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Virginia Tech Lawsuit?; 11 Public Officials Arrested in New Jersey; Time for Thompson?; Iraqis Killed in U.S. Airstrike
Aired September 06, 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: And good morning again, everyone. You're with CNN. You're informed.
I'm Tony Harris.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Heidi Collins this morning.
Developments keep coming into the CNN NEWSROOM on this Thursday, the 6th of September.
Here's what's on the rundown.
Fred Thompson's late night announcement. The Republican is in the race for president, today stumping across Iowa
HARRIS: e mortgage mess claims more jobs. Hundreds of new layoffs at the nation's largest lender, Countrywide.
WHITFIELD: And the curtain calls for opera's grand voice. Luciano Pavarotti dies from cancer.
We'll remember his brilliance in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Touched by the tragedy at Virginia Tech, now it appears some victims' families may be taking legal action. They've retained a high-powered law firm.
CNN's Brianna Keilar joins us live from Washington with more on this.
HARRIS: And Brianna, I think a lot of us saw this coming once that report was released on the shooting rampage last week.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Tony. And at least seven families of students who were killed in the Virginia Tech massacre have retained services of this law firm that's based here in Washington. That's according to that law firm, Bode & Grenier. And these -- all of these are the families of students who died in the second shooting at Norris Hall.
Peter Grenier also told that the firm is in discussions with four other victims' families. He says this is very much in a preliminary stage, but if lawsuits were to be filed, they would be wrongful death claims that allege negligence on the part of the state of Virginia, because, after all, Virginia Tech is a state school. Now, the Virginia Attorney General's Office which would represent the state is not commenting on this development. And we've also reached out to Virginia Tech and are still awaiting a response from the school -- Tony.
HARRIS: Hey, Brianna, how likely are settlements in these cases?
KEILAR: I posed that question to CNN's own legal expert, Jeffrey Toobin. And he told me that it would be difficult to prove negligence on the part of the university. But on the other hand, he said that a settlements is likely, or settlements, various settlements in this case, because it's not in the interest of the state to be in a public fight with grieving families.
HARRIS: Yes. And quickly, what can you tell us about this law firm? Does it have a history with these kinds of cases?
KEILAR: It does. One of the areas that this law firm specializes is in high-profile wrongful death cases.
They actually represented the daughter of a science teacher at Columbine High School who bled to death in the hours after the shooting as police made the decision not to enter the school there. And that woman settled with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department for $1.5 million in 2002. This was a large settlement and one of the few to follow Columbine -- Tony.
HARRIS: CNN's Brianna Keilar following this story for us from our Washington bureau.
Brianna, thank you.
WHITFIELD: Another story making headlines this morning, a black flag flies over the Vienna State Opera house today mourning legendary tenor Luciano Pavarotti.
Pavarotti died at his home in Modena, Italy, after a battle with pancreatic cancer. For more than 50 years, Pavarotti thrilled audiences with his vibrant voice and larger-than-life personality. He is credited with bringing opera to the masses. Fellow tenor Placido Domingo described Pavarotti's voice as having God-given glory.
Pavarotti was 71.
CNN.com readers are sharing their thoughts and memories of Luciano Pavarotti. Log on now and read what they have to say and post your own words. Just click on to the headline "Heaven Now Has a Tenor".
HARRIS: And here's some information about the disease that Pavarotti battled, pancreatic cancer.
It's a leading cause of cancer deaths. It spreads rapidly and seldom is detected in early stages. Pancreatic cancer affects more men than women. It is estimated more than 37,000 new cases will be diagnosed in the United States this year and it will kill more than 33,000 people.
WHITFIELD: Also new this morning, an update in the case of Madeleine McCann.
The 4-year-old British girl vanished in Portugal this spring. You'll remember that story and that search.
The news network ITN is reporting her parents will be interviewed separately now. Police say they are considered possible witnesses, not suspects. It comes amid reports that Portuguese detectives and British forensic experts have DNA evidence from a potential suspect. According to the report, that arrest is expected in the next 48 hours.
HARRIS: And how about this? A public official's busted in New Jersey. Eleven arrested, including a mayor and two state lawmakers. A federal corruption probe we're talking about here.
CNN Senior Correspondent Allan Chernoff live in New York.
Allan, tell us more.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: Tony, it gets better than that, believe it or not. Let me just fill you in.
