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Nine Firefighters Killed; Emergency Room Death; Baghdad Bombing; Online Health Care; President Bush and Ehud Olmert Press Conference

Aired June 19, 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: Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Tony Harris. Stay informed all day in the CNN NEWSROOM. Here's what's on the rundown for you.

Charleston, South Carolina. A city in mourning for nine fallen firefighters. They lose their lives in the line of duty battling a big furniture warehouse blaze.

COLLINS: A truck bomb kills dozens in Iraq this morning. The attack just hours after U.S. troops launch a fresh crackdown. Their target? Al Qaeda fighters.

HARRIS: Time to talk it out of park. The shuttle Atlantis set for space station separation. See it live this hour from high above earth.

It is Tuesday, June 19th, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

And at the top this hour, nine firefighters killed in Charleston, South Carolina. They were battling a massive warehouse fire and saving the lives of others. Sarah DeMarco of affiliate WCIV in Charleston has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARAH DEMARCO, WCIV REPORTER: We're told the firemen entered the building in a back. This is a Sofa Super Store. A sofa warehouse. A showroom.

The call came in around 7:00 that the building was on fire. Those firemen were here within minutes, entered the back of the building to make sure no civilians were at all stuck inside. And we're told all employees and any other customers that might have been in the building did make it out safely. However, several of those firemen, nine in all, were trapped.

They were found in different parts of the building. At first we had thought maybe a certain portion of the building had collapsed. But I think just the way the debris fell and the heat from this fire, how quickly it engulfed in flames, just these men just could not get out. Witnesses said they saw some jumping out the windows. This is a one-story building. But just trying to break out through the glass. Another witness told me she saw 15 go in and maybe just a few file out after that.

A tragic scene. Right now FLOOD (ph) is on site investigating. Arson will, of course, be investigated, though Mayor Joe Riley of Charleston told us last night he doesn't think or there's no indication at this point that the fire was intentionally set, but that will all have to be confirmed. Of course, the breakdown of the procedure, who decided to initially send the firefighters in, that will all be analyzed. A much detailed investigation still to come.

But we did watch those nine firefighters, their bodies, be removed this morning. They were each saluted and the fire chief did accompany each one of them as they were pulled from the building. They're on their way to the medical university to be identified and families, of course, have been notified and are beginning the healing process, a much-needed healing process at this point.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And stay with us here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Coming up, Atlanta's fire chief, Harold Miller, joins us to talk about the tragedy in Charleston this morning.

COLLINS: A grim search underway right now in north Texas. At least five people still missing from deadly flood waters. Among them, a two-year-old girl. The child's sister and grandmother were killed, along with at least three other people. The hardest hit area, the town of Gainesville, near the Oklahoma state line. About 500 homes in the area were flooded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANITA FOSTER, AMERICAN RED CROSS: People have had a very traumatic experience. And that's understandable. They were on their rooftops, water just racing at them. Many of them children trying to make decisions on how to survive. Within seconds, you had to make these snap decisions, whether you live or whether you don't. And so people were pretty traumatized yesterday.

Some good things we that saw, though, were the sounds of chain saws. We saw machinery starting to move about. These are signs of people recovering and beginning to rebuild. It just will not be a short process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Certainly not. The high water brought on by torrential rain. The National Weather Service says at times the downpour fell at the rate of an inch every 15 minutes. Chad Myers joining us now to give us a little bit more perspective on all of this.

Boy, we thought it was bad yesterday. Now they're just starting to sort of try to get things back to normal.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Police still searching this morning for a pregnant Ohio woman missing since last week. She could give birth at any time. Police say Jessie Davis' mom found disturbing signs in the single mom's home. And Davis' two-year-old son left alone. The toddler is the only known witness in the disappearance of his mom. The police hope he can provide some clues. Investigators yesterday searched the home of the boy's father. He is a police officer. Also believed to be the father of Davis' unborn child. Authorities say he is not considered a suspect. He has been placed on administrative leave. His supervisors say he's been traumatized by Davis' disappearance.

COLLINS: A woman dies in the emergency room, ignored says her boyfriend. It was a hospital outrage story we brought you last week. And today, new details in the investigation. CNN's Ted Rowlands explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DISPATCHER: OK. What do you mean, she's dying? What's wrong with her?

