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Sen. Craig: Not Gay; Greece in State of Emergency from Fires

Aired August 28, 2007 - 10:00   ET

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

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Neighbors arrive to help Greece fight wildfires. Dozens of people lose their lives in arson fires.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Also, technology giving you static? Go ahead, give it a toss, that cell phone of yours. It's Tuesday, August 28th, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

KEILAR: A men's room sting, a Republican senator stung, and now his political future is in limbo. Staunch Idaho conservative Larry Craig, arrested. CNN congressional correspondent Jessica Yellin is live from Washington.

Jessica, tell us what happened here?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, U.S. Senator Larry Craig says he regrets pleading guilty to this charge of disorderly conduct. He did it without an attorney present, and he says that he was hoping this whole issue would be dealt with expeditiously. Craig paid a $500 fine we have learned and got a 10- day sentence that has been stayed in this incident.

According to Roll Call newspaper, this is what happened. Larry Craig, we're told, was at an airport bathroom in Minneapolis. He was in a stall next door to a police officer who was investigating alleged sexual activity in the bathroom. And he tapped his foot back and forth and then took his hand and ran it under the bottom of the bathroom stall, all of this according to that police report reported on in Roll Call newspaper.

Well, the officer says these are all indications of a desire to engage in lewd conduct. And so he was arrested and charged right there. Now through his office, Craig has released a statement saying: "At the time of this incident, I complained to the police they were misconstruing my actions. I was not involved in any inappropriate conduct, and in hindsight, I should not have plead guilty."

Now since this story broke yesterday, he has -- Craig has resigned from a position he held on the Mitt Romney for President campaign. He is married and has children and we're told he is on vacation with his family in Idaho at this time -- Brianna.

KEILAR: And, Jessica, one of the reasons that people have found this so shocking is because he is very conservative. He supported the constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. But this isn't the first of this type of allegations, right? Hasn't he rebuffed other allegations in the past? YELLIN: In the 1980s, he publicly denied any involvement with congressional pages at a time when there was investigation into activity in Congress with pages. And last year his office publicly denied Internet rumors that he may have been involved in homosexual activities.

And again, in this instance, he's saying, it was all a misunderstanding -- Brianna.

KEILAR: All right. Thanks, Jessica. Jessica Yellin, live for us there from Capitol Hill.

HOLMES: Let's take a bit of a closer look at Larry Craig. He is 62 years old. He has served three terms in the Senate. He does face reelection next year, but he has not said if he will seek a fourth term.

Conservative groups have praised his voting record. The American Family Association and the Family Research Council are among those giving him top marks. Craig has voted against same-sex marriage. He has also opposed hate crime legislation that would extend special protections to gays and lesbians.

KEILAR: Word coming in now that a suicide bomb has killed three U.S. troops serving with NATO in Afghanistan. That is according to the military. It happened today in Gardez, which is in the east. NATO says the bomber self-detonated while the troops were working on a bridge project. Six other NATO troops were wounded, 430 U.S. troops have died since Operation Enduring Freedom began in October of 2001.

HOLMES: Religious pilgrims are evacuating the Iraqi city of Karbala. That follows last night's deadly shooting during a holy festival. At least 26 people are dead, more than 30 wounded. Thousands of Shiite Muslims traveled to Karbala to mark the birthday of a revered imam.

KEILAR: A scramble under way this hour in Idaho where crews are trying to contain several big wildfires. The flames are creeping closer to some popular tourist spots, including Sun Valley. The situation is so uncertain that the town of Ketchum has called off one of its biggest events, the annual Labor Day party.

HOLMES: Well, there are some tough, tough days ahead for flood victims in northern Ohio. Muck and mud everywhere this morning as they try to get their lives back to normal.

