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Senate Democrats Fail to Bring Deployment Amendment to Vote; New Survey Finds Violence Against Nurses on the Rise
Aired July 11, 2007 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: The collar bomb bank robber of Erie, Pennsylvania, he claimed he was an innocent pizza deliveryman attacked, coursed, and threatened.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: The bomb went off, but the investigation went on. Four years later, the feds say the pizza man wasn't totally innocent. His family argues otherwise.
Hello. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Kyra Phillips at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Killed by a bomb fastened to his neck -- for nearly four years, Brian Wells' family has insisted he was the victim of a bizarre robbery plot. Investigators, though, have reportedly concluded he was in on it.
Our senior correspondent, Allan Chernoff, is in Erie, Pennsylvania, with the latest twist in this case.
A very interesting press conference there, Allan.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: A very bizarre press conference, only to match a very bizarre case.
We did have the U.S. attorney here saying, Mary Beth Buchanan, saying, as you mentioned, that Mr. Wells, Brian Wells, the person who died when the bomb locked around his neck exploded, that that person, in fact, was part of this whole plot, that he was made to seem as a hostage when he did rob the PNC Bank here in Erie, Pennsylvania, four years ago.
But Ms. Buchanan arguing that indeed he was involved in the plot. The mastermind, she says, was Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, who then recruited Kenneth Barnes. The two of them are being charged with three counts, three criminal counts, in this case.
But the real blockbuster here, saying that Mr. Wells, in fact, was involved in the case.
Let's have a listen to what the U.S. attorney said just moments ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MARY BETH BUCHANAN, U.S. ATTORNEY: It was part of the plan also that, if the robber died, he could not be a witness against the other co-conspirators. It was further part of the conspiracy that the individuals involved who planned to obtain these proceeds before the robber could be apprehended. This was done, so that, if he was caught, he would no longer have the money, and he could claim that he was a hostage and an unwilling participant in the robbery.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHERNOFF: During much of that press conference, as the U.S. attorney described the role that Brian Wells in this, his mother was in the back of the room shouting out, "Liar, liar," and even challenging the U.S. attorney.
Immediately following the press conference, his brother, John Wells, came up to the podium here at the U.S. courthouse and spoke out against what the U.S. attorney had just said minutes earlier.
Let's have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN WELLS, BROTHER OF BRIAN WELLS: Exactly. When you have a bomb locked to your neck and the federal authorities chop your head off to get the bomb off, there was no way Brian put that on himself. Nineteen hours after the bomb had gone off, the federal authorities chopped his head off to get that collar off. Brian did not put that collar on himself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHERNOFF: Truly exceptional to see this type of back and forth here at the office of the federal prosecutor right here in Erie, Pennsylvania, but, as we have said all along, a very bizarre case, a long investigation, and now an equally bizarre press conference -- back to you in the studio.
LEMON: Yes, usually, Allan, there's quite a bit of a delay when family members or someone on the other side speaks out, but family members right away jumping in, saying, you know what? This is not true.
Allan Chernoff, Erie, Pennsylvania -- we appreciate your report, Allan.
WHITFIELD: And, now, out of Washington, a Democratic plan to limit overseas troop deployments failed today in the Senate when backers failed to get 60 votes to cut off debate. They were four votes short. Party-line pressure, as you can imagine, is intense.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: If Republicans don't believe that our courageous men and women in uniform deserve more rest, including mental health down time, they can vote no on this amendment.
If they don't agree that constant redeployments and recruiting shortages are straining our armed forces, they can vote no on this amendment. But to block this amendment, to not even give it an up-or- down vote, shows that some of my Republican colleagues are protecting their present, rather than protecting our troops.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And, later this week, or possibly early next, senators are expected to take up a bid to begin bringing troops home from Iraq. At least two Republicans have signed on.
Let's bring in our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre.
So, Jamie, Congress laid down 18 benchmarks for Iraq and its leaders. Have any been met?
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, you can take a look at these benchmarks without needing any sort of formal report from the Pentagon to tell you that most of them have not been met.
There are a few that there have been some progress one, one that probably has been met. That's the provision of three Iraqi brigades to help with the Baghdad security plan. But, on all the rest of them, there has either been no progress or very limited progress.
