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Explosives Found in South Carolina; Navy Moving in to Help Minneapolis; Hamid Karzai Arrives at Camp David; Mitt Romney Snaps as Interview Veers Toward Mormon Faith; Barry Bonds Makes History; 50th Anniversary of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; Vanishing Oasis for Baghdad's Elite

Aired August 05, 2007 - 17:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I had to laugh at what I saw Barack Obama do. I mean, in one week he went from saying he's going to sit down with tea for our enemies, but then he's going to bomb our allies. I mean, he's gone from Jane Fonda to Dr. Strangelove in one week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Up next in the NEWSROOM, Republican presidential hopefuls call out their Democratic rivals. They didn't spare each other either.

Plus, uninvited and undressed at the White House. Now he's clad in handcuffs, among other things.

And new information on a still developing story out of South Carolina. A speeding car with explosive materials inside. Two young men detained. Neither believed to be a U.S. citizen.

Hello again. I'm Fredricka Whitfield and you are in the NEWSROOM.

Our top story, the discovery of those explosive devices near Charleston, South Carolina. Here's what we know so far. Police say they pulled over a car during a routine traffic stop last night and found bomb-making materials inside the vehicle. Law enforcement sources say the materials included fuses and igniters. The explosives were safely detonated. The occupants of the car, two men, reportedly non-U.S. citizens. We continue to follow these developments with the help of our affiliate in Charleston, WCIV and Venton Blandin who joins us now. Venton?

VENTON BLANDIN, WCIV CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, this story is developing, as you mentioned. We do know that two college students from the state of Florida have been arrested. In fact, they were on the scene the whole time last night.

We were out there for about 10 hours. And the two men were on the scene, they were going through questioning out there. But I can give you their names. They are 24-year-old Ahmed Mohamed and 21-year- old Yousef Megahed. They're being held at the Berkeley County detention center right now, and they're going to be there until their court appearance sometime tomorrow evening.

And we do know that they're from the state of Florida and they could be looking at several charges. The only charges that we know right now is the charge that I mentioned on the broadcast with Rick Sanchez last night, and that was possession of an unlawful explosive.

Now in the state of South Carolina, fireworks are allowed, so we do know that those explosives were not fireworks. Some people have called asking, oh, were they just fireworks? But we do know that they are not fireworks.

And at this point, they're still looking at certain charges, but they have not been charged yet. We do know they're college students from the state of Florida and we know that they're not U.S. citizens.

So there is another agency, a federal agency involved in trying to do some questioning to figure out exactly what's going on. So again, right now, two people arrested last night after the roads and area were shut down for about 10 hours in Goose Creek, South Carolina for these explosives which were found in the trunk.

WHITFIELD: And so, Venton, any explanation being given by authorities as to why they decided to detonate these materials if they were able to identify that they weren't actually attached to anything and could not set themselves off or be set off, why did they make the decision to destroy what would seem to be evidence?

BLANDIN: Well, the simple answer is, no, we really didn't know there would be any detonation because we were there after 6:00 yesterday and the detonation really didn't come until about 3:43 this morning. We were out there and they said -- they came out for a quick minute, we're going to have a detonation in about 30 minutes and it was fairly small, quick and simple. We had no idea.

But they didn't want to elaborate what was in there. I asked was it once case or was it a bunch of things? Was it all there? Was it incomplete as if someone had taken a piece of it? They didn't get into any questions. They said that a statement would be released on Monday. We asked what about Sunday. They said you'll have to wait until Monday. So I guess the answers will come out on Monday.

WHITFIELD: OK and that is also when we are to learn of any charges, if, indeed, there will be any charges imposed.

BLANDIN: Yes, that's right. Right now we know they could be looking at several charges. They have not been charged yet. We should clarify that. They have not been charged at this point. Right now they're in the Berkeley County detention center. The only charge possible charge right now that we know of for sure is the possession of unlawful explosives and that's what we were told last night.

WHITFIELD: Venton, one last question before I let you go. Is there anything significant about the location where they were apprehended? Meaning, they allegedly were near a rather important federal installation. Is that true, in Berkeley County? BLANDIN: Yes, that is true, Fredricka. It's a naval weapons station. There was really no factor of that story. A lot of people were coming up to me at the scene for those 10 hours, hey, what's the deal with this?