More now from WTOL's Jonathan Walsh.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN WALSH, WTOL REPORTER (voice-over): It seems like a never-ending job at Reid Moore's (ph) Hallmark (ph) in downtown Ottawa. Over the weekend...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They filled up over 100 trash bags of stuff out there. WALSH: That's John Bruner (ph), the V.P. of the store, where two feet of water drowned out tens of thousands of dollars of merchandise.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, it could have been worse. I'm not quite sure how, but it could have been completely under water.

WALSH: Down the street, Jacinta Hernandez (ph) just bought this building two weeks ago. Some food in this one store, shelves that once held Western clothing now are bare, all of it garbage. The flooring is even gone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any money I make here, I put it back in the store, and I lost almost everything.

WALSH: All over town you can see and hear people cleaning up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's terrible. A lot of people are going through these businesses and having to redo everything, and it's kind of sad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a bad situation.

WALSH: Mike Sislo (ph) from Michigan is a professional cleaner for disaster zones. He says he has worked seven hurricanes and numerous floods across the U.S. He has advice for people cleaning drywall after the flooding hit.

: You get a buildup of debris in there that has got a lot of bacteria. You just want to get it out of there. You don't want to leave it, period. Just cleaning it with a topical solution, it's not going to do it.

WALSH: Flood insurance will not be part of the solution for Jacinto or John, neither had it, but both hope to rebuild and open soon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's nothing you can do except grin and bear it and hope for the best.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOLMES: Well, it's just a sad story here to tell you about now. A fatal crash in the presidential motorcade. A veteran motorcycle officer helping protect President Bush died after hitting a tree in Albuquerque. Officials say the motorcycle was apparently hit by a vehicle. President Bush says he's deeply saddened by the death of Officer Germain Casey. He called Officer Casey's widow to offer condolences. Last November, you may remember, an officer in the president's motorcade in Honolulu, Hawaii, was also killed in a motorcycle crash.

KEILAR: Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, of course, on his way out, so the question now, who will replace him? Mum's the word from the White House, but some candidates could face a tough Senate confirmation. Political insiders see a possible standoff between the White House and the Democrat-led Congress.

HOLMES: And with another White House resignation, further isolation for the president. His fight to salvage the last months of his presidency.

KEILAR: And thousands flee out-of-control wildfires, more than two dozen towns now ghost towns, live from Greece ahead in the NEWSROOM.

HOLMES: And crime is up, graduation rates are down, New Orleans students and the new facts of life after Hurricane Katrina.

KEILAR: And are dropped calls and static a stressor? Go ahead, toss that technology, join the competition.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like the idea of the competition, and it's just great fun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Cell phone tossing, it is what Finland does for fun. That story is ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Hello there again, everybody. I'm T.J. Holmes. And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM. A lack of unity in Iraq, a struggle for political power punctuated by gunfire.

KEILAR: And I'm Brianna Keilar. An arrest in connection with a Texas killing spree. Police catch up with the suspected fugitive at a friend's home more than 1,500 miles away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Some news today, a fugitive suspected in several Texas killings in custody this morning in New York. Police arrested Paul Devoe III after a short standoff. He's being arraigned today, Devoe is charged with murdering an ex-girlfriend at her home near Austin, Texas. Her daughter was also among the four victims found in that home over the weekend. Police say the murder of a bartender 20 miles away may have been Devoe's first victim in this killing spree.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC GRIFFITH, BROTHER & UNCLE OF VICTIM: They tracked him by her current boyfriend's cell phone. And that's how they figured out where he was. And so they got him, and that's the main thing right there, that's the bottom line. They got him. And I just want him to come back to Texas where he belongs and face Texas justice. Let's move on with the sentence. And I'm hoping that it's...

(MAKES CUTTING THROAT GESTURE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, authorities say a car belonging to one of the Texas victims was found at a home in Greencastle, Pennsylvania. Police there discovered the body of an 81-year-old woman. That woman's car was then found in a driveway in Shirley, New York, where Devoe was arrested.

KEILAR: New Orleans, two years after Hurricane Katrina. People there trying to piece public schools together and it's not an easy task for students or teachers.