Eleven public officials and one private citizen arrested here this morning in New Jersey. And the charges, they are charged with taking bribes of between $1,500 and $17,500 in corruption charges of accepting these bribes for insurance services and also roofing services for municipalities and school boards.
Now, included in those officials, one assemblyman by the name of Alfred Sloan (ph). He is from Patterson. He is the deputy speaker of the New Jersey Assembly.
Get this: he is a pastor at the Seminary Baptist Church, and an under sheriff at the Passaic County Sheriff's Office. Holds quite a few jobs. And now he is charged with federal corruption, accepting bribes.
Also, the mayor of Passaic, Sam Rivera, the chief of staff to the Newark City Council president. And also five members of the Pleasantville school board.
So a wide-ranging corruption charge here. These people are to appear in federal court in Trenton this afternoon -- Tony.
HARRIS: Wow. And we always remind ourselves that these people at this point are merely charged.
Allan Chernoff for us out of our New York bureau.
Allan, appreciate it. Thank you.
WHITFIELD: He played a D.A. on TV. Fred Thompson's latest real- life role? Presidential candidate.
He made the official announcement on late-night TV. But is he late to the party?
Here's Chief National Correspondent John King.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Fred Thompson is banking on the idea that it's better to be late than to be one of the other guys.
CYNDI MOSTELLER, S.C. REPUBLICAN ACTIVIST: For Giuliani, of course it's social issues. For John McCain, it's become the immigration issue. For Mitt Romney, there is a sense of, what is his core? Is he the John Kerry Republican in this in terms of flip- flopping?
KING: Cyndi Mosteller is a veteran Republican activist in Charleston, South Carolina. A McCain backer until a few months ago, now helping Thompson try to prove waiting so long to officially jump in wasn't a mistake.
MOSTELLER: I think that Fred Thompson really is the intersection of conservative ideology and political electability.
KING: On the one hand, it sounds silly to say he is late to the race. But the first voting is four months away, and the others have been in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and beyond for months.
WHIT AYRES, REPUBLICAN POLLSTER: Expectations are sky-high, which means he better perform flawlessly out of the blocs or a lot of people are going to start grumbling that he's not the great savior we thought he was.
FRED THOMPSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: On next president's watch our country will make decisions that will affect our lives and our families far into the future.
KING: Thompson is angling for a conservative base that hasn't coalesced around one candidate, promising his commitment to outlaw abortion is more than lip service.
THOMPSON: I don't think as a president you can do anything halfway.
KING: On Iraq, is he in no rush to talk about bringing troops home.
THOMPSON: Right now we need to make every effort to make sure that we don't get run out of there with our tail between our legs before we've done the job.
KING: Thompson is a former federal prosecutor, made his mark as the Republican counsel on the Senate Watergate Committee and served eight years in the Senate from Tennessee. But bring up his name, and one word trumps all others...
AYRES: Actor. He is known as an actor. Senator Thompson is not that well known. In many ways he's a vessel into whom many Republicans have poured their hopes and dreams. We'll see whether those hopes and dreams get realized.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right. And John King joins us now from Des Moines, Iowa, where Thompson campaigns today.
So, John, Fred Thompson, an actor. He's got communication skills. He's got a lot of appeal. And he gets a lot of style points, too.
But what about the substance in his campaign? What is it? And where is it?
KING: That is the question, Fred, many are asking. But first, don't discount the style.
Ask people why did Ronald Reagan have so successful campaigns? Why did George W. Bush so successful campaigns in tough climates?
WHITFIELD: Yes.
KING: And they would say because he was more likeable. So style does matter.
But on the substance, many of Fred Thompson's rivals are saying, where's the beef, essentially. And so he will come out today and say he is a commonsense conservative, tough on immigration, opposing amnesty, promising to put border security first, promising to keep taxes low, promising to continue the war on terrorism, and promising as well in an appeal to the conservative base to look to overturn Roe v. Wade in a Thompson administration.
But that will be the big question. There's been all this hype, is he a white knight coming into the Republican Party? He's going to have to prove himself not only as a performer, but on the substance as well -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: And you've got to give him credit. I mean, he does have the spotlight right now. So it was quite smart to come out solo like this, as opposed to coming out with the pack.
