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President on Iraq; Steam Pipe Explosion Fallout; Genarlow Wilson Case; Praying for a Change
Aired July 20, 2007 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush appealing for more time in Iraq. The president spoke just moments ago in the Rose Garden.
White House Correspondent Elaine Quijano is joining us now live.
Good morning to you, Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Heidi.
Well, just days after Democrats in the Senate orchestrated that all-night session, complete with cots, you'll remember, to talk about Iraq, President Bush, a short time ago, engaging in some pushback of his own in the Rose Garden. The president today surrounded himself with members of organizations that support the United States military, and the president essentially admonished lawmakers for failing to come to an agreement on the defense authorization bill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The House and Senate are now scheduled to leave for their August recess before passing a bill to support our troops and their missions. Even members of Congress who no longer support our effort in Iraq should at least be able to provide an increase in pay for our troops fighting there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: Now, what the president did not mention in his Rose Garden appearance is the fact that the Iraqi parliament itself is scheduled to take its own recess during the month of August, a move that has been criticized by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who are looking for some demonstration that the Iraqis have the political will necessary to move forward on some key political benchmarks -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Elaine Quijano at the White House for us this morning.
Elaine, thank you.
HARRIS: An earthquake hits northern California this morning. It struck just a few hours ago now, a magnitude 4.2.
The people who measure these things label it a light one. That typically means minimal damage -- broken dishes, windows, as you can see here. And sometimes some wine bottles.
That appears to be the extent of it in the San Francisco Bay area. No injuries reported. Still, the shaking lasted almost a minute. The quake centered two miles east-northeast of Oakland and about 3.5 miles deep.
What are you thinking, Heidi?
COLLINS: I'm thinking I just saw one of my most favorite cabernets shattered on the ground right there.
HARRIS: Are you going to be OK?
COLLINS: Yes, I'll be OK.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: And speaking of those fires, a raging wildfire in Idaho threatening to char an entire town. Officials are warning residents of Murphy Hot Springs. They will be trapped if the flames spread, in fact. All 50 families now urged to evacuate.
Crews have contained a fire that burned 14 square miles near a nuclear fuel facility in eastern Idaho. Thousands of other wildfires are scorching western states. The nation's firefighting alert status has been raised to its highest level.
HARRIS: Genarlow Wilson, today Georgia's Supreme Court could decide whether he will walk free. Wilson is serving a 10-year sentence for having consensual sex with another teen. At the time, he was 17, she was 15.
Her age led to his conviction on child molestation. The case has drawn national attention and also the attention of at least one presidential candidate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's now been in prison for two years and they have not been willing to commute his sentence. It just gives you some perspective on our justice system at the moment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: CNN's Rusty Dornin is following the hearing for us. And we understand that hearing has just ended, or at least a short time ago. We should also add a state judge had ordered that Wilson be set free. The Supreme Court will ultimately decide whether that order should stand.
COLLINS: New terror-related arrests in Britain. Authorities charge two men after finding a suspicious substance at an apartment in Bristol. The arrests follow last month's failed car bombings in central London and at Scotland's Glasgow airport. Four people have been charged in that investigation. And new this morning, a spokesman for Con Edison tells CNN human error is among the many issues they're looking into as a possible cause for that steam pipe explosion. Right now they're analyzing equipment and cleaning up.
Here's CNN's Mary Snow.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (voice-over): In the hours after a huge plume of steam and debris shoot into the air, the city sealed off several blocks and began testing for contaminants and -- for good reason. New York's underground pipes are old and many are insulated with asbestos.
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (I), NEW YORK: We have water mains in this city that are 150 years old. So that's one of our problems in this city.
SNOW: And the city knows from experience. In 1989, a strikingly similar steam pipe explosion killed three. Back then, asbestos was spewed into the air, but for several days that information was not made public and people were told the air was safe to breathe.
Fast forward to the present. Yes, officials are saying asbestos was found in debris, but not in the air. Some experts say the city isn't out of the woods yet, but tests need to be conducted for weeks.
DR. IRWIN DEDLENER, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PUBLIC HEALTH SCHOOL: I think we have to be concerned when there's discrepancies that immediately after it happened between what was in the air and what was in the debris. After all, in order to get into the debris, a lot of that debris was up in the air and then has gradually settled down.