CALLER: I mean that she's vomiting blood.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The desperate 911 calls came during the final minutes of a shocking breakdown in emergency care at MLK/Harbor Hospital in Los Angeles. Before she died, 43-year-old Edith Rodriguez was ignored by hospital staff as she tried to get help. According to a hospital report obtained by CNN, Rodriguez showed up complaining of stomach pain every day for three days before she died. Each time she was given pain medication and sent home. The third day she was given an appointment to come back.

Nobody knew it, but Rodriguez, who was described in a coroners report as having a "quasi-transient lifestyle with a history of narcotic abuse," was going to die from an undetected perforated bowel. What follows are the details in the report showing how she was treated in the hours before here death.

At 12:34 a.m. the morning of March 9th, Edith Rodriguez was found by patrol officers at the hospital, who helped her to the emergency room. But instead of giving her an exam, the report says the nurse at the ER window "eyeballed" the patient and said, "thanks a lot, officers. She's a regular here. This is her third time here. She has already been seen and was discharged." The nurse then told Rodriguez according to the report, "you have already been seen and there is nothing we can do. You already have an appointment."

Rodriguez then, according to the report, fell to the ground screaming in the fetal position as the nurse told her, "get off the floor and on to a chair." For the next 30 minutes, according to the report, surveillance tape shows Rodriguez on the floor with staff members cleaning up around her but doing nothing to help her. "patient #1 was on the floor in the ER lobby kicking with her feet," the report reads.

Her boyfriend was so upset the staff wouldn't help her, he went to police who were stationed at the hospital. The report reads, "he then went to the police window next to the ER and asked them to help the patient because the ER staff would not. A few minutes later, at 1:43 a.m., the boyfriend was so desperate he called 911.

CALLER: I'm in the emergency room. My wife is dying, and the nurses don't want to help her out.

ROWLANDS: At 1:50, the police finally show up, not to help her, but to arrest her. They had learned she had an outstanding warrant. According to the record, "police officers arrived and wheeled patient #1 out of the ER lobby." Edith Rodriguez was pronounced dead 27 minutes later.

CARMEN RODRIGUEZ, SISTER: We're just devastated that the way she was treated and the way she was left there, like an animal.

GLORIA MOLINA, L.A. COUNTRY SUPERVISOR: Why didn't they help Miss Rodriguez?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wish I knew the answer to that question.

ROWLANDS: Last week, hospital officials were grilled by county supervisors about what's being done to correct problems found by federal investigators.

MOLINA: We are jeopardizing the lives, we are playing Russian roulette with everybody who is right now waiting in that emergency room.

ROWLANDS: Next month, federal officials are expected to decide whether to keep funding the hospital. Many people are concerned that MLK Harbor may close. Others, however, because of what happened to Edith Rodriguez, are concerned about keeping it open.

Ted Rowlands, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Frederik Pleitgen in Baghdad, where a massive explosion has hit a Shiite mosque killing dozens of people. More on that ahead in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: Also, the American and Israeli leaders. A lot to talk about this morning against the backdrop of chaos in the Palestinian territories. Their remarks ahead this hour.

COLLINS: And getting health care information out to the people who need it. A man who made his name on the Internet now using the web to help others. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And, good morning, everyone. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.

COLLINS: And I'm Heidi Collins.

A very sad scene here as firefighters are saluting the bodies of nine fallen comrades. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE RILEY, MAYOR OF CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA: People who put on the badge prepared to go into a raging fire to risk their lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: A tragic day for Charleston, South Carolina. A city mourns. Continuing coverage all morning in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: The devastation in Baghdad this morning. A massive truck bomb kills dozens of Iraqis. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen is joining us now live from Baghdad.

Frederik, what can you tell us at this point?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you, Heidi.

That's absolutely right. A massive explosion ripped through central Baghdad at around noontime in this area. And what happened was is that right after this explosion, massive plumes of smoke filled the sky for almost an hour, really, over central Baghdad.

And eyewitnesses to that area say that they saw massive carnage in the streets. They saw mangled cars in the streets. And it seems as though this bombing targeted a major Shiite mosque in that area. And, of course, the devastation of that explosion tore down one of the walls of that mosque and, of course, caused a lot of havoc in the scene.

Now we have been able to confirmed that at least 75 people were killed in that incident and more than 200 people were wounded. So this is really a devastating explosion that took place in central Baghdad today.

