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South Carolina Mourns Firefighters; Hundreds Homeless after Southern Flood; Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Back Palestinian Authority President; Police Search for Missing Ohio Woman; Passenger Missing on Cruise Ship; Space Shuttle Completes Mission

Aired June 19, 2007 - 13:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CO-HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
HEIDI COLLINS, CO-HOST: And I'm Heidi Collins. Good afternoon, everybody.

Remembering the brave, heroic, and courageous firefighters who died battling the Charleston warehouse blaze. Nine lives lost, the greatest loss of American firefighters since 9/11.

You are in the NEWSROOM.

LEMON: Nine firefighters killed in the line of duty, their bodies carried out of the smoldering rubble, their colleagues standing at attention to salute their sacrifice.

It is the worst loss of American firefighters in the line of duty since 9/11, and it happened in Charleston, South Carolina, a community that is now in mourning.

Our Brianna Keilar is there live.

Tough day, Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Very tough day, Don. Especially because we've also learned that all nine of these firefighters were from Charleston City Fire Department.

Companies from other -- companies from throughout the country also responded. But all nine who were killed were from the city proper.

Now, most of those firefighters who died, that happened in the back of this furniture store. They rescued two employees last night. And then Mayor Joe Riley of Charleston said after that, there was heavy furniture that was stacked on some very heavy shelving units there in the back of the building, and the fire burned hot and fast. There weren't any sprinklers, and those shelving units collapsed, and that is where most of the firefighters died.

As you mentioned, there was a salute this morning, a very touching moment as the bodies of the firefighters were removed from the wreckage of this building. Their fellow firefighters, people who were on scene saluting them. This, of course, is a city that hasn't seen any casualties in recent memory, and Mayor Riley said this is really just difficult to fathom and quantify.

Now, at this point, fire investigators are still on the scene. State officials with help from the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, leading that investigation.

And from what we understand from the mayor, they don't think that this was anything suspicious. They don't suspect arson, but at this point, they're waiting for a final determination on that, Don.

We are waiting for a 2 p.m. press conference from Charleston County coroner. Families have been notified, of course. The fire department, officials have touched base with them. But at this point, we're waiting for that official identification of these firefighters, Don.

LEMON: Brianna, we are -- you're standing there in front of the scene. We see some activity behind you. Can you tell us what's going on?

KEILAR: Well, we've been seeing traffic here all day. This is somewhat of a thoroughfare heading towards Savannah, so there is a lot of traffic. But people have been crawling by, looking at the wreckage of this building.

And I know it's somewhat difficult to see through the traffic, but there's already a makeshift memorial that's been set up: nine white crosses with American flags. Some people have been bringing by flowers to put there at that memorial.

And also, Don, I should mention, a fund has already been set up by Charleston County. This is a fund for the families of these fallen firefighters.

LEMON: Yes. Brianna, this is touching the hearts of many people, not only here in America, but across the world, as well. We thank you so much for your report.

We also we want to mention, we just got this information in. The International Association of Fire Chiefs is calling for a moment of silence at 7 p.m. Eastern to honor the nine firefighters killed in Charleston, South Carolina. That's tonight, 7 p.m. Eastern. They're asking to observe a moment of silence for those firefighters.

And as Brianna mentioned, we're expecting a news conference from the coroner in Charleston to identify the fallen firefighters. That is scheduled to happen at 2 p.m. Eastern. And we'll bring it to you live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: A grim search in north Texas. At least five people still missing from deadly floodwaters, among them a 2-year-old girl.

CNN's Rob Marciano is in the city of Gainesville, where hundreds of families are now homeless. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The raging waters across north Texas have receded almost as quickly as they arose early Monday morning, engulfing this town of Gainesville, Texas.

This -- this drain probably running, usually, at 50 to 100 cubic feet per second, was likely up around 30,000, 40,000 cubic feet per second. The water, 10, 20 feet over my head to the bridge that we're shooting from. The water came over top of that.

You can see all sorts of debris in the forms of log and trees and branches, even a garage door of some sort with sheet metal twisted overtop of that railing.