SNOW: The debris settled on buildings, streets, even people's clothes. New Yorkers caught in the dust cloud are being encouraged to drop their clothing from Wednesday at a special Con Ed site for decontamination.
Many of the city's emergency rooms, who know all too well the dangers of being exposed to contaminants, are wearing these filtration masks. Asbestos is considered dangerous and medical experts say the risk of illness comes with long-term exposure.
(on camera): Here at the site of the crater where a tow truck was swallowed, cleanup efforts are expected to last until next week. And while the mayor says he's acting out of an abundance of caution, he also stresses that it's highly unlikely that any brief exposure to asbestos will pose any health problems.
Mary Snow, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COLLINS: Countdown to the witching hour, or rather the wizarding hour. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" out at midnight. Its author J.K. Rowling's seventh and final book in the series.
Fans of the young wizard will learn if Harry survives.
Several bookstores are holding Potter parties to celebrate the book's release. It's already a top seller. Online retailer amazon.com says it pre-sold 2.2 million copies. Barnes & Noble, more than 1.4 million pre-orders.
HARRIS: Boy.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM this morning, new poll figures from South Carolina.
Which presidential hopefuls are leading the pack? We will take look.
COLLINS: Former President Clinton taking on one of his wife's critics. Details ahead.
HARRIS: Grading the U.S. troop buildup in Iraq. A top general clarifies his comments and the calendar.
COLLINS: A pair of thieves help themselves to the goods in a jewelry store. But this shop owner isn't going to have any part of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get back. Get back. Get back. Get back.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You get out of here right now, young man. You leave!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: She's tough all right. That's for sure.
We're going to tell you the story and how it all played out right here in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Georgia's teen sex case. Genarlow Wilson had consensual sex with a girl two years younger. We told you that side of the story.
Here's the question. Should that cost him a decade in prison?
CNN's Rusty Dornin is outside the state Supreme Court.
Rusty, I understand the hearing is over. Who got the better of the arguments? Or is it -- or can we even say that at this point?
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they spent an hour arguing, Tony, but there is no indication of when this court is going to rule on this. In fact, there is the possibility they may not even rule until September, although that may be unlikely.
Now, remember, there's two things they're arguing about.
First of all, Genarlow Wilson was convicted of having consensual sex with a teenager. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Well, that law has changed now. It is no longer a felony. It's only -- you're only liable for a 12-month sentence.
So a lower court judge re-sentenced him, recharged him with a misdemeanor. The state says you can't do that, brought it to the Supreme Court, and that's what they've been battling over.
What was interesting was at the end of the arguments, two of the Supreme Court justices here said, where is the justice in making a man continuing to serve a sentence for something that now is a misdemeanor? Of course, that's no indication that's the way they're going to rule, but they did several times interject, why should he be spending this time? Is that a just thing to happen?
Of course, the state is arguing, if you let Genarlow Wilson out, then it will open the floodgates for other people to also argue this same argument, that they should be re-sentenced with a lesser sentence if a law has been changed. So they were arguing over that and they were also arguing over whether he should be let loose on bond while they decide this issue.
And we still don't know when they're going to issue that decision -- Tony.
HARRIS: So that's a decision that could come tomorrow, it could come, what, a couple of months from now?
DORNIN: It could come -- well, it certainly wouldn't come tomorrow. Tomorrow is Saturday. It could come Monday, or -- see, they stopped hearing oral arguments this week. They're actually out of session until September.
HARRIS: Yes.
DORNIN: So there is that possibility. But unlikely, because they were supposed to hear this whole thing October. And they speeded it up to today. So, you have to wonder, are they going to wait...
HARRIS: Yes.
DORNIN: ... or are they going to go ahead and issue a decision next week some time?
HARRIS: Thanks for reminding me tomorrow's Saturday.
Rusty, appreciate it. Thank you.
COLLINS: The pressure for progress in Iraq, but how long will take to assess the U.S. troop buildup in the country?
We are getting another status report today. Senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre is joining us now live with that.
Hi there, Jamie.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi, Heidi.
You know the big question for a lot of people is, how soon will U.S. troops be able to come home? And we got a are little inkling of what might be happening in September and later in the year from the commander of the U.S. Marines who are out in Anbar province. And, you know, Anbar has been touted as a success story.