It's also very significant from a different angle. Only a week ago, a major Shiite mosque in the city of Samarra was bombed. The al Askari mosque. And many here in this country feared that that bombing could lead to reprisal attacks, Shia against Sunni, Sunni against Shia, sparking sectarian violence. Up to this point, that hadn't really been happening. There have been some attacks, but not as many as many had feared. But now it seems as though the relative quite in this country, Heidi, appears to be over.

COLLINS: Yes, no question about that Frederik, especially from looking at those pictures we're seeing right now.

We also know that U.S. troops, of course, have begun this new offensive against al Qaeda northeast of Baghdad. What can you tell us about that?

PLEITGEN: Absolutely, Heidi.

The U.S. forces here in Iraq say it's one of the most largest operations that they've started since the year 2003. There's more than 10,000 American troops involved in that operation. It started early this morning under the cover of darkness with an air assault on the city of Baquba. There's also armored vehicles involved in this operation.

And what the American forces say they're trying to do is they're saying they're trying to root out al Qaeda elements in that city of Baquba. They say Baquba is very much a stronghold of al Qaeda fighters in Iraq. Now a lot of these fighters had been stationed here in Baghdad beforehand. And, of course, with the security operation and security plan here in Baghdad in place, many of them had moved their operations to Diyala Province and also, of course, to Baquba, that city of Baquba. So now what the American forces are saying is that they are really trying to get at the neck of al Qaeda in this country.

Heidi.

COLLINS: Frederik Pleitgen, thanks so much for the update, coming to us live this morning from Baghdad.

HARRIS: And turmoil in the Middle East. Happening right now, President Bush meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at the White House. A long planned meeting, now taking on more urgency in the aftermath of last wee's takeover of Gaza by the militant group Hamas.

The two leaders likely talking about the possibility of restarting Mid East peace talks. A possibility after U.S.-based Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas dissolved the unity government with Hamas. Mahmoud Abbas formed an emergency government in the West Bank.

The U.S. has voiced its support and moved to resume aid. Aid was cut off when Hamas won Palestinian elections last year. The U.S. considers Hamas a terrorist organization. President Bush and Prime Minister Olmert did take questions at the start of the meeting. When that tape feeds, we will bring it to you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: The shuttle crew saying good-bye to the space station this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Television of (INAUDIBLE) as he works with Commander Sturckow to close the hatch.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Coming undone and heading home, coming up next in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: And getting healthcare information out to the people who need it. A man who made his name on the Internet now using the web to help others, in the NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Let's get you to the big board. The New York Stock Exchange, about an hour into the trading day. Not quite. Almost. Look at the Dow, down 16 points. The Nasdaq, we understand, down 12. OK. So we're off to a bit of a slow start. Plenty of time in the business day to rebound. Susan Lisovicz checking all of the business headlines of the day for us right here on the CNN NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: On-line healthcare. There is a wealth of information, that's for sure. But how do you find what's right and right for you specifically? Steve Case has some answers to these question with his new venture, revolutionhealth.com. He is the co-founder of AOL and former chairman of CNN's parent company.

Steve Case, nice to see you this morning.

STEVE CASE, CEO, REVOLUTIONHEALTH.COM: It's good to be here.

COLLINS: Hey, I want to just ask you right off the top here. We know that we are having this Internet health fair that people can go to and find all sorts of different information. What is the need for something like this?

CASE: Well, there's all kinds of information out there on the Internet, health information, but it's never really been organized in a way that people can really understand it. And that's what we're trying to do with revolutionhealth.com. And this week we launched the first online health fair. You have health fares in community centers, sometimes a company has them. They have different organizations come in to talk about different, you know, conditions, whether it be asthma or celiac or cancer, what have you, we decided to do it all online and partnership with about a dozen different organizations this week. It's very exciting.

COLLINS: I remembered that when different Web sites came out years ago now and people were kind of flocking to them, trying to get their information about different health situations it might be going through, instead of having to go to the doctor. But there were problems with that. A lot of misinformation. Why is this better?

CASE: Well, there's no replacement to go to a doctor. Ultimately a doctor has to make a diagnosis. But there is a lot of information out there I mentioned that could be organized better. I used to say in the early days of AOL, it was a mix of content and context and community. And when it comes to health, there's a lot of content out there, but there's not a lot of context and community.

That's what we're trying to address with revolutionhealth.com. One site with the best trusted brand, advice from Mayo Clinic or Cleveland Clinic, married with the best social networking tools, sort of what MySpace and Facebook do for your kids, we're trying to do for health. And also a whole degree of personalization.