And then down here on the river bank, with the waters receding, you see obviously, signs of life. A telling sign there with a child's play cart. Debris obviously strewn downstream. Mature trees completely uprooted and point in that direction. We've got signs, sheet metal signs that are laying around here.

And then look at this. This is a refrigerator or freezer of some sort and a cast iron tank that floated downstream, just to give you an idea of how powerful this water was.

The search goes on for as many as four or five people still missing here in Gainesville, Texas.

The good news, if there is any, is that the weather seems to be cooperating. Dry weather in the forecast for the next four or five days.

Rob Marciano, CNN, Gainesville, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: What a tough, tough day in Texas, and other areas are in for a good soaking today, hopefully, nothing like yesterday and the night before, where those storms came through.

Jacqui Jeras, tell us what's going on.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LEMON: Jacqui, Jeras, that is good advice. We always find folks, sadly, who try to go through that in their cars, so thank you for that advice. And everyone, please take that.

A boost today for embattled Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Olmert called Abbas the only true leader of the Palestinian people. That happened during a meeting at the White House today.

The support comes following turmoil that has left Abbas' rival group, Hamas, in control of Gaza.

Our Elaine Quijano is live at the White House with the latest for us -- Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon to you, Don.

And President Bush, as well as Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, made clear that they remain committed to seeing a two-state solution, not a three-state solution when it comes to the Middle East, a Palestinian state existing side by side with Israel peacefully.

Now in the wake of Hamas' takeover of Gaza, President Bush left no doubt that the United States views Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, as the leader of all Palestinian people. Mr. Bush called him a voice for moderation among extremists.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We recognize the president of all of 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Now, as for restarting Middle East peace talks, Prime Minister Olmert signaled that he is open to doing that. But he said that Palestinians have to do more to fight terrorism.

Now, at the same time, Prime Minister Olmert said that Israel would continue to help the Palestinian people in Gaza.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EHUD OLMERT, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: We have been very, very attentive to the needs of -- the needs of Gaza. And we will continue to provide everything that is necessary, you know, to meet these humanitarian needs. Israel will not be indifferent to the human suffering in Gaza.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: So the bottom line, both leaders of the U.S. and Israel saying quite clearly here that they will do what is necessary to bolster the government, the emergency government, of Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority. President saying they will do what they need to do as the situation continues to develop -- Don.

LEMON: Elaine Quijano, thank you for your report.

COLLINS: There are few clues, but certainly lots of fear as the search for a missing pregnant woman presses on in Ohio. It has been almost one week since anyone spoken to Jessie Davis, and police haven't named any suspects in this case.

Joining us now from Canton, Ohio, Vic Gideon of CNN affiliate WKYC.

Vic, good afternoon to you.

VIC GIDEON, WKYC REPORTER: Good afternoon, Heidi.

And I just spoke with the mother of the missing woman, Patricia Porter. Of course, her daughter, Jessie Davis, 26 years old. She is nine months pregnant, due to give birth in a week to two weeks. She has been missing. The last time her mother spoke with her was Wednesday, via the phone. Then Thursday they did discover her missing.

Now, her mother says the new information, Canton and Stark County detectives are investigating some new leads. They're not sure if these will be fruitful or not. They're not actually more specific about that. But they are investigating some new leads due to all the media coverage.

Also, some national search organizations have contacted the family and, in fact, one of those search organizations will be coming into the area to help tonight.

And finally, the father of the baby, Bobby Cutts, a Canton police officer, his house was investigated last night. Now Cutts is married. He has an estranged wife. Items were taken from his home, as well as some items from Jessie to help in their investigation.

The family says it's been extremely hard for them. They have received no optimistic news since she has turned up missing. They are still keeping a bright face here, but again, a very difficult situation here. Jessie does also have a 2-year-old daughter-- 2-year- old son from Bobby Cutts. She was expecting a daughter in a week to two weeks.

Back to you, Heidi.

COLLINS: Boy. The more and more we hear about this story, it is just devastating. Vic Gideon of our affiliate, WKYC. Vic, thanks so much.