For instance, today we were told that in the last week they had 98 incidents. Those are anything from IEDs that were found, to attacks, to other things.
A year ago at the same time, they had 428 incidents. That shows how dramatically the level of violence has come down in Anbar. But they're not talking about reducing troops there.
In fact, the Marines from the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit that were sent there as part of the surge have just been extended another 30 days. Instead of leaving in August, they'll be leaving in September. The reason is commanders want to hold on to those successes.
Here's what General Gaskin, who's in charge of those Marines out there, said about are why he didn't send those troops home on schedule.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJ. GEN. GASKIN, COMMANDER, MULTINATIONAL FORCE-WEST: The key to this is having persistent presence. We can have that persistent presence in a couple of ways. One is that the coalition forces can remain, or the ideal way is to have the Iraqi forces trained to provide that persistent presence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCINTYRE: Now, yesterday, General Raymond Odierno, who is the second in command in Iraq, raised some eyebrows when he answered a question in a Pentagon briefing saying that in order to do a good assessment, he needs until November. It wasn't clear at the time whether he men to the say September. But today, the general issued a statement saying that when he said November, he simply was trying to indicate that over time they'll have an even better picture of what was going on in Iraq and not to suggest that they weren't going to be able to do a good assessment in September, which, of course, is when that report is due from General Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker on the update.
But again, if you look at the experience in Anbar province, Heidi, you get an idea of where this is going. Even if there is significant success, there's going to be a lot of pressure to hold on to some of those surge troops, at least for a little while, to build on and hold on that success.
COLLINS: Yes, no question about that. They've always said clear and hold.
All right. Jamie McIntyre from the Pentagon today.
Jamie, thanks.
HARRIS: America's allies in Iraq. Sunni militias turn on al Qaeda and help the U.S. Now questions about excessive force, abuse and execution.
COLLINS: Heeding the call.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These young Christians also believe that a great cultural change is coming to America. And they intend to drive it with their prayer and their votes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Young evangelicals looking to wake up Washington.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: New poll figures in from South Carolina. Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani leading Republican presidential hopefuls eight points, better than Senator John McCain, if the election were held tomorrow. That is according to a CNN-Opinion Research Corporation survey of likely South Carolina Republican voters.
On the Democratic side, Senator Hillary Clinton leads Senator Barack Obama by 14 points, and Clinton's lead over Obama is even larger among South Carolina's African-American voters by 16 points.
Young Christian evangelicals say change is needed, and they're vowing to make it happen at the ballot box.
CNN's David Mattingly explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTINGLY (voice-over): Silently they marched through the streets of Nashville. Thousands of young, evangelical Christians, gathering to pray for a country in crisis.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've come here with a faith that God that can turn a nation.
MATTINGLY: This is the call, a massive, day-long revival of fasting and prayer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's only about 100 people when we first got here. So, it's good.
MATTINGLY: Sarah Morris and her church group drove here all the way from Michigan, looking for something big.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm expecting God to rock my world.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Awakening. Awakening. Awakening.
MATTINGLY: The sound is as loud as a rock concert. And the message, clear as a bell. Christians need to hold their politicians accountable.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And Lord now we bless President Bush.
MATTINGLY: But the question rising from the sea of people is, what do they want? Young evangelicals once George W. Bush's most fervent supporters, are increasingly disenchanted.
In 2002, 87 percent thought he was doing a good job. That number's plunged to 45 percent, according to the Pew forum. And evangelicals under 30 are deserting the Republican Party in droves. Two years ago, 55 percent called themselves Republicans, now, just 37 percent do. An incredible 18-point drop.
BYRON RADU, WORSHIPER: You need to tell us the truth when you speak. You know what I mean? When you get up and say things, in order for me to vote, to go home and share with my family and say, this is who we're going to vote for, this is who we're going to back up forever.
MATTINGLY: You sound disillusioned.
RADU: Beyond disillusioned. Misled. Misguided. Lied to.
MATTINGLY: Like most Americans, these young evangelicals are wrestling with the war. They find themselves parting with Republicans on other issues, too. Immigration, poverty, the environment.
BRANDON DUCK, WORSHIPER: There's a lot of issues today that the Christian ethic easily bleeds into and can make a difference in society. And it's just not the big three.