So you really can track your health. You can track your stock portfolio online. You can track your friends on your buddy list online. We think you should track your family's health online. So that's another aspect of it. So it's all the best parts of the Internet in one place, which is what revolutionhealth.com is all about and it's free.

COLLINS: All right. Let's take an example then. Obviously I'm going to ask you about celiac disease. People here probably know I work with the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness. With our disease, that is the problem, it's awareness. So many people have this disease but have absolutely no idea that they may have it. So what happens. If I go on to the Internet health fair site, and I am looking up specific questions about it -- there it is, the NFCA, how do I navigate this? What do I do?

CASE: Well, that's a great example because, with Celiac, as a lot of people, as you mentioned, do have it but don't really know it. So if you have some recurring problems with your stomach or perhaps migraines or other things, perhaps it's celiac. And if you go to revolutionhealth.com and type on our health there and type on the celiac logo, there's a number of resources there, including a symptom checker, that will allow you to answer a number of questions, and that will give you a sense of whether perhaps it is celiac, in which case you should see a doctor and really have it more fully diagnosed.

But it's a quick way to understand, if something's been bothering you, particularly if it's been bothering you for weeks or months. In some cases celiac bothers people for years before it gets diagnosed. We're trying to address that with revolutionhealth.com and particularly with the health fair we launched this week.

COLLINS: So this is really -- it should be seen and worth mentioning once again that this is seen as something that you go online, you get preliminary information or you get a few of the basic questions answered about whatever you may be feeling, if you're feeling kind of lousy, and then go on to your doctor to talk about it.

CASE: Absolutely. What we try to do is take the best resources out there and put them in one place because there is a lot of, as you mentioned, a lot of misinformation on the Internet. If you type in diabetes on Google, you probably get 100 million hits back.

COLLINS: Right.

CASE: Some of which is useful, some of which maybe is not useful. Some of which is accurate. Some of it may be not accurate. So what we're trying to do with revolutionhealth.com is provide some context and some simplicity and then allow you to meet other people who may share that particular, you know, cause or suffer from that particular disease. So it's a mix of content and context and community all at revolutionhealth.com.

COLLINS: It looks pretty easy too. I have not done it yet, but I have been on the site a little bit. I just haven't navigated around. But we're watching that go on right now in the other . . .

CASE: Well, it's the benefit of starting something new that we've just been working on this for the last couple years. We launched revolutionhealth.com just two months ago. It's already one of the top 10 health sites out of thousands. But we're gunning to be the number one site because my whole focus here, the reason I am spending so much time and investing so much money in this, I think healthcare is this country is screwed up. Consumers need to take more control of their families' health, but they need tools to do that. And that starts with revolutionhealth.com. We really want to revolutionize healthcare, put the power back in the patients' hands and really give them the tools to manage and control their family's health. And that's all of what we've been working on so hard for the last couple years.

COLLINS: And I know you're speaking to a lot of people's hearts when you say that. In fact, you had a personal experience in your family of getting a lot of misinformation.

CASE: Correct. My brother, Dan, was diagnosed with a brain tumor about six years ago. Passed away, unfortunately, about five years ago. And just, as our family dealt with that, trying to understand the disease, understand what the options are, it was very confusing, very bewildering and, frankly, quite scary. And I just decided that I needed to make a contribution. I spent 20 years trying to make the Internet accessible through AOL, and I'm going to spend the next 20 years trying to make the healthcare system more accessible and more consumer centric. And it starts with revolutionhealth.com.

COLLINS: All right. And the Internet health fair going on through the end of the month. Steve Case, we certainty appreciate your time here today. Thank you so much.

CASE: Thank you very much.

HARRIS: And we are just moments away from getting a tape of the president and Israeli Prime Minister Olmert's meeting.

In the meantime, a sad scene. Firefighters saluting the bodies of nine fallen comrades. That certainly is our top story today. we will continue to follow that.

But, as you know, President Bush and the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert meeting this morning at the White House. It was a meeting that was already scheduled for both men. But clearly this meeting this morning will focus on the split within the Palestinian territories now, the ongoing violence there and the fact that Hamas is in charge of Gaza.

Yesterday Secretary of State Rice announced the United States will use $86 million in U.S. aid to help the new government formed by the Palestinian President Abbas. The United States will also give $40 million to the United Nations agency that provides food and medical assistance to the Palestinians.