WHITFIELD: And, of the unmet benchmarks, then, which are the most important?
MCINTYRE: Well, you know, really, the most important is the one that's listed 13th in the congressional legislation. It provides for -- quote -- "reducing the level of sectarian violence in Iraq and eliminating militia control of local security."
That is essentially the benchmark on which everything rests, which is bringing the security situation under control, lowering the violence, essentially separating the various factions from fighting, so that they can have time to have peace and reconciliation.
And without that, without progress on that benchmark, that's really what has stymied progress on all the other benchmarks.
WHITFIELD: And, so, how about the rest?
MCINTYRE: Well, you know, the other thing that makes that possible is the performance of Iraqi forces. You may recall that, when President Bush first announced this new strategy back in January, he said essentially the U.S. was going to be helping the Iraqis.
Instead, the U.S. is still doing most of the heavy lifting. That means things like the oil revenue sharing, political reforms, such as de-Baathification laws, constitutional reform. All those things that have to happen for the Iraqi government to start functioning really can't take place, because those things follow the reduction in violence. They don't create the conditions for the reduction in violence.
So, at this point, the assessment of most experts is they either believe the surge is not going to work, or they believe, if it is going to work, it's going to take significantly longer than September, probably a couple of years, not just a couple of months.
And, as you well know, with the political pressure in Washington, there really isn't that kind of time for this strategy to work.
WHITFIELD: All right, Jamie McIntyre, thanks so much from the Pentagon.
LEMON: Congress is back on the case of the fired U.S. attorneys. And a witness in the spotlight today was Sara Taylor. She's a former White House political director. Taylor was subpoenaed to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and complied. But she also complied with the White House's directive not to answer questions about the role of politics in the firing of eight federal prosecutors.
That's her there testifying. Taylor did, however, testify that she did not discuss the firings with President Bush. She also said she had no knowledge that the president was involved in the firings.
Former White House counsel Harriet Miers is supposed to testify on Capitol Hill tomorrow.
WHITFIELD: Bob Barker backs it, but a lot of California pet owners do not. So, a state lawmaker is backing off a bill requiring pet owners to spay or neuter their animals, or face $500 in fines.
Lloyd Levine withdraw his proposal a couple of hours ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LLOYD LEVINE (D), CALIFORNIA ASSEMBLYMAN: Their acknowledgment that there is an even an overpopulation in the state is gratuitous at best.
And I have got hundreds of e-mails that says that the overpopulation problem that we talk about is made up and is a conspiracy. If they were just willing to acknowledge there's a problem, I think we could have worked collaboratively towards a solution. But, instead, it became a matter of, you know, name-calling and everything under the sun to get people afraid of the measure, and just finally created too much noise and too much fear.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Well, this may be just a temporary setback. By pulling the bill before the California Senate could vote on it, Levine can tweak the measure and then resubmit it later.
LEMON: They're called angels in comfortable shoes, but some nurses say their jobs are more like hell on earth, because of increasingly violent patients -- a disturbing report straight ahead in the NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: We're getting new information now on that fire at the Miami International Airport, which happened in a tower which was under construction. Getting word that it was possibly a tar of kettle.
Let's listen now to Lauren Stover. She's with the Miami International Airport, and she has an update for us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAUREN STOVER, MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT: The cause of the fire obviously is going to be under investigation to determine, but we will do whatever it takes to get that tower constructed.
We were looking at moving American Airlines in there in October. And, at this point, we don't know the extent of the damage to the tower, but we have full intentions of moving forward to get that tower in preparation for operation by American. And we will work toward no delays for this tower any further.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right. She said delays to this tower any further. That's because this is a $6.2 billion expansion project, which, according to the Associated Press, has been bedeviled by cost-overrun scandals and delays, and now this problem.
Also according to the Associated Press, this was a tar of kettle on the roof which started that fire, which we saw that in our last hour blazing there on the roof of that tower. It is believed that no one is hurt and that it did not interfere with air travel or air traffic in that area, but, again, a fire at a tower at the Miami International Airport, unoccupied tower. It appears a tar -- a kettle of tar set that blaze -- details to come.