And Jessie Davis' 2-year-old may be the only witness to her disappearance. Tonight on "LARRY KING LIVE", hear from that little boy, plus Davis' mom and sister on the desperate search. "LARRY KING LIVE" tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern.

Want to get straight to the newsroom now. T.J. Holmes with details on a developing story.

T.J., what's going on?

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it looks like right now, Heidi, that possibly a cruise ship is going on its voyage minus one of its passengers. We talked about this a little earlier in the NEWSROOM, but a 24-year-old man who was on the Freedom of the Seas ship, a Royal Caribbean cruise, has now gone missing. There's no one who saw him go overboard, but the last anyone did see him was yesterday morning around 1:45 a.m. when they say he was resting comfortably on his state room balcony. He wasn't reported until some six or seven hours later.

Now, the ship has retraced its steps a couple of times. Also, the Coast Guard is involved in this. Now, they've gone to the area where they think they were the last time that the man was seen on the ship. However, the problem is they don't know, if he did go overboard, where in that time period between the time he was last seen and the time he was reported missing, where in that time period he might have gone overboard. So really, no one has any idea, if he did go overboard, where the ship really was when he did.

Coast Guard now involved in this search, and exhaustive search been going on for a couple of days now. But the ship itself has gone on its voyage. It's going to be boarding at -- in Puerto Rico and one other stop before it heads back to Miami. It's a day behind schedule.

But still, the ship has gone on. No longer the ship itself involved in that search. But the Coast Guard still involved, hopefully a good resolution to this. But we've seen so many of these stories sometimes don't end up in a good way but oftentimes -- or sometimes, at least, we do see these have a positive resolution. Hoping for another one here.

We're keeping an eye on it, guys.

COLLINS: OK. All right, T.J. We'll check back with you, should the situation change.

HOLMES: All right.

COLLINS: Thank you.

LEMON: Mission completed. Or should I say mission accomplished?

COLLINS: Yes.

LEMON: Space Shuttle Atlantis heads for home, and guess what? He knows everything about space. Miles O'Brien is going to give us an update, Heidi.

COLLINS: And nine lives lost in the line of duty. We are in Charleston, South Carolina, for more on today's top story.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: By our watch it is 1:18, and here are three of the stories we are working on in the CNN NEWSROOM at this hour.

We are waiting to hear the names of nine firefighters killed when they rushed into this burning warehouse in Charleston, South Carolina. A coroner plans to identify the fallen firefighter at the top of the hour. So we'll have that for you.

And right now, U.S. and Iraqi fighters are on the attack in Baquba, an insurgent stronghold north of Baghdad. The target? Al Qaeda militants. Our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre, is joining us at the half hour with much more on that.

And a grim search underway in Northern Texas, where five people are still missing after a flash flood in Gainesville. They include a 2-year-old girl. Five other people confirmed dead in the floodwaters, which swamped several Texas towns.

LEMON: Well, it is get-away day. Obviously, not for us. We're here working today. But it's for Atlantis. The shuttle leaves the International Space Station after a longer than expected stay. It leaves behind some new equipment. It also leaves behind a new crew member.

Miles, why weren't you on board that? We need to get you up there in -- you know, into space some time.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I -- yes, I would certainly sign up for the opportunity.

And, look, if you take a look at live pictures from space, there's plenty of room for me. Look, empty -- can we lose the banner for just a sec so we can just show folks?

LEMON: Wow.

O'BRIEN: Empty cargo hold, and that's exactly what the astronauts had hoped to have happen.

You know, the fact, Don, that this was a routine undocking is saying a lot, because last week we -- that computer meltdown on the Russian side, all the concerns. There was talk about abandoning ship. And to see this unfold, what an amazing retrograde of fortune that is.

Take a look at some of the pictures from a little while ago, a couple hours ago, as Atlantis and the space station parted company, pictures from both craft as they did just that.

I want to call your attention to this fact. It's virtually symmetrical. There you go. Well, there's the shuttle.

