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Former NBA Ref Pleads Guilty in Gambling Scandal; Texas Braces for Storm; Jose Padilla Case

Aired August 15, 2007 - 11:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. You're with CNN. You're informed.
That's better. I'm Tony Harris.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: What is going on today?

HARRIS: Wow.

COLLINS: I'm Heidi Collins.

Developments do keep coming into the NEWSROOM on CNN Wednesday, the 15th day of August. Here's what's on the rundown now.

A short time ago, a former NBA ref pleading guilty to charges related to betting on games, even games he officiated.

HARRIS: Waiting on Erin. A tropical system getting its act together and taking aim at Texas.

COLLINS: Millions of unsafe toys today. What parents can do to keep kids safe. An expert will tell us more.

Toy recall in the NEWSROOM.

And at the top of this hour, basketball scandal. Just a short time ago, former NBA referee Tim Donaghy pleading guilty in a gambling case.

Our Allan Chernoff was inside the courtroom.

Allan, good morning to you.

What did Tim Donaghy cop to this morning?

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Tony.

Well, what happened is that the former NBA referee said that, indeed, he had participated in a gambling ring that was betting on NBA games, including games that Donaghy himself was reffing.

The way it would work is that Donaghy would make calls, he would pick winners for these games, and then call them in to his co- conspirators. He said that if he did make the correct call, make the right pick, he would get paid off. He was he was paid off at least one time in Pennsylvania, at least another time in Toronto. Legally, he pled guilty to two felony counts. First, conspiracy to engage in wire fraud; second, transmitting wagering information across state lines. Together, they carry a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. Bail is being arranged right now in the courthouse.

Now, this all came to light as part of an investigation into the Gambino family, an alleged Mafia family, that apparently they have been running a gambling ring. And later today, in fact, 1:00 Eastern Time, an arraignment is is scheduled for two co-conspirators, including a man by the name of James Batista, allegedly a bookie involved in this ring.

His attorney has told us that he intends to fight the charges -- Tony.

HARRIS: OK. Allan, it is the least of concerns with this story, but I would really like to be able to pronounce the man's name correctly. Is it Donaghy, Donaghy, Donaghy?

I would just like to know.

CHERNOFF: Well, Tony, in court, the judge actually pronounced it Donaghy, but we're hearing that apparently it is Donaghy.

HARRIS: OK.

CHERNOFF: Very good question. Let me tell you a little bit about him, too, if I could.

HARRIS: Yes, please.

CHERNOFF: He has 13 years -- he had 13 years of experience reffing in the NBA. He was considered to be a pretty good ref.

He had overseen more than 700 games. And Commissioner David Stern, when he did resign, when Donaghy did resign July 9th, said that this had been a violation of a sacred trust with the NBA and with its fans. Certainly the NBA facing some major damage control right now.

HARRIS: I think you're right about that.

Allan Chernoff for us in New York City.

Allan, appreciate it. Thank you.

COLLINS: Triple play. Three tropical weather systems churning in the Pacific, the Atlantic, and the Gulf of Mexico this hour.

Relief in Hawaii as Tropical Storm Flossie moves away, downgraded to a tropical storm. But in the Caribbean, something to worry about, Tropical Storm Dean. And Texans along the coast keeping watch on a tropical depression in the Gulf.

A live report just ahead. But first, meteorologist Jacqui Jeras in the CNN hurricane center.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Well, Texans taking notice of that tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico.

CNN's Keith Oppenheim on the scene for us in Corpus Christi.

And Keith, look, no sustained winds beyond 30 miles per hour. You just heard that from Jacqui. So we're rooting for a lack of organization at this point.

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, one always would when a storm is a coming. But so far we're really not feeling that much yet.

I'm walking along the seawall in Corpus Christi and it's overcast. It's comparatively cool for Corpus Christi, Texas, but we have not yet experienced any of the wind or the rain bands that are coming from this tropical depression, soon likely to become Tropical Storm Erin.