CNN's Sean Callebs has a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thirteen-year-old Delexis Rhodes knows firsthand the enormous struggle facing New Orleans' education system. Alexis spent two long years bouncing from city to city, school to school. Now the eighth grader is back where she wants to be, at MLK Elementary in the Lower Ninth Ward.

DELEXIS RHODES, STUDENT: The school is just so much fun. And it teaches you a lot. You learn so much. And at the same time, you have fun and you get to express yourself.

CALLEBS: But almost 50 New Orleans schools remain closed. About a third of all students in New Orleans are living without their parents. Delexis is staying with her aunt. To make matters worse, school-aged children are routinely the victims of violent crime.

RHODES: I stay around the street where a lot of like the drug dealers and stuff like that hang out. And she don't like me to walk down that way to my friends' houses by myself.

DR. PAUL VALLAS, SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT: So we're going to be about college (ph). We're going to be about high expectations.

CALLEBS: New district superintendent Paul Vallas is considered a turnaround hot shot, credited with improving educational programs in Chicago and Philadelphia.

(on camera): Why did you want this job?

VALLAS: Me? Oh, I love public service and I think this is the ultimate public service challenge.

CALLEBS (voice-over): He's facing enormous obstacles here, such as the dismal graduation rate.

VALLAS: I would suspect that it may be as low as the high 20s or the low 30s.

CALLEBS: Only one in three at best actually finish high school. But Vallas says the hurricane has created a unique opportunity.

VALLAS: And that is to literally build a school district from scratch because the hurricane literally wiped out the school district.

CALLEBS: Vallas has been able to hire hundreds of new teachers. And in a city where so many kids have suffered unimaginable hardship and loss, Vallas is providing something else, hope.

RHODES: I see myself in school, focused, at the same time having a fun life.

CALLEBS: Sean Callebs, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: But in a city down on its luck after Hurricane Katrina, a big success story. We're going to hear from two people who have been instrumental in saving the oldest high school in New Orleans. That's coming up in the NEWSROOM.

KEILAR: And a national emergency in Greece right now, huge forest fires are still spreading, and the Greek government is catching a lot of heat.

HOLMES: And a Cuban father fighting to bring his daughter back home. The custody battle playing out in a Florida courtroom today, conjuring up images of the Elian Gonzalez case. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: A look at the Big Board now. You can check out the Dow there standing at this point at 13,243. Down today, at this point, 77, 78. That was expected.

HOLMES: Well, new this morning, this word from a spokesman for South Korea's president. The Taliban has agreed to free 19 hostages held for more than a month in Afghanistan. A deal was reached in face-to-face talks between Taliban militants and South Korean negotiators. Twenty-three South Korean Christian missionaries were kidnapped in mid-July, two were killed, two others freed. South Korea has agreed to stop future missionary trips to Afghanistan. It is also withdrawing troops from the country. The troop pullout was previously planned.

KEILAR: In Iraq, strength on the streets translates into political power, and hopes of national unity are threatened.

CNN's Arwa Damon reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There's no more sugar-coating reality in Iraq, as frustration in and out of country reaches near breaking point.

ALI AL-DABBAGH, IRAQI GOVT. SPOKESMAN: This is known that there is a lack of political progress. I think the militia issue is one of the weakest issue in the government, which didn't take any step in order to disarm the militias. DAMON: And government spokesman Ali Al-Dabbagh says, as long as militias control the streets, the political party they are loyal to control Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

AL-DABBAGH: They don't heed government (ph) power, unless the power is being given by the party.

DAMON: Bottom line, the various political blocs, each vying for their own agendas, maintain true power, through their militias and religious leaders, and continue to put their own people into power, regardless of their qualifications.

AL-DABBAGH: We have a deficiency (ph), we don't deny that. This is -- there is a problem we have, and we don't have qualified people, even ministers, from the ministers up to the lower level in some of the ministries, we don't have that efficiency. We don't have capability.