MATTINGLY: The big three, same-sex marriage, public prayer, and above all, abortion. Issues that set many Republicans into office.
And these young people remain some of the most intensely anti- abortion Americans around. Even more conservative than their parents.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You give them the right baby, Lord Jesus.
MATTINGLY: Remember Sarah Morris who came here looking for God to rock her world? After a day in the sun and hours of inspiration, she's motivated to rock the ballot.
SARAH MORRIS, WORSHIPER: Our vote is not due to our economy and war. Our vote is on one thing, and that is pro-life.
MATTINGLY: It's no coincidence that "The Call" took place 40 years after the summer of love. Organizers want young Christians to lead with a shared sense of purpose.
(on camera): And like the flower children of '67, these young Christians also believe that a great cultural change is coming to America. And they intend to drive it, with their prayer and their votes.
(voice-over): Young evangelicals, like most Americans under 30, don't vote much at all. Madison Adams wants to turn that around.
MADISON ADAMS, WORSHIPER: Actually, I'm kind of scared for this future election because I think the church is kind of set back. But, you know, we need to wake the church up again.
MATTINGLY: And on this hot summer day, the church is wide awake.
David Mattingly, CNN, Nashville.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: What would you ask the presidential candidates if you could? Well, you can, and you have.
CNN is teaming up with YouTube for the upcoming presidential debates. We've been collecting your questions for the candidates, and here's a sampling.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello, candidates. My name is Jeremiah Pasternak (ph).
Recently there's been a lost discussion and coverage about how much each of you have raised for your are respective campaigns. And some of the numbers are pretty astronomical -- $30 million, $40 million.
So my question for all of you is this: Rather than waste this money on commercials and private planes, don't you think it would be more honorable and beneficial to distribute this money to people in causes that really need it?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My name is Amanda (ph). I live in Auburn, Alabama. And this question is for all the candidates.
I've been waiting since I was in high school for any politician to actually have an idea that is practical enough to fix Social Security. Do you have a plan to fix Social Security that goes beyond talking? And if so, what would that be?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: OK. Join John Roberts and Kiran Chetry with more of your video questions as we count down to the debate. That is tonight, 8:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.
COLLINS: Still ahead, once America's enemy, now an ally. Militias in Iraq turn on al Qaeda, but are there tactics that turn for the worse?
You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
HARRIS: Victory for Pakistan's opposition. A supreme court ruling delivers a major blow to President Musharraf.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: 11:30 Eastern Time. I'm Heidi Collins.
HARRIS: And good morning, everyone. Welcome back to the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Tony Harris.
A story we've been following for you throughout the morning, an earthquake hits northern California. It struck just a few hours ago, magnitude 4.2. And the people who measure earthquakes label it a light one. That typically means minimal damage, broken dishes, windows. You can see that here. And sometimes wine bottles, what a waste.
That appears to be the extent of the damage in the San Francisco Bay area. No injuries reported, that's the great news. Still, the shaking lasted almost a minute. The quake centered two miles east- northeast of Oakland and about three-and-a-half miles deep.
COLLINS: U.S. forces in Iraq get a new ally against al Qaeda. But some tactics used by these new friends are questionable. And a caution, this report includes violent scenes.
Here now, CNN's Michael Ware.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is one of America's new allies, beating the suspected al Qaeda prisoner, threatening to kill him. He's part of America's success against al Qaeda in Iraq. A member of a U.S.-backed militia targeting al Qaeda, he was on this operation north of Baghdad. His group, without uniforms, their faces covered, working hand-in-hand with Sunni police and army units.
Drawn mainly from Sunni insurgent groups and local tribes, men who'd been killing Americans now use some American-supplied ammunition and U.S. military support to turn on al Qaeda. And they're earning high praise.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In Anbar Province, Sunni tribes that were once fighting alongside al Qaeda against our coalition are now fighting alongside our coalition against al Qaeda. We're working to replicate the success in Anbar.
WARE: This is Anbar. Grainy video posted two weeks ago on an Islamist Web site shows U.S.-aligned militia unloading another al Qaeda prisoner from a police pickup. The man in charge asks his prisoner if he killed someone called Khalid (ph). And then, taunting, tells him to say hi to Khalid for me. Cursing their prisoner, the makeshift firing squad leads him to a spot near an embankment and he's executed.