There was really no connection to that, but if -- you worked this station, Fredricka, so you can remember. Where that area is, it's off of highway 176 at Myers (ph) Road, which is north of Charleston Mall, North Woods Mall. That's the general area.

And it was pretty much, the way the setup was for 10 hours, I was in the middle and the two roads on the outside, there were basically three roads. It was pretty much shut down, traffic standstill for 10 hours. And that was pretty much it. But I can tell you, lots of people were out at the intersection, easily 100 people out with their lawn chairs. I think I saw a cooler. But they were out there just really watching. They were concerned. This is Goose Creek, South Carolina. A lot of this doesn't happen down here.

WHITFIELD: Right, but it also is a highly residential area, too, as well as being near that naval weapons station. Venton Blandin, thanks so much for the update from WCIV, as you said, my old stomping grounds way back when.

All right, well makeshift memorials now have sprung up near the site of the Minneapolis Bridge collapse. As loved ones there and friends, even strangers remember the five victims and the eight people who are still missing.

Here now is the latest. An interfaith prayer service is expected to draw hundreds of people this evening. Earlier this weekend, families of the missing were able to visit the scene of Wednesday's disaster.

Federal investigators are using computer modeling, aerial pictures, under water cameras and sonar to figure out why the 35W bridge failed.

An FBI dive team is also joining in on the operation and the navy may join divers as well and a salvage team could be dispatched. The river search is slow and painstaking because of the debris and because of the murky water. A little while ago, the NTSB chairman gave an update and this caution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK ROSENKER, NTSB CHAIRMAN: During our time on scene, we have taken a look at a lot of debris. And, unfortunately, we have not come up with an answer. We're not going to come up with an answer overnight. I told you this is going to be a very long and thorough process. That is the only way you can guarantee that we find out exactly what happened and make any type of recommendation to prevent it from happening again.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: As mentioned, there has been a request that the U.S. Navy sends some crews out to Minneapolis. With more on that, CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr. Where are we on that request, Barbara?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (on phone): Well, Fredricka, in fact, the navy now at this hour is working on that. Military officials tell us, in fact, a five-man assessment team is already on its way to Minneapolis. They will be on the ground within the next several hours. They will look at the situation and try and help determine exactly what is needed.

The request to the U.S. military is for assistance in salvage and recovery. So if they find remains, they will deal with those. They will work on the salvage situation. We are told by military officials they are looking at assembling a team of navy salvage divers, perhaps as many as 20 on that team. They could go as soon as tomorrow.

These are very highly trained navy specialists. They deal in under water situations with heavy debris fields, with limited visibility. They have underwater imaging equipment.

So they will be able to work some of these salvage and recovery issues. They will also be able, of course, to give the local dive teams from the local government entities a bit of a rest.

Those people, of course, have been working very hard. It's very distressing work, but the U.S. military does train for this, and it's always a point of pride with them when they can lend a hand in these domestic emergencies. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: And Barbara, is this a long time? This is the fourth day after this tragedy in Minneapolis or is it just the case that the request was made rather late?

STARR: Well, I think what happens often in these domestic emergencies, the state and local government, really there's a record of they try and deal with it on their own in many cases. We've seen it in hurricane recovery and tornado issues.

But they find that their first responders, of course, while they work the first 24 or 48 hours very heroically, nonstop, often they come to the point where they just need some help.

And that's often when the military, when the National Guard is asked to step in and lend a little muscle power to the situation. So that's, I think, what we're seeing here.

Now that the decision has been made to start moving that debris, of course, that's when you need some of the heavy lift capability. I think we may also see some commercial salvage capability move into the region. There's an awful lot of that in the upper Midwest, people very experience in knowing how to deal with these matters.