DAMON: He says changing al-Maliki is not going to change Iraq.

AL-DABBAGH: Unless there is a review for the whole basic issues which is forming this government, we are just like giving morphine for a patient. He will be survived for a few more months.

We think that the national unity government basis should be reviewed. The participation, the decision-making, it should be reviewed, because it leads to a conflict, and then this is a blockage.

DAMON: Walkouts by members the Iraqi government have left it crippled. And if luring them back doesn't work, Al-Dabbagh says they could form another government that could include all of Iraqi's components, but doesn't have to be one of "national unity."

(on camera): Is this currently being reviewed, the alternatives for the shaping of a different type of government?

AL-DABBAGH: Well, this is the last choice. This is the last alternative. Iraq cannot be kept in this crisis and this chaos. There is no government that's working in its half capacity.

DAMON: At the same time that democracy in Iraq is being questioned, Iraqi leaders are questioning national unity. Reality on the ground may not allow for either.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Safety inspections ordered for all newer Boeing 737 aircraft, and this is why. Take a look. The FAA director follows last week's fire on a plane that had just landed in Japan. Investigators believe a bolt from the right wing slat pierced a fuel tank. Now everybody on board was able to escape before the plane was engulfed in those flames. Swing slats on Boeing 737s in service in the U.S. since 1998 will all be checked. FAA officials say inspections will likely expand soon to include nearly all Boeing 737s worldwide.

KEILAR: In this next story, a really cool sight, if you haven't had a chance to see it. This spectacular scene, that's a total lunar eclipse, visible it in most of the Western Hemisphere in the morning darkness. Along the East Coast, the Earth cast a shadow on the Moon just before dawn. And these pictures here, these are from Charlotte, North Carolina. And of course, an eclipse happens when the Earth is directly in between the Sun and the Moon. And then the light is blocked out, usually that light being reflected off the Moon.

HOLMES: Also a fresh start to tell you about at the Justice Department. Yes, he's out, so who will replace Attorney General Alberto Gonzales?

KEILAR: Also, a Greek tragedy. Dozens of fires burning across large parts of the country and other nations are now coming to help.

HOLMES: And a different kind of long-distance call, competitors giving new meaning to cell phone abuse, throwing more than caution to the wind. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Hello again, and welcome back, everybody. I'm T.J. Holmes, sitting in today for Tony Harris.

KEILAR: And I'm Brianna Keilar, in for Heidi Collins.

A bathroom sex scandal, a conservative senator facing tough questions today. Idaho Republican Larry Craig arrested in a sting at the Minneapolis airport. An undercover policeman says Craig entered an adjoining stall and repeatedly used gestures to signal his interest in having sex.

Craig says he did nothing inappropriate. And he says the police officer simply misunderstood. The three-term senator later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges, but now says the plea was a mistake. That drew scoffs from the newspaper reporter who broke this story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN MCARDLE, ROLL CALL REPORTER: This incident occurs on June 11th, and he has almost two months until August 8th to think about this incident when he actually went and pled guilty. He says he should have had a lawyer with him, but if you go back to the police report, he went back to the airport -- the Minnesota airport where this all happened, 11 days after this incident occurred, on the 22nd.

And there's a specific report from the police officers that say he came back looking for contact information to "give a contact to his lawyer."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: The 62-year-old Craig has won conservative praise for his voting record. Among his stands, opposing same-sex marriage, also voting against hate crime laws that would focus on gay and lesbian victims.

HOLMES: A major bridge reopens this morning between Tennessee and Arkansas, a live picture over the bridge. That is the one there that connects West Memphis, Arkansas, my hometown, to Memphis, Tennessee. This is one of two major arteries that get you back and forth between Arkansas and Tennessee.

But safety concerns forced its closure. A pier under the approach span to Interstate 40 had settled several inches, that was discovered yesterday. Now engineers had to shut it down for about nine hours while crews checked for structural concerns. Traffic now flowing again in both directions over one half of that bridge.