KING: He has those Hollywood skills. He could have been in a debate last night with the eight other Republicans. He said no to that, because you're absolutely right, when you're making an entrance, you want the spotlight to yourself. So he does have that spotlight right now. The question is, what will he do with it?
Because he's getting in late, he doesn't have room to make too make mistakes. All candidates make mistakes, all candidates stumble.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
KING: Because he is getting in late, he has to do it as quick as possible. I can bet, Fred, back there today that Fred for president has Tony a little jealous.
WHITFIELD: I think so. Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: He's like, which Fred?
All right, John. Thanks so much.
HARRIS: Very nice.
And this just in to CNN. We've been following the Larry Craig saga now for a couple of weeks now. We had the announcement just a week ago that Larry Craig was going to resign. I'm sorry, intended to resign.
This all in the aftermath of the men's room sex sting operation at the Minneapolis airport and the guilty plea to a misdemeanor. And then the fuss over the weekend pretty much started by Arlen Specter, senator from Pennsylvania, who suggested that Larry Craig should fight the charges and attempt to clear his name.
Now we're getting indications that Senator Larry Craig is all but certain now to stick with his decision to resign from the Senate. This from Senator Craig's spokesman, once again saying that the embattled lawmaker is all but certain now to stick with his decision to resign from the Senate September 30th, I believe is the date.
CNN Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash is working the story and we will touch base with Dana shortly.
WHITFIELD: Terror manhunt. Three suspects are in custody, even more on the loose.
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Arwa Damon, live in Baghdad, where a U.S. airstrike is being blamed for over a dozen Iraqi deaths.
We'll have that story coming up.
HARRIS: Also, Iraqi nerve gas stored at the United Nations? Sometimes things just aren't what they seem.
Stay tuned for an important update.
WHITFIELD: And something every new mom and dad should hear, the five most common mistakes made by new parents.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Battling militants in a Baghdad neighborhood. Iraqis reporting at least 14 killed in an air and ground assault by U.S. and Iraqi troops.
Live to CNN's Arwa Damon in Baghdad -- Arwa.
DAMON: Fredricka, that's right. Now, the U.S. military put out a press release saying that what happened was, while U.S. and Iraqi special forces were conducting an operation, their target was a Shia militia cell that has been, according to the U.S. military, carrying out extra judicial killings of Sunnis, as well as setting up illegal checkpoints and targeting the Iraqi police. But while some forces were moving in on their target, they immediately came under gunfire from dozens of insurgents shooting at them from rooftops. The U.S. military says that the unit on the ground tried to suppress the incoming gunfire by returning fire, precision fire, and then eventually ended up calling in that devastating airstrike.
Now, the U.S. military saying that they destroyed two insurgent strongholds and damaged two other buildings in the area. However, Iraq's Ministry of Interior is saying that 14 civilians were killed in that attack, another 10 wounded. Really here it is oftentimes the civilians that end up paying the ultimate price -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: And so, Arwa, there is yet another operation taking place in the Diyala River Valley that concluded on Saturday, but then there is yet something very similar being launched again in northern Iraq.
What's that all about?
DAMON: That's right. Well -- and let's just talk about the operation that just ended in the Diyala River Valley.
It was called Operation Lightning Hammer One. And that was intended to, in Diyala, disrupt the al Qaeda cells in that area. And what the U.S. military says it has accomplished was that it did indeed disrupt those cells, disperse the fighters, and then ended up chasing them north up the Diyala River Valley.
The operation that we're seeing taking place today that involved tens of thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops extends across all of northern Iraq. And the intent is the same, to continue to disrupt al Qaeda's activities and take advantage of the momentum that the U.S. currently has since Sunni fighters that were once fighting them are now fighting with them against al Qaeda. But there are some military commanders here that believe that the U.S. has accomplished just about everything that it can militarily and that the Iraqi politicians need to step in now and take action to take advantage of that momentum that has been gained -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Arwa Damon, thanks for that update from Baghdad -- Tony.
HARRIS: An update this morning on the discovery of a suspicious chemical at a U.N. office last month.
Remember this scene, commotion in Manhattan/ Authorities thought they had found a deadly agent recovered from an Iraqi weapons lab by U.N. inspectors. They sent it off for testing and it turns out it may be nothing more than a cleaning solvent, something you can buy over the counter. WHITFIELD: That's what you call a big oops.
HARRIS: A little embarrassing.
