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Military Offensive in Diyala; 24 Hours in Baquba; Growing Fire Dangers; CIA Dirty Laundry; Don't Ask, Don't Tell; Dick Cheney Accused of Trying to Abolish Oversight Office; Missing Pregnant Woman News Conference

Aired June 23, 2007 - 16:00   ET

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

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Do you ever joke that your teenager is addicted to video games? Well, it might not be a joke at all.
Coming up in the NEWSROOM, a new push to make video game addiction a real medical condition.

And then, skeletons in the closet. The CIA reveals some of its dirtiest little secrets.

In Iraq, it's sniper versus sniper, U.S. soldiers against al Qaeda fighters.

I'm Brianna Keilar, in for Fredricka Whitfield. And you're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

We begin now with the fight for Iraq.

Seven U.S. troops have been killed there today. Four soldiers died when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle in Baghdad, and another two were killed when a bomb and small arms fire hit their unit.

And a U.S. airman died after his patrol was attacked north of the capital. A total of seven killed in action. The deaths come as the U.S. military bears down on al Qaeda in Iraq.

CNN's Hala Gorani is in Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Operation Arrowhead Ripper continues in Diyala Province, east and north of Baghdad, and in and around the capital of that providence, Baquba. Ten thousand U.S. troops still involved in that operation designed to neutralize insurgent bases and find and dismantle factories that manufacture car bombs, as well as IEDs. IEDs are the biggest killer of U.S. troops.

Now, Brigadier General Mick Bednarek, who is in the Baquba area right now, had this to say about the operation.

BRIG. GEN. MICK BEDNAREK, U.S. ARMY: This is a tough fight. It is house-to-house, block-to-block, street-to-street, tunnel-to-tunnel, utility location, basements, rooftops. Any structure that is in these built-up areas will be cleared. And again, not only with the coalition forces, but the Iraqi security force partners, the Iraqi army, and the police side by side.

GORANI: The question is, have some of the insurgents fled the Diyala Province and Baquba area in anticipation of this operation? General Odierno, is who is the number two commander of U.S. forces in this country, told reporters that that may be the case.

Now, on the political front, the parliament here in Iraq has extended its session until the end of July. Now, the aim of that move is to work on draft legislation that is designed to promote reconciliation among the sects in Iraq. One of those crucial laws is the oil revenue-sharing law. However, no draft proposals have been presented to legislators. So whether or not this move will make any difference on the political front is an open question at this time.

Hala Gorani, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Just north of Baghdad, in Baquba, the crackdown against insurgents is dangerous, intense and exhausting. Al Qaeda in Iraq has had a pretty firm grip on the area, a grip that U.S. troops are trying to break.

Here is CNN's Karl Penhaul.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The dorm "Reveille," an attack helicopter blasts insurgents positions across the palm grove. Shock and awe dissolves as a guerrilla sniper targets U.S. troops in his combat outpost in Baquba.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shot one of our -- one of our sergeants in the head. And I'd say he's pretty accurate.

PENHAUL: The soldier searches for a ghostly enemy he rarely seize.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's kind of a guessing game.

PENHAUL: It's sniper versus sniper, each scouring the battered city scape for a gap in the concrete or a chink in the glass.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You look for every loophole there is out there. Most of the time they're shooting through loopholes.

PENHAUL: It's a war of attrition. The slow pace of fighting and the steady march of death seems to be grinding down these soldiers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After so many people die, you just kind of lose -- you know, it's a natural occurrence. It just happens. And it's kind of like a dream. You just -- it's not reality.

PENHAUL: He says six friends have been killed in the last few months.

Then a shot at a hole 400 yards away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right on the money.

PENHAUL: It's the only shot these soldiers will take for much of the day, no knowing if the insurgent gunman was ever even there.

As the day fades, a prayer call wails from the minaret. Soldiers call this the witching hour -- dusk, when insurgents often ramp up their fight.

As night envelops the outpost...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's the forecast? Is it all right?

PENHAUL: ... the radio's ominous crackle.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It sounded look a big ass IED right there on gold.

PENHAUL: A roadside bomb is exploded under a U.S. patrol 600 yards away. Soldiers head to the rescue.

Out in the palm groves, a century spooked by the shadows. Illumination flares cut through the dark.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Start shooting the palm groves.

