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Reporters Behaving Badly?; Iraq Report Fact Check; Fighting Paternity; Vitter's Future; Gerri's Top Tips

Aired July 13, 2007 - 10:00   ET

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

ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Say, don't get your hopes up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There will never be a gas-free cow.

VAN MARSH: There may never be a gas-free cow, but research into what goes into one could reduce the amount of environmentally harmful gas that comes out from both ends.

Alphonso van Marsh, CNN, Devon, England.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. Tony Harris is off today.

Stay informed all day in the CNN NEWSROOM. Here's what's on the rundown.

A yellow big rig. Police believe it was home base for a mobile serial killer. A trucker suspected now in six deaths.

Also, al Qaeda said to be resurging and taking aim at the U.S. again. How did it happen?

And DNA doesn't lie, so why is this man required to pay child support for another man's kid.

It's June 13th and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Unfolding this hour, Tennessee police believe they have a serial killer on their hands. 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 a half 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 questionings and blood stains were spotted in the cab of his truck.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 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.

Abducted from behind her home on the Fourth of July. Tacoma, Washington, police now say they have found the body of Zina Linnik. Information from a man being held on an immigration violation lead 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 the Ukraine 10 years ago.

Missing for two months. Now police called Lisa Stebic's estranged husband a person of interest in the case. Police also believe the suburban Chicago woman was a victim of foul play. The husband maintains he is not involved in the disappearance. A Chicago TV reporter has lost her job for getting too close to the Stebic story. CNN's Keith Oppenheim explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): For nearly 11 years, Amy Jacobson has been a star reporter for the local NBC station in Chicago.

PHIL ROSENTHAL, CHICAGO TRIBUNE: Her reputation is, do what it takes to get the story.

OPPENHEIM: Last Friday, Jacobson went to the home of Craig Stebic, the estranged husband of Lisa Stebic, a suburban mom who's been missing for more than two months.

AMY JACOBSON, FORMER WMAQ-TV REPORTER: And when I'm on a story, I don't want to get beat.

OPPENHEIM: Jacobson told WGN Radio she was invited to the home by Craig Stebic's sister. And while it might sound a bit odd, she came there with her two children.

JACOBSON: We don't have a baby-sitter on Fridays, because that's my day off, and, you know, it was a chance for me to work on a story and also be a mother, because another mother was there with her children.

OPPENHEIM: What Jacobson didn't know was, there was a video camera nearby, which captured her in Stebic's home wearing a two-piece bathing suit and wrapped in a towel. The videotape was obtained and aired by the local CBS station. Jacobson was fired.

JACOBSON: I know that I made a horrible mistake. I understand that. But a fireable mistake? I don't think so. Nothing improper happened.

OPPENHEIM: Still, the story raised questions about the relationships between reporters and sources. In Los Angeles, newscaster Mirthala Salinas is under scrutiny after having an affair with a newsmaker on her beat, L.A.'s mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa. Phil Rosenthal, media critic at "The Chicago Tribune," says the public is more aware reporters and sources get cozy.

ROSENTHAL: If you get too close, you know, you may be - your ability to do your job may also be compromised in some ways. And I think people are looking at that with sort of a new set of open eyes.

OPPENHEIM: In the end, the tale of Amy Jacobson may make all reporters think how close they get to their sources.

Keith Oppenheim, CNN, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Rebuilding Iraq on the agenda this hour for President Bush. He's taking part in a 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.

The Bush administration assessment of Iraq. CNN's Jamie McIntyre has a fact check.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The Bush administration's interim review is an exercise in putting the best face on what the president himself admits is a bad situation.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I understand that. It's an ugly war.

MCINTYRE: Take the crucial benchmark of reducing the level of sectarian violence on which progress is judged satisfactory. It's true sectarian violence is down, if it's narrowly defined as Sunni versus Shia murders in Baghdad, but it's false that overall violence is lower. As a separate Pentagon report noted last month, violence across Iraq was unchanged, especially when the number of Iraqis and U.S. troop deaths are factored in.

