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Presidential Candidates in New Hampshire; Rebuilding Iraq; Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against TB Patient Andrew Speaker
Aired July 13, 2007 - 08:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Heidi Collins. Tony Harris is off today.
Watch events come into the NEWSROOM live all morning.
It's Friday the 13th. Here's what's on the rundown.
A truck driver now a suspected serial killer. Police believe this man killed six women across four states.
John McCain's bad week. Top staffers quit. One gets arrested. And now cash flow problems.
Plus, lights, cameras. Beckham, Europe's elite soccer star, enters the L.A. orbit. Paparazzi rejoice in the NEWSROOM.
Tennessee police believe they have a serial killer on their hands today. Detectives say this truck driver may have left a trail of six bodies.
Fifty-six-year-old Bruce Mendenhall charged in one killing so far. Police say he's implicated himself in half a dozen murders.
The killings took place in Indiana, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee. The big break, a Nashville detective went to the truck stop where a woman was killed a few weeks ago. He says Mendenhall grew nervous under routine questioning, and blood stains were spotted in the cab.
Mendenhall is described as an independent trucker. He had been driving for an Illinois-based company for about a year. Police are trying to unravel his background.
We'll be following that story.
Rebuilding Iraq. On the agenda this hour for President Bush, he is taking part in a video teleconference with Iraq reconstruction team leaders and brigade combat commanders. His meeting follows a White House report showing missed progress in the war-torn country.
Voting to bring troops home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), HOUSE SPEAKER: ... is passed. (END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The House of Representatives passing a bill to pull most U.S. forces out of Iraq by April. The vote mostly along party lines. It comes as the Senate considers a similar timetable to a Pentagon budget bill. That vote expected next week, but it has little chance of passing. Even if it does, President Bush says he will veto any effort to put dates on a pullout.
Fighting insurgents in Iraq is a long-term endeavor. That warning reportedly from the man calling the shots for U.S. troops over there. This week, General David Petraeus told the BBC American troops are engaged in a "tough fight," which he says will get harder before it gets easier.
In the BBC interview, Petraeus compares it to Britain's decades- long struggle in northern Ireland. His sobering assessment comes as President Bush urges Congress and the country to wait for a September report from General Petraeus before calling for the pullout of U.S. forces.
We could learn more about U.S. plans for Iraq later today. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs chairman General Peter Pace plan a news conference. That's scheduled for 1:45 Eastern at the Pentagon. We'll have that live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
New Hampshire voters getting visits from major presidential candidates today and one former president.
CNN Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley joining us now from Concord, New Hampshire.
Good morning, Candy.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
COLLINS: You know, it's been reported the John McCain campaign -- we talked about it with you yesterday -- but now we're learning he only has about $250,000 in cash left. There has also been a lot of turmoil among his campaign staff.
What do you think the senator can do to possibly turn things around a bit?
CROWLEY: This is -- this is a really tough one because, Heidi, a source tells us that we can also expect probably more senior staff resignations here. So this is -- this is a hole that is very, very deep here now.
McCain has said he's going to carry on, that they will put him in three different states. But, you know, with the debt and with the staff now cut by more than a half from the hay days, this is a tough hill.
COLLINS: Well, as you well know, Hillary Clinton and her husband Bill are also in New Hampshire today. What role is the former president going to be playing in his wife's campaign these days? Very curious.
CROWLEY: Well, you know, first of all he is a good fundraiser. But second of all, we have seen him out on the campaign trail.
He was in Iowa last week. He's in New Hampshire this week. But this is a delicate balance, because they don't want Senator Clinton to be outshone by the former president, nor do they want it to look as though Senator Clinton is leaning on the former president for popularity.
COLLINS: Right.
CROWLEY: So, there will be judicious use of him, but they, in fact, will put him out on the campaign trail, although this Iowa, New Hampshire stint that he is just finishing up will be the last for a little bit.
COLLINS: All right. Well, we will continue to follow all of these different candidates.
Thanks so much from Candy Crowley, in New Hampshire today.
CROWLEY: Thank you.
COLLINS: Meanwhile, what would you ask the presidential candidates if you could? Well, here's your chance.
CNN is teaming up with YouTube for the next presidential debate. You can submit your questions -- your videotaped questions, that is, to our CNN/YouTube presidential debate. It airs July 23rd. Just go to cnn.com/youtubedebates.