So we're just seconds away now from opening comments from the president and the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at the White House, a meeting to discuss the ongoing situation in the Middle East, and perhaps when new peace talks might begin. GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Mr. Prime Minister, thanks for coming. I've been looking forward to this visit. The last time we were together we had a long and serious discussion about what we can do together to keep the peace. This visit comes, obviously, during a period of great concern for the world about what's taking place in Gaza, and so it's a timely visit.

I'm looking forward to our discussions about how we can promote a common vision. A vision that speaks to the hopes and aspirations of the Palestinian people and a vision that speaks to the security of Israel.

I'm looking forward to sharing with the prime minister the results of a phone call I had yesterday with President Abbas. He is the president of all the Palestinians. He is -- he has spoken out for moderation. He is a voice that is a reasonable voice amongst the extremists in your neighborhood.

You also come at an important moment because there is yet again another moment for the world to see the great challenges we face in the 21st century. We face extremists and radicals who use violence and murder as a tool to achieve objectives.

And it's a chance, Mr. Prime Minister, for us to work on our bilateral relations, but also work on a common strategy to fight off those extremists and to promote an alternative ideology based upon human liberty and the human condition and freedom. And it's a great challenge. It's exciting to be in office during this period. It can be, you know, difficult for those of us who have been given the great honor of serving our countries, but it's an exciting moment.

And I'm looking forward to working with a strong leader. A man committed to the security and prosperity of his country, and at the same time, committed to try to work the conditions necessary for peace.

And so I'm glad to welcome a friend back to the Oval Office. And I'm glad you're back.

EHUD OLMERT, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Thank you very much.

I am honored and delighted, after half a year, almost, to be again a guest of yours, Mr. President, in the White House, and to discuss with you some of the current issues.

As you've said already, this is a very special time. Things that happened lately -- very dramatic. I'm sure that many people in the world were astounded by the brutality and the cruelty and the viciousness of the Hamas murderers that killed so many Palestinians in such a way, who, we who live in the Middle East, that some of us surprised, but not less outraged by these events.

And I entirely share with you share with you, Mr. President, the vision that even under such circumstances what we hope to do is to try and find opportunities for the future that align the situation.

And I'm absolutely determined that there is an opportunity.

And like you, I want to strengthen the moderates and cooperate with President Abu Mazen, who is president of all Palestinians; perhaps the only person who was widely elected in a democratic manner by all of the Palestinian people.

And I am going to make every possible effort to cooperate with him and to look forward to see how this can be worked jointly in order to provide the Palestinians with a real, genuine chance for a state of their own; your vision, Mr. President, which I share, of a two-state solution -- and at the same time making sure that there is security for the people of Israel.

And the people of Israel deserve security both in the south and in the north and in the east side of our country.

I'm sure that we will find some time also to discuss other measures such as the danger of Iran and the threats that come from the president of Iran.

Talks time and again about the liquidation of the state of Israel is something that is totally intolerable and unacceptable. And we have to continue the measures taken in order to stop the Iranian efforts -- to stop these non-conventional weapons.

And, again, I thank you for your friendship and for the power that you manifest in your dedication to the principles that you believe in. And I vow to follow the same route and fight for the principles and carry on.

BUSH: We'll answer a couple of questions.

QUESTION: Will you try to persuade, during the session, the prime minister to reenter peace talks with Mr. Abbas?

And to the prime minister, what do you think of the offer (OFF- MIKE)?

OLMERT: I didn't hear the first part.

BUSH: Will I try to persuade you to enter talks?

OLMERT: Yes.

BUSH: First of all, we share a common vision of two states living side by side in peace. And the reason why, at least, I think that's important, one, I think it's important for the moderate people, the ordinary Palestinians to have something to be for.

I also think it's in Israel's interest to have a state. It's the demographic pressure that ultimately is going to make it very difficult for Israel to maintain its Jewishness as a state.

So there's a practical reason as well as a moral reason for there to be discussions about a way forward to achieve a two-state solution. And the prime minister has said that he wants to -- you can ask him if he's going to talk to Abbas. I'm not going to put words in his mouth.

But what I'm trying to say is that we share a common way forward. And our hope is, is that others in the region understand that this way forward leads to peace. People other than President Abbas and the Palestinians -- we would hope that the Arab world supports such a concept.

Inherent in that is Israel's right to exist. There needs to be solid recognition of this state's right to live in peace.

At the same time, we want to have a vision for the Palestinians to see that there's a better tomorrow for them. These folks have been denied for a long period of time the right to a normal life, starting with leadership that failed them.

