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Hamas Gaza Takeover; Bush Administration Supporting Palestinian President; Mike Nifong: In His Own Defense

Aired June 15, 2007 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Just getting word now out of Baghdad that a U.S. Air Force F-16 has crashed in Iraq. According to the U.S. Air Force, it is an accident. The aircraft, we are being told, was deployed to the 332nd Air Expeditionary Ring -- Wing, rather. It crashed in Iraq within the past -- looks like within -- about 12:27 a.m. Iraq time. The Air Force says that -- let's see, it was dateline -- it came out of Balad Air Base -- that's actually just north of Baghdad.

We're told that a crew member aboard the plane -- well, it's most likely the pilot, obviously -- was flying on a close air support mission, a CAS mission in sort of -- in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. If you're not familiar with close air support sorty, basically, these F-16s along with naval aircraft, as well, along with Air Force, are out there supporting troops on the ground.

So, if troops on the ground need help from the air, they'll call in those strike fighters. And it's look like that's exactly what that F-16 was doing, offering close air support over some type of mission there on the ground. Not sure what the cause of the accident is. We're working details on that. We'll try to bring you information as we get it.

HOLMES: Meanwhile, got some multi-tasking to tell you about that is simply out of this world, literally. Miles O'Brien, going on a spacewalk with a lot riding on it here, Miles.

Hello to you again, sir.

MILES O'BRIEN, SPACE CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, T.J.

Let's take a look at what's going on in space right now. Take a look at Danny Elevis (ph), you're seeing (ph) right now. This is an astronaut who is currently approaching the left rear portion of the space shuttle "Atlantis," the place where that turned-up thermal blanket is. He's attached to the end of the robot arm, he's got his $15,000 custom gloves on.

Hey, you know what this is, that's his checklist right there so he can always remember what he's supposed to be doing and when he's supposed to be doing it. As he's moving -- he's been out for about an hour now, he and his spacewalking partner, Jim Reilly (ph). Reilly is in another section of the space station right now, working on a hydrogen valve. There you see, as sunrise in space, you get about 16 sunrise, sunsets in space every day. You can see down there one of the astronauts. That's, I believe, Reilly as he was making his way toward the work site. But Olivas (ph) is going to go to that location and I want to show you what he has up his sleeve, so to speak.

First of all, this is a piece of the blanket material. It got turned up during launch, supersonic airflow wasn't attached well, caused it to do this. It left open a four-inch by six-inch exposure of the graphite surface beneath.

Go back to live in space. You've got to take a a look at this shot. Look at that shot, South Pacific. There you see, there's -- oops. We lost it. That's too bad.

HOLMES: It was a good shot though, Miles.

O'BRIEN: Yes, you know, Yaska (ph), we've got to start talking to NASA about how they switch. But here, look up in this corner, right up there, there's Olivas up there, he's at the location. That gives you a good sense of the scale. The space shuttle is about the size of an MD-80 or DC-9. And -- there you see, that's a good shot right there as you see him approaching it.

Oh boy, they keep switching those shots so fast. I mean, I wish they'd tell me when they're going to switch them but they don't do that, do they?

In any case, as he gets closer, let's come -- come back here and I'll show you the blanket real quickly, what he's up to. Here's the blanket, he'll push it down into place, and then he's got a surgical stapler, which I'll show you if you come back to me real quick, a surgical stapler, right like this, and he's going to staple a couple layers of staple to get that blanket nicely affixed to the blanket beside it. Then they hope they'll be good to go for re-entry.

HOLMES: And that'll hold, Miles? That sounds kind of simple. If it came loose the first place, then we're going to throw some staples in it. I guess that's not a staple we all use in the office, but still, it'll hold?

O'BRIEN: Yes, oh here we go. Here's a nice live picture of the tear. We haven't seen that one before. Take a look. That's exactly what Danny Olivas is seeing right now through his helmet cam. Here they are: 17,500 miles an hour over the South Pacific, and we're right along with him there and we can watch him do his work as he gets ready to push that thing down and give it a couple of staples.