CNN, home of the best political team on television.
Well, just minutes from now, the opening bell rings on Wall Street.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: To Tacoma, Washington, now.
Abducted behind her home on the Fourth of July, police now say they have found the body of Zina Linnik. Information from a man being held on an immigration violation led police to the body. That man, a Thai national, is a convicted sex offender.
Zina Linnik was one of eight children. Her family moved from Ukraine 10 years ago.
The reigning Miss New Jersey can feel free to reach for the tiara as she starts her day. Amy Polumbo gets to keep her title. Internet photos suggest unladylike behavior. The pageant board says the pictures were in poor taste but don't warrant stripping the 22-year- old of her crown. Polumbo says she is relieved.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMY POLUMBO, MISS NEW JERSEY: Obviously, I'm very happy about this decision. And I look forward to resuming my agenda as Miss New Jersey.
I want to thank the board for their amazing support. And I also want to apologize for all the trouble that this has caused.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The pictures came from Polumbo's Facebook page. It has since been taken offline.
Paparazzi and tight security in Los Angeles. The official U.S. arrival of English soccer star David Beckham and his Spice Girl wife Victoria.
The couple making their way through LAX last night. Barricades holding back photographers and curious onlookers.
Beckham is the star addition to the Los Angeles Galaxy soccer team. His reported salary, you remember this, $32.5 million over five years.
A live report from L.A. on Beckham mania at the top of the hour.
Did an Atlanta lawyer infected with TB infect someone else? A live report by Dr. Sanjay Gupta just ahead.
And cleared by DNA but still paying child support. One man's nightmare, but not uncommon. Paternity outrage.
And rebuilding Iraq. Pitfalls and progress. A firsthand assessment from the head of the Army Corps of Engineers after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Welcome back to the NEWSROOM.
I'm Heidi Collins.
Rebuilding Iraq. The new White House progress gives Iraq satisfactory marks on its reconstruction. Just minutes from now, President Bush will be hearing from Iraq's key reconstruction leaders.
And in Washington, just back from the front, Lieutenant General Robert Van Antwerp. He is the commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
General, thanks for being with us today.
We want to talk about that teleconference for just a moment with you. It's going to happen in about 20 minutes or so.
What kind of report is the president going to be hearing from the Iraq reconstruction leaders?
LT. GEN. ROBERT VAN ANTWERP, COMMANDER, U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS: Well, Heidi, first of all, it is a pleasure to be with you this morning.
COLLINS: Thank you.
VAN ANTWERP: And I think what he'll be hearing is that there's been progress, and progress in those essential services like electricity and health care, in clean water, in their ability to power generate. So I think he'll hear a report that there has been progress, and then probably a glimpse of what needs to be done for the future.
COLLINS: It sounds a little bit like it depends on how you look at it, either glass half full or half empty, because in that progress report, as we said, satisfactory marks for economic infrastructure improvement, but it also said -- if you'll take a look at this graphic with me -- "Citizens nationwide complain about the lack of essential services such as electricity, fuel supply, sewer, water, health and sanitation."
In your mind, why is it taking so long to fix these things?
VAN ANTWERP: Well, I think when you -- when you look at the country and its past history, and now you're taking it to the future, you're looking at a huge challenge to provide these services for the entire population.
One thing I'll just give you, a couple of facts and figures.
Seventy-five percent of the people have twice as much energy as they had before the war. They now have 2.6 million people that have clean water to drink. There's now three billion gallons -- three million gallons per day of oil being transferred from one place to another. So these services are coming but there's still a ways to go.
COLLINS: I wonder, though, are your engineers getting everything that they need to get some of this very challenging work done?
VAN ANTWERP: Well, right now, we really have everything we need. We have -- we're working on about 3,800 projects in the Corps of Engineers. There's over 11,000 projects all total.
We are at about the 85 percent mark and project completion. And by the way, we actually employ about 30,000 Iraqi workers. So part of this process is to enable them -- just like we're training their police and their army, we are training a whole force of engineers and skilled labor to be able to take over this reconstruction at some point.
COLLINS: And so do you feel like they are qualified workers, then, the Iraqis?
VAN ANTWERP: Well, you know, there's a lot of skilled workers there. I visited many, many projects when I was over there, and I saw some great -- what we call artisans that can really do steel work and concrete work. So they're coming in that, and we're training the supervisors and those Iraqi engineers that are doing quality assurance and quality control for us.