WHITFIELD: All right Barbara Starr, thanks so much, Pentagon correspondent joining us by phone from Washington. Let's talk a little bit of weather. Weather, not necessarily a factor there in the Minnesota recovery efforts, but it is a factor across the country in other ways. It is August and extreme heat is the big story across much of the Midwest. Temperatures in the high 90s are in the forecast for today and the rest of the week. And factor in high humidity, and what do you have? A pretty nasty prescription for misery. The National Weather Service has issued excessive heat warnings in several cities. Let's check in, again, with Jacqui Jeras to see what the rest of the country can expect and what do people do.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Meantime, out of Washington, the president signs a FISA bill, today closing what he considers critical gaps in U.S. intelligence abilities. The House passed new changes to the Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Act (sic) last night. The measure gives intelligence operatives more leeway in intercepting foreign phone calls and e-mail, rather through U.S equipment, all without the need for warrants. Critics say the bill may enable Uncle Sam to spy on Americans communicating with people overseas, without proper oversight.

Well it is a busy day at Camp David as well where Afghan President Hamid Karzai arrived at the presidential retreat a short time ago. These are file pictures you're seeing though right now out of the White House. Well, it is President Bush's first chance for face-to-face talks with the Afghan leader since last September. Our Suzanne Malveaux is live from Washington with the details of their summit.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Fred, Hamid Karzai is at Camp David now. This evening is really just social time between the two leaders. Tomorrow is when they really get down to business. You may recall, Fred, that Afghanistan was really held up as the model for democracy in the Middle East. Well now it is a country that is very much in trouble.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX (voice-over): Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai, sits in the middle of what is often referred to as the forgotten front in the war on terror. Six years after the U.S. routed al Qaeda and its Taliban supporters from his country, he is besieged by crises.

HAMID KARZAI, PRESIDENT, AFHGANISTAN: The security situation in Afghanistan over the past two years has definitely deteriorated.

MALVEAUX: The Taliban has resurged as a powerful militia aimed at destroying his government's fragile democracy. And the master mind of the September 11th attacks is still nowhere to be found.

ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: We are dedicating significant resources to trying to find him.

KARZAI: We are not closer. We are not further away from it. We are where we were a few years ago.

MALVEAUX: President Bush's two-day summit with Karzai is aimed at taking stock as to where Afghanistan is today. It is not a pretty picture.

One of the reasons why U.S. officials say, is the role of Afghanistan's neighbor, Pakistan. Its leader Pervez Musharraf made a deal with tribal chiefs to go after the terrorists along the border. It ultimately back fired. Now the border has become a breeding ground for an emboldened al Qaeda.

KARZAI: They've right now kidnapped Korean citizens. They've killed international security forces. That is exactly what we are trying to prevent. That's exactly what we're trying to do together with Pakistan.

MALVEAUX: With some $10 billion of U.S. aid invested in Afghanistan and some 20,000 troops, President Bush is pressing for greater progress. But Karzai's allegiance is not just with the U.S.

KARZAI: So far Iran has been a helper and a solution.

MALVEAUX: That alliance concerns U.S. officials, who believe Iran is trying to undermine this pro-American government.

GATES: I think they're doing some things to help the Afghan government. I think they're also doing things to help the Taliban, including providing weapons.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: And Fred, following the summit between President Bush and Hamid Karzai, Karzai will be going and actually meeting with Pakistan's Perez Musharraf to try to re-enforce the need for those two countries, those governments to cooperate in going after the terrorists. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much Suzanne Malveaux in Washington.

Well a page from history now. What's it like to try to follow in the foot steps of Dr. Martin Luther King?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I had to come to the conclusion that I, myself, the thing that I must do is to build on to what my father actually started.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: King's son talks about his father and the 50th anniversary of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

Plus, visitors may not be able to get around to Ground Zero on the anniversary of 9/11 this year. Why not? We'll explain.

And take a look at these pictures. A nice summer scene. It isn't Baghdad either. You're in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The sixth anniversary of September 11th is about a month away, and families of 9/11 victims are being told they may not be able to walk down into Ground Zero this year as they have in years past. CNN's Jim Acosta explains why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Standing among the scores of visitors at the site of the World Trade Center, deputy New York fire chief Jim Riches will always be drawn to Ground Zero. His son Jimmy was one of the more than the 300 firefighters who died when the Twin Towers fell on 9/11.