But the space station now has a set of big solar panels on both sides. The Atlantis crew -- there you see it. And these are the new ones over on this side here, making it look a little more like a space station now.

And what a turn of events for the space shuttle team and the space station team, given all that happened with that computer meltdown that affected every aspect of the International Space Station.

Go back to the live picture real quick, if we can. This is a good shot. You're looking at -- in the foreground here, that's the thermal blanket repair we told you about. And over here there is the space station.

LEMON: And, Miles, I've been watching your reports. I was actually watching them when I was in India, about what happened with the blanket and what have you. How often do they do that was my question? How often do they have to make repairs to the shuttle in space? Very common?

O'BRIEN: It's the second time it happened it's happened. It happened in August of 2005, astronaut Steve Robinson. First flight back after the loss of Columbia.

LEMON: Right.

O'BRIEN: And the heat shield, of course, causing the disintegration. He pulled a little teeny gap filler out from between two heat-resistant tiles. This was the first. This was the second opportunity for that.

Now, we're not done with the heat shield just yet. What's going to happen today is this. Take a look. They're going to conduct another inspection, and they're going to focus on that leading edge of the wing, which is one of the hottest spots, and the nose cone, which gets very hot. And of course, it was the breach in the leading edge of the wing that meant the loss of Columbia back in 2003. It could have been struck by a micrometeor or it could have been struck by some debris. Who knows?

But they will speed far enough away from the space station, 46 miles, not to be in the way, but close enough to get back and stay there and wait for a rescue mission if need be.

Now, speaking of debris, I want you to watch very closely here, Don.

LEMON: All right.

O'BRIEN: Take a look. As they -- as they were parting company here, if you look very closely, what's that?

LEMON: It looks -- is it debris?

O'BRIEN: It's a little something. We're not quite sure what it is.

LEMON: A little something, something.

O'BRIEN: It's a little something, something up there. A little something there, too. We're told that, you know, space command, the U.S. Air Force, watches for big pieces of debris and actually will tell the space station to get out of the way if a big piece is on the way.

There was no documented piece of space debris in the way at the time. Look at that one over there on the right.

LEMON: Yes. O'BRIEN: Look at that guy go.

Here's what we think. Here's what we think. It's probably some ice that was in maybe the main engine valves or collected on the space shuttle orbiter. And of course, as they're firing all those rocket thrusters and doing that once around, 1 1/2 loop around the space station, those kinds of things would have broken free. So the early indication is here.

Of course, my immediate thought was oh, gosh there, goes that thermal blanket they just stapled. We don't want that to happen. But no, we see right here -- if you go back to the live picture, you can see, looking at that picture, that that thermal blanket is in shape, intact, stapled and ready for re-entry.

LEMON: And ready for you, that seat. Empty for Miles O'Brien.

O'BRIEN: There is it, yes. That whole cargo hold. It's huge.

LEMON: To go up in space. We would love to get you there.

And Miles is anxiously awaiting the return, right, the shuttle, home later this week?

O'BRIEN: Yes, Thursday afternoon if the weather holds in Florida. About 2 p.m. Eastern Time. And we'll, of course, bring that to you. There you are, 1:54, if you want to be exact about it.

You never know. It's Florida. It's the summer. It's the afternoon. And we'll be watching it. It will be definitely touch and go on the weather. But we'll be there either way.

LEMON: Miles, you just stole my tag. But that's all right. You said it. The viewer got the information.

O'BRIEN: Sorry.

LEMON: Miles, as always, I could listen to this all day, but we've got to run. Thank you so much.

O'BRIEN: All right. You're welcome.

COLLINS: The audience abuzz, and this actor hasn't even made his entrance on the presidential stage. We'll focus on Fred Thompson, ahead, in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Changes at the top of Yahoo! But are they enough to get the company back on track? That is the $64,000 question. Jennifer Lewis-Hall is at the New York Stock Exchange with more on this executive shakeup.

Hi there, Jennifer.

JENNIFER LEWIS-HALL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there. Well, Terry Semel is out as Yahoo's CEO. You're absolutely right. Big questions here.