Like most everything else in Iraq, it's a mixed picture.

BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: I think it's a balanced report. I think the positives and negatives both came out and those areas in between, that there may be a little bit of progress.

MCINTYRE: Of the seven other benchmarks that got satisfactory grades, none is an unqualified success. For example, yes, a constitutional review is done, but only after the Sunnis withdrew from the parliament. Yes, three trained Iraqi brigades reported for duty, but at less than full strengths and not capable of operating independently. Yes, Sunni insurgents have been pushed out of Baghdad, but extortion, intimidation, and crime are still rampant. And, yes, Iraq is spending $10 billion of its own money on reconstruction, but the report concedes it won't all be spent this year.

The Bush administration stresses this is an interim report in which the criteria was whether progress is being made. September's report will have to show that some of the benchmarks are actually being met in order to get that satisfactory stamp.

Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Voting to bring troops home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: The bill 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.

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 will come your way at 1:45 Eastern at the Pentagon. We'll have it live right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Word of new troubles for John McCain. We've just learned this now. A source tells our Candy Crowley, more staff members are expected to leave the McCain camp by Monday, including at least one senior staffer. This comes at the end of a tough week that brought other, key staff changes, including the departure of McCain's campaign manager and top adviser.

And then there's this. Two sources close to McCain say he has just $250,000 in his campaign war chest. The co-chair of his Florida campaign was arrested this week on sex solicitation charges. He calls the arrest a big misunderstanding. And last week, money problems forced McCain to lay off several staffers. We'll stay on top of that story for you.

Meanwhile, what would you ask the presidential candidates if you could? Here's your chance. CNN is teaming up with YouTube for the next presidential debate. You can submit your videotape questions to our CNN/YouTube presidential debate. It will air July 23rd. Just go to cnn.com/youtubedebate. CNN, home of the best political team on television.

Wall Street dreaming of 14,000 today, and barking in the glow of yesterday's record finish. The Dow Jones Industrial average closed at a new high of more than 13,861. The Dow surging 284 points, the biggest one-day gain in almost five years. So let's take a look. Right now you can see, up 14. All right. Well, that's still up, isn't it? And 13,876 or so right now just after 10:00. The Nasdaq is down about six points. We, of course, will stay on top of that for you and follow those numbers all day long.

Beautiful, blushing brides. Save it for the wedding, people. Bullish brides-to-be doing battle for that perfect gown. And look out. It's the annual running of the brides at Filene's Basement in (INAUDIBLE). Don't let their smiles fool you either. These women, I should say, mean business, camping out for hours to get their hands on one of the 1,200 or so designer dresses. They're all up for grabs at deeply discounted prices. The first Filene's wedding dress sale took place in Boston in 1947. Didn't know that. Saving money apparently just never seems to go out of style.

Still ahead, cleared by DNA but still paying child support. One man's nightmare, but not uncommon. We'll tell you more about paternity outrage.

Also, al Qaeda said to be their strongest in years. A terrorist reality check ahead.

And fighting fire in Phoenix. A tinderbox is up in flames.

You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. We're back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Heidi Collins.

Soccer royalty makes the cameras go flat, to say the least. David Beckham and wife take up residence at a posh new L.A. pad.

And her crown is safe. We'll tell you why Miss New Jersey almost lost it all.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Supporting a stranger. A man is still fighting a paternity claim after being cleared by DNA and the child's mother. CNN's Susan Candiotti explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANCISCO RODRIGUEZ: It's like playing the movie out. That's all it is.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Like many couples, Francisco Rodriguez and his wife, Michelle, both work hard, but still find themselves living paycheck to paycheck.

RODRIGUEZ: Repetition. Yes. Playing over and over again.

CANDIOTTI: It's expensive raising his two daughters and a son from his wife's previous marriage. And Rodriguez has one more mouth to feed. This birth certificate says he's also the father of a 15- year-old daughter. He says he didn't even know about her until three years ago when he was notified a former girlfriend had filed for child support.