COLLINS: So, General, then, when you saw this progress report and those marks coming out with regard to reconstruction as only being satisfactory, were you upset about that?
VAN ANTWERP: At this point, I wasn't upset about that. I think that, you know, we'd always like to see more progress, but there has been satisfactory progress.
I think that is a good -- a good categorization right now. And there was -- like, for instance, we wanted to build a thousand schools to enable 400,000 children.
COLLINS: Right.
VAN ANTWERP: Those thousand schools are built. We have got -- we wanted 25 hospitals. We have got 16 of them up and running. So we're well on the way.
COLLINS: Are they safe enough for the kids to go to the schools?
VAN ANTWERP: Say again, Heidi. I'm sorry.
COLLINS: Are they safe enough, though, for the kids to go and attend the schools?
VAN ANTWERP: You know, that's a great question, because I think security is the issue for the future, especially as these provinces are turned over and coalition forces are out of them. In many of these schools, they're very secure. In some of the schools, I think that that is an issue for the provincial leaders to provide that security.
COLLINS: Well, General, we would love to have you come back in September and talk to us once again when we get that next report on the progress there in Iraq with regard to reconstruction.
Appreciate your time today, though.
Lieutenant General Robert Van Antwerp.
Thank you.
VAN ANTWERP: Thank you, Heidi.
COLLINS: Well, it's a gory sport. Look out. Animals not the only ones seeing red in Pamplona.
We'll take you to the bullfights.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: And Andrew Speaker, the man at the heart of the tuberculosis scare, is being sued. A class action lawsuit out of Canada, and one man has tested positive.
I'll tell you what's going on there coming up in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Making his mark this week, a hometown hero in Sanford, Florida.
Off-duty firefighter Ryan Cooper was standing in his driveway Tuesday when he saw the unimaginable, a small plane plowing into neighbor's homes. Ryan immediately suited up and ran into one of the burning houses, rescuing a 10-year-old boy and the boy's father.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RYAN COOPER, OFF-DUTY FIREFIGHTER: I removed the child from the front living room. I came out and grabbed him. He's obviously -- you know, had a significant amount of burns. I had to help him out.
And at that time, I think, while I was helping him out, I believe the father had gone back in, even though he was still severely burned. Had gone back in to look for the small child.
Once I realized how bad the conditions were getting inside, there was hundreds of gallons of jet fuel that was still on fire and pouring from the second floor into the first floor. I had to grab him and tell him that we couldn't go any further.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: God bless him.
Unfortunately, five people were killed in that fiery crash, including the pilot, a passenger and three people on the ground.
TB patient Andrew Speaker now at the center of a legal suit. Eight people who shared a flight with Speaker are now suing him in a Canadian court, seeking more than a million dollars in damages.
Among the plaintiffs, a 72-year-old man who tested positive for TB on a skin test. Though it is not clear that Speaker was the source.
And joining me now, CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
All right. So, what are the chances that this man actually contracted TB from Andrew Speaker?
GUPTA: Very, very, very low. And that's an important point.
The flight in question where Andrew Speaker and the 72-year-old man were flying together was May 24th. The test was done six days later on May 30th. Just six days.
The reason that's so important, Heidi, is because it takes usually about two weeks for a TB test to come back positive after some exposure. I should say at least two weeks. In this case, it was six days.
This man could have had a positive TB test for lots of different reasons. Most likely an exposure earlier in his life, not from this particular plane flight.
COLLINS: Yes. And we talked about all of those scenarios so much when this story first happened.
GUPTA: Right.
COLLINS: But what then does it mean if you have a positive TB test? I mean, can you have a false positive or...
GUPTA: The test is a pretty good test. So if it comes back positive, what that typically means is that your body at some point has seen tuberculosis. Your body has been exposed to it.
It could be through a vaccine, it could be through something else. You're seeing how they test for it here.
They inject just a little bit underneath your skin. And if your body reacts to it, that means your body says, well, I've seen this before and I'm going to react to it. And that's how they test for it.
So, this man, the 72-year-old man, may have -- you know, if he had been vaccinated, for example, he would have a positive TB test. If he had been exposed for some reason in the past he might have a positive TB test.