KEILAR: Greece now under siege. The battle against huge forest fires raging this hour, but also new optimism as more firefighters join the battle. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen with us now from Rondina, Greece.

So what is the situation there, Frederik?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well the situation here in Rodina is that a large portion (ph) of this town were destroyed by the fires, but nevertheless firefighters here in this country, as you said say that they are quite optimistic. There are a lot of planes now in the air and they've also gotten several more helicopters in the fight against these flames.

There still are dozens of wildfires though raging all over the country, and really what the fire crews are seeing is that the big thing that they're looking out for is what the wind is going to be doing these next couple of days. Because, if it flares up again then they're going to be having a big problem and a lot of land, Brianna, has already been destroyed.

I got to talk to one olive farmer whose whole farm was destroyed by wildfires. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEMOS DEMOPOULOS, FARMER: I was very, very disappointment, yes. My farm over there -- yes, over there I have good trees, but finished, finished.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: And it's such a tragedy, Brianna. Many people have lost their lives, and so many people have also lost their livelihoods. This country is really hurting under these wildfires, and they do hope that they get them under control quickly, T.J. and Brianna.

KEILAR: And Frederik, it's just baffling, so many people have died in these fires. Can you straighten something out for us? Because I've read differing reports about whether or not arson is responsible for these fires. What are you hearing there?

PLEITGEN: Well, it is a very chaotic situation. The way it plays out right here is that, there are a lot of fires raging here, well over 100 fires and the Greek government believes that at least some of these fires may have been laid by arsonists. They're talking about maybe 15 to 20 fires.

And they say that there's two possible reasons for why arsonists would do this. One is strictly criminal, because they want land to build buildings on them and it's covered by forest. And, the other they say it might be political, but people may be trying to destabilize this country they say though the Greek government is not saying who these people might be, Brianna.

KEILAR: All right. Frederik Pleitgen live for us from Rodina, Greece, thanks for your report.

HOLMES: There's a whole lot of speculation this morning with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on his way out. Who is going to replace him? President Bush is staying pretty tight-lipped right now, but plenty of names being tossed around as always in these cases.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is a name out there, former Solicitor General Ted Olson, and Larry Thompson there the second ranking official at Justice, during the President's first term. But for now we do know that Solicitor General Paul Clement will serve as acting attorney general when Gonzales leaves. That will happen on September 17th.

KEILAR: President Bush increasingly alone in Washington. Good friends are leaving his team as the clock ticks down on his presidency. Here's CNN's Chief National Correspondent John King.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For the second time in two weeks, a good-bye that hit home.

GEORGE BUSH, UNITED STATES PRESIDENT: In the long course of our work together, this trusted adviser became a close friend.

KING: Alberto Gonzales is stepping down. Like Karl Rove, he has been at this president's side dating back to his days as Texas governor, and like Rove, he had become a political pinata for an administration whose days are numbered.

BRUCE BUCHANAN, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS: Well, it's a time when the train is almost passed your station.

KING: 17 months left and lame duck is a term that makes him bristle, but Mr. Bush is a president defined by an unpopular war and lacks the political muscle to sell his big ticket domestic priorities.

BUSH: With enough good sense and goodwill, you and I can fix Medicare and Medicaid and save Social Security.

KING: Those state of the union ideas went nowhere, and Mr. Bush also failed to make his 2001 tax cuts permanent or pass major immigration reforms. Now the departures of old friends magnify this president's increasing lonely place.

His approval ratings are in the dumps. Republican candidates barely mention him as they compete for control of the party. And the opposition Democrats run the Congress.

NEIL NEWHOUSE, GOP POLLSTER: The one saving grace, the only group that's rated lower than the President right now is Congress. That doesn't bode well for Democrats in Congress truthfully, but their numbers are even lower than the President's.

KING: Even most Republicans are dubious, but those close to Mr. Bush see a small window of opportunity and to that end, a house- cleaning makes sense. Say good-bye to political liabilities, even if it stings a bit and move quickly to change the subject. For the President, that means fresh pressure on the Democrats to give his Iraq strategy more time.