What did you say?

RODRIGUEZ: It can't be. It can't be.

CANDIOTTI: Rodriguez owes $305 a month in child support. He's more than $10,000 behind in payments. And even spent one night in jail because of it. There's just one thing. Rodriguez says he's not the daddy and has a 2003 DNA test to prove it.

And you read down here and what does it say?

RODRIGUEZ: It says Francisco D. Rodriguez is excluded as the biological father.

CANDIOTTI: In fact it says probability of parentage . . .

RODRIGUEZ: Zero point zero.

CANDIOTTI: Zero percent.

RODRIGUEZ: Zero percent.

CANDIOTTI: Yet he's still ordered to pay child support. Rodriguez next got the girl's mother to sign this notarized affidavit in 2004. In it she writes DNA tests say, "he is not the father," and asked to "terminate child support." But even that didn't stop his court-ordered payments.

RODRIGUEZ: It's almost line you're drowning every day. You want to know when you're going to be able to go up and gasp some air. And, you know, that's the way we've been living these past four years.

CANDIOTTI: Trying to get courts to listen can be a long, drawn out affair. According to one group, Florida is one of only 27 states that allow men to fight back at all. Most of those states have set time limits to challenge paternity. And if men don't meet those deadlines, even if they can prove they're not the father, they cannot get back the money they already paid in child support and might still be responsible for future payments.

Carnell Smith went through a similar nightmare. He founded an organization to lobby for new laws. He wants mandatory DNA tests which a child is born.

CARNELL SMITH, CITIZENS AGAINST PATERNITY FRAUD: Unfortunately today, it is not a crime for someone to lie about which man is the father. The mother doesn't have to return the money. And rarely, if ever, is she prosecuted for perjury, for fraud.

CANDIOTTI: Every paycheck Rodriguez gets as a massage therapist is garnished by the state of Florida to make sure he pays.

RODRIGUEZ: Yes, I gross $273. They garnished $152.31 and left me with $99.80 to bring home.

CANDIOTTI: What do you do with that?

RODRIGUEZ: I just grab what I can in the supermarket.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is your client willing to take additional paternity testing?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely.

CANDIOTTI: A recent change in Florida law has given Rodriguez hope. It clears the way for Rodriguez to get a court-sanctioned DNA test. Even so, after his most recent hearing, Rodriguez' frustration boils over.

RODRIGUEZ: So when you live check by check it's hard. When you've got to come up with money to avoid jail time, it's ridiculous.

CANDIOTTI: Two weeks later, Rodriguez took that new DNA test. His ex-girlfriend and her daughter are no-shows and it's not clear if they've been retested yet. CNN was unable to reach his ex-girlfriend for comment.

RODRIGUEZ: I'm hoping that the courts will go after her by all means necessary and just do the right thing.

CANDIOTTI: Even if he wins his case, Rodriguez won't get back what he's already paid and Florida law does not automatically take him off the hook for that $10,000 he still owes.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, Ft. Lauderdale.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Want to take a moment to talk with Chad Myers now.

Chad, you've been telling us, at least since yesterday, about this typhoon. What's the progress?

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: The mentally ill behind bars. Should they be in prison or in a hospital?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the largest psychiatric facility in Florida. There is five times more people here with mental illness than any state hospital.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: But this is a jail, this is not a psychiatric facility.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not. Unfortunately it's become one.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COLLINS: Soledad O'Brien will join us to preview her Special Investigations Unit report, "Criminally Insane."

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Gerri Willis.

Coming up, managing your credit score and things you may not know your hotel is charging you for. "Top Tips" are next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: We want to share some new information just in to us here at CNN regarding Senator David Vitter and his future coming on the heels of the allegation of him using a high-priced escort service. Dana Bash is on Capitol Hill, has this information for us.

Good morning to you, Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Heidi.