But later today we should be getting some rain here. And rain is really going to be the thing, as Jacqui said. That's why the Texas governor, Rick Perry, has had some swimming rescue teams from the National Guard do some practices along the Texas coast to get ready for some big flooding problems, because we could have flooding in the range of three to five inches in most places, and in some places up to eight inches or more.

And Another thing I want to point out, Tony, is that there is an oil rig from Shell Oil about 75 miles to the east of where I'm standing, and on that rig they've got about 1,400 people who normally work on it. They have taken off the nonessential workers from that rig. I'm not exactly sure how many people that is, but Shell Oil announced on its Web site that they are getting those folks off that rig for good reason, because they're right in the path of the storm that's coming this way.

Back to you.

HARRIS: Yes. OK. Keith Oppenheim for us in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Keith, good to see you. Thank you.

COLLINS: Rescuers in northern Iraq still searching for victims. At least 200 people killed, 300 wounded in massive suicide bombings.

The attackers, driving fuel tankers, targeted the Yazidi sect. That's an ancient Kurdish minority group. The U.S. military says is it's too soon to be say whose responsible, but al Qaeda is the prime suspect.

Word this morning from the U.S. military, a deadly helicopter crash in Iraq does not appear to be the result of an attack. A Chinook helicopter like this one crashed yesterday near an air base in Anbar province. Five U.S. service members died. Officials say the chopper was on a routine post-maintenance check flight.

HARRIS: If you have kids or know any, you want to know what to do today about that toy recall. Mattel's Web site says the company wants parents to know about the recall as soon as possible and they want parents to return toys to them.

The recall involves more than nine million toys. Some seven million of those are Polly Pocket dolls and accessories. Those items made between 2003 and 2006 contain small magnets that can come off, a potential danger to children.

The other big concern? Toys tainted with lead paint. All the recalled toys were made, yes, in China.

Toys are just part of the story. If you want to know it all, head to our Web site right now. That's where you can find our special report "Made in China". Go to CNN.com/madeinchina. Answers to your questions, in-depth reports, you'll find it all there.

COLLINS: And once again we're going to be talking more about this toy recall. In fact, what you need to know about that toy recall. We're going to have a consumer safety expert joining us to answer some of your questions.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And at this hour, a jury in Miami is deciding the fate of Jose Padilla, the man the Bush administration has headlined as a key example of its war on terror.

I'm Susan Candiotti. I'll have a live report coming up.

HARRIS: And racing the clock, battling the odds. The search for the missing miners now in its second week. Families deal with the frustration and the fear.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: A terror trial could end with a defendant behind bars for life. You know his name, Jose Padilla. Jurors in Miami deciding his fate today.

Our Susan Candiotti reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI (voice over): Building the case against Brooklyn-born Jose Padilla took five long years. At first, the Bush administration called him a dirty bomber who wanted to set off radioactive bombs against fellow Americans.

In 2002, he was declared a military enemy combatant and held for three and a half years in a Navy brig. During that time, Padilla claims he was tortured and drugged under intense interrogations. The government denies it.

Then Padilla was flown by the military to Miami, where the case against him began in a civilian court. The Justice Department never charged him with being a dirty bomber. Instead, they added Padilla to another ongoing case, accusing him and two others with conspiring to commit murder overseas and providing material support to Islamic extremist groups.

Padilla has pleaded not guilty. The strongest evidence against Padilla might be his fingerprints on a Mujahideen form obtained by the CIA. The defense claims the prints are only on the first and last page, and argue Padilla did not fill out the form.

KENDALL COFFEY, FMR. U.S. ATTORNEY: Not a huge amount of sizzling, direct stuff against Jose Padilla, but plenty of alleged co- conspirators' hearsay testimony that in many instances are enough to secure a conviction.

CANDIOTTI: Over defense objections, jurors were allowed to hear a rare, exclusive CNN interview with Osama bin Laden shot before September 11th.

OSAMA BIN LADEN, AL QAEDA LEADER (through translator): We declared a jihad, a holy war, against the United States government because it is unjust, criminal and tyrannical.