WHITFIELD: Well, most people agree it is a difficult, often thankless job, but nursing isn't supposed to be a dangerous job. A growing number of America's nurses, however, especially those who work in emergency rooms, are facing angry, sometimes violent patients on a regular basis.
Our Boston bureau chief, Dan Lothian, has been looking into all of this.
And what did you find, Dan?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN BOSTON BUREAU CHIEF: Hello, Fredricka.
Well, as you mentioned, the emergency room nurses, they seem to be in the hot spots. But even general practice hospital nurses are not immune, those angry and frustrated and even sometimes drunk patients striking out at nurses. Sometimes, even the family members of patients get involved in assaults.
It ranges from verbal abuse, to being slapped, kicked, punched, jabbed with a needle, or even worse.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LOTHIAN: You're supposed to be helping people -- you're supposed to be helping people heal, get better, and your life is being threatened.
KAREN COUGHLIN, NURSE: Absolutely.
I mean, a couple of years ago, I came home from work and my kids -- my son asked me, did anybody try to kill you today, mom? And I was just -- I was so taken aback, because my kids shouldn't have to ask me that, you know?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LOTHIAN: We talked to a couple of emergency room nurses here in Massachusetts, one who works at a psychiatric facility. They told us about the dangers of a job that they still love very much.
Now, the big questions are, what is behind this violence and what is the answer to keep nurses safe? Some blame staffing issues. Others say it's a product of a more violent society -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: So, you wonder, Dan, is this inspiring a lot of nurses to think career change?
LOTHIAN: Well, certainly.
I mean, some nurses simply have said, you know, I have had enough of this. After getting assaulted so many times, they just give up, quit their jobs. But, you know, what's surprising about it is that some of these nurses really do like their jobs.
According to a survey by the Emergency Nurses Association, despite the safety concerns, 64 percent of its nurses are very or somewhat satisfied with their job. And 75 percent expect to still be on the job in 10 years. As one nurse told me, you know, you get into this profession not for the money, but because you love to help sick and injured people get better.
WHITFIELD: All right. Well, hopefully, folks will retain their jobs. And, hopefully, this violence from a lot of the patients will end soon.
Dan Lothian, thanks so much.
LOTHIAN: That's right.
WHITFIELD: And you can see more of Dan's investigation on tonight's "PAULA ZAHN NOW." That's at 8:00 Eastern, right here on CNN. "Vital Signs: Nurses Under Attack," that's what it's called.
LEMON: A brutal double murder, a controversial acquittal -- then O.J. Simpson wrote a book. Now the victims' families are at odds over whether to see that book published. We will get Fred Goldman's side of the argument -- straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: And now a decision out of Miami, a decision to say no decision just yet, as it pertains to the O.J. Simpson book.
Our John Zarrella is there with an explanation.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN MIAMI BUREAU CHIEF: Hi, Fredricka.
Yes, I will try to get this as simply as possible.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: It's confusing.
ZARRELLA: Fred Goldman -- yes, Fred Goldman had come to a bankruptcy court here in Miami, seeking to get the rights to "If I Did It," that controversial O.J. Simpson book that O.J. said he wrote or that a ghostwriter wrote. It wasn't published originally because it caused such a stir and a controversy.
So, Fred Goldman came here because the company that owns the rights to the book, now a bankrupt company, the president of that company was O.J. Simpson's oldest daughter. It is a Florida company. And the name of the company -- the company is in the names of O.J. Simpson's two other children. So, that's why Fred Goldman came here.
It looked like a deal had been worked out with the trustee of the bankrupt company to give the rights to the book to Fred Goldman. Well, at the 11th hour, within the last couple of days, the estate of Nicole Brown-Simpson filed with the court, saying, wait a minute. You can't give that all to Fred Goldman. We should be getting about 40 percent of it, based on our civil claim and what we are awarded by the courts in the civil claim that we won against O.J. Simpson.
So, the judge said, well, we're going to have to wait now to see if they actually file a claim. All they did was petition the court, saying, wait a minute. Hold off on this deal. The judge today, even though it was argued by the trustee for the defunct company and by Fred Goldman's attorney that he should go ahead with the deal, the judge said, hold off. We're going to have to wait now until at least the 23rd of the month for a claim to be filed. That's the date I'm setting for the Brown estate to file a claim, and then we will hold the hearing on the 30th of July to see if we can go ahead and iron all of this out.