And this comes to us by way of our colleague Ted Barrett, here on Capitol Hill. He spoke to Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina. And this is, for the first time that we know, there was any conformation of any contact with Senator David Vitter since he essentially disappeared after issuing the statement admitting that he may have used the services of the D.C. madam in the statement that he released on Monday.

Now this is what Senator Jim DeMint told our Ted Barrett. He said, "we've traded some e-mails. Obviously, he has a whole lot of remorse and wants to put this behind him. He seems to be handling it in a very responsible way. He is saying he was wrong. He made terrible mistakes. He is not trying to diminish the problem."

Now he also said that he understands from Senator Vitter that he is actually going to be back in the Senate next week sometime. He does not have any indication from Senator Vitter, this according to Senator DeMint, that he is actually going to resign from his seat. There have been a lot of rumors, a lot of speculation that he might do that since, as I said, he has not been here in the Senate all week long.

He essentially has disappeared and no one knows where he is. Senator DeMint also said he's not exactly sure where Senator David Vitter is, but he says he assumes that he's home with his family and he said that they've just been trading some e-mails back and forth.

Again, this is the first knowledge that we have of anybody actually having some kind of communication with Senator David Vitter, since we haven't heard from him all week long.

Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, it's strange, because we kept showing his empty chair in a lot of these different hearings that he was to attend. Really not having an idea where he was, as you say. But no real information regarding his future and what his decision might be? BASH: No, except for the fact that what Senator DeMint told our Ted Barrett is that he does not have any indication that Senator Vitter is going to actually resign his seat or he doesn't have any information about whether or not more information or allegations would possibly come out. There have been lots of rumors all week long.

But there's something else I want to share with you, Heidi, that Senator DeMint told Ted Barrett. He said that many of the senators, many of Senator Vitter's colleagues here, are anxious to help him. He said that there are many senators out there on the Senate floor who have had moral disasters in their past that have weathered it and have been here for decades.

And we might want to remember some of those. That is a very interesting statement from Senator DeMint. And I should mention, Senator DeMint, just like David Vitter, is a conservative, a Republican conservative, and the two of them, obviously, are friends.

COLLINS: All right. Well, Dana Bash, we know you're working the story. So appreciate that for now. We'll come back to you should any more information come out.

Dana Bash from Capitol Hill this morning.

Roth IRAs and credit ratings, just some of the questions today from viewers. Here with the answers, CNN personal finance editor Gerri Willis.

Good morning to you, Gerri.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. Good to see you.

Hit me with that first question.

COLLINS: All right. You too.

E-mail Friday, that's for sure. And here's the first one.

"I am a 26-year-old professional. My parents just generously gave me $10,000. I want to use this money to begin saving for my retirement. I will contribute $4,000 to my Roth IRA. Any advice on what to do with the remaining $6,000?" That comes from Meghan in California.

WILLIS: Wow, that's nice, isn't it?

COLLINS: Yes.

WILLIS: Love that. OK, Meghan, you can afford to take some risks, you're young, so check out stock mutual funds. T. Rowe Price, Vanguard and Fidelity have low-cost funds. Index funds are another good alternative. And if you don't have an emergency fund, think about setting aside some dough for that as well. You'll want three months of living expenses that you can tap at any time. You put the money in a money market or high-yield savings account. Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. Well, here's number two now. "I have excellent credit, and my limits are much higher than I would ever use. Does it count against me if I just reduce my limits?" from Douglas in Illinois.

WILLIS: You know, that's a great question. Credit bureaus, though, consider your debt to available credit when determining your credit score. So limit the loan, don't matter that much. Think instead about getting rid of any mistakes on your credit report and reducing the number of credit cards you have to a handful, say three or four. Pay them down as quickly as you can. The bottom line here is, as long as you can resist the temptation of a high limit, cutting it, reducing it has no real advantage.

COLLINS: Now, Gerri, this is how loyal or viewers are. They've been listening to you so much, they've been learning so much that they already have tips they want to offer to other viewers.

WILLIS: I love this.