Now, the company says he will be replaced by one of his cofounders, Jerry Yang, and the company's chief financial officer will step into the president's spot there.

Semel joined the Internet search giant back in May of 2001. He is widely credited with helping to focus the company after the high- tech bubble burst.

But in recent years, Yahoo! has fallen behind rival Google in online advertising, which is vitally important. Google also has been more aggressive on the buying front, and if you recall, last year bought the online video site YouTube -- Heidi.

COLLIN: Jennifer, true, is it not, that everybody kind of expected there was going to be a change like this, right?

LEWIS-HALL: Well, widely anticipated, so to speak. You know, it was at last week's shareholder meeting Semel faced some very tough questions about the company strategy. And many did suspect a change at the top was going to be imminent.

But will this change really cure what ills the company? Some analysts doubt it. They point to the fact that Semel's replacement has been with the company for its entire history. Hardly an injection of fresh blood, so to speak there.

Yahoo!, of course, says it's convinced it picked the right person to lead the company.

(STOCK REPORT)

LEWIS-HALL: Now, if you're like most drivers, you're probably tired of paying gas stations, going to the pump day after day. So in the next hour of the NEWSROOM, I'll have details on a move that could drastically reduce the time you spend at the pump.

Heidi, you won't want to miss that.

Don, be there or be square.

COLLINS: All right. Very good. He's never square.

Jennifer, thank you.

LEMON: Some might disagree with that.

OK. Suspected al Qaeda fighters trying to outrun a new U.S. offensive, and insurgents striking with deadly precision today in Baghdad. The latest from Iraq, that is straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: And we are expecting a news conference from the coroner in Charleston, South Carolina, to identify those fallen firefighters. That is scheduled for 2 p.m. Eastern. We will bring it to you live right here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR, NEWSROOM: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon live in the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR, NEWSROOM: And I'm Heidi Collins. Good afternoon everyone. They were nine brave souls who rushed in to rescue others, but were carried out by their fellow firefighters.

LEMON: We are about to learn the names of those who perished in the blaze that gutted a Charleston warehouse. You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

COLLINS: They lived to help others, but all too often they sacrifice their own lives in the process. Our top story today, nine firefighters killed when they rushed into a burning furniture warehouse store in Charleston, South Carolina. This is the worst loss of U.S. fire fighters in the line of duty since 9/11 according to the website firehouse.com. The cause of the blaze is being investigated. There's no initial indication of arson. Two store employees were rescued from the fire which partially collapsed the building. Also it is unclear at this point if the building had working sprinklers. When the fire broke out, Charleston firefighters rushed to the scene from all over, whether they were on duty or not. Eric Glover was one of them. He spoke to "American Morning's" John Roberts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOICE OF ERIC GLOVER, CHARLESTON, SC FIRE DEPT: Me and other firemen were at a golf tournament, benefiting a fireman who passed in a car wreck a couple months back and one of the guys had a scanner radio and we heard the call go out, so, you know, we went over.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At what stage was the fire at when you arrived on scene?

GLOVER: Well, when we got there, the whole building was ablaze and we pretty much tried to do what we could do to put it out, get everything under control.

ROBERTS: You were operating from the outside. Was going inside even an option at that point?

GLOVER: No. Everybody backed us out. Backed the guys that were around out. And we just tried to stay back and you know, put it out. There's not much you can do at this point.

ROBERTS: Were you aware at that time that some of your colleagues were inside the building?

GLOVER: No, sir, I wasn't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Charleston is setting up a fund now to help the families of the fallen firefighters. We'll bring you more information on that just as soon as we get it. Also the International Association of Fire Chiefs is calling on all firefighters to observe a moment of silence tonight at 7:00 Eastern. And also I want to let you know, we are expecting a news conference from the coroner in Charleston to identify the fallen firefighters. That will be scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Eastern. We'll bring it to you live right here in the NEWSROOM.

LEMON: In Iraq, a Shiite religious leader is calling it an attack quote planned and carried out by sick souls. At least 78 people were killed today when a truck bomb exploded in a crowded square near a Shiite shrine in Baghdad. More than 200 were hurt. The attack comes just two days after the end of a curfew imposed following last week's bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra.