BUSH: I congratulate Iraq's leaders on the agreement reached yesterday in Baghdad.

KING: Voicing confidence that Iraq's brawling political factions might finally find a path to reconciliation is a huge gamble, yet trademark Bush.

BUCHANAN: His hair is grayer, his wrinkles are deeper, but he still smiles, he still sustains the impression of being at peace with himself and confident in the decisions he's made.

KING: Trademark too were the departures of Rove and then Gonzales after months of defiant White House promises they would not bow to pressure from Democrats.

BUCHANAN: At least a couple occasions he has stuck by people longer than it was in his interest to do, thinking of Secretary Rumsfeld, and to a degree, Attorney General Gonzales, and yet that's been his modus operandi, and he's going to stick to it.

KING: His way, even as the job gets increasingly lonely. John King, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Okay. Staten drugs lower cholesterol. Could they be a critical piece of the Alzheimer's puzzle? Exciting new medical findings ahead.

KEILAR: And are dropped calls and static a stressor? Well, go ahead, toss that technology. Join the competition here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like the idea of the competition and it's such great fun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KELIAR: Cell phone tossing it's what Finland does for fun, straight ahead.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange. When we NEWSROOM returns, I'll tell you about cell phone trading, trading up for a sweet ride, next. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: A Cuban father fighting for custody, trying to bring his daughter back home. This is what's playing out in a Miami courtroom. CNN's Susan Candiotti reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's hard not to draw comparisons to Elian Gonzalez when one of the main players in this latest custody battle is the man seen here tossing a baseball to then 6-year-old Elian. Former Miami sports agent Joe Cubas and his wife are foster parents to a little Cuba girl, who at the request of the judge, the media has agreed not to identify.

Unlike Elian, the girl's Cuban father didn't object when his daughter moved with her mother and 13-year-old half brother to Miami in 2005. But soon after arriving, the mother attempted suicide, and the state of Florida judged her unfit to be a parent. The mother lost custody of both children. Ever since, the girl's father, a farmer in Cuba, has been fighting to take his daughter home, and won a visa, just as Elian's father did, to wage his battle in person.

"I am her father and adore my daughter very much," says Rafael Izquierdo. He adds, "I'm a father who's proven his love for his daughter. Of course, I believe that children belong with their parents."

While foster parents to the girl, Cubas and his wife already have adopted the girl's half-brother. They argue that children should not be split.

CUBAS: I don't believe this is a matter of where a better life could be provided. More important issue is these two children have been together their entire lives.

CANDIOTTI: Cubas won fame for helping Cuban baseball players to defect, including Major League pitchers Orlando and Livan Hernandez.

The little girl's father says politics and fame aren't the issue. Bloodlines are.

Anonymous American donors are paying for the father's trip here. By the way, the mother says she thinks the children ought to return to Cuba, and she says she wants to go home too, because she's disenchanted with life here. The trial could take a few weeks.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HOLMES: Well, for one, it was pure luck, for the other it was hard work, but both young people getting rich this summer. Susan Lisovicz, make me rich this summer. Could you do that for me, Susan?

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you have got to be in the right place at the right time or you've got to be able to figure out an iPhone, T.J.. I'm sure your talents will get you one of them.

HOLMES: I don't know.

LISOVICZ: They're two great stories nonetheless. You probably heard about the kid from New Jersey, George Holtz, who figured out how to unlock the iPhone. The iPhone is only supposed to work on AT&T's network, but Holtz can make it work on other cell phone networks. Now he says he traded the reworked gadget for, in his words, a sweet new car from a mobile phone repair company in Kentucky. It's a Nissan 350-Z. And you may see Holtz riding around in his new set of wheels in Rochester, New York, probably with a whole lot of co-eds. He starts college there this week. It took Holtz 500 hours to hack the iPhone, and you know, time is money, T.J. I know your time is precious.