COLLINS: Are you ready? This is from Kris (ph) in New Jersey. It's about hotel fees. He says, or she says, not sure if it's a male or female, "I stayed at a hotel that delivered newspapers to you room. I thought this was an amenity. They didn't tell me that if I didn't want the paper, to let the front desk know and $0.75 would be deducted from my daily bill. So much for a 'free' copy of the paper."

You know, I didn't know this, and I usually end up not having time. I grab it and then I don't get to read it. A complete wash of 75 cents.

WILLIS: Right. Yes, absolutely. And you can probably get it on the street for like 50. So, you know, a waste of money. Look, when it comes to hotels, you're often paying for more than just the room itself. You can be charged for using the business center, the pool, the fitness center. And like Kris points out, there can even be charges for the daily newspaper. The best way to prevent extra fees is to ask about surcharges for when you make the reservation. If you wait until you check out, or worse, check out, it can be harder to dispute those fees.

But love the e-mails from viewers. As always, if you have any questions at all for us or tips you want to share with your fellow viewers, send us an e-mail to toptips@cnn.com.

Heidi.

COLLINS: That's right. And tomorrow, Saturday, "Open House."

WILLIS: That's right.

COLLINS: What are you going to talk about?

WILLIS: The big "Open House" show. We're giving you an auction guide for real estate. Selling homes by auction. Pool safety. And we have a very exciting infomercial product test. And, of course, we have a new segment called "The Choice is Yours." Are there alternatives to the iPhone. There certainly are. We'll explain.

COLLINS: Interesting. It's all the rage, isn't it?

WILLIS: That's right.

COLLINS: All right, CNN's personal finance editor Gerri Willis. We'll be watching tomorrow, Gerri. Thanks.

WILLIS: Thank you.

COLLINS: Good morning once again, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. Tony Harris has the day off.

Still ahead this morning, that yellow big rig, police calling it a crime scene now, a trucker suspected of killing six women in his travels.

Also, al Qaeda said to be at their strongest in years. A terrorist reality check, ahead.

And from the red carpet to the green carpet.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It makes me kind of nervous I'm going to actually meet him, it's not a fantasy anymore; it;s actually going to come true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Getting ready to bend it like Beckham. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: A suspected serial killer in custody this morning. Tennessee police now trying to trace his travels across a number of states. The suspect is a long-haul truck driver.

We'll get the latest from reporter Amy Rowe (ph) from CNN affiliate in Nashville, WTVF.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMY ROWE (ph), WTVF REPORTER (voice-over): Since June 26th, veteran homicide detectives knew they had only struck the tip of the iceberg.

SGT. PAT POSTIGLIONE, METRO NASHVILLE: Evidence that I won't go into dictated to us that this is just not a normal -- if there is such a thing -- a normal homicide.

ROWE: Twenty-five-year-old Sara Nicole Hulbert found shot to death at the TA truck stop on North First Street. That's exactly where detectives found Mendenhall again. In this exclusive video, you see Mendenhall moments after they search his truck. Detective Pat Bistiglione (ph) says he was going to the truck stop for further investigation when he spotted the mustard-colored truck they'd been looking for weeks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Almost immediately I saw a truck coming toward me that looked very much like the truck that we'd been discussing for the last two days.

ROWE: Detectives say Mendenhall was nervous, but cooperative. He let detectives inside the cab where they found blood spots in the door and inside. They say he implicated himself in Hulbert's murder. The murder of Samantha Winters at the pilot truck stop in Lebanon, as well as a murder in Alabama, Georgia and Indiana, and there could be more.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would say that's probably a pretty good possibility.

ROWE: Now in an orange jumpsuit in this exclusive video, Mendenhall will spend hours talking to police, they hope leading them to other victims. Mendenhall said nothing in night court as he was charged, leaving even more questions for police to answer.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's a laid-back, easy-going guy. I mean, it just floors me.