Meanwhile, there's a whole other series of problems. When we look at the troubled stitching, there's a lot of troubleshooting that is going on in the space station, as you know, T.J., with the computer system there. All last night, the Russians tried to get their central computer system back up and running. The crew was on board, putting all kinds of instruments on the wiring to see if there was some kind of bad voltage or some kind of electro-magnetic radiation that was causing this problem. It all began after they installed those solar arrays the first part of the week. And the thinking was that maybe there was some sort of bad -- on these, you know, scopes, there was something in there that would upset those computers. They didn't find a smoking gun, however, despite several attempts to restart it, they couldn't get it back up and running. They've shut it down. The Russians are now thinking about what to do next. The next set of Russian ground passes where they'll work on it (ph) will happen after we go to sleep midnight tonight as they try to work it out.

Long term, that's a big problem for the space station. They're trying to come up with ways, number one, to fix it, but also see if there's ways they can fly the station, keep it running, safely, without those computers.

So, the so-called "tiger" (ph) teams are very busy right now troubleshooting that problem while Danny Olivas, back to live pictures, if you want to see him, he's getting ready to do his task there at that little gash, that lifted blanket there up on "Atlantis's" -- near its tail section. So, lots going on in space.

HOLMES: He is about to do this right now. I mean, any second now, we can see him push this in and give it ...

O'BRIEN: Well, I don't have the time. But right in front of me, there's -- I think there's -- he's still -- here you go. That gives you a better sense. He's still a little ways away as you see down here. He's got a little bit of distance between him and that location, so I think they're still moving in. We're going to watch it for you as he gets a little closer to actually putting a staple gun onto it. We'll come back to it.

HOLMES: All right, appreciate you, Miles. We'll see you again here shortly, I'm sure.

O'BRIEN: All right, great.

PHILLIPS: So what kind of president do you want: intellectual, outgoing, pragmatic, sexy? What about boring? Does that bother you? Well, it bothers our Roland Martin.

He got the discussion going when he sat down with Democratic candidate Barack Obama. Roland, you're just always starting trouble, aren't you?

ROLAND MARTIN, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: I didn't start anything, I just asked a question.

PHILLIPS: Yes, you asked, what's the deal? You are boring. Let's just take a little look at this exchange right here with you and the candidate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, (D-IL) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When folks say I'm boring, nobody thought I was boring at the 2004 convention. Nobody thought I was boring down in Selma when I made my speech. You know, the -- there are different times for different forums. And when I'm in a town hall meeting, for example, I want to spend time listening and dialoguing. I'm not going to get up in people's faces and deliver a sermon because that's not my job.

In a debate, unfortunately, the formats are such where you've got 60 seconds. You can come up with some clever sound bites but that's not going to inform. And my job right now is to inform.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: OK, were you just getting to the important part of that discussion there. He was saying it's not about sound bites but it's about informing.

MARTIN: Right.

PHILLIPS: OK, that's great. Everybody wants to be informed. But hello, we're in 2007. You've got to know how to master the sound bite because that's what everybody starts talking about. That right there was a sound bite, we're talking about it, because you asked a certain question and got that response. Why do we need candidates to excite us?

MARTIN: Well, primarily because people say that we're used to these policy wonks and we want somebody to really get us going. I don't necessarily believe that we have to have an exciting candidate. You know, the question I was raising to Obama really wasn't, hey, you're boring, but how do you go back and forth between being Professor Obama, and that is really explaining your thoughts and your positions, then also making that sound bite.

The first two debates, people say he didn't do well because he didn't capture the moment. He clearly doesn't like the whole sound bite issue, but I think he's going to have to go down that route, and that is master that. So, we know what he can do in front of crowds, but you have to be able, even with eight people on the stage, to make that point, to get your point in somewhere in order for that to be played over and over and over again.

PHILLIPS: All right, well, let's take a little switch here to a less serious note, because we were talking about, OK, how -- and you know exactly what I'm talking about. Some creative record producer did come out with something that was trying to make Barack Obama look a little less boring, this music video. We thought we got a kick out of this. Let's take a little look.

OK, T.J. Holmes wants to know if she's running for anything. She should. She's got a lot of attention. Does this help or hurt a candidate?

ROLAND MARTIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Personally, I think it helps. When Bill Clinton went on the Arsenio Hall Show, that helped. You see all the candidates, John McCain, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, they all go on Letterman and Leno. The reality is, we are operating in a pop culture world, so when you're able to mix politics and pop culture, this is what you get. You know, hopefully people will see this and say, you know that's pretty cute and that's funny, let me go find out what this guy's all about to make her want to be an Obama girl. And so I think it's great. Look, even in a debate with Soledad O'Brien, the discussion about faith and values, when Hillary Clinton was asked what do you pray for, and she -- Senator Clinton said, I just pray to God about losing weight. I mean, that was a light, funny moment that everybody could identify with.