JIM RICHES, NEW YORK FIRE DEPT: We found my son's body March 25th, 2002. And we went down there, we took his body out of the pit and walked him up that ramp.

ACOSTA: On the anniversary since that day, authorities have allowed the victims' families to walk down that ramp to remember their loved ones. This year may be different. Construction is underway to build the skyscrapers that will replace the trade center. Mayor Michael Bloomberg may block the families from entering Ground Zero, saying it's no longer safe.

MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, MAYOR: We don't have much choice because of just the physical location. The road isn't wide enough anymore. Where we used to have it doesn't work. We've got to get used to the fact that there's a lot of construction going there.

ACOSTA: Riches is not buying it. He points out construction is supposed to come to a halt for 9/11 ceremonies this year.

RICHES: All we want to do, walk down the pit, pay our respects where our loved ones died and spent their last hours and go down there and honor them.

ACOSTA: Officials want families to gather at this park, just steps away. Not good enough, says Riches. He notes more than a thousand families still haven't recovered the remains of their loved ones, remains that are quite possibly still here.

Chief, do you realize there will come a day where you won't be able to walk down in there as you have these last few years?

RICHES: I have to be reasonable, yes. There's going to be buildings there. And we know that, yes. To me it will always be a cemetery.

ACOSTA: Chief Jim Riches' son answered the call. Now he says it's time for the city to answer his. Jim Acosta, CNN, New York. (END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And heat is the prickly issue maybe of us are dealing with right now, especially in the midsection of the country of all places.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It's amazing how many people really, Fredricka, that this one is counting. Remember what I just told you last time? I said every time I see you there's a new city. Guess what? Philadelphia is in on the action now.

WHITFIELD: Hot Philly.

JERAS: Oh, yeah. Here's a live picture out of Memphis. It feels like 101 there right now.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh.

JERAS: It's going to be ugly and unfortunately it's going to stick around for a while. We'll let you know how long, coming up in a minute.

WHTIFIELD: All right, we look forward to that, thanks Jacqui.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: It's hot and only getting hotter. Memphis, Tennessee, now among one of the hotter cities in the country right now. We're talking temperature wise, in addition to metaphorically. Jacqui Jeras in the Weather Center. Jacqui, what's going on?

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHTIFIELD: Well, two men are in custody in South Carolina, facing now possible explosives and immigration charges. Police say it all began with a so-called routine traffic stop. It ended up being anything but. An update on this developing story coming up.

Plus, Republicans duke it out in Des Moines, and get some jabs in on their Democratic rivals as well.

And later, the home run prince one swing away from the throne and coveted crown. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: New images right now of the aftermath, four days after the bridge collapse of 35 W. in Minneapolis, Minnesota. We have these new images, all to play in concert with the fact that the U.S. Navy has dispatched a five-man assessment team to help in the salvage and the recovery efforts to help the local authorities there on the ground. The fire department leading the recovery efforts there.

New images right now, closer visuals of the vehicles that are just kind of hanging precariously there on these concrete panels, as well as the twisted steel after 35 W. collapsed Wednesday at the height of rush hour.

Still, eight people believed to be missing and possibly in the Mississippi River there in their vehicles, all which plunged into the depths of that river.

Now, let's talk a little politics and running for president. Well, it's a tough job. Sometimes candidates snap back when things get testy. Case in point, Republican Mitt Romney on a radio talk show. After about ten minutes, the interview veers into Romney's Mormon faith, particularly its opposition to abortion and how that might affect Romney as president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm not here to discuss a religion or discuss the principles of religion...

HAN MICKELSON, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Okay, here's the reason...

(CROSSTALK)

ROMNEY: You know, I get just as much opportunity to speak as you do, so let me finish my sentence, if you will, and that is, I'm pro- life. As governor of Massachusetts, I faced issues that came to my desk that related to life and death, and I came down on the side of life. I wrote an op-ed piece in the "Boston Globe" as to why I'm pro- life. Every decision I took as governor was in favor of life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Things remained civil while the show was live, but when they went to break -- well, you decide.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICKELSON: I hope we can do this so we can spend some quality time here rather than the...