Why would these insurgents and tribesmen turn on al Qaeda to work with the Americans? The answer: power, money, contracts, and control over their neighborhoods. There's no love lost in the deaths of al Qaeda fighters --anywhere. But summary executions and excessive force by American allies is not something U.S. commanders say they condone nor seek.
BRIG. GEN. MARK MCDONALD, MULTI-NATIONAL FORCE-IRAQ: We don't allow that and we do not encourage that. We will stop that if we see it.
WARE: But it's hard to stop something you're not sure you can see. Another senior U.S. official says the militia's methods are an ugly side of the war here in Iraq. Ugly, but effective. In the militia-controlled areas, al Qaeda may not be defeated but it's certainly been blunted. The capital of Anbar reclaimed from its grip, and attacks across the province spectacularly reduced with the similar signs emerging in other areas.
The successes, however, come at a price. The Shia-dominated government in Baghdad is not happy, wary of U.S. support for armed groups opposed to its rule.
"This support scares us," says Hadi al-Amri, commander of a powerful Shia militia and Iraq's equivalent to the U.S. chairman of its Armed Services Committee. "Working with these people is very dangerous," he says. "We told the Americans we won't accept under any circumstances their being opened to armed Sunni militia like the Islamic Army of Iraq or the Brigades of the 1920 Revolution." Two of the very groups the U.S. has been courting and supporting.
And this form of national security minister, now heading a parliamentary oversight (ph) body, claims the U.S. is overstepping its authority. "That these tribes are armed beyond the government's control might lead to conflict," he says, suggesting they may be an American counterbalance to a government accused of links to Iranian- backed militia from the Shia community.
LT. GEN. G.C.M. LAMB, DEPT. COMMANDING GEN., BRITISH ARMY: There's nothing that the multi-national force, the core (ph) is doing with, by name, by numbers, by place, by location, by intent that we don't share with the government of Iraq.
WARE: With few signs of progress from the central government, America's former insurgent enemies seem to have given U.S. commanders something the Iraqi government rarely has: a success story.
Michael Ware, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Quickly want to share an announcement that we have gotten here at CNN with you from the Press Secretary's Office of the White House. We are learning that President Bush will be welcoming King Abdullah II of Jordan to the White House. That's going to happen Tuesday, July 24th. We are reading here that the president is going to be discussing with King the bilateral relationship between the United States and Jordan and then also be talking about efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East.
So once again, King Abdullah II of Jordan heading to the White House on Tuesday, July 24th.
HARRIS: Pakistan's president overruled by the Supreme Court. Celebrations in Islamabad today after justices re-enstate the country's top judge. The court ruled his suspension by President Pervez Musharraf was illegal. The chief justice had been showing independence in his handling of cases involving the disappearance of terrorist suspects and human rights activists.
Mr. Musharraf said he was misusing his powers, but analysts suspect the president was worried about the judge allowing constitutional challenges to block his bid for a new five-year term.
And prisoners on the loose on purpose. The West Bank today, take a look at these pictures. Israel freeing more than 250 Palestinian prisoners, most of them aligned with the Fatah party. The release is part of a series of goodwill gestures. Israel's name (ph) boosting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in his standoff with Fatah rival Hamas. Israel says none of the prisoners has "blood on their hands."
COLLINS: Countdown to the witching hour or rather the wizarding hour. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" out at midnight, author J.K. Rowling's seventh and final book in the series. Fans of the young wizard will learn if Harry survives. Several book stores are holding Potter parties to celebrate the book's release. It's already a top seller as you might imagine. Online retailer Amazon.com says it pre-sold 2.2 million copies, and Barnes and Nobles -- Barnes and Noble that is, more than 1.4 million pre-orders.
HARRIS: And here's the thing. To many, Harry Potter and Christianity don't seem like a natural fit. The Church of England, well, thinks otherwise.
CNN's Alphonso Van Marsh reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Can boy wizard Harry Potter help spread the word of God?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dear Mr. Potter. VAN MARSH: The Church of England hopes so. Launching a book called "Mixing It Up with Harry Potter." It's a religious guide at drawing real-life parallels from Potter movie scenes and book excerpts to teach kids Christian values.