CANDIOTTI: Frank Rubino is a criminal defense attorney.

FRANK RUBINO, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Legally, it is not evidence against the defendant, but, wow, it's just an absolutely wonderful way to smear him and convict him for something he can't defend himself about. They walk into that courtroom clothed with a presumption of guilt. That's not the law, but that's the real world.

CANDIOTTI: Prosecutors labeled Padilla as the star recruit of a U.S. terror cell. The government played what it claims are coded telephone conversations between Padilla and one of his co-defendants.

JOSE PADILLA, DEFENDANT: There was a rumor here that the -- the door was open somewhere. I wrote a letter telling her to tell my mom to send me an Army jacket, a book bag and a sleeping bag.

CANDIOTTI: In closing arguments, Padilla's lawyers argued he never spoke in code. His voice is heard on only seven of 300,000 taped conversations.

Padilla's defense team did not call any witnesses. They claim Padilla went overseas to study Islam, not to murder.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Susan Candiotti joins us now.

Susan, sort through this for us, the prosecution and defense painting very different -- I mean, difference in the extremes of this man.

CANDIOTTI: Very much to an extreme. The government, on one hand, saying this guy was in training to be a terrorist, to murder, to kidnap, to maim overseas. And the defense is saying, what are you talking about? He was just there to study Islam.

He was a religious man. He had been a former gang member in Chicago, and he was just trying to turn his life around.

So two different pictures. It will be interesting to see how the jury sees this.

Remember, the defense didn't even put on a case, so that was a dramatic move of its own. We've got a trial that lasted three months. You've got three defendants.

And Tony, there is no telling how long this jury will be out.

HARRIS: Wow.

CNN's Susan Candiotti for us in Miami.

Susan, thank you.

COLLINS: Parents scrambling this morning to get toys out of their children's hands. Mattel recalling more than nine million toys yesterday.

So what can mom and dad do?

Well, Don Mays is the senior director of product safety planning at "Consumer Reports" magazine.

Don, it's nice to see you. But I want to be clear about a couple of things here first. And that is that this recall that we talked about yesterday, seven million of the nine million products were with these Polly Pocket dolls because of a design flaw, if you will, with those magnets inside.

The other portion of this recall was because of the lead paint. And we were talking about China there.

I know that you used to do some manufacturing factory inspections, not necessarily at toy companies. But talk a little bit about your experiences in your former job, if you would.

DON MAYS, "CONSUMER REPORTS": Well, I was involved with a company that did pre-shipment testing and inspection. It was a service that was paid for by retailers to make sure that the products that they imported from foreign sources did, in fact, meet their standards, as well as U.S. safety standards. It involved technicians going into factories, sampling products, looking for any kind of critical defects such as a safety defect. If they found safe defects, it would actually stop the shipment.

COLLINS: OK. So how often do those types of inspections go on these days? Because obviously Mattel has been using these Chinese factories for a very long time.

MAYS: Well, most major retailers do employ these services to some level or another. Generally, if it's -- if it's, you know, minor brand name goods, they may have a tendency to do more inspections than, let's say, a major brand name such as Mattel. But in this case of Mattel, actually, we don't believe that these inspections were going on. Even retailers in this country weren't paying for these inspections.

The problem with the lead paint was caught by a European retailer, which was a little bit surprising to "Consumer Reports". Now, Mattel had entrusted the testing of these toys to the very factory that was producing these toys. Now, to a certain extent, that's like the fox guarding the hen house.

COLLINS: Well, it certainly is. What sort of agreements do companies usually enter into when they allow different companies -- I'm sorry, different countries -- to manufacture their toys? I mean, what is the corporate responsibility there once the export to the United States actually occurs?

MAYS: Well, there's a high level of corporate responsibility. Mattel has to -- and any manufacturer would have to make sure that the factory that's producing their toys not only meets their standards, but also the requirements of the country in which they're going to be selling the toys. And voluntary standards, if voluntary standards are in place for those products.

But it's more than just the manufacturer. We think the responsibility for product safety has to be attached to each link of the supply chain, meaning also the importers, the distributors, as well as the retailers that are actually selling the products have to be part of the safety check process.