And our hope is that President Abbas and the prime minister Fayyad, who's a good fella, will be strengthened to the point where they can lead the Palestinians in a different direction, with a different hope.

The prime minister has spoken to me and I have spoken to him about our desire to help suffering Palestinians. Nobody likes suffering on their border. Nobody likes to see suffering in the world. So we'll talk about that.

We'll also talk about the broader war against extremists and radicals. It's interesting that extremists attack democracies around the Middle East -- whether it be the Iraq democracy, the Lebanese democracy or a potential Palestinian democracy.

What that should say clearly to people all around the world is that we are involved with an ideological conflict that is a monumental conflict. And those of us that believe in liberty and human rights and human decency need to be bound together in common cause to fight off these extremists and to defeat them.

Can only defeat them so much militarily; we have to also defeat them with a better idea. It's a better idea that's being practiced by our friend Israel. It's called democracy. And that's the fundamental challenge facing this century: Will we have the courage and the resolve necessary to help democracy defeat this ideology?

And I will tell the prime minister once again I'm deeply committed to this cause, whether it be in Iraq or Lebanon or the Palestinian territory or anywhere else in the Middle East and around the world.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

OLMERT: Well, naturally, I think at this particular point I'm sure the president will not have hard work to convince me, because I've proposed to meet with President Abbas. In fact, I was -- I initiated the idea that we will meet on a regular basis, or biweekly, to discuss the matters. I proposed that I'll even come to Jericho, something that no prime minister before me did.

The president was having serious difficulties, and some of which we have witnessed lately, and that's perhaps the reason why he had to cancel some of the meetings. But there's no question that I want to talk the president of the Palestinian community, Mr. Abbas. I will be talking to him, the teams of both sides meet regularly, every week, and discuss some of the matters.

And the idea that I have is to talk with him of the kind issues that can help upgrade the quality of life for the people and provide them better security in the West Bank and to share with him the efforts to combat terror.

This is something that he is absolutely committed to doing. We'll have to do it.

And this is not something that the Palestinians can escape. They will have to fight terror in the most effective way, something that they haven't done, unfortunately, up until now.

But this is something that I'm sure he understands is a prerequisite for any major development in the future.

But, of course, we also have to talk about the groundwork that needs to be done in order to allow us rapidly to talk about the creation of a Palestinian state. This is the main vision of my friend, President Bush. This is the vision that we share. This is the ultimate goal, to create the Palestinian state.

We have to prepare the groundwork that will allow, soon I hope, to be able to start serious negotiations about the creation of a Palestinian state.

And in order to achieve peace, we have to fight terror, we have to increase security, we have to upgrade the quality of life for the Palestinians -- and, of course, the Palestinians have to establish a much more credible and serious administration that will be able to take care of their daily needs in an appropriate manner.

QUESTION: (SPEAKING IN HEBREW)

Mr. President, the prime minister (INAUDIBLE) I asked him what they will do with the refugees coming from Gaza. Will he leave it to the murderers' guns or will they take them to refuge in the West Bank?

And I would like to ask you, the prime minister of Israel calls for negotiation with no precondition with Syria. So does President Assad of Syria. And he asks for U.S. mediation.

BUSH: They can handle their own negotiations with Syria.

If the prime minister wants to negotiate with Syria, he doesn't need me to mediate.

(LAUGHTER)

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

BUSH: It's up to the prime minister. I hadn't had a chance to talk to him about that. I don't know if you're putting words in his mouth or not. But I'm looking forward to having the discussion about Iran and Syria and the neighborhood.

But this man's plenty capable of conducting his own negotiations without mediation.

(LAUGHTER)

OLMERT: Well, first of all, to answer your question, we have been very, very attentive to the needs, the humanitarian needs, of Gaza. And we will continue to provide everything that is necessary in order to meet these humanitarian needs.

Israel will not be indifferent to the human suffering in Gaza. Israel will be different from the Palestinians themselves, because the reality is that all the suffering is caused by Palestinians against their own people. What the Hamas was doing in Gaza is absolutely atrocious and intolerable.

And I'm sure that many who had some hopes that maybe Hamas can be more reasonable and more restrained, I think, lost these hopes because of what they have been doing to their own people: killing innocent civilians, pulling out from hospital beds Fatah people that were wounded and dropped them off the fifth floor to kill them in the street, and terrible other things.