PHILLIPS: You know what, good point. Good point because Hillary Clinton came out with this campaign to come up with a campaign song, went on the internet. Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) NEW YORK: Last week I asked you, the American people, to help us choose our campaign song and I'm happy to say that you have spoken. Or some, as the case may be. Anyway, there were some truly wonderful selections.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One, two, three, four ...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hillary Clinton is our candidate!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm bringing sexy back ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tip-toe through the window.

CLINTON: Those weren't them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Be all that you can ...

CLINTON: OK. This is more like it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: High above the mountains, far across the sea, I can hear ...

CLINTON: Anyway, I'm so gratified that all of you thought this was such a wonderful idea.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is ridiculous.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Insulting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stupid.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Disappointing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: So see, she has fun with this. She puts the good, the bad, I mean, it's pretty smart, isn't it? It's that human element.

MARTIN: It is. I mean, look, we got people who are looking at myspace and spacebook and on YouTube, and you want to be able to talk to those people. And so I think it's important for candidates to show a different side of who they are. Sure we want to talk about Iraq, talking about the economy, talking about gas prices but you also want the human side of them because people identify with that. I think it's great. Again, that's one of the things that Obama and Edwards and Clinton, even Republicans, Giuliani, McCain, they have to figure out is, when do you make that switch to be light, to be fun, to show who you are but at the same time be strong and decisive on policy issues.

PHILLIPS: I can't wait for your next question and your next sit down with the next candidate. Rowland Martin, always great to see you.

MARTIN: Well, I look forward to you. It will be one hour and going to air on TV-1 July 2nd. We have a lot of stuff we talked about, that was one of the ones that made me smile.

PHILLIPS: Thanks, Roland. Once again, CNN is raising the bar on the presidential debates. Monday, July 23rd, the Democratic candidates square off in the CNN YouTube debate. Anderson Cooper hosts this first of its kind event, live and interactive, on TV and online. And you can see the Republican candidates debate on Monday, September 17th. Only on your home for politics, right here on CNN.

HOLMES: He has, of course, conquered the world of golf. But he's a bit green when it comes to fatherhood. Find out why the U.S. Open might not be the top priority right now for Tiger Woods this weekend. You are watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Thank goodness we have Miles O'Brien because he helps me and T.J. actually look at live pictures like this and be able to say something intelligent about one of the most complex things.

HOLMES: So you go right ahead.

PHILLIPS: So here you go. This is the thermal blanket that Miles has been talking about. He's actually been even showing you a piece of it. It is the part that has ripped up there and that's why the astronauts are up at the international space station trying to fix it. They thought they were going to have to sew it up. Now they're going to use a special staple gun, believe it or not. And hopefully they will fix that hole. Why do we even pay attention and follow something like this? Because, we are hoping at the end of the line, it brings power, solar power, to hundreds of thousands of homes here on earth. There you go, bottom line. I hope I did okay, Miles.

HOLMES: You did a really good job.

PHILLIPS: Alright.

HOLMES: Here's some of the new video. Not sure of -- just a gorgeous picture here they are showing.

PHILLIPS: It's just a shut in flight. And look at the astronauts, hanging off the edge there. Is that the coolest thing? HOLMES: And there is the little rip. We've been seeing him poke at this thing a little bit. Doesn't look like some serious repair work, but they know what they're doing there. Haven't quite used that staple gun, we are waiting on that moment. We also -- if you want to continue to follow some of the live pictures, we have all this streaming on CNN pipeline. You can go online and continue to check this out. But very good job there, Kyra. You did sound like you knew you were talking about.

PHILLIPS: Same to you, pal.

HOLMES: Wow. Alright. Thank you.

At this hours, the world's number one golfer is stalking another major championship. Yes, Tiger Woods playing the second round of the 107th U.S. Open at historic Oakmont Country Club. Last year's open, Woods was grieving loss of his father.

This time around, he's about to become a father himself. Yes, live for us now, Oakmont, Pennsylvania, CNN's Ray D'Alessio and, yes he is entering fatherhood. He's already -- has that kid been born yet?

RAY D'ALESSIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, T.J. T.J., let me ask you this --

HOLMES: Yes, alright.

D'ALESSIO: Every time I see you in the hallway, I tell you, you are the man, right? I say that to you every day.