But people can have a possible test and not have active disease. What typically happens if your test comes back positive is you get a chest x-ray, you get some further testing to determine whether or not you actually have the bacteria in your body now.
COLLINS: It's a wild coincidence, though, isn't it? I mean, being near him and then developing it. I think anybody would think, oh, I definitely got it from him.
When will we know for sure whether or not these cases are linked?
GUPTA: Well, there's a couple of things.
First of all, it's not that uncommon actually for people to have positive TB tests, because they may have been vaccinated or they may have had some sort of exposure and not be -- you know, not be contagious or even be active. So, you know, there are probably a lot of people on these flights that may have a positive TB test, especially coming from other countries where the vaccine was so common.
As far as when we would know for sure, it takes about two months, where you can -- if the tests come back negative for two months, they'll say for sure those people were not infected by Andrew Speaker. Beyond that point, you know, some other sort of exposure only would explain it. Two months would be sort of the maximum time frame.
COLLINS: OK.
GUPTA: The only way you could really link this 72-year-old man to Andrew Speaker is through a DNA test, and he'd have to have the bacteria in his body, you'd have to confirm that that was DNA specific to Andrew Speaker's strain, and that may never happen.
COLLINS: Yes. But what about the other people, though? Any chance that they could still develop TB, the rest of the people that were on the plane?
GUPTA: Well, I think this was May 24th. We're sort of mid-July now. So, two months is going to be just another couple of weeks. If the tests remain negative up until about two months, I would say no. If their tests remain negative, they did not contract TB from Andrew Speaker.
COLLINS: Do you know what Andrew Speaker thinks about this recent development?
GUPTA: Yes. Well, the folks here at CNN have spoken to him. I've spoken to him in the past as well.
Look, he says -- what he says specifically -- first of all, he's a lawyer himself, so he is not going to say a lot...
COLLINS: Yes.
GUPTA: ... which is what lawyers do. He is sort of withholding -- or not withholding, but just not talking about it right now.
But he also told us, I thought it was interesting, that he is not some trust fund child as he's being portrayed. He doesn't have a lot of assets. They're suing him for a lot of money. I think over a million dollars.
And he says, well, look, I don't even have this kind of money. I'm not sure what this is all about.
COLLINS: Yes.
GUPTA: So, he's sort of keeping it quiet for right now.
COLLINS: All right. Well, I have a feeling we'll be continuing to follow that story being that it's right mere in Atlanta.
GUPTA: Absolutely.
COLLINS: All right.
CNN's medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
Thank you.
GUPTA: Thank you. COLLINS: Well, that yellow big rig, police call it a crime scene now. A trucker suspected of killing six women in his travels.
We'll tell you more about that.
And cleared by DNA but still paying child support. One man's nightmare but not uncommon. Paternity outrage.
Slogging through life in the fast lane, but this wasn't caused by a storm. There you see it.
The story just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
COLLINS: To Tennessee now, where police believe they have a serial killer on their hands today. Detectives say this truck driver may have left a trail of six bodies. Fifty-six-year-old Bruce Mendenhall charged in one killing so far. Police say he's implicated himself in half a dozen murders. The killings took place in Indiana, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee.
The big break?
A Nashville detective went to the truck stop where a woman was killed a few weeks ago. He says Mendenhall grew nervous under routine questioning and blood stains were spotted in the cab.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SGT. PAT POSTIGLIONE, METRO NASHVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT: I asked if I could get up inside the cab to have a visual look around. And he said, OK. At that point, we got a consent to search. I got up inside the vehicle and I saw some more evidence that I considered incriminating at that time. And then we stopped at that point and we felt very strongly that we were probably in the right truck.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Police are now trying to unravel Mendenhall's background. He is described as an independent trucker. For the past year, he's been driving for an Illinois-based company.
Rebuilding Iraq on the agenda this hour for President Bush. He's taking part in video teleconference with Iraq reconstruction team leaders and brigade combat commanders. His meeting follows a White House report showing mixed progress in the war torn country.
Several new attacks across Baghdad. Gunmen opened fire on Iraqi police officers in a drive by shooting, killing five officers, wounding 10. Plus, officials say an Iraqi reporter working for the "New York Times" in Baghdad was shot to death while on his way to work. And police find 28 bullet-riddled bodies around the capital. Also today, the U.S. military says it has detained an Iraqi police officer linked to IED and other attacks backed by Iran. The suspect is described as a high ranking special groups cell leader.