We will not be indifferent. We've already taken care of many of the Palestinians in Gaza during the last few days and we will continue to deal with it as it comes.

Of course, they are not interested in staying in Israel. They want to be amongst Palestinians. And they will be treated in this manner.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

OLMERT: So, as I said, we will check every single case and we'll see how we can help them. And I'm sure that we will help him.

As for Syria, I'm afraid that you may have not understood correctly what the Syrian leader said. The Syrian leader said -- the Syrian leader said that he is against any preconditions from the Israeli side. But he is certainly for preconditions from the Syrian side.

One of the preconditions is that he wants President Bush to work more than he does already in regional issues and to be the mediator. And the president said correctly this is not I think the job for the president of the United States. He has got many other things to do. And I don't think that if someone wants to speak directly, he needs the involvement of America in order to allow these negotiations to take place. I am not certain that the understanding of the president of Syria can lay the foundations for immediate discussions between Syria and Israel.

QUESTION: Mr. President, with Hamas's takeover of Gaza, aren't you effectively accepting a split between the two main Palestinian territories? And how big of a blow is this to your vision of achieving (INAUDIBLE) before the end of your term for a Palestinian state and Israel living side by side in peace?

BUSH: First of all, we recognize the president of all the Palestinian people, and that's President Abu Mazen. He was elected.

He's the president.

Secondly, we recognize that it was Hamas that attacked the unity government. They made a choice of violence. It was their decision that has caused there to be this current situation in the Middle East, about which we'll be spending some time discussing.

What you're seeing now in this part of the 21st century, it's going to be played out over time. This is an ideological struggle. We're looking at the difference between a group of people that want to represent the Palestinians who believe in peace, that want a better way for their people, that believe in democracy.

They need help to build the institutions necessary for democracy to flourish. They need help to build security forces so that they could end up enforcing what most of the people want, which is to live in peace. And that's versus a group of radicals and extremists who are willing to use violence, unspeakable violence sometimes, to achieve a political objective.

And the challenge is for those of us who believe democracy can help yield the peace is to continue to move forward, and that's what we'll be discussing about today, how to do so.

The prime minister said he's willing to have discussions with the forces of moderation in the Palestinian territory, laying the groundwork for serious discussions. That is a statement that shows that the prime minister is willing to move to promote an alternative vision.

You know, the world is going to be confronted with these choices: Are you willing to accept the fact that extremism is, you know, around and is willing to promote violence or should we resist that? Should we not combine forces and efforts to promote alternatives to this vision.

It's precisely what we're doing in Iraq. We strongly believe it's in the world's interest to support this young democracy. Al Qaeda, the people that killed nearly 3,000 of our people here in the United States, are conducting major car bombs and acts of unspeakable violence in Iraq trying to drive us out, because they want to impose their vision on the Iraqi people. And so, Mr. Prime Minister, you know, I'm committed to helping the Iraqis succeed with a democracy. It's in the interests of the Middle East that this democracy succeed as an alternative. Because if we were to fail, then all of a sudden these extremists would have safe haven. Extremists in the Middle East would be emboldened by the failure of those of us who live nice, comfortable existences not to help those who are struggling for freedom.

So it's the great challenge of our time, and there will be forward moving, there will be setbacks.

The fundamental question facing those of us who have offices is if we have the determination and the will and the vision to present an alternative to those people, and I believe we do. And I believe that's the calling of our time.

And so that's why I'm excited to be talking about it with a man who shares the vision that there is a better way than to accommodate and accept extremism and radicalism.

QUESTION: Mr. President, regarding the ongoing attempts by Iran to acquire nuclear capability, an atom bomb, would you -- are you willing to say at this time that a military action against Iran is no longer an option in light of the situation?

BUSH: I would tell you this, that my position hasn't changed -- and that is, all options are on the table.

I would hope that we could solve this diplomatically. It's a -- and that's why the United States -- first of all, we take the threat very seriously.

And I fully understand the concerns of any Israeli when they hear the voice of a man in Iran saying on the one hand we want to acquire, you know, the technologies and know-how to build and enrich uranium, which could then be converted into a nuclear weapon and on the other hand we want to destroy Israel.

Look, if I were an Israeli citizen, I would view that as a serious threat to my security.

And as a strong ally of Israel, I view that as a serious threat to the security -- not only the security of Israel, but the security of the Middle East.