ROMNEY: You know, I don't like coming on the air and having you go after my church and me and my...

MICKELSON: I'm not going after your church. I agree with your church.

ROMNEY: That's right. I'm not running as a Mormon, and I get a little tired on coming on a show your likes like yours.

MICKELSON: See, I don't mind it being like that.

ROMNEY: I do.

MICKELSON: I agree with the ethics of your church, for Pete's sake.

ROMNEY: So do I.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A pretty lively debate took place in Iowa as the Republican presidential hopefuls gathered for their first face-off there.

Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider reports their stances on hot issues had the atmosphere sizzling.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): What the Republican candidates wanted to talk about was terrorism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDOLPH GIULIANI, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In four Democratic debates, not a single Democratic candidate said the word Islamic terrorism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHNEIDER: Asked about abortion, John McCain's answer was about terrorism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOHN MCCAIN, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: But I also firmly believe that the challenge of the 21st century is the struggle against radical Islamic extremism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHNEIDER: Here's how they intend to defense the Bush administration's record.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: I know they made mistakes, but they have kept us safe these last six years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHNEIDER: You know how all the Democrats are taking swipes at Barack Obama for his foreign policy statements? Romney couldn't resist.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: In one week, he went from saying he's going to sit down for tea with our enemies, but he's going to bomb our allies. He's gone from Jane Fonda to Dr. Strangelove in one week.

ANNOUNCER: We're going to get to that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHNEIDER: Sometimes they were forced to talk about the war in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCAIN: We are winning on the ground and there are political solutions being arrived at all over Iraq today, not at the national level.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHNEIDER: Asked about their mistakes, they've made a few.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIULIANI: Description of my mistakes in 30 seconds?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHNEIDER: But then again, too few to mention.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIULIANI: If your father is a priest, I'm going to explain it to your father, not to you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHNEIDER: Romney is the Republican's front runner and Giuliani is the front runner in Iowa. Both exposed their vulnerability on abortion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: I changed my position.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHNEIDER: A flip flop.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: And I get tired of people who are holier than thou because they've been pro-life longer than I have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHNEIDER: Giuliani spun his support for choice as an anti- government position.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIULIANI: But I think ultimately that decision that has to be made is one that government shouldn't make.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHNEIDER: Both front runners have a problem as their rivals were eager to point out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOMMY THOMPSON, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The Republican Party is a party of pro-life. So anybody who is not pro-life is going to have difficulties.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHNEIDER (on camera): The Republican candidates did not seem eager to defend President Bush, except on one issue, keeping the country safe.

Bill Schneider, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So what does all of this mean, these kinds of debates taking place, what, five months before the first primary?

Political reporter, John Martin, with politico.com joins us now to talk a little bit more about the significance of this.

It really is the battle, Jonathan, for the nomination because this is fairly early that we're seeing this kind of exchange or these kinds of debates in this forum already, this far ahead of the game.

JONATHAN MARTIN, POLITICAL REPORTER, POLITICO.COM: It sure is, Fredricka, thanks for having me on. I'm not sure one Sunday morning in August is going to have that much impact on who gets the GOP nomination. If you're a front runner, if you're a Giuliani or a Romney or a McCain, today did not appreciably change the campaign. They entered the stage the top tier and left the stage the top tier. There was not a huge amount of movement after the debate.

WHITFIELD: It seemed pretty polite, wasn't it?

MARTIN: It sure was. These candidates are still hesitant to attack each other and all their doing is taking their aggression out on the Democratic opponents.

We heard for the entire 90 minutes, you know, attacking Democrats on terrorism, on the healthcare, on taxes. They are much more comfortable going after the Democratic rivals. Besides the first ten minutes when you had some scraping over abortion, it was totally focused on talking about Democrats and how they stand.

WHITFIELD: Totally focused on Democrats and how they stand. And still focused on the Iraq war, Homeland Security -- still the primary issues that both the Republicans and the Democrats share. So it seems as though all of the contenders are trying to be as anti-Bush, really, as they possibly can, even among the Republicans.