PENHAUL: A machine gun spits into the black. The GI's nightmare, by day or night, a ghostly enemy he rarely sees.

Karl Penhaul, CNN, Baquba, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: The military says it used a sea-based missile to down a high- flying warhead. Yesterday's test off Hawaii was the ninth successful shoot-down against two misses. Now, these tests are part of the sea- based leg of an emerging missile defense.

The target missile was launched from Kauai, and about four minutes later the Navy destroyer USS Decatur fired the kill missile. It knocked out the warhead 100 miles above the Earth. By 2009, the Pacific fleet expects to have 16 warships equipped to down enemy missiles.

Federal fire investigators say they have traced the source but not the cause of that sofa store inferno in Charleston, South Carolina. They state the first spark came on a loading dock that also was used for garbage disposal, temporary storage and smoke breaks. The nine firefighters who died in the blaze were remembered as heroes yesterday at a public ceremony. It was the worst loss of firefighters since the September 11th attacks.

That tragedy brings fresh appreciation for the dangers that the nation's firefighters face every day. And those dangers seem to be growing.

CNN's John Zarrella takes a look at why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Nearly every time Fort Lauderdale fire lieutenant Billy White heads out...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Engine 46 arrival...

ZARRELLA: ... one thing is certain. The danger this second- generation firefighters faces will likely be greater than what his father had to deal with.

LT. BILLY WHITE, FORT LAUDERDALE FIRE-RESCUE: In the back of your mind going, you know, I don't know what's in here. I don't know what I'm going to expect. I don't know what I'm going to find.

ZARRELLA: There interest many reasons for the increased risk. Firefighters will tell you the South Carolina fire is an example of this.

ASST. CHIEF STEVE MCINERNY, FORT LAUDERDALE FIRE-RESCUE: Fires today are inherently more dangerous than ever before because they're burning hotter and faster.

ZARRELLA: The reason, because so many of the products in our businesses and homes are made of plastics and resins, polyurethane. And response time is faster than ever.

Why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cell phones. Everybody has a cell phone.

ZARRELLA: At the first sign of smoke, someone is dialing 911.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You see flames, right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, somebody is calling right now as well.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 911, Police...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've got a fire in our back yard.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Ma'am, are you outside the house?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I'm outside the house.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

ZARRELLA: The raw facts bear out the danger. From 1996 to 2005, the number of structure fires declined nationwide by more than 65,000, but the number of firefighter fatalities has hovered near or above 100 every year. This, despite a wealth of new technologies -- thermal imaging.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The whites are hotter. The darker colors are lower temperature.

ZARRELLA: A hazmat team arrives at the scene of a ruptured gas line. Vital information about each one -- how much air in the tank, which company he or she is with -- is continually checked with this monitoring device. If something goes wrong and they are forced to evacuate the scene, each firefighter would get the message loud and clear -- get out.

(on camera): Now that's loud. You can't miss that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right. They definitely know that we want them out.

ZARRELLA (voice over): Preaching, teaching, constant training, is the only way McInerny says to reduce the risk. Even then there are no guarantees. Fighting a fire means getting up close. Firefighters call it putting the wet stuff on the red stuff.

John Zarrella, CNN, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: If you would like to help the families of the fallen firefighters, just log on to cnn.com/impact. And with a click you'll get the information you need to take action. Again, that's cnn.com/impact.

And at the White House today, more than a dozen arrests just outside the fence. Protesters expressing their feelings about the treatment of terrorism suspects at the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Yesterday, the White House canceled a high-level meeting on the Gitmo detention facility, but they didn't give a reason. Officials denied a report published on Thursday that the Bush administration is nearing a decision to close it down.

And a new home for the temporary homes. Two thousand FEMA trailers unused after Katrina stored away in Arkansas. Find out where they're headed now.

Plus, the so-called family jewels of the CIA. Assassination plots, wiretappings, spying on U.S. citizens here at home, all of it secret until now.

Plus, the mystery of the empty lake. Find out where all that water went in about 45 minutes.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

KEILAR: One of the world's most notoriously secretive organizations is about to open up. The CIA is set to release documents detailing some of its old dirty laundry.