A new offensive against al Qaeda in Iraq. Hundreds of U.S. and Iraqi troops are taking part in the operation against militants in the Baquba area northeast of Baghdad. The U.S. military says 22 enemy fighters were killed today in the opening stages of operation arrowhead ripper. It's aimed at clearing out al Qaeda and other extremists who have fled Baghdad and the Anbar province. Insurgents in the area have tried to establish a Taliban-style rule, including carrying out public killings in the Baquba main square. The U.S. military officer in charge of the northern Iraqi operation says the offensive is off to a good start. Let's go now to CNN senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre who spoke earlier with Major General Benjamin Mixon. Jamie.

JAMIE McINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Don as you know, one of the points of this operation is to go after al Qaeda militants who are believed to be behind those massive car bombings like the one that rocked Baghdad today. I talked to Major General Mixon about how the operation was going just a short time ago from his headquarters in Tikrit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. BENJAMIN MIXON, CMDR, MULTINATL DIV NORTH: This is now focused on Baquba. It's involving 1,500 coalition forces, up to 1,500 Iraqi army, 500 or more Iraqi police. It began last night with large scale air assaults moving by helicopter to surprise the enemy with a large ground assault before daylight. We have had initial good success. We killed multiple members of the enemy with our attack helicopters, Air Force strikes and artillery. So we're off to a good start, however, there's a lot of work left to be done.

McINTYRE: You mentioned this is a joint U.S.-Iraqi operation. Are the Iraqi troops in the lead. Are the U.S. troops in the lead and is this a case where Iraqi troops are going to try to hold some of the gains you've secured in this offensive?

MIXON: This is being done together as partners, but the principal mission that we want the Iraqi security forces to do is to do the hold phase that would then allow us to move outside of Baquba to do detailed operations in the areas where we believe the enemy will move from once we defeat him in Baquba. McINTYRE: I guess that's the question we've seen. Every time you put pressure on al Qaeda, on Sunni insurgents, on Shia insurgents, they simply move someplace else. Where would they go from here?

MIXON: The nature of this enemy, he will hide in the farmlands and palm groves. There's a difference this time. We have support of many of the locals that live in the area, the sheiks that are in the area. He's going to have a tough time finding a place to hide following and during this particular operation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

McINTYRE: That will be the big question when this operation is over, to what extent Iraqi troops are able to maintain security won by the U.S.-led forces and how much local support they really have. Diyala province is significantly different from al Anbar province where they're getting a lot of cooperation from Sunni sheiks. That's almost an exclusive Sunni province, where in Diyala it's more of a mixed picture. So we'll have to see how that works out. That's the object of this offensive, part of the operations are being made possible by the so-called surge strategy, the addition of 30,000 additional troops in and around Baghdad.

LEMON: CNN senior Pentagon correspond respondent Jamie McIntyre. Thank you.

COLLINS: It appears to be a graduation ceremony complete with speeches and a receiving line but these aren't students. They are purportedly suicide bombers, ending or celebrating the end that is of their training at an al Qaeda Taliban camp. ABC News obtained the video and reports the attackers are being sent on missions to the U.S. and Europe. But a counterterrorism official tells CNN that's quote, a bit of a stretch. The official called the tape sophisticated propaganda. Last night on "Anderson Cooper 360," CNN terrorism analysts Peter Bergen had a different take.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Arguing against the idea that this is all propaganda, (INAUDIBLE) who is the leader of the London attacks on July 7, 2005, killing 52 English commuters. He trained very much in a similar situation on the Afghan/Pakistan border in the 2003-2004 time frame. So it's not completely implausible that a few of these guys will be sent on missions to the west, but it's quite implausible that hundreds of them would be sent because they just don't have the technical, the linguistic abilities, the ability to get through fairly rigorous customs controls, these sorts of things.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The man who's run the suspected graduation ceremony is (ph) Monsour Dadoula. We see him in the video. He's congratulating the guys. He's hugging them. What do we know about him?