So, at this point, Fred Goldman still does not have the rights to the book "If I Did It," which he planned to publish. And he will have to wait a little bit longer to see if he gets all of the rights or a portion of the rights.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
ZARRELLA: I think I explained that.
WHITFIELD: No, you did a great job explaining it. I followed you the whole way through.
But what also makes it a little bit uncertain and still pretty complex, the fact that the Brown family -- correct me if I'm wrong -- has said That they really do not encourage that this book were to be published and available to the masses, despite who would actually gain financially from it, right?
ZARRELLA: That exactly right.
But it was the trustee's obligation. He had to go ahead and file and -- because it is their obligation to protect the interests of the children, so even though the Brown family doesn't necessarily want the book published, Louis Brown, who is the trustee of his daughter's estate, was obligated to go ahead and file, simply because of the fact that he represents the interests of the children.
WHITFIELD: All right, John Zarrella, thanks so much, and for keeping it simple on that, lots of moving parts on this.
So, important dates to remember in this case, July 23, as well as July 30.
And also something to stick around for, Fred Goldman will be joining us here live on the phone in the NEWSROOM to a little bit talk more about his feelings on this whole thing.
LEMON: We look forward to that.
(BUSINESS REPORT)
LEMON: I have a serious story to move on to.
WHITFIELD: OK.
LEMON: We have a reminder from the man in charge of America's security: Terrorists don't take the summer off.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: I believe we're entering a period this summer of increased risk. We have seen...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: That is Michael Chertoff. It's his gut feelings. And we're going to talk about that -- straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Hello, everyone.
I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
WHITFIELD: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Kyra Phillips today.
Stop the presses. A Miami judge puts a hold on a decision over rights to the O.J. Simpson unpublished book.
LEMON: And we are going to talk to Fred Goldman. He believes Simpson killed his son, Ron, and he wants the book released. But there's another side to this story. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
WHITFIELD: For the next few months, you and I are in more danger from terrorists. That's from the man in charge of dealing with that danger. Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff says he has the hard data. He has the trends and the intelligence reports, as well, but he also has something else he trusts -- his gut.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY "CHICAGO TRIBUNE")
MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: I believe we're entering a period this summer of increased risk. We've seen a lot more public statements from Al Qaeda. I mean, there are a lot of ways you could speculate about -- or a lot of reasons you could speculate about to have at. But one thing that occurs to me is that they're trying -- they feel a little more comfortable in raising expectations.
All of these things give me kind of a gut feeling that we are in a period of -- not that I have a specific threat, you know, that I have in mind right now, but that we are entering a period of increased vulnerability.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Chertoff has not raised the country's terror alert level, but feels Al Qaeda is "rebuilding their activities."
We spoke with someone who knows Chertoff, works with him and says there's a good reason for that gut feeling.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLARKE KENT ERVIN, FORMER INSPECTOR GENERAL, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Secretary Chertoff is a very circumspect man and he chooses his words very carefully. He's not one to hype things. So, for him to say that he thinks there is an increased risk this summer, I think, is very significant, indeed. And the factors he cited are the factors to be cited, namely, the increased number of warnings from bin Laden and from Zawahiri.
There have been so many taped warnings lately that those whose job it is to keep track of them were finding it hard to do so -- increasingly sophisticated tapes, by the way. And, further, there's this pattern of Al Qaeda attacking -- at least in Britain -- in the summer. Of course, the plot was unfoiled just a couple of weeks ago. That's the most recent one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Ervin was talking about the cars filled with explosives found in London June 29th and the apparent attack in Scotland the following day. A hard link from those two incidents to Al Qaeda, however, has not been established. LEMON: And as we reported moments ago here on CNN,, a judge in Miami has delayed a decision that could give the Goldman family ownership of O.J. Simpson's unpublished book, "If I Did It".
Fred Goldman wants to publish the book under the title "Confessions of A Double Murderer". But Nicole Brown-Simpson's family, which opposes publication, says it has rights to the book, too.
Now, the judge decided today to give the Brown family and any other concerned parties until the end of the month to come forward.