ROWE: Amy Rowe, News Channel 5.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(NEWSBREAK)

COLLINS: 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, 1:45 Eastern, at the Pentagon, live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Terrorist comeback? Government officials say a draft report shows al Qaeda is regrouping and aiming at the U.S. According to those officials, the report says al Qaeda has all the capabilities it needs.

CNN's terrorism analyst Peter Bergen takes a closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST (voice-over): Mistake number one, a big one, letting Osama bin Laden go. U.S. special forces had bin Laden cornered in the Tora Bora mountains of Afghanistan in late 2001. The CIA commander on the scene asked for more forces to catch al Qaeda's leader, but was turned down. And bin Laden escaped.

Mistake number two, getting distracted. The United States ousted the Taliban and chased al Qaeda into Pakistan. But then it shifted its focus and manpower to Iraq, leaving just a handful of U.S. operatives to catch bin Laden.

Art Keller hunted bin Laden in Pakistan just last year, when he was with the CIA.

ART KELLER, FORMER CIA OFFICER: To use a medical analogy, it's like quitting a course of antibiotics too soon. You just leave a reservoir of infection even stronger to come back after you.

BERGEN: There are now more Americans on the ground in Pakistan. But the damage has already been done.

Mistake number three, misunderstanding the enemy. The Bush administration hoped that Iraq would draw terrorists to one place, making them easier to kill, the so-called flypaper theory. But the opposite happened. Iraq has strengthened al Qaeda. It's now a training ground for terrorists from around the world.

KELLER: People are going there to learn the tactics, and then come back.

BERGEN (on camera): A certain irony?

KELLER: Yes, it is. It seems like the reverse of the way the war on terror was supposed to work.

BERGEN (voice-over): Take suicide bombings, for example. Once unheard of in Afghanistan, now they happen at least once a week.

I met a failed suicide bomber in Kabul, who survived when his vest didn't blow up.

(on camera): Do you still hope to be a shahid, somebody who martyrs himself, when you get out of here?

IMDADULLAH, FAILED SUICIDE BOMBER: (INAUDIBLE)

BERGEN: Of course.

(voice-over): That's the mistake number four, the so-called Iraq effect, letting al Qaeda spread its ideas and methods around the world. It was evident most recently in the London and Glasgow botched terror attacks, where an Iraqi doctor is alleged to have been involved in a plot that could have killed hundreds.

Another mistake, to some intelligence officials, protecting an ally, rather than striking al Qaeda. "The New York Times" reports that Washington nixed an attack on al Qaeda's leaders in Pakistan in 2005, for fear that it would destabilize Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf.

Some take comfort in the fact that al Qaeda still hasn't struck America again. But others say that's a false comfort.

KELLER: I think that the fact that we haven't been hit doesn't really tell us anything other than that there's a long planning cycle for terrorist acts. BRUCE HOFFMAN, SECURITY STUDIES PROGRAM PROFESSOR, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: They have pinned their hopes on carrying out another spectacular operation, if not exactly like 9/11, at least along the same lines. And that's what they believe will once again catapult them back into prominence, as the undisputed head of the global jihadi movement.

BERGEN: Al Qaeda is patient, planning for maximum impact, looking for a way to top 9/11, taking its time. And the U.S. has given them exactly that, time.

Peter Bergen, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Fighting fire in phoenix, a tinderbox up in flames.

And slogging through life in the fast lane, but this wasn't caused by a storm. The story for you just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: We want to just let you know about something we are aware of here in the NEWSROOM. Yesterday we were telling you about that interim Iraq report card to Congress and 18 benchmarks, 8 satisfactory marks, 8 unsatisfactory remarks and 2 marks showing progress at least. Regarding reconstruction, in particular, we want to listen to some sound from President Bush and this video teleconference.

Let's listen in for just a moment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRES. OF THE UNITED STATES: As part of our strategy to succeed in Iraq, I not only reinforced our military efforts with more troops, we also surged civilians to work with our military to help the reconciliation efforts in a country that is still recovering from the tyranny of Saddam Hussein.