COLLINS: Yes, no question about it. Is there any evidence to show that Mattel had not been doing these inspections, though, at that very first level of some of these factories in China?

MAYS: Well, they have admitted in the press that they had entrusted the testing of these products to the factory that was producing them and that the paint that actually came into this factory came from a third-party supplier. The paint was labeled as lead-free but, in fact, contained lead.

COLLINS: It was not, definitely.

We also heard from the Consumer Product Safety Commission yesterday something I thought was very interesting, talking about how many people they have as the watchdog group, if you will, to actually perform these inspections, because so many of the companies really leave it up to them to find when something is wrong. Only 100 inspectors for the entire country.

MAYS: Well, actually, when you look at the Consumer Product Safety Commission, they have a paltry budget of only $63.5 million per year, a fill-time staff of a little more than 400 people. Actually, only 15 of those people work the ports. So it's impossible for them to stop all the unsafe products from crossing our borders.

COLLINS: Is the U.S. government doing enough, Don? MAYS: No, they're not. We need to see better funding and better staffing levels for the government watchdog agencies to prevent unsafe products from winding up in our marketplace.

COLLINS: All right. Don Mays with "Consumer Reports".

Appreciate your perspective. Thank you, Don.

MAYS: Thank you.

HARRIS: And still to come, a truck driver accused of falling asleep at the wheel. Four students and a college employee killed. The trucker now sentenced.

Convicted of killing her preacher husband, she is now free just two months after being sentenced. What's going on here? How Mary Winkler got out.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm John Zarrella at the Crandall Canyon Mine. A critical look inside a third hole in the earth may be just hours away.

I'll have that story ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Rescue teams in Utah pushing forward at this hour. They are working underground to clear rubble and drilling a third hole, hoping to locate six trapped miners.

Live to our John Zarrella.

John, good to see you.

I'm wondering, what are you hearing about the progress that's being made in drilling that third bore hole?

ZARRELLA: Well, Tony, we expect an update here within the next two hours from mine president Bob Murray. A news briefing at about -- you know, about 1:00 this afternoon Eastern Time.

And what else we expect to happen is that they'll probably announce that they're very close to breaking through. They were at 585 feet yesterday at midday, and so by now very close to breaking through at that third hole.

Then, of course, they'll put that camera down inside that third hole and take a look. It's being drilled at the far end of the cavity where they think the miners may be. And if they don't see anything there, then plans are to go ahead with a fourth hole.

Now, yesterday afternoon, the mining company released some video taken underground of the effort to dig out that main tunnel that, of course, collapsed about nine days ago now. And 134 miners working in there nonstop, trying to dig those six trapped miners out. And they showed all of the work going on to shore up the sides and the ceilings of that tunnel for protection of the rescue workers, primarily, so that there are no more mishaps in that mine.

Now. Bob Murray, the president and CEO of the mining company, was down inside that mine basically doing this show and tell. And he talked about the progress they're making.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB MURRAY, PRESIDENT & CEO, MURRAY ENERGY CORP.: You are here right now, right at the furthest point that we have driven towards the trapped miners, a distance of about 700 feet from where we started.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZARRELLA: Now, once they get a little bit further in there, they're saying that there's a good chance that some of this debris, some of this rubble, may start to thin out, which will allow them to move even more quickly. So Bob Murray is saying now, maybe five to seven days, and they will actually be able to break through into that cavity and hopefully find those miners alive -- Tony.

HARRIS: An additional five to seven days, though, John. That is -- that's a long time. OK. I know you're watching it for us.

John Zarrella for us in Utah.

If you're looking for a way to make a difference for the miners' families, you can impact your world by logging on to CNN.com/impact to learn how you can become part of the solution here. We've posted information about the Crandall Canyon family support fund. Impacting your world now just a click away at CNN.com/impact.

COLLINS: Hawaii dodges a hurricane. Flossie downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm.