Fred Goldman joins me by phone now from Los Angeles.
What do you think of the judge's decision?
FRED GOLDMAN: Well, honestly, I heard it from you, but I'm disappointed. I think that we had levied on the book. We were a secured creditor -- the only secured creditor. And it's disappointing that it's been delayed again. We've continually, over all these years, pursued -- tried to pursue some measure of justice and it never comes easy.
LEMON: You have been -- I've read your quotes and you said that you've been waiting for 11 years to exact some sort of justice on O.J. Simpson. Even though you have a civil judgment, you did not want him to profit from his book.
There are others, as well, who don't want you to profit, specifically Nicole Brown-Simpson's family.
And Denise Brown spoke out -- actually spoke to our Anderson Cooper. She said that the morally right thing for you to do is not publish it.
Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "ANDERSON COOPER 360")
DENISE BROWN, NICOLE SIMPSON'S SISTER: The morally right decision would be not to publish this book. The absolutely horrific decision would be to publish this book. And if he actually goes out there and publishes this book, the only thing I can say is that here is a man that is true to his last name -- a man out for gold.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Your response, Mr. Goldman?
GOLDMAN: Well, honestly, I find that to be disturbingly sad. We've been pursuing justice for all of these years. And for Denise to say that at the same moment her father comes to this court, this bankruptcy court, and in motion, asks for 50 percent of whatever we get, seems a little -- a little outrageous.
The fact is that we've -- we -- my attorneys have read this book and it is nothing like what Denise imagines. It is, however, the equivalent of a -- an admission. And I think that's important to hear.
LEMON: Denise ...
GOLDMAN: And I'm ...
LEMON: Denise Brown has also ...
GOLDMAN: I'm saddened to hear those kinds of comments coming out of Denise.
LEMON: She also says, Mr. Goldman, that she's looking out for her sister's children in all of this.
Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "ANDERSON COOPER 360")
BROWN: Now, Fred, do what's morally right. Don't publish the book. And if you do publish the book, OK -- if you do, take Nicole's name out of it, because there are her kids that -- that are walking, talking, breathing, that are old enough to, you know, to hear all of the -- all of this stuff that goes on behind it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Mr. Goldman?
GOLDMAN: Well, I mean, I understand, certainly, what she says, without question. The reality is it's these same adult kids that were the signatories on -- on the LBA sham company that was set up for the sole purpose of making certain that we would never be able to have any chance at the money that went from the publisher to the killer. That sham company was set up by the killer and his kids to avoid the judgment.
LEMON: What do you -- what do you say, Mr. Goldman -- and obviously we know that it's very sad thing that happened to your son and to Nicole Brown-Simpson.
GOLDMAN: (INAUDIBLE).
LEMON: But people who say that you are -- you're profiting from this.
GOLDMAN: Well, I -- I don't think that that's the case. We're not profiting from this. We went after an asset that belonged to the killer and to satisfy, in part, the judgment. The fact is that in a recent deposition, Arnel Simpson said that the -- her words -- that the family knew about the book all along and obviously so did the kids.
So it's -- it's very sad to hear those kinds of comments coming out of Denise. I respect the fact that she's been an advocate against abusive women. We've been pursuing our goal, and that is to get some justice. And they have their goals. And we share one thing and that is our children were murdered by the same monster. LEMON: And just, real quickly -- and not to rush you at all -- but you said ...
GOLDMAN: Not at all.
LEMON: You said you were doing this because your son would have wanted you to do everything in your power to do this?
GOLDMAN: You know what?
The fact is that he would have wanted, I believe, for us to pursue any measure of justice that we could have gotten from -- from this killer.
LEMON: Fred Goldman, thank you.
Will you come back after the judge makes a ruling on the 30th and talk to us?
GOLDMAN: Certainly.
LEMON: All right.
Thank you so much for that. And we want to tell our viewers that we contacted O.J. Simpson and his representatives and they have not returned our phone calls. We were not able to get in touch with him for a comment.