HOLMES: Well, no. I haven't passed you in the hall lately, apparently, I guess. Because I haven't heard that lately, man.

D'ALESSIO: Out here. Out here, Tiger Woods is the man as evidenced by his 67 victories worldwide, 13 career majors, so I think we can all agree, Tiger Woods has for the most part, mastered the game of golf. But what about fatherhood? I mean, he's entering a whole new territory here, and naturally when his wife, Eilen (ph), gives birth sometime next month, Tiger might want to seek out advice from some of his fellow PGA Tour players.

Well, who could he turn no to? How about Phil Mickelson? Phil, of course, is a parent of three. Then again, considering Phil and Tiger have this ongoing rivalry, Tiger might want to look for advice somewhere else. Right, Phil?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHIL MICKELSON, PGA TOUR PLAYER: Yes. Me giving Tiger advice doesn't really feel right about anything.

TIGER WOODS, PGA TOUR PLAYER: I was very lucky to have two great parents and I was never afraid to go fail. Because I knew that I would always come home to a home of love. And, my parents loved me unconditionally, no matter what. And if I went out there and I gave it my best and I screwed up, it didn't mattter.

MICKELSON: He had wonderful parents, and great role models for how to raise children, and I'm sure that knowing he and Eilen (ph) like Amy and I do, they're going to be wonderful parents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

D'ALESSIO: And again, what a difference a year makes. Last year at the U.S. Open, Tiger missed the cut. He is back this year and playing quite well. T.J., we will send it back to you.

go fail because I knew that I would always come home to a home of love. And my parents love me unconditionally, no matter what. And if I went out there and I gave it my best and I screwed up, it didn't matter.

He had wonderful parents, and great role models for how to raise children, and I'm sure that knowing he and Eilen like Amy and I do, they're going to be wonderful parents.

Again, what a difference a year makes. Last year at the U.S. open tiger missed the cut. He is back this year and playing quite well. T.j., back to you.

HOLMES: Alright. And, Ray, you the man. Thank you.

D'ALESSIO: Yes. Thank you.

PHILLIPS: We knew her as a princess. They knew her as mum.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRINCE WILLIAM OF WALES, PRINCE OF ENGLAND: After 10 years, there has been a sort of a rumbling of people bringing up the bad and over time people seem to forget or have forgotten just about all the amazing things she did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Two princes work to honor their late mother, Princess Diana, straight ahead, in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: It's hard to believe, but it has been almost ten years since Princess Diana died in a high speed car crash in Paris. Diana's sons, Princes William and Harry, are marking what would have been her 46th birthday with an elaborate celebration to honor her life. CNN's John King reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

W. WALES: Hopefully, it will be, you know, one of those things that she would, you know, absolutely adore.

JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are often seen, but rarely heard. Now the two princes of England are talking. Gathering some of the greatest names in music, asking them to come together for a concert to commemorate the life of their mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.

W. WALES: The whole point is, this is for her, it's not for any other reason.

KING: Diana died on August 31st, 1997, and in the ten years since that famous crash in a Paris tunnel, much has been written and said about her. She was beautiful and troubled and larger than life. But for these two young men, she was, more than anything, their mom.

PRINCE HARRY OF WALES, PRINCE OF ENGLAND: She had a public side and then she had her private side. And the private side was very small in comparison to the public side, obviously, but you, the memories we've got of her, we're very lucky to have those memories. Because that's private, between us.

W. WALES: She was wonderful and sadly, there is no amount of words that either Harry or I could tell you now. And we'd actually prefer that. You'd have to meet her to really understand her. And, you know, you ask people who met her, and they would tell you just how amazing she was. And for us, we were so lucky to have her, you know, as our mother. And, we, you know, there's not a day that goes past that sort of think about her and miss her influence because she was the best example to both of us.

KING: For them, the tenth anniversary of their mother's death is a time to look at the good she did, rather than the gossip that surrounded her. And so, a concert at the brand new Wembley Stadium to benefit the charities Diana served.

W. WALES: We want this year to go by and people to go, oh yes, now I remember all those good things as to why -- what she did. Because after ten years, there's been a sort of rumbling of people bringing up the bad. And over time, people seem to forget or have forgotten, just about the amazing things she did and what an amazing person she was. And we sort of felt that this was the best way of bringing that back to life. She did it because she felt it was right and it was what she wanted to do. She didn't go by what she thought was the best thing to do or be told to do something. She did it from her heart and fully immersed herself into it. And she cared. She cared massively. You know, we had no doubt at all that we were the most important thing in her life and then, after that, it was everyone else.