And as CNN's Brian Todd reports, some of those skeletons ring very familiar today. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Wiretapping, surveillance, break-ins, opening mail, infiltrating dissident groups -- the CIA is prohibited from those operations domestically but did so anyway in the 1960s. CIA Director Michael Hayden says next week he will declassify and make public more than 700 pages of old internal documents called the "Family Jewels".

TOM BLANTON, NATIONAL SECURITY ARCHIVES: This is the CIA's internal assessment, written by the senior CIA officers of what might have been illegal, what crossed the line, what was over the edge, what was outside the charter.

TODD: Among the activities they found, wiretapping and surveillance of several journalists, including Brit Hume in 1972 when he was a researcher for investigative reporter Jack Anderson.

PETER EARNEST, INTERNATIONAL SPY MUSEUM: They used the phone. They see people. They travel about. They drive their cars. So at any given time, they're exposed to circumstances in which their phones could be tapped, their movements monitored.

TODD: Other illegal activities exposed in the documents? The infiltration of anti-war groups, opening mail to Americans from the Soviet Union and China, including four letters to Jane Fonda.

EARNEST: It was doing what it believed to be what it was directed to do by the executive office. And by that, I mean the White House.

TODD: A front-page story in 1974 on eavesdropping prompted an internal review by the CIA director at the time. But the agency kept the lid on the "Family Jewels" for 30 years. Then national security adviser and secretary of state Henry Kissinger argued in a 1975 meeting, "If they come out, blood will flow."

For example, Robert Kennedy personally managed the operation on the assassination of Castro. The plot never came to fruition, and political assassinations are now counter to U.S. policy.

(on camera): Current CIA Director Michael Hayden says he is working to make the agency as open as possible. Today there is far more oversight from Congress and the debate over privacy versus intelligence is more public. But as these documents show, it is just as controversial as it was decades ago.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Much of the Midwest is bracing for another round of potentially severe weather this afternoon. Norwalk, Iowa, was one of two towns nailed by a tornado yesterday. The twister blew out windows, it took down some power lines and also some trees, and one home was destroyed in nearby Cumming. Luckily, no major injuries were reported. Heavy rains are a bigger worry in parts of the Hawkeye State. Look at this video sent to us by i-reporter Wally Macleod, where floodwaters forced the closure of Highway 6 near West Liberty, Iowa.

Let's get a closer look now at weather.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KEILAR: You know, it's a phrase we have all heard, "Don't ask, don't tell." But does it work in today's military?

Gary Nurenberg joining us from Washington now -- Gary.

GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Does it work? Well, Brianna, we did ask and we will tell in a story coming up.

KEILAR: All right. Thanks for that, Gary. And of course we'll see you in just a moment.

And also, part of our "Uncovering America" series. Two churches and two dramatically different views on gays and lesbians.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: It's been 14 years since Congress imposed the famous Don't Ask, Don't Tell standard for gays in the U.S. military. But in a time of war, is that policy really effective?

Gary Nurenberg is in Washington, and he says the question could become an issue in the 2008 presidential campaign.

Gary, why now?

NURENBERG: Well, Brianna, with longer deployments and with challenges in meeting military retention and recruitment goals, some opponents of Don't Ask, Don't Tell are arguing it is time to let gays serve openly.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NURENBERG (voice over): Stephen Benjamin was an Arabic translator in the Navy.

STEPHEN BENJAMIN, FMR. NAVY ARABIC TRANSLATOR: The work I was doing was really important.

NURENBERG: But when the Navy found out last year he's gay, it forced him out of the service. This at a time when the military says it needs more translators.

BENJAMIN: There is definitely a damage that has been done to not just the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, but to our military as a whole.

NURENBERG: Congress is considering legislation that would change the policy and allow homosexuals to serve openly. REP. MARTIN MEEHAN (D), MASSACHUSETTS: We cannot kick out highly qualified service members because of their sexual orientation.

NURENBERG: Recent polls show substantial public support for Meehan's view. But opponents of gay military service say war time is the wrong time to impose a cultural change on the military.

PETER SPRIGG, FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL: There would be a serious threat to good order morale and discipline were homosexuals allowed to serve in the military.

NURENBERG: The ousted Navy translator Benjamin says gays serving in the military face enormous stress keeping their secret.

BENJAMIN: It's an incredible thing to ask someone to spend four, eight, 20 years of your life lying to everyone around you.