It lost strength as it sideswiped the big island. Before it weakened, though, Flossie threatened the island with powerful winds, flooding rain and pounding surf.

Look at that.

A state of emergency was put in place and schools and businesses shut down. The state has not been hit by a hurricane in 15 years. Hopefully, as Jacqui said earlier, it's going to be 16 years. That would be nice for them to hear.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: And Heidi, we are getting news of a major military operation underway right now targeting al Qaeda and Taliban elements in eastern Afghanistan. Let's go to our Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr with the latest information.

Barbara, good morning to you.

BARBARA STARR, PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Tony. Indeed, U.S. military officials confirming a major operation is under way in eastern Afghanistan. But listen to what the location is. Do you remember Tora Bora?

HARRIS: Absolutely.

STARR: You bet. That's the area of eastern Afghanistan where -- in the months after the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. thought Osama bin Laden was hiding. They bombed it repeatedly, and by all accounts, he apparently escaped from that region.

Well, U.S. and Afghan forces over the last two days have moved back into Tora Bora, according to U.S. military officials. Air and ground strikes are under way in that region. It's not that they think Osama bin Laden is there right now, but they say it has once again become a safe haven for al Qaeda and Taliban.

According to U.S. officials, their intelligence shows that there are hundreds they say of al Qaeda-hardened fighters in that area, in dug-in bunker positions. They are going after them.

We will see how this campaign sorts out, Tony. The track record of the U.S. ...

HARRIS: Yes.

STARR: ...in Tora Bora of course is mixed. They didn't get their man last time. We'll see how successful they are in this operation now -- Tony.

HARRIS: You mentioned rocket attacks. I'm wondering, are we talking about ground forces actually going up into that -- it's always been described as mountainous and very rugged?

STARR: Very mountainous, very rugged, very rough terrain. Virtually impassable, of course, in the winter months of Afghanistan. U.S. officials tell us that, yes, there are U.S. ...

HARRIS: OK.

STARR: ...and Afghan ground forces and Air Forces in the region conducting these combat operations. It's not something they're publicizing. It's been going on for a couple of days and they haven't really talked about it until today when reporters started questioning them intensively, Tony.

HARRIS: That is something. All right, Barbara Starr at the Pentagon for us. Barbara, thank you.

STARR: You bet.

COLLINS: Want to quickly get back to Jacqui Jeras, our meteorologist today. We've been talking a whole lot about these different storms that are developing and, in particular, Jacqui, something new on the tropical depression in the Gulf. JERAS: That's right, it's just been upgraded, a special statement just issued by the National Hurricane Center. We've been showing you all morning, and if you haven't seen it yet, it's really cool. This is the Hurricane Hunter Aircraft that's still presently flying in the storm.

Well, they issued their advisory at 11:00 because they hadn't found any winds stronger than 30 miles per hour. Well now, they've just found some winds stronger than that, upgrading this now to Tropical Storm Erin. It has to be 39 miles per hour maximum sustained winds for it to be considered a tropical storm, and to get that name, and that has happened.

They're expecting to issue a little bit more information on their findings coming up before the top of the hour. So, if we learn any new information beyond that, we'll bring that to you. So again, TD No. 5 officially Tropical Storm Erin.

COLLINS: OK, all right. Jacqui Jeras, thank you.

Still ahead now, rising death tolls for Iraqis on the ground, and U.S. forces in the air.

HARRIS: Betting on games, games he officiated. A former NBA ref admitting in court those charges, those allegations, a guilty plea this morning. Details coming.

COLLINS: Powerful person, a magazine rates Condoleezza Rice No. 1 inside the beltway. We'll explain after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: All right, basketball scandal. Just a short time ago, former NBA referee Tim Donaghy pleading guilty in a gambling case. He admitted betting on NBA games, including some he officiated. Donaghy telling a federal judge he bet based on the condition of the players and the referees assigned to the game. He was also giving others inside information. Donaghy worked more than 100 regular and post- season games during the past two years.

COLLINS: al Qaeda in Iraq, the U.S. military's prime suspect in a string of suicide bombings. Hundreds of people killed and wounded in Iraq's Kurdish north.