That's why we are constantly working to remind our European friends, as well as Russia and other members of the U.N. we have an obligation to see if we can't work together to solve this issue diplomatically. That means to provide, you know, consequences to the Iranian government if they continue to pursue a nuclear weapon, such as financial sanctions or economic sanctions.

We want there to be a choice. We want people to see, you know, isolation has got a consequence to it, that there's a price that's paid for this kind of intransigence and these threatening -- these threatening tones. And it's difficult work to keep the nations bound together to help deal with this issue diplomatically but we have done a pretty good job so far.

Now, whether or not they abandon their nuclear weapons program, we'll see. But at least we've got unanimity so far. Speaking at the U.N. Security Council, speaking pretty clearly that there will be consequences -- and there are -- some economic consequences beginning to affect the economy.

Look, the Iranian people don't need to live under these kinds of conditions. These are proud people with a great tradition. Their government can do better for them. And threatening the world has caused there to be isolation.

And these good folks could have leadership that enables them to have a better economy and a better way of life, and economy and a way of life that enriches their families, gives them a better chance to succeed.

But, no, this group of people have made a different alternative and now our job is to make sure that we continue to keep the pressure on.

Listen, thank you all very much.

HARRIS: There you have it -- President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olestra meeting at the White House in advance of some closed-door meetings.

The two men meeting behind closed doors to further discuss a number of issues on their plate, as you could hear in that photo opportunity there, and in the chance to take questions from reporters.

Let's get to our White House correspondent now, Elaine Quijano. Elaine, to the big question now of moving forward in the Palestinian territories and perhaps getting some sense of when a meeting might take place between the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

It doesn't look like that meeting will happen anytime soon?

ELAINE QUIJANO, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Not anytime soon, but certainly what we heard from President Bush is an unequivocal declaration really of support for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. President Bush viewing him as a voice of moderation -- the president saying just a short time ago of Abbas, he is president of all Palestinians.

He called him a reasonable voice amongst extremists, and the president also interestingly used the phrase an exciting moment to describe this point in time in talking about the prospects for moving forward on Middle East peace.

For his part, Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert talked about opportunity and also signaled that he is looking forward to working on Middle East peace and working towards President Bush's vision of a two-state solution, a Palestinian state and Israel living side by side in peace.

President Bush reiterated that vision today. He also interestingly talked about the larger region, saying that he hopes that Arab nations in the region in the Middle East will come to support the moves undertaken by the Palestinian authority, President Mahmoud Abbas, that they will recognize, as he has, certainly the right of Israel to exist, but also trying to talk about a solid recognition, he said, of Israel's right to exist.

And a final point, the president also defending his freedom agenda, Tony, interestingly turning the conversation to Iraq at one point, talking about how he remains absolutely committed to democracy in Iraq. He called it once more the great challenge of our time, he said, to present an alternative ideology to terrorists and extremists.

So a lot on the agenda today, certainly this meeting as you noted coming at a timely moment. It was scheduled well in advance of the violence in Gaza, but certainly this meeting now taking on a greater sense of urgency.

HARRIS: A lot there, a lot of meat there in that discussion between those two men. We'll be talking about it throughout the day in the CNN NEWSROOM. CNN White House correspondent Elaine Quijano for us, thanks.

COLLINS: And we certainly continue to talk about this story as well. Firefighters battle an inferno inside a furniture warehouse, then the roof collapses. A city mourns, nine heroes in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: Also suspected al Qaeda fighters trying to outrun a new U.S. offensive and insurgents striking with deadly precision today. We'll bring you up to speed on Iraq in the NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: And an Ohio mother missing almost a week now. Does her 2-year-old son hold a clue to her disappearance? A closer look coming up in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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COLLINS: Time to come home. The space shuttle separating from the international space station right now, as we speak, ending a nine- day engagement.

Problems with the shuttle's heat blanket and the station's computers added two days to the trip. After undocking, the shuttle astronauts will use the robotic camera to get a better look at the exterior heat tiles. They are making sure there's no new damage. Atlantis is scheduled to land in Florida on Thursday.

HARRIS: And still ahead in the NEWSROOM this morning, Atlanta's fire chief Harold Miller joins us to talk about the tragedy in Charleston this morning.

COLLINS: In an instant, a flash flood wrecks lives and takes lives. Texas looking for the missing today. Live updates in the NEWSROOM.

HARRIS: Facing foreclosure, a growing numbers of homeowners losing their homes. That story ahead for you next hour in the NEWSROOM.

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