cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars and very high up politicians, Kira, actually go out and do these hunts. So there's a lot of money. And when there's a lot of money it also helps to fuel an industry that obviously has some issues. Remember that video we saw right at the beginning of the lion against the fence and being shot?

PHILLIPS: Right.

OKE: Against the fence? There's no man pitting himself against animal in that kind of hunting. That's what the South African government are trying to change. It's trying to get a few more regulations. PHILLIPS: But will that really change when there are politicians and lots of money involved. I mean, come on now, let's have a reality check. What is your sense?

OKE: I was out in the middle of the boonies. I was in the bush right against South Africa and the boarder with Botswana.

PHILLIPS: Wow.

OKE: The police, the green police in South Africa are known as the green scorpions. How on earth are they going to get around the bush making sure that the lion isn't released two days ahead of the hunt but actually released two years ahead of the hunt? Who is going it police that? So it's open to a lot of loop holes, but at least the South African government are actually doing something. So we shouldn't see hunts which are basically like shooting fish in a barrel.

PHILLIPS: And I know you're working on part two because you had got tremendous hits from Americans saying this happens in the state of Texas.

OKE: Absolutely. We put the story and I blogged about my experience about going hunting, my first hunt ever, on CNN.com, and we got so much response, hundreds and hundreds of e-mails and blog responses from American viewers saying, actually, we do canned hunting in Texas. They can go into game parks in Texas, shoot the animal, go home happy. You can do it in a weekend.

PHILLIPS: Look forward to part two, Femi Oke, great investigation. Appreciate it.

OKE: You're welcome.

SANCHEZ: So the boonies may not be so far away.

Well, she went to the emergency room for treatment. Instead, she was ignored, 45 minutes later she was dead. Well, that appears to be what happened last month to Edith Rodriguez at King Harbor Hospital in Los Angeles. Her relatives say that she spent her last moments on the hospital floor, vomiting blood. The situation got so bad, the woman's boyfriend called 911 there from a hospital pay phone to get help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why aren't they helping her?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're watching her there and they're not doing anything. They're just watching her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Well, less than ten minutes later, there was yet another call. The same 911 call center from somebody else that happened to be right there in the emergency ward watching it happen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you want me to do for you, ma'am?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Send an ambulance out here to take her somewhere where she can get medical help.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. You're at the hospital, ma'am. You have to contact them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They have -- they're the problem. They won't help us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you know, they're the medical professionals, OK? You're already at a hospital. This line is for emergency purposes only. This 911 is used for emergency purposes only.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is an emergency.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not an emergency. It is not an emergency, ma'am.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is not an emergency, ma'am.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is. You should see how they're treating her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Well, that's not a criminal thing, you see what I'm saying? We handle ...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Excuse me? If this wasn't all I got, what do you mean they're handling is not a criminal thing?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Can you imagine? They weren't treating her. That's what the woman was trying to tell him, and he was telling her, look, forget about it, there's nothing we can do about it. Well, the woman died. King Harbor Hospital has a history of breakdowns in patient care. Officials have been given an ultimatum to correct the problems or lose federal funding, a move that would force the facility to close. Coming up, I will talk to the "L.A. Times" reporter who has been covering this story and has been filing reports. We'll have that in just a little bit.

PHILLIPS: The wife of Evangelist, Billy Graham, is said to be near death. In a statement Graham says that his wife, Ruth, quote, "is close to going home to heaven." The Grahams have been married for 63 years. Mrs. Graham slipped into a coma yesterday at their mountain home in North Carolina. Graham says that he can't imagine living a single day without his wife by his side.

SANCHEZ: It ain't heavy. It's my buddy's golf bag. Some best friends make it all the way to the U.S. open. We have the story. It's teed up for you. Four?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: They grew up together, even played on the same golf team, first in high school and then later in college. Then, came the real world: jobs, weddings, and a serious car accident. Well today, they find themselves on the greatest stage in golf, the U.S. Open.

Ray D'Alessio is there at Pennsylvania's Oakmont Country Club. Ray, what a fantastic story.

RAY D'ALESSIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is, Kyra. And real quick, let me just educate some people out there who maybe not follow golf. Unlike the Masters or say the PGA Championship, the U.S. Open is just that, it's open to anybody who qualifies. In fact, half of the players in the field of this year's U.S. Open got here through local qualifiers and one of those players is Jason Allen, and as you said, Jason is joined here by his good friend, best friend in the world and caddie, Pete Severson.

Now, the fact that Pete is even here is an absolute miracle. A year ago this past April, Pete was standing on the sidewalk when he was nearly killed by a drunk driver.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON ALLEN, U.S. OPEN QUALIFIER: It wasn't a year ago that Pete was in a wheelchair and the doctors gave him a prognosis of not even being really upright, walking on his own without crutches or anything right now. So to qualify, to have him on the bag, and him lugging around, pulling me up hills, I mean, it's just amazing. It just says a lot for how strong he is and what a good person he is.