WHITFIELD: Yes, very.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Still to come in the NEWSROOM this morning, something every new mom and dad should hear: the five most common mistakes made by new parents.
WHITFIELD: I'll be taking notes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Making mistakes, everybody does it, especially when you're a new parent. And it's OK, apparently.
Today we are looking at the five most common mistakes with parents. And the mistakes they make particularly when they have newborns.
Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen writes about it in the "Empowered Patient" segment, right?
Everyone makes mistakes. And they get really stressed out about it, especially when they have a new baby in the house.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: They do. So it actually is probably helpful to learn about these mistakes in advance so that you don't make any.
So we asked a group of highly esteemed pediatricians, what are the mistakes you see people make with cute little newborns like that little guy or gal there? What do you see people doing over and over again?
And it's very interesting. One of the top ones that I heard, it will both surprise parents and, I have to say, it might very well disappoint them. And that mistake that parents is that they let their newborns sleep through the night.
Not supposed to happen. You know how parents get really excited, oh, she slept through the night on her first night home from the hospital?
WHITFIELD: Yes. They're so sleep deprived.
COHEN: Right. But the parents are thrilled.
Not a good idea. Your kid could get dehydrated. They should be eating at least every four hours. And if they're sleeping that long, it could very well be a sign that something's wrong.
WHITFIELD: Something's wrong. COHEN: So, yes, you don't want to do that.
WHITFIELD: OK.
Well, you got any more tips?
COHEN: OK. One more tip.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
COHEN: One more tip to give you. And that tip has to do with taking newborns out too early.
This is another thing that might disappoint parents. Sometimes parents take their newborns...
WHITFIELD: Oh, yes.
COHEN: ... right home from the hospital to the movie theater, you know, or to the crowded mall.
WHITFIELD: I've seen that.
COHEN: Yes. I think we've all seen it. And too many parents do it. And it's a bad idea, because if your child gets a bug -- first of all, they could get extremely sick.
WHITFIELD: There's germs everywhere.
COHEN: There's germs everywhere. But any fever for a newborn, that's an automatic two-day hospital stay. It doesn't matter what caused it, because they have to evaluate it.
WHITFIELD: And plus, people -- you know, people instinctively want to come over to your baby and they want to touch it, and they touch the hands, and the hand goes to the mouth. It's like, come on.
COHEN: Right. And even if they don't go that far. If the guy who is, you know, in the row ahead of you in the movie theater sneezes, that could get to your kid. Your kid gets a fever, two days in the hospital automatically.
WHITFIELD: Right. So it's pretty confusing out there for a lot of parents, too. Not really quite sure, you know, the right things to do. You know, folks are getting a lot of conflicting messages sometimes.
COHEN: Right. There's a lot of books out there. Plus, there are sometimes those annoying in-laws and friends who want to give lots of advice.
And the pediatricians I talked to said you have to trust your instincts. This is so important.
They said these days, more than ever, parents don't trust themselves because there's six shelves of books at the book store and there are all these people telling them what to do. And if you don't trust yourself, it can hurt your baby.
One pediatrician said she's had patients where they thought the baby didn't look so good, thought their newborn just didn't look right, and everyone around them said, oh, she's fine. And they looked in the books and didn't see anything, and the kid really was sick.
WHITFIELD: Oh.
COHEN: The parent did know best.
WHITFIELD: Instincts you've got to go with.
COHEN: Use your instincts. Go with it.
WHITFIELD: Wow. So you're just not going to give up the other -- what, there are three left, right?
COHEN: There are three left. So if you go to CNN.com/health...
WHITFIELD: So you've got to go to the Web site. Because I want to know.
COHEN: ... and you get the other five. And I think they're very, very helpful to new parents. So, CNN.com/health.
You see it right there, the five mistakes that parents make with their newborns and how not to make them.
WHITFIELD: Wow. I'm past that part of the whole newborn thing, but I just want to know because I want to know if I did it all right.
COHEN: Right. Right.
WHITFIELD: How did I do?
COHEN: You can look backwards.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks a lot.
COHEN: I'm sure you did great.
WHITFIELD: I hope I did. All right. Thanks a lot, Elizabeth.
COHEN: Thanks.
HARRIS: Bottom of the hour. Welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Tony Harris.
WHITFIELD: And I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Heidi Collins.