NURENBERG: When CNN and YouTube asked viewers to submit questions for the upcoming presidential debate, this man disguised his identity saying he was burdened by the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you become president, how will you help gay military members like myself?

NURENBERG: CNN debate moderator Wolf Blitzer asked Democratic presidential candidates this month to raise their hands if they thought it's time to get rid of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. All of them did.

Blitzer asked Republican presidential candidates to speak up if they thought gays should be allowed to openly serve. None of them did.

And the expanse in training gays like Benjamin, who are discovered and then booted out...

SPRIGG: To me, it suggests that we should go back to a system where we do ask and do tell so that we don't waste the taxpayers' money.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: And Gary, do we have any idea how many people are actually affected by the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy?

NURENBERG: Well, Brianna, we asked the Pentagon for those numbers, and the ones that provided it to us said that since the policy went into effect early in the Clinton administration, now more than 11,000 service members have been expelled from the military because of Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

KEILAR: Well, I mean, that's just such a large number, you know? Are there any chances, perhaps, of Congress passing legislation to change the policy?

NURENBERG: Well, you know, we told you about the legislation that has been introduced by Congressman Meehan, and the hope is that there will be hearings sometime this summer. We may get a better read of what the legislative chances are after those hearings take place.

KEILAR: All right.

Gary Nurenberg live for us there in Washington.

Thanks for that.

And the issues of gay rights and gay marriage have become a source of conflict in many American churches. Coming up at 5:00, CNN's Kara Finnstrom reports on two churches, both Episcopal, but very different when it comes to gay and lesbian rights.

And then tonight at 10:00, he was a darling of Christian fundamentalists, but things changed when he had a change of heart.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything that I had -- that I felt was secure became profoundly insecure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Hear his story tonight at 10:00 Eastern with Rick Sanchez, right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

KEILAR: And for years Vice President Cheney's office has refused to comply with an executive order signed by President Bush. That order governs the handling of classified material. And now the vice president is accused of carrying that defiance one step further.

CNN's Suzanne Malveaux explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The vice president's office is keeping a secret. The secret is over how many secrets it keeps.

An order by President Bush requires Cheney's office to tell the National Archives how many documents it classifies or declassifies each year. For years, the vice president's office has refused.

Now Cheney's solution to the dispute, just abolish the office asking for the records. That according to Congressman Henry Waxman, who heads the congressional committee investigating the matter. He warned Cheney in a letter that his actions could be downright criminal, saying, "I question both the legality and wisdom of your actions."

For Cheney's part, his camp would neither confirm or deny whether they sought to abolish the National Archives Office seeking the vice president's records. But they did respond to Waxman's accusations, saying, "We are confident that we are conducting the office properly under the law."

That executive order Mr. Bush signed in 2003 required all agencies and any other entity within the executive branch to report its records for classifying top-secret documents. But according to Waxman, the vice president's office is now claiming it is not an entity within the executive branch.

Sound cut and dry? Not exactly.

If abolishing the National Archives Office doesn't work, Cheney's office has another tactic. They say as vice president, Cheney also serves as the president of the Senate, which means he's in the unique position of straddling the executive and legislative branches.

STEVEN AFTERGOOD, FED. OF AMERICAN SCIENTISTS: It's transparently silly. If it were true, then we would have to rewrite all of the textbooks that we all grew up with. It's obvious that the vice president's office is part of the executive branch, and to claim otherwise is preposterous.

MALVEAUX: Those textbooks say the U.S. Constitution establishes the office of vice president under executive branch, Article II Section I.

(on camera): What is also interesting is that the Bush administration has made the case numerous times for keeping information secret, citing executive privilege and executive power. So it seems inconsistent that the vice president's office is now saying that he's in a unique position.

Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: It's summer, and you know what that means -- barbecues, the outdoors, and my absolute favorite, bugs. The best way to protect yourself, that's straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Now that summer's officially here, many people want to spend as much time as possible in the outdoors. But of course you're not going to be out there alone.

Dr. Bill Lloyd is here to tell us how to avoid bugs like mosquitoes and their other flying friends. And he's also going to tell us how to use repellants, especially, DEET, wisely.

Today he joins us from New York.

Thanks for being with us, Dr. Bill.