PETE SEVERSON, ALLEN'S CADDIE: It's just a great experience. I mean, I absolutely love it. I mean, I'm eating up every minute of it out here. It's just -- I mean, absolutely can't say enough. I mean, this is -- it's great.

ALLEN: I'm just lucky to have him around, you know. To have him here on the bag is just that much more awesome.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

D'ALESSIO: Jason Allen, for him, this is his second U.S. Open. He also played back in 1998, and how this whole thing came about, those two, they were at dinner. They said to one another, whoever qualifies for the U.S. Open, that guy will carry the other guy's bag. And so, I guess you could say Jason got the better end of the deal, but I think we can all agree, Kyra, both guys in this case, both guys are winners.

PHILLIPS: Amen, salute you to that. Ray D'Alessio, we'll keep checking in.

D'ALESSIO: All right, guys. SANCHEZ: Where am I -- right here. OK, Applejacks, Fruit Loops and other cereals kids love could soon be more appealing to parents. This is something we as parents have been tussling with for a long time. And Kellogg's is now making some serious changes because they're always saying they're making changes when it comes to these products. It's always new and improved and different and renamed.

And, anyway, they're saying they're making the changes and the way the advertisers -- in how they advertise to the kids. You know, I have a feeling this has a lot to do with sugar.

ELIZABETH COHEN, MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: How did you -- what would make you think that?

SANCHEZ: I don't know, maybe because I have got four kids and boxes and boxes of cereal in the pantry.

COHEN: I was going to say, if you've got four kids, you probably have 12 boxes of cereal in your pantry because they each have three, right?

SANCHEZ: We do, right, the different flavors and everybody has a different taste.

COHEN: Well, Kelloggs says that if their cereals don't meet certain nutritional requirements, they are not going to advertise them on children's television. They're doing this in cooperation with a group called Center for Science in the Public Interest, and the way it's going to work is that they have standards now for how much sugar, for how much fat, and for how many calories ought to be in their cereal. If they don't, if a cereal does not meet those standards, they won't advertise it on children's TV.

SANCHEZ: So, I'm wondering then as we look at this, is a cereal supposed to be healthy? Because compared to most other breakfast items, I've always wondered, why would I want to give this to my kid.

COHEN: Well, certainly there are some cereals that are more healthy than others. And actually, Kelloggs says that what they're really going to try to do by the end of next year, and they're starting it now, is to make some of their cereals healthier. So they said we're going to try to live up to these standards for sugar, calorie, and fat content, and if the cereal -- if we can improve it, we'll put it on television, we'll advertise it. If we can't improve it, we won't.

But you know, the reality for some of these cereals, these kids' cereals, ton of sugar, tons of salt, and it's going to be hard to make these better.

SANCHEZ: Most of the time when I look at the box, it says something like 210, 220 calories, somewhere in there. What's it supposed to be? I mean, is there a good number that we should look for?

COHEN: What they're looking for is to make them 200 calories or less, but actually it's interesting, right.

SANCHEZ: Why (ph)?

COHEN: The calories really aren't so much the issue. What's the issue more is sugar and salt. So, what they're hoping to do -- what Kelloggs is hoping to do is to make their kids' cereals no more than 200 calories, no more than zero grams of transfat and no more than 12 grams of sugar. And again, it's that last one, it's the sugar that's going to make it tough.

They've also said they're going to start putting nutritional information on the front of those boxes, not just on the sides.

SANCHEZ: Make it a little easier. Yes, that's the other thing. Have you been to the grocery store to try out that cereal (ph)?

COHEN: Its hard to find, yes, sometimes they're hard to read, absolutely.

SANCHEZ: Oh my goodness, it's like it goes on forever. Where do I start? Hey thanks, good stuff.

COHEN: Thanks.

PHILLIPS: Funny, she doesn't strike us as the kind of woman who'd let people walk all over her, but who can resist this kind of lure. Details from tinsel town next in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Can you recognize those people, Rick?

SANCHEZ: Yes. Those are the Hiltons.

PHILLIPS: That's right. That's Nikki Hilton and her mom, Kathy.

SANCHEZ: Behind the foster grants.

PHILLIPS: And let's not forget, that's the mayor of Hollywood.

SANCHEZ: A little less known.

PHILLIPS: A little less known than the Hilton family. Barbara Walters receiving her walk on the Hall of Fame. Big day for her. On "The View," she and Paris have seemed to develop a little friendship via the jail cell. She had read a letter from Paris. Paris saying she's found herself, needs to grow up, be a better role model, et cetera, et cetera. So obviously, her sister, Nikki, and mom Kathy, wanted to show up and show her support for Barbara ...

SANCHEZ: That's interesting. Her daughter is in jail or her sister is in jail, and they're out doing celeb stuff.

PHILLIPS: Yes, well, you know, Paris is in jail getting plenty of celeb attention. So it's not like she's really suffering in the pokey. SANCHEZ: Well, it's Barbara's big day.