Live now to CNN's Dan Rivers in Baghdad for us this morning. Dan, why are we seeing these attacks in the region where there really hasn't been very much violence before now?

DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think exactly because of that reason probably, that this is seen as an easy, soft target where there wasn't much security, there wasn't a big U.S. troop presence. And so, if it was al Qaeda, they decided this was an easy target for them to hit and they've hit it with totally devastating results, from what we're hearing.

We're beginning to get the first pictures through of the scene there. We're being told that two towns have been hit, Sinjar (ph) and Baaj (ph), both of them extensive damage, dozens of of houses have been completely flattened, just rubble left. And the authorities are beginning to pick through that rubble and pull out the bodies, we're told that 200 people at least will have died in those two attacks.

What we understand has happened is that at least three separate truck bombs were used, suicide truck bombs, packed with two tons of TNT, high explosives. So a massive detonation. The U.S. general in the area, Major General Benjamin Mixon, is being very, very forceful in his criticism, he's pointing the finger at al Qaeda, saying this is tantamount to ethnic cleansing, almost genocide.

So, very, very strong words on the U.S. side, equally strong words on the Iraqi side. And clearly, they will be investigating just how many people perished in this terrible, terrible terrorist attack.

COLLINS: Yes, very, very strong words from General Mixon as well.

All right, Dan Rivers, thanks so much for that.

Meanwhile, word this morning now from the U.S. military, a deadly helicopter crash in Iraq does not appear to be the result of an attack. A Chinook helicopter like this one crashed yesterday near an air base in Anbar province. Five U.S. service members died. Officials say the chopper was on a routine post-maintenance check flight.

HARRIS: Storm on the horizon. Tropical Storm Erin forms just moments ago, and it is aiming for Texas. We will check the latest forecast from the CNN hurricane center.

COLLINS: How hot is it? Check this video, fire on the playground. You won't believe how this got started.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Hey, take a look at this. We've got NASA TV on the air. Love it because the quality is so good. What is happening right now? All right, this is a part of a 6 1/2-hour spacewalk scheduled for today. We've got two astronauts on that walk right now, preparing a solar array on the International Space Station for relocation. And you know, there were some concerns about this three-inch gash and whether or not you'd have to do a walk, a spacewalk, to repair it with this little putty mix, using the giant robotic arm.

COLLINS: Play dough, they use it, though, isn't it?

HARRIS: It really is, isn't it?

COLLINS: It's play dough, yes.

HARRIS: With a little putty gun. But concerns over that gash easing just a bit. So this is what's going on right now. They're just sort of carrying out some prep work just outside of the space station. And we thought we'd give you a look at it. COLLINS: Yes, what's interesting, too, is on board, you know who's on there ...

HARRIS: Yes, who?

COLLINS: ...right now, the teacher, Barbara Morgan (ph).

HARRIS: Yes, yes.

COLLINS: Very exciting.

HARRIS: That's a great story, isn't it?

COLLINS: Yes, we're going to talk more about that I'm sure, in the days to come.

But yes, NASA did a bunch of tests and decided that they really didn't have to, at least at this point, go in and repair that gouge that we've been talking about here anyway. So, great pictures coming in from NASA. Appreciate those live shots.

Diet danger. If it's fatty and sugary, it tastes good. But it's bad for people who've had colon cancer. CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta talked with me a short time ago to explain the new findings of this new study.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: What's new here is it also gives you a higher chance, about 3.5 times higher chance, of having a reccurence of colon cancer, as well. That's new information there.

When you talk about the western diet, you're talking about lots of red meat, five to seven servings a week, you're talking about sugary desserts, one to two of those a day, and you're talking about refined grains as opposed to whole grains. This is what a lot of people in the western world eat. We know, again, that it's linked with colon cancer and now the recurrence of colon cancer as well.

COLLINS: Wow, so these are people who are in remission. They've possibly had surgery or they've been through chemotherapy. And then, they have a poor diet so it actually vaults them back into having cancer?