OWEN SMITH, CHRISTIAN YOUTH WORKER: As a Christian, I am desperate for people to find out about God. And if this book helps one other person find out about Jesus and the great news he shares, then that's great.
VAN MARSH: Christian youth worker Owen Smith wrote "Mixing It Up with Harry Potter." He says this isn't the first time the Church of England has used pop culture to make a point. Smith also wrote "Mixing It Up with the Simpsons."
HOMER SIMPSON: OK, who wants waffles?
VAN MARSH (on camera): The Anglican church that's now embracing Harry Potter wasn't always this way. A few years ago, it wouldn't allow the filmmakers behind the first Harry Potter movie to shoot scenes at Canterbury Cathedral behind me for fear that it would anger more conservative Christians.
(voice-over): Critics argue Harry Potter goes against biblical values, the fictional world that glamorizing witchcraft and occult. But Christian book seller Melanie Tucker says if a Potter religious guide brings kids to Jesus, she'll put the book on her shelf.
MELANIE TUCKER, CHRISTIAN BOOKSELLER: I think it's quite exciting that the church is responding to the books, what's happening in secular society.
VAN MARSH: Some secularists may not have the Bible on their must-read list, but the Church of England says it hopes "Mixing It Up" gets kids to have a relationship with God even more enchanting than a visit to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Alphonso Van Marsh, CNN, Canterbury, England.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: She may be tiny, weighing at just 65 pounds now, but Tammy Faye Messner is fighting big. She talks candidly with our Larry King about her cancer and her faith.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange where DOW's 14,000 has come and gone. The culprits behind today's nasty sell-off, next.
You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Valarie Plame Wilson and a new appeal filed just a short time ago. She's hoping to restore her lawsuit against Vice President Cheney and other administration officials. Yesterday a federal judge dismissed her case on grounds of jurisdiction. Wilson claims White House officials conspired to out her as a CIA operative. The lawsuit says the leak was revenge for her husband's criticism of the Iraq War.
(BUSINESS HEADLINES)
COLLINS: In just a few minutes, "YOUR WORLD TODAY" will be coming up on CNN and Ralitsa Vassileva is with us now, to tell us a little bit more about what the show will have.
Hi there, Ralitsa.
VASSILEVA: Hi, guys. Well, we're going to take a look at what appears to be a major blow for Pakistan's President Musharraf as the country's Supreme Court reinstates their Chief Justice and calls President Musharraf to suspend him illegal. We'll take a look at what that means for President Musharraf.
Also, we'll tell you about unprecedented security measures that Britain's publishing industry is taking to try to beat the spoiler, so that the secret doesn't come out of what happens in the final volume of the Harry Potter saga. We'll tell you all about that. Also, forget the Tour de France.
Paris is offering people 10,000 bikes for rent, eight cents a day. It's an experiment to lure people out of their cars and onto bikes weaving in and out of traffic. And guys, you don't want to miss this story. We see our own Jim Bitterman on a bike. I will be watching.
HARRIS: OK.
COLLINS: Can he ride it?
VASSILEVA: Yes. Going downhill. He says he prefers going downhill.
COLLINS: OK.
HARRIS: Yes, the big man, Bitterman on a bike. Got to watch that.
COLLINS: Ralitsa, thank you.
HARRIS: Former televangelist, Tammy Faye Messner in a her fight for life, she's battling cancer and right now weighs just 65 pounds. She talked about it with CNN's Larry King.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TAMMY FAYE MESSNER, FORMER TELEVANGELIST: All I eat is chicken soup and rice pudding. I'm looking forward to the day when I can bite into that hamburger and those fries. I gained five pounds. Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Wow. Messner also talked about her faith and has a message for the public. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MESSNER: I'd like to say that I genuinely love you. And I genuinely care. And I genuinely want to see you in heaven someday. I want you to find peace. I want you to find joy.
LARRY KING, HOST: And you firmly believe that you are going to heaven?
MESSNER: I know for sure, positive.
KING: And having that belief, reduces -- should eliminate fear?
MESSNER: It does, Larry to a certain extent. I would say, 99.99%.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Messner said she spends a great deal of her time praying for people.
COLLINS: Fatherhood, will it tame this Tiger or make him an even fiercer foe at the British Open? A report from the Scottish greens. Not quite looking that way. Coming up in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Tiger Woods, OK, an experienced golfer, product promoter and philanthropist. But a novice when it comes to being a parent, and that has Tiger's competition wondering will fatherhood help or hinder his golf game?