We could learn about more about U.S. plans for Iraq today. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Peter Pace plan a news conference at 1:45 Eastern at the Pentagon, live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Drawing out in Michigan this morning after big water and long delays. A four foot wide water main broke yesterday, tying up traffic north of Detroit for hours. It happened under a service road along I- 96. Eastbound lanes flooded up to four feet. Look at that. Some motorists forced to the roofs of their cars. Traffic, as you would imagine, backed up for miles. Five people rescued from their cars. Six vehicles towed.
This morning, back to normal, but no word on what caused the break.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: For two years now, CNN has been following homeless patients being dumped on Los Angeles' Skid Row. An update on what's going on now.
CNN's Randi Kaye has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (voice-over): That's Jose Gonzalez struggling to get out of a cab on L.A.'s Skid Row. He's 26, homeless and the focus of the latest investigation into hospital patient dumpling.
(on camera): Do you believe you were dumped on Skid Row?
JOSE GONZALEZ, HOMELESS: I believe I was dumped. I believe I was just discarded.
KAYE: (voice-over): Discarded, he says, by Kaiser Permanente Hospital and dumped more than 20 miles away, in downtown L.A. curbside in front of Union Rescue Mission.
GONZALEZ: Why would they send me an hour away?
What were they trying to hide?
KAYE: The Mission's surveillance cameras, installed to catch patient dumpling, tell his story. Gonzalez spent two weeks at Kaiser being treated for back pain. Then, he says, two Kaiser social workers told him he was being sent to another facility for physical rehabilitation.
The hospital says it couldn't have happened that way, that rehab would have required a doctor's referral. Gonzales says they put him in a cab bound for this shelter -- not exactly rehab. He says since the shelter couldn't treat his back pain, it turned him away. The shelter says that's true. The cabbie, paid for by the hospital, then brought him here, to Union Rescue Mission. The Mission's Andy Bales says Gonzales is just one of nearly 100 patients dumped at his front door in the last two years
(on camera): What are these people doing being released?
ANDY BALES, PRESIDENT, UNION RESCUE MISSION: They're not -- you know, that's the big thing. Hospitals will say, well, there's nowhere else for them to go for recuperative care. But in most cases, we're not talking about recuperative care. We're talking about people who still need hospitalization.
KAYE: (voice-over): Kaiser Hospital refused to go on camera, but told us Gonzales "agreed to those arrangements in writing, and we confirmed that he was transported safely."
(on camera): The hospital says that you signed a discharge form, that you knew where you were going. Is that true?
GONZALEZ: I don't recall signing a form. Like I said, I was under medication. I don't recall signing any form.
KAYE: (voice-over): We came to Skid Row two years ago to investigate one of the first cases of patient dumpling. Today, we're still keeping them honest.
L.A. City attorney Rocky Delgadillo has already settled one case with Kaiser, after this woman was found wandering Skid Row in just her hospital gown. He's now filed civil complaints against two more hospitals.
The most disturbing case?
Hollywood Presbyterian's alleged dumpling of a paraplegic man last year. He was left in the gutter near Midnight Mission, carrying his belongings in his teeth.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was disoriented. He had a colostomy bag, which had apparently broken open inside of the van, and he was covered in his own human waste. He was paralyzed from the waste down.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're being treated like trash.
ORLANDO WARD, MIDNIGHT MISSION: Discardible. Discardible. And that, to me, is -- is more than an injustice, you know? It's a crime.
KAYE: Hollywood Presbyterian released this statement, saying the man "told the van driver to drop him off at a sidewalk location. She complied. Unfortunately, this was in violation of hospital policy and something we would never condone."
Methodist Hospital, also facing a complaint, told CNN it complies with federal discharge requirements. ROCKY DELGADILLO, LOS ANGELES CITY ATTORNEY: The victims here might be the perfect victims because they might be suffering from mental dementia. They might have drug or alcohol abuse problems. They don't have a home. They're not the best witnesses for trying to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a hospital did something wrong here.
KAYE: (on camera): Why are hospitals continuing to dump homeless patients on the street when warm beds are available to them?
Every night here at Midnight Mission, eight to 10 beds are reserved for police referrals and hospital drop-offs. The Mission's Orlando Ward says the hospitals are well aware the beds exist.