GUPTA: Yes, that's exactly right. You know, people sort of fall one of two patterns after they've had a brush with cancer. They either become a completely different person and watch everything that they eat and become very good about it, or they say, well, I've had cancer. Lightning's not going to strike twice, so I can do what I want to do.

COLLINS: Yes.

GUPTA: The message here is you can't because 3.5 times more likely to develop a recurrence and possibly die from that reccurence is a significant increase in your risk. You've really got to watch your diet even after the surgery or the chemotherapy that you mentioned.

COLLINS: What is it that's so awful on the colon when you're talking about red meat and sugary foods?

GUPTA: You know, that's a very good question. And I don't know that people know for sure the answer to that. We've looked into that. One of the prevailing theories is that when you eat a diet, such as the western diet, you actually release a lot more insulin, a type of hormone in the body. And this insulin we know could potentially be sort of a fuel for colon cancer.

So what may have otherwise been an inconsequential tumor or no tumor at all could suddenly develop as a result of this increase in insulin levels, and that could be a possible cause. We don't know for sure what the mechanism is, but there does appear to be a pretty strong association.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Dr. Gupta says it is best to limit red meat to once or twice a week, eat whole grains and cut out that sugar. And it is hard, isn't it?

HARRIS: Yes.

COLLINS: To get your daily dose of health news online, log on to our Web site, you'll find the latest medical news, a health library, and information on diet and fitness. That address, CNN.com/health.

HARRIS: "YOUR WORLD TODAY" coming up at the top of the hour, oh about 13 minutes away from right now. Jim Clancy standing by with a preview.

Jim, good morning.

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hi Tony, hello to Heidi too.

We're going to have a global survey of news coming up at the top of the hour. First and foremost, the Chinese reaction to that massive toy recall. John Vause, our correspondent in China, is going to take us to the factory where after the recall was announced, a manager committed suicide.

Also, a turf war, not on its own turf. In Germany, there are police now looking into a massacre that has stunned the country. We'll have a live report on this. Why the mafia, particularly lethal branch of it, is striking out so far away.

Also, we'll take you to Iraq. We'll hear live from the U.S. military in Baghdad after that vicious bombing that killed more than 200 innocent civilians. Can al Qaeda be stopped from hitting soft targets in remote areas of Iraq?

All that and more coming up at the top of the hour. Heidi, Tony.

HARRIS: All right Jim, appreciate it, thank you.

And still to come, powerful person. A magazine rates Condoleezza Rice No. 1 inside the beltway. We'll explain.

COLLINS: Convicted of killing her preacher husband, she is now free two months after being sentenced. How Mary Winkler got out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: A four-year prison sentence for a Michigan drunk driver. He is blamed for the deaths of four Indiana College students and a university employee. Robert Spencer (ph) could have faced up to 24 years behind bars. He was accused of falling asleep on an interstate before his tractor trailer hit a Taylor University van. The case drew national attention when a coroner misidentified one of the students killed. The mix-up wasn't discovered until more than a month later.

COLLINS: A preacher's wife free. Mary Winkler is free two months after a jury convicted her in a shotgun killing of her husband. The Tennessee woman released from a mental health facility yesterday. Winkler was sentenced to three years for manslaughter, but she got credit for time served before the trial. She will serve the rest of her time on probation. Winkler still faces a custody fight for her three children and a civil suit filed by her in-laws. Prosecutors had portrayed Matthew Winkler as a good husband, but defense attorneys argued he abused his wife.

HARRIS: Spontaneous combustion on the playground? Seeing is believing, take a look at these pictures. It took just minutes for a Texas elementary school playground to go up in flames. And it appears that typical playground safeguard was a big factor. Fire officials say decomposing wood chips were ignited by the sun. No kids were on the playground at the time, good news there. The school district is now replacing wood chips on the playgrounds with gravel.

COLLINS: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice topping a new list of Washington's most powerful.

CNN's Zain Verjee reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is flying high. She's No. 1 on GQ Magazine's list of the 50 most powerful people in Washington.