And today my security council here had an opportunity to not only speak with our ambassador in Iraq, but also five members of provincial reconstruction teams, three civilians and two military -- colonels. They have briefed us on the grassroots effort to improve services, to improve the economy, to encourage local government, all aiming at enhancing this concept of reconciliation from the bottom up.

We heard from the PRT leader in Anbar. I had the honor of speaking to him months ago, and now he has briefed us on the progress that he is seeing there.

Listen, there's still a lot of work to be done, but these people at the grassroots understand that most Iraqis want to live in peace and that with time we'll be able to help them realize that dream.

And so I want to thank you once again for your outstanding service to our nation and the cause of peace.

What happens in Iraq matters to the United States of America.

A violent, chaotic Iraq will affect our security at home.

An Iraq that can self-govern, provide basic services to its people and be an ally in the war on terror will mean that all of us have accepted a great challenge and laid a foundation of peace for our children and grandchildren.

And so, thank you for your service. I appreciate your -- I want to thank your families for supporting you in this just and noble cause.

And may God bless you all.

Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Once again, President Bush addressing the cameras there after the video teleconference he held earlier this morning with Iraq Provincial Reconstruction team leaders, embedded provincial reconstruction team leaders, and brigade combat commanders, saying that still a whole lot of work to be done, but that briefing coming to him, as he says, from people working at the grassroots. We're going to talk a little bit more about this and the progress of the security situation in Baghdad with Spider Marks in just a few minutes, coming up a little bit later in the show.

Meanwhile, John McCain's bad week just got worse. Sources are whispering about money troubles now, and another round of staff defections.

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COLLINS: He admitted a business relationship with an accused madam, then Senator David Vitter disappeared. What about his political future? We have got a little bit of new information to share with you on that.

And severe storms? Well, not really. The weather didn't have a thing to do with this flood.

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COLLINS: British soccer star David Beckham now in Los Angeles. He could jump-start professional soccer in the U.S. Before that, though, he's helping younger players learn the game.

Here's CNN's Chris Lawrence.

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CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): He's an international soccer star married to a former Spice Girl.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you happy to be in Los Angeles?

LAWRENCE: On Thursday night, the Beckhams officially arrived on U.S. shores. And in the August issue of "W" magazine, the couple sets their sights on becoming the new American idols.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bella, are you winning?

BELLA HERNANDEZ, BECKHAM FAN: No, I'm losing one here.

LAWRENCE: Before he kicks one ball here, Beckham is a hero to these kids.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come on, Bella. Take your time.

LAWRENCE: Until now, 5,000 miles separated Bella Hernandez from her dream of seeing Beckham.

HERNANDEZ: Well, it makes me kind of nervous to see that I'm going to actually meet him. It's not just like a fantasy anymore. It's just actually going to come true.

LAWRENCE: Beckham opened this soccer academy in the Los Angeles area more than a year before he signed with the L.A. Galaxy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) you're getting beat by a girl.

LAWRENCE: Now the Home Depot Center is home.

(on camera): You're playing right now where he's going to be playing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I think it's wonderful. I think it's like -- it's like, it makes me feel like I'm in professional footballer already.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Send your next offender. Get ready. Send your next offender.

Good. Quick. Quick. Quick.

LAWRENCE: Companies hope American kids not only bend it like Beckham, but spend it, buying tickets to soccer matches with their families in tow.

MO BOREHAM, DAVID BECKHAM ACADEMY: So the fact that the kids can go and actually watch their hero rather than watch him on television or DVDs.

LAWRENCE: Beckham arrives in America with two goals: becoming a regular on the red carpet...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: David! UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: David!

LAWRENCE: ... and inspiring kids like these on the green.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well done. Good. Excellent.

LAWRENCE: Chris Lawrence, CNN, Carson, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Fighting fire in phoenix -- a tinderbox up in flames.

And that yellow big rig. Police now calling it a crime scene. A trucker suspected of killing six women in his travels.

The White House report on Iraq looking between the lines. A retired brigadier general breaks down the good, the bad and the ugly.

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