KING: Remembering the way, her sons say, she'd like to be remembered.

H. WALES: There's a sort of happy, fun, bubbly person who cared for so many people and she put everybody first. And, herself very much last. And, you know, she was the most caring person that, you know, I mean she was our mother so we say that and I'm sure everybody else would say that about their mother. But, really caring and so sweet and very much missed by not only us, but I think, a lot of people. (END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, among the artists performing at the July 1st concert for Diana are Elton John, Rod Stewart, Kanye West, and you can get more details at concertfordiana.com.

HOLMES: The latest powder keg in the Middle East. The fuse is lit and Washington is worried. What does it mean? The answers ahead, here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello there, everybody. I'm T.J. Holmes, in today for Don Lemon at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.

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

Hamas calls it victory, Fatah calls it mutiny. The pictures speak for themselves.

HOLMES: Hamas fighters savor their power grab in Gaza. Fatah sits tight in the West Bank. Not exactly the two-state solution most Palestinians were hoping for.

You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

PHILLIPS: And this just in to CNN, coming across The Associated Press. Working our Baghdad bureau right now to get a confirmation, but the report is Defense Secretary Gates in Iraq, has made a trip to Baghdad. As you know, a lot going on, a lot of controversy recently in the past couple of weeks about the troop surge, and just within the past couple days the civil strife on the streets beefing up in certain areas.

At the same time, a huge story to come out of Iraq, something that had been talked about by General David Petraeus, the main man on the ground leading multinational forces right now, that they are arming Sunnis, tribal sheikhs, to try to fight al Qaeda. The same tribal sheikhs that were killing U.S. troops just a couple years ago.

It's been a bit of a controversy, but the general believes that it's working. Tribal sheikhs working to fight al Qaeda and working with U.S. troops now.

Apparently Defense Secretary Gates there on the ground. According to The Associated Press, going to be talking about these new efforts to secure Iraq.

We'll follow up on his trip and let you know more throughout the newscast.

HOLMES: Meanwhile, Hamas fighters stormed the blood-spattered presidential compound in Gaza City today, celebrating victory over the rival Palestinian faction Fatah. They threw photos of the late president Yasser Arafat and current president Mahmoud Abbas to the ground.

One Hamas fighter picked up a telephone and pretended to talk with the U.S. secretary of state, saying, "Hello, Condoleezza Rice. You have to deal with me now."

The Hamas victory in Gaza divides control of the two Palestinian territories.

In the West Bank, President Abbas has dissolved the cabinet which included Hamas and appointed his own prime minister.

Meanwhile, alarmed Arab leaders are holding an emergency summit in Egypt. And CNN Middle East Correspondent Aneesh Raman joins us now from Cairo to talk about the concerns that they have there.

Hello to you, Aneesh.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN MIDDLE EAST CORRESPONDENT: Hey, T.J.

An emergency session under way as we speak at the Arab League. Foreign ministers from about half of the member states are present.

They are discussing specifically the situation in Gaza. Officials here at the Arab League and among the member states have been, as they told me, shocked at how quickly things have devolved in Gaza and the creation and the existence essentially now of two separate entities, Hamas in Gaza, and Fatah in the West Bank.

We expect in a short time, T.J., an announcement of some resolution, where the Arab League will call for a cease-fire, will again call for Fatah and Hamas to sit down at the same table. But in a practical sense, this will not at all really affect the situation tonight in Gaza or into tomorrow.

The Arab League is largely impotent at affecting change on the ground, but it is a sign of how serious the Middle East sees what's happening in Gaza. Officials in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, that have spent years trying to bring the Palestinians and Israelis together, are now seeing all of that work essentially eradicated. They don't know where to go from here, they don't know even who to spoke to. And they can't get both sides to talk.

So very serious times in the Middle East right now -- T.J.

HOLMES: Aneesh, it seems like a strange question here I'm about to ask, but with all we're seeing, and the collapse of the government, and the infighting there at the Palestinian territory, is there anybody out there who can gain, or who is gaining, hopes to gain from the situation we're seeing there?