BERGEN: He's basically the new Taliban commander. His brother was killed in Afghanistan a few months ago. He's taken over. His brother was a very blood thirsty guy who would personally behead captives and was kidnapping western journalists and had killed a lot of Shia Muslims but when he was part of the Taliban. So I don't know much about his brother to be honest, other than the fact that he is his brother and he's presenting himself now as the leader of the Taliban in southern Afghanistan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: ABC news reports a Pakistani journalist shot the video 10 days ago.

LEMON: We have some developing news this afternoon out of Washington. CNN has learned that the White House budget chief, Rob Portman is resigning after just more than a year on the job. Sources have told CNN that Portman might be planning a run for Ohio governor in 2010. Former House budget chair Jim Nussle will replace Portman. President Bush expected to make it all official later on this afternoon.

COLLINS: Getting healthcare information to the people who need it. A man who made his name on the Internet, now using the web to help others. We'll tell you all about it coming up in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: If you ever searched for health information online, you now how confusing it can be, tons and tons of data, some of it contradictory, much of it unhelpful. Enter Steve Case. The AOL cofounder and former Time Warner chairman has moved on to a new venture, his company, revolution, has just launched revolutionhealth.com, a free site where all the information is reviewed and cross-checked. I talked with Steve earlier today about searching for different disorders, for example, celiac disease.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE CASE, AOL CO-FOUNDER: With celiac, a lot of people as you mentioned do have it, but don't really know it. So if you have 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 help there and type on the celiac logo, there is a number of resources there including a symptom check where they 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 has 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 are trying to address that with revolutionhealth.com and particularly with the health fair we launched this week.

COLLINS: This really 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, some of which is useful, some of which maybe is not useful, some of which is accurate, some of it may not be 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 cause or suffer from that particular disease. So it's a mix of content and community all at revolutionhealth.com.

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COLLINS: And that Internet health fair is going on throughout the rest of the month. In fact, 115 doctors contribute to the site with their own blogs.

LEMON: The audience abuzz and the actor hasn't even taken the stage yet, hasn't even made an entrance on the presidential stage. We'll focus on Fred Thompson, straight ahead on the CNN NEWSROOM.

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LEMON: Democratic candidates for president speaking today at the Take Back America conference today in Washington. This audience leans to the left, away from President Bush's Iraq policies. It's the same group that booed Senator Clinton last year for opposing a set date to pull troops out. Candidates Bill Richardson and Barack Obama didn't have trouble selling their ideas to the crowd.

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GOV. BILL RICHARDSON (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have a moral obligation to those American soldiers and citizens who have laid down their lives overseas. Some say we can't let their sacrifice be in vain, but you will never convince me that those slain patriots would have wanted a single additional life to be lost just to validate their own sacrifice. And, instead, the moral obligation is to honor their service by bringing their mission to a close.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We will call them, we will knock on their doors we will bring our troops home. It is time to bring this war to a close. It is time to recognize there is no military solution to the problems in Iraq. It is time to turn the page.

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LEMON: And Richardson took a swipe at his opponents, including Obama. He said they voted for timeline legislation that would allow the president to leave some troops in Iraq indefinitely. Coming up in the next hour in the CNN NEWSROOM, we'll hear what former Senator John Edwards had to say.

New polls show Fred Thompson moving up in the field of Republican presidential contenders, even though he's not officially in the race. But can conservatives live with the positions taken by the former Tennessee senator. CNN's Candy Crowley reports.

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CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He's as eagerly awaited as a summer blockbuster. Fred Thompson, lauded at Reaganesque, the answer to discontent within the Republican party, running second in some polls, first in others. The previews alone could doom him.

RICH GALEN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Thompson has a very high bar now, because of the expectations, especially from the conservative wing of the Republican Party and it's a bar that he's going to have to meet very quickly. So not only is the bar high, but the curve is steep.

CROWLEY: But it is more than just great expectations. There is the great scrutiny that will follow Thompson into the race, putting his record under the klieg lights.