MARTIN: Well, I mean, the Republicans know that they can't run on the status quo. Nobody is running for a third Bush term. The delicate stance for the Republican contenders, Fredricka, is how do you not alienate your GOP base, which still has some affection for the president, but still start to move away from a very unpopular president and a very unpopular war. That's a tough thing to do. We're starting right now to see some signs of that. But these guys are still figuring out just exactly how to do that.

WHITFIELD: Jonathan, just preceding the talk and the visuals about this debate, we talked about Mitt Romney in this off-air radio show exchange, and his point was, you know, you're asking me questions, really, about my religion or that I'm a Mormon, and I'm not running just on that. That his religion, that he is a Mormon, is immaterial. Does he make a good argument?

MARTIN: There are two striking things about that video, Fredricka. Governor Romney is known as someone who projects a very upbeat, sunny image who, you know, is not someone who comes on as terribly aggressive. The Mitt Romney in that video was a more combative personality. Secondly...

WHITFIELD: Combative? You thought that was combative?

MARTIN: Well, very aggressive, certainly going at it. And then secondly, he rarely talks about the tenants of his faith. It was very striking. The Romney folks did not want that video to originally come out.

WHITFIELD: Right.

MARTIN: Once it did, they're spinning it as a good thing. It's showing a whole different side of Romney that's a lot more aggressive.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. Jonathan Martin, we appreciate your comments, politico.com, thanks so much.

MARTIN: Appreciate it.

WHITFIELD: CNN has a YouTube GOP debate next month. You don't want to forget that. Hear the Republicans answer the questions that mean the most to you. Meaning they are questions coming directly from you via YouTube.

Barry Bonds, about to rewrite the history books with a baseball bat, but tonight, history is on hold. We'll explain why in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: So here is a shot still being heard around the sports world. There he goes. Barry Bonds tying Hank Aaron's home run record last night in San Diego. One more long ball, and the record will belong to Bonds alone. That's a prospect not pleasing to everyone who was in the stands there at the Petco Park there in San Diego.

CNN's Kara Finnstrom is live there from the stadium. We know it would have been much different had that game been taking place in San Francisco.

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: It would have. And the hope is for Barry Bonds fan that is it may be the final game where he fires off that next one to actually take full ownership of that title will take place in San Francisco. He's not playing here today.

We want to show you some video of the moment last night when he did tie that record of Hank Aaron's. That record set back in 1976. As soon as the bat cracked, the stadium pulled in a big, collective sigh and erupted into cheers. Very different than what we've been feeling in the last couple days, which is a mixture of emotions. On one hand, fans excited and trying to take pictures of the moment when Barry Bonds ties the record. On the other hand, just this chorus of boos and fans holding up signs of asterisks, referring to the allegations that Bonds has faced in using performance-enhancing drugs.

Last night when the record was broken, there was a feeling that history was being made. At least for a moment, the fans seemed to kind of sit back and take it all in. Here's what some of the fans said as they left.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was incredible. It was awesome. And they gave him a standing ovation, which I think it was really, really cool.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, it's history in the making. You've got to watch and cheer. I'm glad he was here. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I came to see the home run and he hit it. Maybe he'll hit another one.

FINNSTROM: Fredricka, that ball was caught by a plumber from nearby La Hoya. To give you an idea what it might be worth, Mark McGwire's ball went for $3 million. It will be worth a small fortune.

WHITFIELD: Whoa. That was some reminder. I think I'd forgotten about that. Yes, this is going to the big bank.

Kara Finnstrom, thanks so much.

Much more ahead in the "NEWSROOM" with Rick Sanchez, hitting a home run of his own.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: That one had a lot more notoriety, the one that McGwire hit. They weren't talking about steroids when he did it.

WHITFIELD: Yes, they were.

SANCHEZ: It makes you wonder -- no, they are now, not then.

WHITFIELD: They were talking about it before.

SANCHEZ: Today. I think there's a little bit of a double standard between these two guys.

WHITFIELD: Please don't talk baseball right now.

SANCHEZ: I mean, I do. And I think you question whether -- is it the player's fault for doing it or is it the league's fault for seeming to close their eyes.