DR. BILL LLOYD, "LIVING WELL": Hi, Brianna.

KEILAR: Let me ask you first, of course you know we don't like the itchy bug bites. That's just the worst. But we're trying to avoid some insect-born illnesses here. Can you tell us which ones?

LLOYD: Sure. The big ones for the summer that we're worried about come from both mosquitoes and ticks. When we talk about mosquitoes, of course, we're always thinking about that West Nile Virus. But there's other viral illnesses that cause encephalitis that can also be transmitted by mosquitoes.

You don't have to be outside very long to get a mosquito bite, and that bite may carry a serious illness. When we talk about ticks, of course, we think about things like Lyme Disease. You know, every year 20,000 Americans come down with Lyme Disease. And in almost every situation it's totally preventable.

There's a couple of the smaller conditions like Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever or Tuluremia. But all of these can be prevented with the use of the proper insect repellents.

KEILAR: All right. And also, what are some of the things you can do with ticks? Because we see that video there, where obviously they kind of burrow into your skin. And you want to make sure that you don't have them on you.

But just refresh for us how we avoid those.

LLOYD: Sure. Well, a product like DEET is ideal in protecting yourself from DEET. DEET is a chemical that repels not kills the insects. In addition to applying a powerful DEET formula -- you know, 20 to 30 percent -- you want to make sure when you're outside, particularly for a protracted period of time, like hiking or camping, you wear long sleeve clothing and your trousers are tucked in to your socks as well.

Brianna, they actually have products now, clothing that are soaked with repellents -- they pyrethrene (ph) family of chemicals -- and you can wash and rewash these garments. So they're a smart thing to have if you know you're going to be outside for a long period of time.

So you tuck your trousers into your boots like you're supposed to, you try to avoid wherever there are infested areas. So where there's a lot of brush and trees, if possible try to stay away. And stay on the trails. And when you're done being outside, you come back inside, check yourself, check your children, and check your pets for the possibility of ticks.

KEILAR: And you know those -- the clothes that are repellent, I mean, that's just amazing. But it sounds like DEET is really the way to go. But you know, a lot of people are really concerned about DEET. They want to know if it's safe, especially when we're talking about little kids.

And let me just show you something that the Environmental Protection Agency said. They issued a statement saying that "DEET does not present a health concern. Human exposure is expected to be brief and long-term exposure is not expected." But let me ask you this, because say, like, you go on vacation or you spend a lot of time hiking outdoors in the summer, and you're putting it on for 12 hours a day every day. I mean, where are the limits? Because the EPA doesn't really spell that out there.

LLOYD: Well, they don't spell it out because none of the studies have been done.

We know if you keep it between 20 and 30 percent, apply it as directed, and with your children, apply it on your own hands and then smear it on the kids, don't let the kids put it on themselves, it's a safe product that's good for up to eight hours. When you come back inside, be sure you wash it off.

Never put DEET on your clothing thinking you're going to get added protection. It doesn't work that way.

You mentioned about some other products. And, you know, those citronella candles, they're pretty good. They give protection very close. So close, the mosquito is more likely to burn to death than actually protect you from getting a sting.

And then there is eucalyptus oil, lemon oil of eucalyptus. It's a low-strength repellent, but it's been found safe and effective when used for short period of times. If you're only going to be out for a few minutes, that's a nice natural remedy that you can use to protect yourself from these dangerous insects.

KEILAR: All right. So, if I'm running out to water my tomatoes, I can use the lemon oil. But if I'm camping, I've got to use the DEET.

LLOYD: If you want long-standing protection, yes, you want to put the DEET on. Keep it between 20 and 30 percent. And again, when you come indoors, be sure you wash it off.

KEILAR: All right. Thank you so much, Dr. Bill, for joining us as always. We really appreciate it.

LLOYD: We'll talk again soon.

KEILAR: All right.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Breaking news coming in now to the CNN NEWSROOM. Some new details regarding the case of the missing Ohio woman, the pregnant woman, almost nine months pregnant, who has been missing since the 13th of this month.

Let's go now to Jim Acosta. We have him on the phone. He's there in Ohio.

What can you tell us, Jim? JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we have just been told by the FBI, an agent there by the name of Scott Wilson (ph), that there will be a press conference at 6:00 p.m. this evening from the Stark county Sheriff's Department. That's in Canton, Ohio, where this investigation has been focused from the beginning of all of this.