WILLIAM BENNETT, HOST, "MORNING IN AMERICA": He was here for 10 years as a senator. Does anybody remember that and what did he do as a senator in 10 years? That I think will be examined pretty closely.

CROWLEY: And do you think the answer may come up not much?

BENNETT: I think the answer will come up probably not too much.

CROWLEY: And some of the record that's there shows that he can be both with and against party orthodoxy. In questionnaires and newspapers interviews in the early '90s, Thompson said he opposed criminalization of abortion, opposed a constitutional amendment protecting the sanctity of life. In an 1994 interview with a Tennessee newspaper, Thompson said he was pro life, but not willing to support laws that prohibit early-term abortions. Nevertheless, his voting record in the Senate was solidly anti abortion, giving comfort to conservatives.

TONY PERKINS, FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL: I think he's going to have to reassure people that his record is more reflective of where he stands on this issue than past statements.

CROWLEY: Thompson has already said that the sonogram of his now three-year-old daughter has put the issue in his heart as well as his head. What appears to most trouble the right is the issue of McCain- Feingold, campaign finance reform conservatives hate because they believe it infringes on their rights to free speech. Thompson was instrumental in getting it passed. But here too, he has shifted right ward.

PERKINS: I think in a sense that's passed and he's looked at the impact that that's had on the ability of citizens to participate in the political process, I believe he has said that it goes too far with the blackout periods preceding elections.

CROWLEY: As a whole, conservatives, the base of the Republican Party, seem ready to view Thompson as one of their own. BENNETT: The conversations are very short (INAUDIBLE) That's Fred. I like Fred. Fred is my guy. What about his position on campaign? What about the whole position. I like Fred. I think Fred is the guy.

CROWLEY: The stage has been set said one conservative. Now let's see if he can sing the high notes. Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.

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LEMON: And once again, CNN is raising the bar on the presidential debates. On Monday, July 23rd, the Democratic candidates square off in a CNN YouTube debate. Anderson Cooper hosts this first of its kind event live and interactive on TV and also online and you can see the Republicans debate on Monday, September 17th, only for your home for politics. That's right here on CNN.

COLLINS: In a bid to save the lives of others, they lost their own. Did it have to happen this way? We're following the latest on Charleston's devastating fire. A news conference expected to begin in just a few minutes. We'll bring it to you live, right here in NEWSROOM.

But first, as we go to the break, let's take a look at the big board. The stock market is up this hour, up, now it's down. We're watching the numbers for you, and the rest of your business stories coming your way in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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LEMON: Hello everyone. I'm Don Lemon live in the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta along with...

COLLINS: I'm Heidi Collins everybody and of course we've been following this story all morning long, a devastating story out of Charleston, South Carolina. The fire that happened at a furniture warehouse, where it was just so fast and so furious, that as you see from the video here, firefighters went in from Charleston County to try and clear the building first. They had heard that there were people inside and then within 30 minutes, that entire structure collapsed on top of them.

LEMON: Sadly, Heidi, nine firefighters killed in all of this, just imagine that happening all at once. According to the mayor and also others with the fire department here, they said that it happened so fast, they don't believe that the firefighters had any initial sign that this was going to happen. They really had no way out.

COLLINS: In fact this has really reached a lot of people. It's gone all the way to the White House. Let's listen now to White House spokesman Tony Snow at a White House briefing just moments ago.

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TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: The president and first lady have a statement about that. Laura and I mourn the devastating loss of some of America's bravest. Our prayers are with the families and friends of nine firefighters in Charleston, South Carolina who selflessly gave their own lives to protect their community. These firefighters were true heroes who demonstrated great skill and courage. Their unwavering commitment to their neighbors and to the city of Charleston is an inspiration to all Americans.

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COLLINS: It is quite devastating loss. That was Tony Snow from the White House.

Let's take a moment now, want to take you to the press conference that we have been waiting for. At the microphone there you see Ray Wooten (ph). She is the Charleston County coroner, going to give us a little bit more information about the nine firefighters who were killed last night.

LEMON: She's expected

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