You can see more of Denise Brown's interview tonight on "ANDERSON COOPER 360." It's at 10:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
WHITFIELD: Meantime, the words of Al Qaeda, straight from the number two man himself. Another taped speech -- 20 minutes of threats and angry insults from Ayman Al-Zawahiri. It was posted on several Arabic language Web sites this week. Osama bin Laden's second in command says Great Britain faces a fresh wave of attacks as revenge -- revenge for honoring Salman Rushdie with a knighthood. Zawahiri directed his remarks to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
AYMAN AL-ZAWAHIRI (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Now, speaking to Blair's successor, I tell him your predecessor's policies brought upon your people the disasters and the defeats in Afghanistan and Iraq and even in the center of London. If you have not understood the lesson yet, we are ready to repeat it again for you, God willing, until we are sure that you clearly understand it.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The Queen knighted Salman Rushdie June 16th. Rushdie's book, "The Satanic Verses," is regarded by some Muslims as an insult to their faith. Their analyst Laura Mansfield is on the phone with us now because, Laura, you often listen to a lot of the chatter on many of these Web sites.
Give me your analysis of what has been heard.
LAURA MANSFIELD, SECURITY ANALYST: Do you want to -- on the -- the message that came out this afternoon ...
WHITFIELD: Yes.
MANSFIELD: Or do you want her to speak on the other message?
WHITFIELD: On al-Zawahiri's message that came out this week.
MANSFIELD: OK. Well, Zawahiri just released a new message within the last half hour, as well as the message two days ago. This is three different tapes in a seven day period. In the message on -- two days ago, the day before yesterday, he was referring specifically to "The Satanic Verses" and Salman Rushdie and he was quite upset with the fact that Queen Elizabeth knighted Rushdie. And basically he's threatening both the U.S. and the U.K. in that message.
The message today was more focused against the events of the Lal Mosque, at the Red Mosque and Pakistan. And in this tape, which is about four minutes long -- again, it's just been released -- he's railing against Musharraf, Pakistani President Musharraf.
WHITFIELD: In reference to the mosque in Islamabad, this certainly conveys how current, how fresh this message is. This is a bit different from some of the more recent tapes over the past, you know, few months and even year that we've been hearing where perhaps there's kind of a delayed response. This thing -- that this is active to this week, how alarming, how important is that, in your view?
MANSFIELD: I think it's important. Basically, he makes reference to an event that occurred on July 4th when Maulana Abdul Abdullah Aziz was arrested by Pakistani security in a burka. He actually makes reference to this "despicable crime" committed by Pakistani military intelligence at the orders of Musharraf. And it showed Aziz and, again, quote, "on television in a woman's dress."
This is very, very quick turnaround. We're talking one week. That's fast. Usually it takes about 10 days. So this is one of the fastest turnarounds I've seen in quite some time.
WHITFIELD: And how has this elicited other chatter, perhaps, on various Web sites that you usually view?
MANSFIELD: It's really early to tell. I do expect there to be reaction on the Web sites, but I mean we're talking -- I mean literally this tape just came out within the half hour. So there hasn't been a reaction yet.
But I would fully expect for there to be more calls for jihad and stuff with -- on the boards.
WHITFIELD: All right, their analyst Laura Mansfield joining us from South Carolina.
Thank you so much. MANSFIELD: Thank you.
LEMON: Some new hot spots in the Western U.S. as crews battle more than 40 wildfires.
Is the weather on the side of the firefighters today?
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: New information that went out to -- by the Congress about those White House subpoenas. Well, this time Harriet Miers, we are told, has been ordered by the president not to speak, to defy a Congressional subpoena and refuse to testify Thursday before a House panel investigating the firing of U.S. attorneys.
Now, here's what supposedly happened. The attorney for the White House went out a letter to Conyers and his office saying that she would not be participating. That letter went out from White House Counsel Fred Fielding further directing Miers not to even appear at the hearing.
So the folks on the side of -- in the House are saying that they are extremely disappointed by this.
But, again, Harriet Miers, who is former White House counsel, will not be appearing in front of a House panel investigating the firing of U.S. attorneys. She was ordered by the president's counsel not to do it.
WHITFIELD: Fiery moments out West in a very different way. Firefighters are literally battling more than 40 large fires in a dozen states. The biggest, by far, the Milford Flat fire in central Utah. It has grown to 329,000 acres, burning mainly sage brush and juniper. Elite fire teams have managed to contain about a third of the wildfire, which was sparked by lightning last Friday. Their main worries today -- high winds and dry lightning.