A hatred of Americans and a mission to kill them. German police are searching for more suspects in a terror plot. Three people are already under arrest.
CNN's Frederick Pleitgen has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERICK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: German authorities remain on high alert this morning as the investigation into the possible terror plot in this country broadens. Investigators here in this country tell us they are now investigating up to 10 possible further suspects in this alleged plot. They say that not all of the suspects are from Germany. And they also say that they are not only investigating in Germany, that this has become a broader investigation. Now they haven't told us where these people are or where these people are from, but certainly they are not in custody yet, but they are being investigated.
Another further development, security officials say that among some of the suspects they found highly sophisticated military detonators that would have made these explosions a whole lot more precise. The point of detonation would have been a whole lot more precise than with other less lethal detonators.
Now Germany has also begun a debate about how this country wants to provide for its own security. One measure possibly, Internet eavesdropping, and also eavesdropping on a private e-mail account in this country, a massive debate going on at this time.
Frederick Pleitgen, CNN, Ramstein, Germany.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Clinton road show, part two. This time it's the former president playing the role of supportive spouse.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Ted Rowlands in Mindin (ph), Nevada, where the desperate search for Steve Fossett continues. We'll have the very latest coming up in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: The search for missing adventurer Steve Fossett resumes full force this morning. Crews scouring the soaring peaks and desert of northwest Nevada.
CNN's Ted Rowlands is live for us this morning.
Ted, tell us where you are, and when does the search get under way in earnest, if it hasn't already?
ROWLANDS: It is getting under way actually right now. We just saw plane getting ready to take off, one of the smaller planes, a Cessna. They're using pretty much the whole gamut of resources. They've got some Cessnas with three-man crews out there. They ran a C-130 all night using thermal imaging. You know, Steve Fossett is the guy you'd want in a situation like this, a guy that could pretty much survive anything. His resume, his track record, proves that.
The bottom line, though, is that every day that goes by here, the sense of desperation and worry continues to grow. And today they are getting another beautiful day in terms of weather. They'll be able to be able to get lower in altitude. If winds are up, they basically have to fly high, but if winds are down they can fly lower, gives them a better shot at seeing the potential wreckage of this plane, or Steve Fossett.
Last night, like I said, they did run for the first time the C- 130s overnight. Unfortunately, they didn't see anything. Yesterday at one point they thought they had found the plane. Turned out they found an old plane that had been there for years that had wrecked in this area. That's very, very notorious, in terms of wind conditions and the danger. Everybody is really getting a sense of worry, including Steve Fossett's good friend and fellow adventurist Sir Richard Branson.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD BRANSON, CEO, VIRGIN ATLANTIC: We're obviously worried. The problem is there wasn't a flight plan, so he could be anywhere within a 600-square-mile block. It seems more likely than not that he's injured.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: Fossett has been missing since taking off Monday morning. He was supposed to be gone for three hours, didn't return and he was reported missing Monday night, and there's been no sign of him since then, Tony.
The search continues here and hopefully, fingers crossed, they'll find something today.
HARRIS: Hey, Ted, very quickly, what was he doing out there?
ROWLANDS: He was looking for a spot to -- his latest adventure was to try to break the land-speed record. So he was out surveying an area in Nevada where he was hoping to do just that, looking for a dry lake bed. He was only supposed to be gone a little bit. He was going to check out a spot and never came back.
HARRIS: Yes, CNN's Ted Rowlands for us this morning. Ted, appreciate it. Thank you.
And the latest information on the search for Steve Fossett coming in a live news conference from Nevada, 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time, live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Fred, you will be in the NEWSROOM this afternoon, along with Don Lemon.
WHITFIELD: Right.
Republican president tension candidates facing off and facing a new contender. The GOP candidates held their latest debate in New Hampshire last night. The newest candidate -- Fred Thompson, who actually skipped the event to officially announce his presidential bid. His rivals weighed in on his candidacy and his absence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRES. CANDIDATE: The people of New Hampshire expect to see you, they expect to see you up a lot, and they expect to see you at town hall meetings and at places all over this great state.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRES. CANDIDATE: He's going to bring more entertainment, and vigor and ideas to the Republican platform, so I welcome him into this.
RUDY GIULIANI (R), PRES. CANDIDATE: This is not a time that the United States should be electing someone who's going to get on-the-job training.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The Republicans expressed support for the Iraq War, with the exception of antiwar candidate Ron Paul. He made the case for withdrawing troops from Iraq.