WHITFIELD: Interesting.

SANCHEZ: Can I tell you about that?

WHITFIELD: Are you talking about that in the "NEWSROOM" later on?

SANCHEZ: We should.

WHITFIELD: Because you've got me going here.

SANCHEZ: We should. It's an interesting point.

I'll tell you what we're going to be talking about -- bridges in the United States. New report out. Just how dangerous is the situation? Remember in '52, Eisenhower set up the administration with interstates. The idea was they would build bridges that would last 25 years. Folks, it's a lot past 25 years. A lot of these bridges are still trying to kick. But there's a lot of problems with them, including some of the problems they're having with corrosion, among just a few. We'll have that for you.

Also tonight, Helen Thomas.

WHITFIELD: Love her. Who doesn't? Sorry.

SANCHEZ: She joins me. And she's going to have a discussion.

WHITFIELD: I love it. She's a trailblazer, spitfire.

SANCHEZ: The difference between JFK and George Bush.

WHITFIELD: I can't wait to hear all of what she has to say.

SANCHEZ: Your producer is telling me to get out of here.

WHITFIELD: I know.

SANCHEZ: Thanks, Eddie. See you now.

WHITFIELD: Much more in the "NEWSROOM" right after this.

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WHITFIELD: Some political heavyweights are courting African- American voters by honoring one civil rights trail-blazing organization, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama spoke at the South Christina Leadership Conference in Atlanta last night. Former president Bill Clinton and Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee will address the conference this week.

2007 is not just any year for the SCLC. It marks their 50th anniversary, a group that, along with the nation, has come a long way.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR., SLAIN CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: This is a nonviolent protest. We're depending on moral and spiritual forces, using the method of passive resistance.

WHITEFIELD (voice-over): It is one of the most telling images of the civil rights era, the 1955 bus boycott led by the Montgomery Improvement Association, which two years later officially became the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

DERIC GILLLIARD, AUTHOR, "HEROES AND SHEROES": When this group got together in 1957, a small group of rag-tag preachers, basically, and they were all young. And nobody thought that they could strategize and come up with a nonviolent formula that would challenge this nation and ultimately result in the passage of the civil rights act of '64.

KING: All in favor? Let it be known by standing on your feet.

WHITFIELD: SCLC's first president, Martin Luther King, Jr., along with other civil rights groups, the SCLC is credited with helping push along the 1968 Fair Housing Act and, perhaps, most importantly, helping to change the attitude of a nation. Then, there was that day on a motel balcony in Memphis.

At SCLC headquarters in Atlanta, Lulu Jo Williams was working the switchboard when the call came in.

LULU JO WILLIAMS: Yeah.

WHITFIELD: Williams collapsed when she heard the news. And in a rare interview, she says she still gets teary eyed when talking about the calls that came in that day.

WILLIAMS: They were saying, we're sorry, we didn't know who he was. Then they were telling us that they were so sorry and just, you know, all types of condolences to us. People were calling from all over the world.

WHITFIELD: King's second in command, the Reverend Ralph Abernathy, became the leader of SCLC. Following a martyred man made his job tough.

Abernathy, a man known for his quiet dignity, turned over the reigns to the often fiery, always charismatic Reverend Joseph Lowery, who would remain at the top for 20 years, longer than any other SCLC president.

When asked about his most poignant moments during his time with the organization...

REV. JOSEPH LOWERY, FORMER SCLC PRESIDENT: I guess everything else has to fall into perspective related to and up against my experience with Martin Luther King, Jr., the most powerful person I ever met.

KING: We made some level ground.

WHITFIELD: One of the most memorable times of his tenure, the march he led in Decatur, Alabama, a protest against the conviction of a mentally challenged black man accused of raping three white women.

During the march, shots were fired into the crowd of demonstrators.

LOWERY: I heard the bullets singing there, My God to Thee, as they hummed and whizzed over my head. So I'll never forget that march although it wasn't as historically significant as the Selma was. It almost ended my life 24 miles from where I was born.

WHITFIELD: In 1997, the organization was then thrust back into the national spotlight. Another King was named president, Martin Luther King III.