Is it the hospital's fault?
Are they to blame?
WARD: If you're dropping people off in the street without making sure they're connected to people that could provide additional services, absolutely, it's your fault.
KAYE: (voice-over): No shortage of blame on Skid Row, simply a shortage of solutions.
Randi Kaye, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COLLINS: Fighting fire in Phoenix -- a tinderbox up in flames.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT:
And I'm Becky Anderson at the L.A. galaxy Stadium in Los Angeles. That coming up in THE NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Move over Paris Hilton, a new star is in town -- Soccer great David Beckham.
CNN's Becky Anderson tells us what Hollywood has in store.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
ANDERSON: (voice-over): Welcome to L.A. where everyone is a star. And if they're not a star, they're trying to become one. You've got movie stars, rock stars, TV stars, sports stars and stars with famous family names -- all with plenty of money to spread around.
Yes, the Beckham family is moving to the see and be seen enter of the entertainment industry. And that makes competition for the spotlight extra fierce.
So what does it take to be seen as a big star among the glitz and glamour of L.A.? First, you must have a mansion worthy of MTV's "Cribs." Posh and Becks finally settled on a Beverly Hills estate, after a series of false starts in the L.A. real estate market. Every time the couple showed interest, the price would mysteriously go up.
Second, you need some big name friends to show you around town. That's easy for the Beckhams. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes were seen in the sitting stands at the football star's last match in Madrid.
And, of course, there's the celebrity endorsements. No problem for Becks. He's got a multi-million dollar deal with Adidas. He's the spokesman for Motorola worldwide. He's got his own international clothing line. And there's even a PlayStation game with his face on it.
Finally, it's important to know your competition. For Becks, it's American football.
DAVID BECKHAM: I've got no chance in this one.
ANDERSON: For that, he has American football star Reggie Bush to show him the ropes.
BECKHAM: Am I being punked?
ANDERSON: So what do Posh and Becks need to be fully immersed in L.A. culture?
How about a pimped out ride?
Everyone who's anyone in L.A. has a fancy car, even if they don't drive it. And no celebrity couple is complete without a short catchy nickname. Rumor has it Tomcat you. ) is throwing a housewarming party for B Posh?
V Dave?
Well, maybe we should just stick with Posh and Becks.
So will be Becks be a superstar in L.A.?
Is Posh on the way to having her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?
Will U.S. soccer fans take to the streets after a huge win?
Here's hoping for a Hollywood ending.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COLLINS: Becky Anderson joining us now from the stadium where David Beckham will be playing his home games with the Los Angeles Galaxy -- all right, Becky, now that David Beckham has gone Hollywood, is his focus going to be soccer or entertainment?
Do we know? ANDERSON: Well, let me tell you, Heidi, that he says he's here to play football. But not a lot of people actually believe him.
COLLINS: Yes.
ANDERSON: Listen, you know, the galaxy that is Hollywood -- star power is all that counts is now. I mean we've seen he's got mates you. ) that are in Hollywood. They'll make more friends as they move into their house. We saw their house yesterday. We saw the cars coming in. And they're looking good. They're setting themselves up well here.
Look, the galaxy here -- I mean this is the stadium. The sun has just come up. I mean they are hoping that the -- oh, well, certainly, the owners of this major league soccer club are hoping they can bank it with Beckham. They are hoping that he will concentrate on building up the world of football here with his academies and getting the youth involved and then getting this to be a grown up came for men, effectively.
He's only about $32.5 million from them simply for the football. But he's on a $250 million contract over five years, so if you do the math, that's still about -- well, over $200 million --
COLLINS: I can't do the math.
ANDERSON: (INAUDIBLE) endorsements. You can't do it, nor can I, because it's too big with the numbers like this. So, yes, I mean, don't expect that we will just be seeing David Beckham playing soccer for the galaxy down here at Carson City on a wet Saturday afternoon.
Posh is going to get involved in the Hollywood celebrity life, and so is he, undoubtedly. And there will be entertainment moves, to boot. And -- I mean she's got this "Coming To America" show, hasn't she, already?
So we know that. So do expect more entertainment to come. You'll see them here. They're on the pitch if you want to pay your whatever it is, $40, to come and see him on a Saturday.
COLLINS: Yes, I wonder, though, Becky, any idea what the reaction to this very day is back in -- back in his homeland?