RAMAN: Well, in short, nobody really gains because of the violence, but in a broader regional sense, of course countries like Iran and Syria, who have backed Hamas explicitly and implicitly over the past few years, will see now the West Bank as essentially a target, as Gaza is essentially a Hamas-occupied area. Unless this thing gets solved in the coming days and weeks. What that does is create a double-edged sword. Hamas now has to take care of the people within Gaza, it has to do so with enormous financial restrictions placed upon it by the international community, despite elections that it won to take part in the government. But at the same time, it has full control over an area.

And countries like Syria and Iran, who have been keen to see the U.S. out of Middle Eastern affairs, who have been key to point out the vacuum that the U.S.' absence in Middle Easter affairs has left, they will likely gain. But again, it is a situation that no one is really looking at positively, because there's so much that could go wrong further down the line, not just Gaza, not just in the West Bank, but the entire Middle East -- T.J.

HOLMES: Aneesh Raman for us in Cairo.

Aneesh, thank you so much.

PHILLIPS: The Bush administration among those vowing to support the Palestinian president.

CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is on the road with President Bush today in Wichita, Kansas.

Hi, Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra.

It's very clear the Bush administration is trying very hard to support and bolster really the power of Mahmoud Abbas and the Fatah party here. We have heard numerous officials come out and say that they believe he did the right thing in dissolving the government, in replacing his prime minister. We heard from Scott Stanzel aboard Air Force One, White House spokesman, who said -- and I'm quoting here -- "President Abbas, we believe, has exercised his lawful authority as president of the Palestinian Authority and leader of the people, and we support his decisions to try to end this violence."

We've also heard State Department officials talking about the fact that Secretary Rice has already been on a conference call, a one- hour conference call with her counterparts to call the quartet -- that is, the United Nations, EU, as well as Russia -- all of them trying to take a look at what this all means. Essentially perhaps even a new kind of Palestinian government.

All of them saying that they believe they have confidence in this new leadership, specifically the new prime minister.

Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN MCCORMACK, STATE DEPT. SPOKESMAN: So, given this change in circumstances, as he is forming his government, we are going to take a look at ways in which we can follow through on what the secretary said yesterday. And that is, how are we going to support President Abbas and support a Palestinian government that is committed presumably to the quartet principles?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: And the quartet principles that he's talking about is renouncing violence, accepting, recognizing Israel, as well as following previous agreements here.

As long as this government can do that -- and they essentially -- the Fatah party and Abbas has said in the past that they will -- then this is a new kind of government that the Bush administration feels they can work with. And what that means is possibly, possibly easing those restrictions, financial restrictions, the embargo that has been placed against the Palestinian people that has been so devastating, Kyra.

I should also let you know, as well, President Bush is going to be speaking with the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, who is actually on his way this weekend to meet with the president. They'll meet at the White House on Tuesday to discuss what kind of steps to take next -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: And Suzanne, though, all throughout the day, Middle East analysts saying if you look at these pictures, if you look at the chaos, if you see what happened, it appears that Mahmoud Abbas has absolutely no control, and that you're seeing a division and now two separate governments, that of Fatah and Hamas, trying to run this area, both areas. And that the hope for a Palestinian independence, forget about it.

MALVEAUX: Well, you know, this is really quite interesting what's happening here, because on the one hand, the Bush administration never wanted to deal with Hamas. They feel it's a terrorist organization.

You know, they had those democratic elections and that unity government, Hamas essentially sharing power with Mahmoud Abbas. Now they say, OK, well, we don't have to deal with them anymore, just Abbas. So that is something that they have wanted for quite some time.

But you're absolutely right here. When it comes to this Palestinian state, the people getting together, it looks like chances for that are almost nil at this point when you look at how clearly people are divided, the violence in that area.

In that sense, as Aneesh said, it really is farfetched that you're going to see something happen positively in bringing a Palestinian state and peace in that region for quite some time.

PHILLIPS: Suzanne Malveaux traveling with the president.

Thanks, Suzanne.

Well, an amazing story out of Illinois. A 5-year-old who had been girl missing for almost two days has been found alive. Hannah Klamecki disappeared while boating on the Kankakee River with her grandfather. Police say she walked out of the woods this morning just hours after the body of her grandfather was found.

I spoke with Ken McCabe with the Kankakee County Sheriff's Department just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEN MCCABE, KANKAKEE COUNTY, ILLINOIS, SHERIFF'S DEPT.: We received a report at 10:30 on Tuesday night of them both being in the boat and missing.

PHILLIPS: And what did the little girl tell you when she came walking up to you? Was she able to communicate what happened?