And you did it once; now it's time for history to repeat itself. Go to CNN.com/youtube debates and post your questions for the Republican presidential candidates. The debate is scheduled for Wednesday, November 28th. Your voice will be heard only on CNN, your home for politics.
HARRIS: From commander in chief to campaigner in chief. Former President Bill Clinton now a regular on the campaign trail.
CNN's Mary Snow has that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From the campaign trail...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Bill Clinton.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
SNOW: ... to the talk show circuit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW")
OPRAH WINFREY, HOST, "THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW": Please welcome former President Bill Clinton.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNOW: Former President Bill Clinton took center stage on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" to promote his new book, "Giving." But his wife's presidential aspirations are never far away. On CNN's "LARRY KING," Hillary Clinton was on his jacket lapel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "LARRY KING LIVE")
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Hillary 2000...
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Eight.
KING: Eight.
You didn't -- you could have kept it on.
CLINTON: Oh, I have got another one.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA CENTER FOR POLITICS: The Hillary Clinton campaign has lost all fear of having Bill Clinton out on the campaign trail. They started off very carefully with him, small doses. They were afraid that he would overshadow her. That's now dissolved.
SNOW: Back in 2006, when the Clintons attended the funeral for Coretta Scott King, the president was seen as overshadowing his wife. But, now on the campaign trail, he takes the backseat.
CLINTON: I love not running for anything. I can say whatever I think. Of course, nobody has to care what I think.
SNOW: Being deferential is a far cry from once being the leader of the free world. But the former president seems to be at ease with it, and told Larry King, if his wife is elected to the White House, he's prepared to take the supporting role.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "LARRY KING LIVE")
CLINTON: I will do whatever she asks me to do, but, you know, I -- I can't and shouldn't be appointed to the Cabinet. That's now not legal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNOW: As Bill Clinton has taken on a more visible role in his wife's campaign, polls show he ranks high among Democrats. But one political observer says he may have a limited role in a general election, should Hillary Clinton become the Democratic nominee.
SABATO: I would expect Bill Clinton to drive up Republican turnout and also to cause heartburn among many of the independents.
(on camera): Because Bill Clinton still carries negatives with so many Republicans, some political observers say the real wildcard will be how he'll do campaigning in the general election.
Mary Snow, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Iraq war vets paying the price for speaking against the war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've had horse manure thrown at me by a Vietnam veteran.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I get death threats. I get just people talking (EXPLETIVE DELETED) that I'm a traitor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Wow. Now other Iraq vets are speaking out in favor of the fighting. The debate in a few moments.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange. You've heard about voodoo economics? How about Vudu entertainment? That's next. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
HARRIS: What is Susan talking about there?
WHITFIELD: You've got to tune in to get the answer. Stick around.
HARRIS: All right. OK. But first, our NEWSROOM news quiz. What other jobs, other than world famous tenor, did Luciano Pavarotti hold? We will tell you straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: So earlier we asked you what -- I need to be more centered when I come back, don't I? We asked you what other jobs Luciano Pavarotti had other than thrilling the masses. The answer -- I did not know this. He was an elementary school teacher, and an insurance salesman. Who knew?
(BUSINESS HEADLINES)
HARRIS: So as the list of recalled toys made in China gets longer, authorities there are trying to show the world their factories are safe.
CNN's Jaime Florcruz reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAIME FLORCRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They are like modern-day Santa's helpers, Chinese workers assembling toys made to bring joy to children across the world. Made to order for U.S. and European companies, they are neatly packed, bound for malls and living room overseas, in time for the Christmas shopping season. PATRICK MA, WEALTHWISE INDUSTRIAL LTD.: We can produce safe toys, good-quality toys, that can help the whole industry to grow healthy.
FLORCRUZ: But will their toys pass U.S. quality inspections? Millions of Chinese-made toys in recent weeks have been recalled due to safety concerns. Stunned by these recalls China has embarked on a public relations campaign, inviting journalists into three factories in Southern Guandong Province, where 80 percent of China's toys are made.