MARTIN LUTHER KING, III, FORMER SCLC PRESIDENT: I didn't want the shackles of trying to be -- make a comparison between Martin Luther King, Jr. and Martin Luther King III. It's an unfair comparison because no one can live up to or fill the shoes that Martin Luther King, Jr. actually filled. I had come to the conclusion that I myself -- the thing I must do is to build on to that my father actually started.

The real issue is not what's happening with Martin King and the SCLC board, but what is happening with the 44 million people who have no health insurance in this country.

WHITFIELD: Behind the scenes, King's tenure was not the smoothest for SCLC, with board disputes and financial problems often making headlines. He would step down after five years.

Then long-time civil rights leader Fred Shuttlesworth briefly took the helm, followed by Alabama Senator Charles Steele, a man considered a masterful fund-raiser.

CHARLES STEELE, JR., PRESIDENT, SCLC: You have to have financial resources in terms of running a business. SCLC is no different than any other business.

WHITFIELD: Evidence of his success in raising money, seen at the grand opening of the SCLC's new building, a debt-free building a few yards away from the King Center on Atlanta's Auburn Avenue.

Steele is also spearheading a project to off college degrees in King's non-violent philosophy.

KING: All the way from Selma.

WHITFIELD: Lofty goals for an organization started by a group of so-called rag-tag preachers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And now this note, Oliver Hill, a civil rights lawyer at the forefront of the legal effort to desegregate schools, has died. Hill was one of the lawyers who argued the landmark Brown versus Board of Education case before the Supreme Court. Hill was part of a legal team that worked against racially segregated public schools. A family friend says that Hill died peacefully during breakfast today at his home in Richmond, Virginia. He was 100 years old. Well, straight ahead, it is the stuff that vacation is made of -- lazy days, splashing in the pool, hanging out with friends, moments of fun. Well, this time, all of that in the midst of Iraq's cruel summer.

This is CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: And finally, a vanishing oasis for Baghdad's dwindling elite, a social club where they can go to escape the grim reality of their lives and remember what used to be.

Here's CNN's Arwa Damon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Moments like this are stolen, rare and treasured. We can't tell you the name or location of this social club because everyone here is afraid of an insurgent strike. Within these walls, the carefully guarded illusion of normalcy.

Fatma and Armel (ph) are neighbors here with their families.

UNIDENTIFIED IRAQI RESIDENT (through translator): We wake up in the morning, there's no power, no water.

DAMON: Their lives, so ridiculous, they have to laugh.

UNIDENTIFIED IRAQI RESIDENT (through translator): Haven't you heard the expression, it makes you laugh and cry? That's how we live. We deceive ourselves, but there's something crushing us inside.

UNIDENTIFIED IRAQI RESIDENT (through translator): It's not like what we have seen is nothing. All the killing, murder, the explosions, it's not easy.

DAMON: For Armel's (ph) daughter, Gorymaz (ph), coming here temporarily takes away the gruesome images in her mind of people dying.

GORYMAZ (ph), DAUGHTER OF ARMEL (ph) (through translator): At home I'm bored and scared and lonely. It makes me sad.

DAMON: The 7-year-old says. But when I come here, I'm happy.

That happiness is what these families risk their lives to come here for.

But this oasis, like the tough front the two friends put forward, is a facade.

FATMA (through translator): It's been three years since I was able to visit my parents in my childhood home. I wish, I wish, I wish I could just go and sit in my house, go back to the old days.

DAMON: In the old days, this members-only club would be packed with Baghdad's elite.

FATMA (through translator): During Bush's war, most of my neighbors left. And I said I will not leave Iraq. I will not desert Iraq. If I die, I will die in my house. No matter how many times my husband says let's go, I won't.

DAMON: But many have. Now, on a good day, what's left of them show up.

Two of the pools sit empty. The gardens deserted. And the club's old days is what Faris Abdul Rahman talks wistfully about.

FARIS ABDUL RAHMAN, CLUB SECRETARY GENERAL: You see so many full of families here. And they are happy and they are joking and they are playing cards and they're...

DAMON: An image people here have a hard time believing will come to life again.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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