HOLMES: Wait, he got a car for the work?

LISOVICZ: For this iPhone that he reconfigured.

HOLMES: Just the one phone. So he traded off a phone for the car.

LISOVICZ: Yes. It was a no-brainer, I think, for him.

HOLMES: That ain't bad. OK. All right. That was the hard work. It paid -- 350-Z, come on, kid, you could have done better than that.

LISOVICZ: I know it.

HOLMES: OK, who was the lucky one then?

LISOVICZ: OK, this is another story you're probably familiar with as well. His name is Matt Murphy. He's from New York. Talk about being in the right place at the right time. He just happened to be sitting in the outfield at AT&T Park in San Francisco when Barry Bonds hit that record-breaking home run.

Well, today an auction begins to sell the ball. It's expected to fetch half a million bucks. Murphy is 21, and he's all of a sudden, overnight, he's so popular. He says he's heard from friends he hasn't heard from in a very long time. The auction runs through September 15th. T.J., get your bid in. Plenty of time.

HOLMES: He might even hear from me, actually. I'm not going to be bidding on the ball, though. Susan Lisovicz, thank you as always. We're going to see you again in a bit.

LISOVICZ: You want to know about Wall Street? HOLMES: I always want to know anything you have to tell us.

LISOVICZ: OK. I'll tell you, there's very few bids on Wall Street today. We're looking at a sell-off. Credit concerns and analysts downgrades have banking stocks lower. Also, a closely watched real estate report shows home prices drops by 3.5 percent in 20 major U.S. cities. Within the hour, we learned consumer confidence fell to the lowest level since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina two years ago. So you kind of get the read, right, T.J.?

HOLMES: Yes.

LISOVICZ: And you see it (inaudible) playing out.

HOLMES: Yes, we do.

LISOVICZ: The Dow right now down 90 points. About two-thirds of a percent, the Nasdaq is down nearly 1 percent. And I'll be back in the next hour hopefully to give you more good news, or some good news, I should say.

HOLMES: All right, and I was trying to cut our conversation short. But anything else? We want to make sure...

LISOVICZ: I have to do the money stories. I have to slip them in.

HOLMES: OK, no problem. Thank you so much, Susan.

KEILAR: Flying the heavenly skies. The Vatican puts its faith in a charter service for pilgrims.

HOLMES: And everything is bigger in Texas, right? But the Lone Star State is not the fattest in the nation. A look at this distinction that one state has gotten now. So sad. We'll be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: News we're just getting here into the CNN newsroom, about the former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. A judge in Miami has refused to block the extradition of this former dictator, Noriega. He has been serving some 15 years in a U.S. prison in Miami for a 1992 drug trafficking conviction. Now, this extradition to France is where he would be facing 10 years in prison on charges of laundering millions of dollars in drug proceeds there in France. His lawyers were trying to block that extradition and not have him go to France. His lawyers were arguing that his status as a U.S. prisoner of war negated the French request under the Geneva Conventions, and that he should be returned to Panama, and that that was a requirement. There are other hearings now scheduled on Noriega, so this is not the end of it. His prison term, again, would be ending next month after serving 15 years at a U.S. prison in Miami.

However, his status right now and his future is uncertain, because his lawyers are trying to get him sent back home to Panama, while there's an extradition request in to have him sent to France, where he would be facing more prison time and more charges. But word in here to the CNN newsroom that, in fact, a judge has approved his extradition to France. But the battle is not yet over. More details on that, and as we get them, you can depend on us to bring them to you.

KEILAR: And let's take a turn now, a funny story for you. Have you ever wanted to just chuck your cell phone, get rid of it, throw it? Well, that's the premise behind the world class competition in Finland. CNN's Emily Chang takes a look.

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EMILY CHANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tired of dropped calls and bad reception? Ever feel like just throwing your mobile phone away? Welcome to the mobile phone throwing world championships in Finland.