SEAN MCCORMACK, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: You know, I guess GQ feels as though that she can sell a few magazines.

VERJEE: Glenn Kessler, author of a new book, "The Confidante," says Rice has the power because she has the president's ear.

GLENN KESSLER, WASHINGTON POST: The president is counting on her to help turn things around on the foreign policy end before they leave office.

VERJEE: That relationship gives Rice the clout to make major decisions, jump-start diplomacy with Iran, and clinch a deal with North Korea. GQ says Rice was the "ultimate yes-woman" as national security advisor, but is now a "much-needed check" on Vice President Dick Cheney who takes a much harder line on foreign policy.

KESSLER: It looks like the vice president is on the losing end of those battles.

VERJEE: GQ says, "Whatever hope we have of not going to war with Iran before the end of Bush's term rests largely with her."

The CNN Opinion Research Poll shows Rice is very popular among Americans. While many of the top names in the president's inner circle have left him, Rice is staying put.

MCCORMACK: There's a lot that she wants to accomplish.

VERJEE: But the jury is still out as to whether she can claim any success in Iraq, Iran or North Korea before leaving office.

KESSLER: At the moment, there are lots of balls in the air. She's doing a lot of juggling. Some of them have dropped on the ground, certainly in the terms of Iraq.

VERJEE (on camera): Rice isn't the only one at the State Department that made the cut for GQ's most powerful. Her point man on Iran, Nick Burns (ph), as well as her Arabic interpreter, Gamal Halal (ph), also made the list.

Zain Verjee, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Storm on the horizon, Tropical Storm Erin forms. Boy, this happened just a short time ago. It is aiming for Texas. We will check the latest forecast with Jacqui Jeras from the CNN hurricane center right after the break.

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HARRIS: Remember Oscar the cat, the Rhode Island feline that predicts when nursing home residents are near death? Well now, equal time for dogs.

Dawn Kendrick from affiliate WOIO reports.

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DAWN KENDRICK, WOIO REPORTER (voice-over): At the Pine's (ph) long-term care facility in Kansas, there's a staffer with no formal training that makes the rounds like he runs the place. A schnauzer named Scamp that senses when residents are in their final hours.

ADELINE BAKER, NURSING HOME STAFFER: He's very sensitive to the families and to the needs of the residents. He knows when someone's not doing well. He'll camp out in their room. He has actually brought his dog bed out, brought it into the room of someone who is passing away, and stood guard by their bed.

KENDRICK: Scamp came here after a near brush with death himself. Just a puppy, hit by a car, his pelvis crushed, colon punctured. Took six weeks to recover. Then took his first steps here and never left.

Scamp is Adeline Baker's right-hand dog. Where she goes, Scamp is never far behind. Not even our camera could keep Scamp from his appointed rounds.

BAKER: Scamp is a big part of this facility.

KENDRICK: This intuitive schnauzer seems to smell grief as well. An elderly man who had come to feed his wife every meal she ate had made a friend in Scamp.

BAKER: He always talked to Scamp. On the day she died, the whole family was in there. He went into the room, he looked. He stopped at every family member and just stopped, and like he was paying his condolences. I've never seen anything like it.

KENDRICK: In Canton, I'm Dawn Kendrick, 19 Action News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Quickly now to Jacqui Jeras with a new tropical storm -- Jacqui.

JERAS: Yes, it's officially Erin. If you missed it at the bottom of the hour, the hurricane hunters flew this path here and found winds supporting that 40 miles per hour about to make it a tropical storm. The tropical storm watches have been changed now in order to be tropical storm warnings from Freeport on southward, and we're expecting a quicker landfall now, and it's expected to be a little farther to the south. And this will happen probably some time tomorrow morning. Heavy rain will be the big concern.

COLLINS: Jacqui, thanks so much for that.

CNN NEWSROOM continues just one hour from now.

HARRIS: "YOUR WORLD TODAY" is next with news happening across the globe and here at home.

I'm Tony Harris.

COLLINS: And Heidi Collins. Have a good day, everybody.

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