One official showcased labs where they scrape paint from dolls to check lead content. This factory employs 10,000 workers, producing a variety of toys bound for the U.S. Here they also test toys .test toys for durability and safety. But many exported toys are outsourced to thousands of smaller facilities. Here, 100 workers make balls, ordered by corporations as give-aways. They cannot match the bigger facilities like this one, which has the resources and management systems needed to spot defective toys. Toy producers say the series of product recalls is serving as a wake-up call.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We believe it is an isolated case. It is not a general phenomenon, and we believe that this is a good sign for all the manufacturers to think about and think twice.
FLORCRUZ: Factory managers say their toys are safe and the recalls are not affecting their business. Still, experts say it will take more than a PR campaign to ensure that all Chinese products are safe.
PROF. DAVID LAMPTON, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: But it's very difficult for the central government here to immediately raise the standards of hundreds of thousands of suppliers that are in these very complicated supply chains.
FLORCRUZ (on camera): But no factory can boast of a perfect record all the time. So China's challenge remains: how to catch the affected products right here at the stores before they reach American households.
Jaime Florcruz, CNN, Guandong, China.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: U.S. and Iraqi troops tracking militants. There may be considerable loss of life in this Baghdad neighborhood.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Battle lines drawn. Iraq war vets opposed to the war are facing off against vets who support it.
CNN's Kathleen Koch reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) REP. JOHN BOEHNER, (R) MINORITY LEADER: After 3,000 of our fellow citizens died at the hands of these terrorists, when are we going to stand up and take them on?
REP. JOHN MURTHA, (D) PENNSYLVANIA: I know what rhetoric is and I know what fighting in the front lines are. I know the difference between it! I know standing here does not solve the problem!
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The voices Americans hear most often on the war. Now, they're hearing new ones.
ADAM KOKESH, FORMER MARINE AGAINST WAR: We were a fig leaf. We were there to make them look good and they still failed miserably.
KOCH: Former Marine Sergeant Adam Kokesh worked in civil affairs in Fallujah for seven months. Though he and 26-year-old Geoff Millard believed the administration's reasons for going to war were wrong, they decided to serve to help fix the situation.
GEOFF MILLARD, FORMER SOLDIER AGAINST WAR: Because I was a soldier and at the time, I really believed that when soldiers are called to fight, that's what we do.
KOCH: They've paid a price for their opposition.
MILLARD: I've had horse manure thrown at me by a Vietnam veteran.
KOKESH: I get death threats, I get just people talking (EXPLETIVE DELETED) that I'm a traitor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know what I lost. I also know that if we pull out now, everything I've given and sacrificed will mean nothing.
KOCH: Iraq war veterans backing the war are speaking out more, too, some in a series of pro-war ads crafted by a new Republican- funded lobbying group.
ARI FLEISCHER, FREEDOM WATCH: I can't think of a better voice for what is at stake in Iraq than somebody who has fought there. Or for parents of someone who gave their life there. And they're not being used. This is how debates get handled in our society.
KOCH: And this debate is passionate, but Iraq war veterans on both sides agree now is not the time for any of them to remain silent.
PETE HEGSETH, VETS FOR FREEDOM: There just isn't enough informed topic about what's actually happening on the ground in Iraq and veterans that can articulate it and explain it, I think are in short supply. So I think there's a lot of value to be added if the motive is correct, if the motive is we want to bring about the best outcome for America.
KOCH (on camera): Just what do most Iraq veterans think about the ongoing war? Both sides say no definitive reliable polls have yet been done on the subject. Kathleen Koch, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Calling all party animals. Atlanta's biggest star celebrates a big birthday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: First, take a look at this. Let's hope that nobody was home. This is in Jonesville ...
HARRIS: Whoa!
WHITFIELD: ...South Carolina. If you look closely and try to make out the picture. Yes, that is a tanker-truck, a fuel tanker- truck that has somehow careened right into that residence. You see the police presence there. But it's still unclear whether there are any injuries, whether there is anybody in the house. We're watching these developments here out of Jonesville, South Carolina.
HARRIS: Man. And Atlanta's biggest celebrity turns one today. Remember this? Well, Mei Lan isn't so little anymore. She weighs nearly 60 pounds, Fred, and is four feet tall. She loves chewing on bamboo and for her birthday, she's going to get a couple of extra branches.
WHITFIELD: Very good. Happy birthday to her.
CNN NEWSROOM continues one hour from now.
HARRIS: "YOUR WORLD TODAY" is next.
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