The object? Yes, to throw a mobile phone as far as you can. Contestants pick a mobile phone from a range of different makes and models, then wind up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just here for fun, having fun. I like the idea of the competition and it's just great fun.

CHANG: Taco Cohen won a phone throwing contest in the Netherlands, and was flown in to compete here.

TACO COHEN, CONTESTANT: For this event, I haven't really practiced. I just saw the Dutch championships. I was nearby, so I enlisted.

CHANG: To be fair, mobile phones are just one of quite a few unusual things people throw in competition. Like giant hammers, and (inaudible).

But there may be more motivation behind hurling your mobile.

NICK LANE, MOBILE CONSULTANT: People do carry these devices with them at all times. They're always on, and it's a way of communicating with people. But when it doesn't work, I think a lot of times people just become frustrated with the phone, and they do want to vent their anger towards it.

TOMMI HUOTARI, PHONE TOSS CHAMPION: Now I got to fulfill this nice dream, and it felt nice.

CHANG: Meet Tommi Huotari, the winner of this year's championships, who threw his phone just a few meters short of the world record. Yes, there is also a world record for mobile phone throwing -- just over 95 meters.

HUOTARI: Actually this was the first time, so I've never tried it before, but it seems good, so I'll be here next year also.

CHANG: Emily Chang, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HOLMES: Well, a few missing inches in the line of frustrating hours. Taking a live look at the bridge spanning the Mississippi River there in Memphis, Tennessee. We're going to take a look at concerns about that bridge that spans the mighty Mississippi.

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KEILAR: Pilgrims make progress on high. The Vatican gives its blessing to a new airline service. CNN's Jennifer Eccleston reports.

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JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For young Catholics, Marilena (ph) and Diana (ph), the pilgrimage is one of the most exhilarating aspects of their religion.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's very interesting to live an experience, a religious experience with the people that are searching for it together with me.

ECCLESTON: A spiritual and social experience that's taken them and countless other Catholics to holy sites in Italy and beyond. Today, it's France, a first for the girls, and a first for their faith.

REV. CESARE ATUIRE, VATICAN PILGRIMS' OFFICE: We've seen a greater increase in the number of people who want to leave on pilgrimage. And the fact is, we do not have, at least in Italy, companies that could respond to this particular demand. And for that matter, we had to give an answer. And this is the answer we found.

ECCLESTON: Pilgrim-only flights to some of the world's major Christian sites, including the shrine of the Virgin Mary in Lourdes, France, the inaugural destination. Created by the Vatican and designed especially for the passenger on a pilgrimage in mind. How so? Well, alongside serving your in-flight refreshments, the on-board staff is trained to listen.

ATUIRE: The people who leave on a pilgrimage are leaving because it's a very important moment in their life. And sometimes they just need to talk to somebody.

ECCLESTON: On the seat's headrests, a reminder of the journey's mission. A passage from the Bible, "I'm searching for your face, Lord."

ATUIRE: We believe that everybody in life is on a journey towards God. We are all looking for the face of God.

ECCLESTON: There's no duty-free trolley, nor can you watch Hollywood's latest blockbuster. Instead, Father Cesare, there's other materials to help put passengers in the proper frame of mind.

While the Vatican has officially endorsed these flights, the city-state will not, however, be investing in its own fleet of jets. They come thanks to a deal with Italian charter airline Mistral, whose blue and yellow colors coincidentally match the Vatican's. Mistral will carry pilgrims by day and Italy's post by night when these seats are replaced by sacks of mail. That's the airline's regular function, and it helps keep ticket prices down, at least 10 percent less than commercial airlines.

An added incentive for pilgrims on tight purse strings, like young Marilena and Diana. But for them, this experience is priceless, at 35,000 feet.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My soul says, yes, we will be nearer to God, I think, together.

ECCLESTON: Between heaven and earth, faithfully flying the flock, one shrine at a time.

Jennifer Eccleston, CNN, Rome.

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