PHILLIPS: Right.

SANCHEZ: I wonder if we can move the camera and see if Rosie is in there somewhere? Think Rosie O'Donnell made it?

PHILLIPS: "Showbiz Tonight's" Brooke Anderson is actually on hand for the big event. And she joins us live.

BROOKE ANDERSON, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": You guys keep going. You're entertaining me actually.

PHILLIPS: I know you're the entertainment correspondent but you know we had to have a little fun with this, Brooke, I'm sorry.

ANDERSON: I know, please don't apologize. To answer your question, Rosie O'Donnell is not on hand. She is not here today. But, yes, Kathy Hilton is here, Nikki Hilton is here as well. None of the family has ever really shied away from media attention, and of course they are good friends with Barbara Walters. Barbara, of course, the only journalist who has spoken to the jailed Paris.

But Barbara is speaking right now at the ceremony. Others have spoken before her praising her, including the President and CEO of Walt Disney Company, Bob Eyeinger. She's receiving the 2,340 star on the Walk of Fame. And you know, she's been in the media business for more than 40 years, so I asked the Mayor of Hollywood, the honorary mayor of Hollywood, Johnny Grant earlier why she hadn't received a star before now. And he said she had never been nominated before and that the chamber of commerce had to nudge ABC a little bit, to get that nomination in.

But, guys, speaking of Paris Hilton, you know, a lot of the focus is on Paris here today. There's even a guy dressed up as spiderman in the crowd holding a free Paris sign. I don't know if we can get a shot of that over there.

PHILLIPS: I wonder and are we going to get a chance -- as we're searching out spiderman, what do you think? Will we get a chance to talk to Barbara Walters? Is she talking to -- I bet she's getting lots of requests, isn't she Brooke?

ANDERSON: She's getting a ton of requests. There are probably about 20 media outlets here. And I have requested numerous times that we do get a chance to speak to her as well. After she receives the star, the unveiling will happen in a few minutes here and then hopefully we will get a chance to talk to her. It may be brief because there are a lot of people clamoring to get her attention, but I'm going to do my best.

SANCHEZ: Let me ask you -- I got to ask you a question. Because there's a method to our madness here. Remember we were talking about Rosie is little while ago and then we were looking at Nikki Hilton. Is there any truth to some of the reports out there that Paris Hilton will actually take Rosie's job on "The View?" ANDERSON: Well, Barbara has spoken about that actually, on her Sirius radio show. She was asked that question, and she said, sure, you know, Paris can come on and maybe guest co-host. She didn't really speak about permanent co-host position, but then her Co- Executive Producer, Bill Getty, said, no, that's not going to happen. A little bit of a disagreement there between them. If I do get to speak to her, I'll ask her about that.

She's also been speaking a lot recently about that phone call she had with Paris Hilton. She's getting a lot of mileage out of that one. But she recently was also talking to Ryan Seacrest about Rosie leaving and she said that since Rosie's departure, they are able to talk about a lot of topics they weren't able to speak about when Rosie was there, including heterosexual sex. Yes, Barbara said that, so Rosie responded on her blog to that comment and said this is my response, she is nearly 80. Ouch.

PHILLIPS: Wow. Bill Getty. She's making her way to the front now, Brooke. This is the big moment. You always have to wear good shoes at a time like this because they take that full body shot. You have to get on your knees, do the hands, pull the star up. This is the big defining moment. And here she goes.

SANCHEZ: That's actually wet cement there? That was it?

ANDERSON: This is it.

PHILLIPS: Here we go.

ANDERSON: It's a little risky to wear a skirt when you have to get down there by the star, but she's doing it well. She's got those good legs. Here comes the unveiling.

PHILLIPS: There we go, they're getting her involved, of course.

ANDERSON: Everyone taking her picture.

PHILLIPS: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just wanted to hold hands with you.

ANDERSON: You know anybody -- listen, Kyra, Rick, the star actually costs $25,000. I don't know if you're aware of that.

PHILLIPS: No, I didn't.

ANDERSON: Twenty-five thousand dollars to receive a star. Anybody can nominate someone, but the recipient has to approve that nomination. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has to approve it. Also the City of Public Works. So there's quite an approval process. Of that $25,000, Johnny Grant told me they want to actually redo the entire walk of fame because it gets a lot of foot traffic, a lot of damage.

PHILLIPS: Well, one more star to the hundreds and hundreds of stars. ANDERSON: Thousands.

PHILLIPS: Yes, that's right, safe to say thousands.

SANCHEZ: There you have it. All the information about entertainment news that you would never thought -- you would have never have thought we knew, or at least me.

ANDERSON: And we know it.

SANCHEZ: Brooke Anderson, you're the best.

PHILLIPS: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Well, if the goal was an ice cream float, we're missing a few intermediate steps. Stay out of the deep end folks. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM, and, yes, that's a cow in the pool.

PHILLIPS: Marco.

SANCHEZ: Polo.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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