Cool air and shade in short supply in the Northwest. Parts of Washington and Oregon are boiling again, the temperatures climbing well into the 90s and 100s. Normally those areas stay in the 70s and 80s for much the summer. Not this go around.
On the East Coast, temperatures are going down. That's nice. But the humidity going up -- way up -- making it much more sticky than usual, or stickier than usual.
LEMON: Stickier than usual.
WHITFIELD: But don't worry. Rain is on the way.
(WEATHER REPORT)
LEMON: A movie maker versus a neurosurgeon on health care in America. Michael Moore and our Dr. Sanjay Gupta go head-to-head next in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: So first he took on American health care. Now filmmaker Michael Moore is squaring off with our own Dr. Sanjay Gupta. The two agree on one thing -- America's health care system is ailing. But they have very different ideas about how to fix it.
Last night on "LARRY KING LIVE," Moore and Gupta discussed socialized medicine, among other options covered in Moore's new film, "Sicko".
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You are trying to lead people to believe, again, people who are really concerned about this issue, that it is free in these other countries. And that is what I think is (INAUDIBLE) ...
MOORE: It is free.
GUPTA: It's not, Michael.
I mean the taxes are high. I know -- I understand that you're equating taxes with -- with HMO premiums. I get it. I've studied this stuff, as have you.
But to just say to someone who doesn't have a sophisticated understanding of exactly how health care works that it's free is simply not true.
Why do we have ...
MOORE: It is free because we ...
GUPTA: Why do they have such a high debt in France?
Why are they paying so much more in taxes?
MOORE: The difference -- the difference is, is that in those countries, if you get sick, you never have to worry about whether or not you're going to be able to afford to pay for it. That's the difference. And when you've got 47 million people in this country with no health insurance, they don't go to the doctor because they can't afford it. And -- and, I mean, I just think -- let me ask you as a doctor.
I mean do you like, as a doctor, having to -- when you have a patient there and before you can perform a procedure or a treatment or a refer them to a specialist, that you've got to call the insurance company first and talk to a man that's sitting in a cubicle a thousand miles away in order to get permission when you've got the patient right there?
Do you think that's a good system? GUPTA: No, no, it's not, Michael. And, obviously, that's -- it's a shameful system, especially when I'm dealing with some of my patients.
But, Michael, I mean on the one hand ...
MOORE: Right.
GUPTA: ...you've criticized the ...
MOORE: That's why I want to eliminate the middle man.
GUPTA: You criticize the government so soundly. But you're willing to hand over one of our most precious commodities, our health care in this country, to the government. I'm not saying I disagree with you. But I can't believe you're saying this all in the same sentence.
You so soundly criticize the way this government manages things, yet you're willing to hand over this precious commodity to them.
MOORE: No. I actually love our government. I think the government is great. It does a great job of administrating Social Security. Our parents and grandparents get their checks every single month on time and for the correct amount.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Meantime, things will be a lot less heated tonight, when Larry's guest is Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe. The magic starts at 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific, right here on CNN.
LEMON: Yes, that was on "LARRY KING" last night. But all of this started in a -- in "THE SITUATION ROOM," which always has very interesting topics.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
LEMON: We should check in now with CNN's Wolf Blitzer.
WHITFIELD: Yes, we should.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Thanks very much, guys.
Coming up at the top of the hour, there's nothing more that the "Hustler" publisher Larry Flynt likes to do than find some politicians in rather awkward positions. Now he says we're about to be a flood of revalidations about members of Congress and their sexual indiscretions. We're going to give you the details of what Flynt is now predicting.
Also, is the White House playing politics with your health?
A physician who previously served as a nation's top doctor making some shocking allegations about the Bush administration's health care policies. He'll be here in "THE SITUATION ROOM". And Richard Nixon uncensored -- the Nixon Presidential Library releasing hours of audiotapes. We're going to play some very harsh words he had for his rival, George McGovern.
All that coming up right here in "THE SITUATION ROOM" -- back to you.
LEMON: Thanks, wolf.
WHITFIELD: All right. Time for the closing bell and a wrap-up of the action of Wall Street, straight ahead.
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