And what we have been told is that there is a significant development in this case, but nothing beyond that. No new information in terms of anything at this point as far as where this investigation stands, except for the fact that they have a significant development. That's all they're saying at this point.

KEILAR: Now, what's the scene like there today, Jim? Because I know a lot of people have been continuing on this search for Jessie Davis. She's been missing now for 10 days. She would be coming up now on her due date.

What is it like there? Because there are just so many people.

ACOSTA: Well, you know, they have had the volunteers out for the last several days searching for Ms. Davis. They have been combing over cornfields and public parks, and searching ponds and that sort of thing, and just have had no luck at this point. And -- but that show of support has given some comfort to the Davis family.

Those folks are obviously understandably shaken since all of this started, as you mentioned, about a week and a half ago. And right now I think everybody is just sort of on pins and needles wondering what this significant development is. And so far the authorities are just not tipping their hand at this point, not revealing at all as to what they're going to tell us here in about an hour and 10 minutes from now.

KEILAR: All right. Thanks so much.

That's Jim Acosta with us there on the phone from Canton, Ohio, with these developments on a missing woman there, Jessie Davis, who has been missing for 10 days now.

We'll bring you more details, of course, as they come to us.

But meanwhile, let's move on.

It's a mystery to scientists and other experts. There is a lake. It's there one minute, it's gone the next. So where did all the water go?

Coming up in three minutes, one possible reason behind this vanishing act here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: It's a mystery, to be sure, but it's not clear whether this is a case for Sherlock Holmes or Jacques Cousteau.

Chile is missing a lake. That's right. You heard me, a lake. And it's not even a little one.

This is what it looked like as recently as March. It was a five-acre glacial lake in the southern Andes. And know you see it, and now you don't.

This is what it looks like now, a very lacking lake that is little more than a 100-foot hole in the ground. Now, nobody seems to know where the lake went, but one theory is the water disappeared into underground fissures. But some say they think that idea is rather hard to swallow.

So who knows.

But finally, we have got a look at the most popular videos on CNN.com.

Smacked by fish. Jeanne Moos reports on some flying fish that are getting a whole lot of coverage and some other flying objects as well.

The shot. Anderson Cooper has chilling video of an Australian helicopter crashing into a ship and then falling into the ocean.

And strain on the Secret Service. John King taking a look at the strain the presidential campaign is placing on the Secret Service.

And then also this, the world's ugliest dog. No, he's kind of cute, right? No? No?

Maybe not. All right.

This is Elwood, a 2-year-old Chinese Crested and Chihuahua mix. He has a face that only a mother and award judges here could love.

Rick Sanchez has a fish tale next hour. But here is a fisherman's dream, sort of.

You know, it may look fictional, but trust our David Mattingly, who was hit by an infamous Asian carp. It sounds like a dream, right? But it's more like an ecological nightmare for U.S. rivers and streams that are under assault. And Jeanne Moos will have that story next hour in the NEWSROOM.

More wild nature tales. We've got this one out of Bellevue, Nebraska. A deer turned up on the roof of a school building. How did that happen?

Well, humane society workers were afraid that a tranquilizer gun might spook the doe into some windows, so they built a plywood bridge to give the doe an easy and safe way out.

Let's get a check of the weather now.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KEILAR: And from the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Brianna Keilar.

The next hour NEWSROOM with Rick Sanchez starts right now. RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Do you remember those FEMA trailers for Hurricane Katrina victims? There were thousands of them, right? And they sat empty for nearly two years, right? Well, they have finally found a home.

You're going to find out where they are headed. It will surprise you.

Also, assassination attempt, kidnappings, Vietnam war protests, infiltrations of organizations, all skeletons in the CIA closet until now. Dirty little secrets coming up in the NEWSROOM.

Can you believe that video? This is from Iraq. We've just been getting this in.

Sniper versus sniper, and you're going to see it. U.S. soldiers against al Qaeda fighters in one of Iraq's most dangerous cities.

And hello again, everybody.

I'm Rick Sanchez.

It's been a costly day for the American cause in Iraq. Roadside bombs have killed seven U.S. troops, including four in a strike near Baghdad and another in Tikrit.

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