Reporting from the British Open, CNN's Don Riddell.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DON RIDDELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tiger Woods is bidding for his third consecutive British Open title at Carnoustie this week. But earlier in the year, the defending champion said he'd miss the tournament if it coincided with the birth of his first child. As it happened, baby Sam Alexis was born last month, and the world is wondering how fatherhood will effect his game.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's so much of this game is about, you know, a positive outlook and attitude on the golf course. And, you know, being a new dad, you know, you're on top of the world. And, so, I suggest he's going to be -- he's going to be a difficult force to deal with this week.
RIDDELL (voice-over): Woods has had many memorable moments in his career, notably 12 major titles and counting. But he says the birth of his daughter was easily the greatest of his life.
TIGER WOODS: It's been a lot of work for both Elin and myself but it's something that we wouldn't trade in for for the world. But I still have had plenty of energy to practice and prepare and get ready and coming over here has been nice and I'll be able to get some sleep.
RIDDELL: It's not often that Tiger takes advice from his rivals but on this topic, he's a bigger man, and the men out to beat him this week are familiar with his new sensation.
PHIL MICKELSON, 2-TIME MASTERS CHAMPION: I don't know if you put it completely out of your mind. I don't think you want to, I think you want to remember all those moments where you're -- when you're looking and holding your newborn. And so, a lot of times it'll take your mind away from golf and relax you and make you play better.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last time I was here, my daughter was born two months before that Open, and I was walking around on a cloud, you know, playing the Open in '99. So I know what he's feeling like. He's a very happy man.
JIM FURYK, 2003 U.S. OPEN CHAMPION: I think he's so driven and so focused that nothing's going to affect his golf. It'll be very important in his life to be a very good father but he can obviously do both. Jack Nicklaus was a wonderful family man and the best player we've known to this date.
RIDDELL (on camera): As a father, Nicklaus won a total of 18 major titles, and in fact, the last seven of those were achieved with five children in turn (ph). Tiger's rivals are preparing for the fact that he might just be even better than before.
Don Riddell, CNN, Carnoustie, Scotland.
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COLLINS: A pair of thieves helped themselves to the goods in a jewelry store, but this shop owner not going to take it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get back, get back, get back, get back.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You get out of here right now, young man. You thief (ph)!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: This lady has got a lot of chutzpah. We'll show you how it all played out right after the break.
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COLLINS: Fed up in Phoenix, a jewelry store owner facing two armed robbers. Instead of raising her hands, though, she puts up her fists.
Details from Ben Lemony (ph) of affiliate KTVK.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BEN LEMONY, KTVK REPORTER (voice-over): It began like any other purchase at Gaston Jewelers, but it took a turn at the checkout counter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody on the ground. Get on the ground. Get back, get back, get back, get back.
CAROL, JEWELRY STORE OWNER: You get out of here right now, young man. You thief (ph)!
LEMONY: Like a school teacher scolding a student, Carol (ph), the 5'2" store owner kept questioning the robbers while they cleaned out her cases and ordered customers to lie on the floor.
CAROL: What are you guys doing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're trying to rob you.
LEMONY: The two men took everything they could and fled, Carol chasing out the door after them.
CAROL: I'm not that big of a person but whenever I see something like that, I don't think about my life. I was just livid that they would do this to me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was right by that case when he shot it. So when he blew the hole in it about that big, I -- he got my attention.
LEMONY: In examining that hole, Carol admits attacking the gunmen was probably not the best choice. And while the surveillance cameras caught it all on tape, next time, she may be better prepared.
CAROL: The way these guys were if I would have pulled a gun on them, somebody probably would have been dead. And I don't really want to kill anybody but whenever my life is at stake or my employees' or my customers' lives are at stake, you bet I would fire.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: The robbers made off with about $100,000 worth of jewelry and they are still on the loose. Thank you, (INAUDIBLE), that was for you (ph).
Meanwhile, CNN NEWSROOM continues just one hour from now.
HARRIS: "YOUR WORLD TODAY" is next with news happening across the globe and here at home.
Have a great weekend, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.
COLLINS: And I'm Heidi Collins.
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