ANDERSON: Oh, it's huge. Absolutely huge.
Let me read out some of the headlines. And these are headlines just on the -- on the -- on the tabloids.
Of course, they left London yesterday, effectively, or Wednesday night, got into L.A. Thursday about 8:20 local time. "Yankee Doodle Daddy," was one of the headlines on one of the tabloid papers. He was carrying one of his sons. He's got three sons.
"Reborn In The USA" was another one.
"Family Becks Off To A New Galaxy" was another one. You know, I mean they're doing them all. You know what the red tops are like in the U.K. the tabloid newspapers. They love a story like this.
COLLINS: Yes.
ANDERSON: They love the Beckhams. They absolutely love the Beckhams. They -- they evoke this sort of, you know, the good, clean family. They have lots of fun and lots of money. And that's basically what it's all about (INAUDIBLE).
COLLINS: That's basically what it's all about.
Well, I love you, on this story. Perfect. All right, Becky, we will check back with you a little later on.
ANDERSON: Thank you.
COLLINS: Let us know if you, you know, see them anywhere. I'd be very interested in that.
ANDERSON: OK.
COLLINS: All right, thanks, Becky.
From the red carpet now to the green carpet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: It makes me kind of nervous to see them and actually meet him. It's not just like a fantasy anymore. It's actually going to come true.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Oh. Getting ready to bend it like Beckham.
And it's the running of the brides -- fierce females at Filene's fighting it out for a gown on the cheap. One of my favorite things we get to see here in this business. We'll take you there.
And a foul wind blowing strong in the global warming battle.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Phil Murray says similar research on sheep indicates that the fresher the grass, the less pungent the gas.
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COLLINS: Excellent -- bottling gas for the good of the planet. We'll tell you about it, after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: National parks, popular summer vacation spots. But working at one, not visiting, has been the lifelong goal for one retiree.
Tony Harris has his story of life after work.
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GERRY ALLEN, PARK RANGER: Now, when you look around here, you'll see some of these cottons --
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Gerry Allen feels right at home as a park ranger. But the trail he followed to get here was longer than expected.
ALLEN: This was during the time of Vietnam when I was drafted. By the time I got out of the service, I had a wife and child and the option of going to the National Park Service was pretty much closed because of the pay that I needed to support my family.
HARRIS: Allen went into the airline industry instead, working for Delta Airlines as an environmental engineer. And after 30 years, retired with enough security to pursue his childhood goal once again.
ALLEN: When I was about eight to 10 years old, went to Gettysburg National Military Park and I was entranced by a National Park ranger giving a program about the battle at that site. I stayed and listened to him all day long. And ever since time that point, I decided I wanted to be a National Park Ranger.
HARRIS: Today, Allen works at the Andersonville National Historic Site in southwest Georgia, which encompasses a national cemetery and a museum that pays tribute to America's prisoners of war.
ALLEN: I hope when the visitors come and see me they understand the historical significance of Andersonville National Historic Site and the honor of being buried here, along with other veterans from the Revolutionary War all the way up to the present time. I try convey to them how powerful that is.
HARRIS: Tony Harris, CNN.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COLLINS: Some say they have come a long way.
Do they still have a long way to go?
A report from the ground on Iraqi military progress.
John McCain -- is the Straight Talk Express derailing?
New questions about his campaign.
And teenagers and sex -- a new report on some old problems.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Stopping global warming -- in Britain that means some most unusual work down on the farm.
CNN's Alphonso van Marsh explains.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (voice-over): Scientists say carbon dioxide from gasoline and other fossil fuels is number one on the list of gases contributing to global warming.
And what's number two?
Methane from, among other things, cows.
DR. DAVID CHADWICK, METHANE RESEARCHER: Methane generation by livestock, in particular cattle and sheep, is a significant contribution to the global warming potential of agriculture.
VAN MARSH: Dr. David Chadwick is looking at whether feeding cows easier on the tummy grasses can cut down on the amount of methane Britain's 10 million cattle emit when they digest food. Scientists say one cow pumps out hundreds of liters of methane every day. In other words, they pass more greenhouse gas than the typical SUV.
(on camera): For years, we've been hearing about cattle flatulence -- what comes from the back end of one of those animals. But increasingly, researchers are taking a closer look at the front end of cattle, measuring bovine burps.
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