MCCABE: We are currently interviewing her at the hospital. At the point she was recovered when I walked up to her, I just asked her if she was OK. And she said yes, and I asked her what her name was, she told me she was Hannah.

PHILLIPS: And apparently her grandfather had gone swimming. And do we know what happened, if he had a heart attack or something happened? Did he get caught in a current there in the river?

MCCABE: We don't know that yet. Again, we'll obtain some information this afternoon from her when we interview her at the hospital to find out exactly what happened. And then there's an autopsy scheduled for later today, I believe. If not today, then tomorrow, and the coroner will have the cause of death.

PHILLIPS: Now, she was 5 years old -- she is 5 years old. She was missing for almost two days. How did she survive?

Did she sleep? Did she eat? I mean, it's pretty remarkable that she was able just to walk up to you and was in pretty good condition.

MCCABE: Yes. She was amazingly calm and in pretty good shape. She was a little dirty, but she was pretty calm and said she was swimming with -- her grandfather went swimming, and her name was Hannah.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: A news conference is scheduled for 3:00 Eastern Time. We'll listen in and bring you any developments.

HOLMES: And again, we do want to let you know, we can confirm now that, yes, in fact, the U.S. defense secretary, Robert Gates, is in Baghdad, has landed there on a surprise trip. Didn't get a heads- up about this, but that's often the case with security reasons there. But yes, Robert Gates has made it to Baghdad.

There to assess the situation of the troop buildup that the U.S. military has had in place for the past couple of months. The U.S. military actually announcing today that in fact the troop buildup is now pretty much complete.

Some 167,000 U.S. military service members are in Iraq now. Some 30,000 of those extra, brought in especially to help secure Baghdad and quell the violence happening there.

The secretary of defense also there to meet with top Iraqi political leaders, trying to get them to move a little faster and a little stronger towards bringing all the people there and bringing that government together. So, in fact, yes, Robert Gates, U.S. defense secretary, making a trip there to Iraq.

We're keeping an eye on his travels.

Back here now.

All right. He admits it. In Mike Nifong's own words, he got a bit carried away.

The prosecutor in the Duke lacrosse sexual assault case has been testifying today in his own defense. The North Carolina Bar wants his law license.

CNN's Jason Carroll is firing the fireworks. He joins us now live.

Hello to you, sir.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And hello to you there, T.J.

You know, it's really interesting to listen to all of this unfold. This is really the first time we've heard Durham's embattled district attorney, Michael Nifong, defend himself against these accusations of misconduct in how he handled the Duke lacrosse case.

Nifong admitted during today's hearing with the North Carolina State Bar that he made mistakes. Nifong is charged with making inflammatory statements about the case to the media, and he said he did cross the line in some of the statements he made about the players.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE NIFONG, DURHAM COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA DISTRICT ATTORNEY: I was certainly not intending or attempting to make improper statements. But I think clearly some of the statements that I made were improper.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Were violations of the rules of professional conduct?

NIFONG: I would have to say so at this time, yes, sir.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: Of course, T.J., the most serious charge is that Nifong withheld DNA evidence which could have helped clear some of the accused players. When questioned by his own lawyer, Nifong said that that evidence was something that the defense was entitled to have. But he did not say that that evidence was exculpatory.

Also in the hearing room, former Duke lacrosse player Reade Seligmann, who talked about the pain of being falsely accused.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

READE SELIGMANN, EXONERATED DUKE LACROSSE PLAYER: The room felt like it was spinning. And Julian (ph) comes in and says, "She picked you." And, I mean, my dad just fell to the floor. And I just sat on the ground and I said, "My life is over."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: Seligmann wasn't the only one there who was emotional. Seligmann's mother also cried as her son testified.

Seligmann said once the rape charges were thrown out, how he and the other two players, the indicted players, Collin Finnerty and Dave Evans, still lived under a cloud of suspicion, because he says Nifong continued to pursue the case.

Nifong could be disbarred if the panel finds he is guilty of ethical misconduct -- T.J.

HOLMES: You know, before we let you go, and just quickly, did he directly apologize to any of these players during this -- in his hearing?

CARROLL: Not yet.

HOLMES: OK.

CARROLL: Still waiting to hear. The hearing is still going on right now as we speak.

It is far from over, so we are still waiting to hear what else Nifong will have to say, still waiting to see if he does at some point issue some sort of an apology -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right. Jason Carroll for us.

Thank you so much, Jason.

PHILLIPS: Well, you want your president to be a leader, a statesman, a scholar, but when it comes to Barack Obama, some people say all those fine qualities might not matter. Find out what some say the senator is sorely lacking coming up.

HOLMES: And AT&T could be the big winner when the iPhone goes on sale. How do you like them apples?

PHILLIPS: Plus, he's conquered the world of golf, but he's a little green when it comes to fatherhood. Find out why the U.S. Open might not be the top priority for Tiger Woods this weekend.

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

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PHILLIPS: 2:17 Eastern Time. Here's three of the stories we're working on from the CNN NEWSROOM this hour.

Two days after she disappeared in a boating accident that killed her grandfather in the Illinois river, a-5-year-old girl emerged from the woods and walked up to the search team. It looks like she's OK.

We're waiting for a 3:00 p.m. Eastern news conference. We'll take it live.

Also, looting in Gaza after Hamas forces defeat. Fatah fighters remains in control of the West Bank, and Hamas' exiled leader says that the group still recognizes Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas as Palestinian president.

And a spacewalk is under way outside the International Space Station. Meanwhile, scientists are still trying to fix the troublesome computers on the inside.

HOLMES: Well, shape up or shut her down. The calls to close an L.A. hospital are growing after a woman died on the floor of the ER waiting room while nobody moved to help her. It's a story we've been following here, and now we're told this wasn't the first complaint.

Here now, CNN's Ted Rowlands.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm in the emergency room. My wife is dying. And the nurses don't want to help her out.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As Edith Rodriguez was dying on the emergency room floor of Martin Luther King Jr. Harbor Hospital, 911 dispatchers received two separate calls. Both callers seemed to see what hospital staff members apparently didn't, that this woman needed immediate attention.

911 DISPATCHER: OK, what do you mean she's dying?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's vomiting blood.

911 DISPATCHER: OK, what do you mean she's dying?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's vomiting blood.

ROWLANDS: What happened to Edith Rodriguez is an extreme example of more than a decade of troubling incidents at a hospital that serves some of L.A.'s poorest residents, many of whom are uninsured. Just four months ago, Juan Ponce was diagnosed with a brain tumor by the King emergency room staff. But, then, apparently, they completely forgot about him. Instead of transferring Ponce to another hospital for immediate surgery, he says he was left to sit for four days in the King emergency room.

JUAN PONCE, SAYS HE WAS IGNORED IN E.R. FOR FOUR DAYS: They don't give me food, nothing, for three or four days, never asked me for medicine for the pain, nothing, nothing.

ROWLANDS: Ponce says, eventually, his condition became so bad, he couldn't see or speak. Finally, a family member got the staff to move him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have seen a lot of people that wait 14 or 15 hours.

ROWLANDS: This man, who doesn't want to be identified, works in the hospital emergency room. He says he wasn't there when Edith Rodriguez died, but says he can see how it could happen.

(on camera): Working there, how could -- how could that have happened?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Incompetency is the number-one issue. Not all day is this way. Not every day is this way. But, most of the time, there are problems to treat the patients, I would say, and to take care of them, yes.

ROWLANDS (voice-over): In response to both cases, the director of L.A. County's health services said in a letter this week that, because of what happened to Juan Ponce, the hospital's chief medical exercise was put on paid leave.

As for the Rodriguez case, the letter says the triage nurse in charge that night has resigned, and "All employees working in the triage area that night have been counseled and written findings placed in their personnel files."

ZEV YAROSLAVSKY, LOS ANGELES COUNTY SUPERVISOR: I think everybody has some answering to do for what happened at this hospital that night, the chief nurse, the physicians assistants, who may or may not have known what was going on, other personnel, the people who were sitting in the waiting room who didn't lift a finger to help her, and watched the whole thing happen for 45 minutes.

ROWLANDS: Ted Rowlands, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well, medical mistakes are more common than any of us would like to think. A study by the Institute of Medicine found between 44,000 and 98,000 people die every year in hospitals because of mistakes made by medical professionals. More people die each year in the U.S. from medical errors than from car accidents, breast cancer, or AIDS.

PHILLIPS: Well, friends and family are mourning Ruth Graham. She was the wife of evangelist Reverend Billy Graham. We're going to take a look back at her extraordinary life and what she did to keep one of the most famous preachers going. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Talking with Barack Obama, sits down with rowan martin for an interview ahead in the NEWSROOM.

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