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Covert Ops in Iran?; Record Oil Prices; Cancer-Free Promise: Baby Won't Inherit Breast Cancer; Zimbabwe's Mugabe Criticized; Women Train for Checkpoint Work in Iraq
Aired June 30, 2008 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. commandos in Iran. A reporter says the White House is pushing the buttons on secret missions, and the consequences could be serious.
CNN Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre, is live in Washington now with more on this.
Hi there once again, Jamie.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi, Heidi.
You know, it's not at all clear what the U.S. is doing in Iran, but one thing does seem certain, it seems that it's more than the U.S. government is publicly acknowledging.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE (voice-over): The allegation that U.S. Special Ops commandos have been conducting covert operations into Iran through from southern Iraq drew a quick and unequivocal denial from the U.S. ambassador to Baghdad.
RYAN CROCKER, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ: I can tell you flatly that U.S. forces are not operating across the Iraqi border into Iran, in the south or anywhere else.
MCINTYRE: But investigative reporter Seymour Hersh, whose "New Yorker" magazine article claims the efforts are part of a $400 million covert campaign to destabilize Iran's government, argues the operations are so super secret, Ambassador Crocker may be out of the loop.
SEYMOUR HERSH, "NEW YORKER": He may not know the extent to which we're operating deeply with commandos, not so much with our Special Forces inside Iran. So it's possible, because he's not somebody -- he'll spin it, but he's not somebody who won't say something he doesn't believe.
MCINTYRE: It's not the first time Hersh has reported the U.S. has spies inside Iran. And senior Pentagon officials have hinted to CNN that CIA and other highly classified operations are conducted from time to time in the Islamic republic, but they have never confirmed it.
In a statement, the CIA said, "... as a rule, it does not comment on allegations regarding covert operations." But some members of Congress were not so quick to dismiss the idea of the U.S. working secretly in Iran to stop its meddling in Iraq.
SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (I), CONNECTICUT: I think we should be doing whatever we can to let the Iranians know they can't continue this and not expect to us take some action against them on this basis.
MCINTYRE: Hersh says some of the U.S. forces in operating in Iran may be coming from the other border, Afghanistan. And he suggests their mission is in part to gather intelligence about Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program, possibly to lay the groundwork for a military strike.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE: The kind of operation that Pentagon officials just don't talk about, not even on the deepest background. The kind of information we do get, Heidi, comes from winks and nods and hints, and those indications are that the U.S. is involved in some way in Iran trying to support the forces that it believes might help destabilize the government there -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Senior Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre.
Jamie, thank you.
Paying for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, this morning President Bush signed legislation that includes $162 billion to help pay for fighting both wars until the next president takes office.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They volunteer to deploy in distant lands, far from their families, far from their homes, and far from comfort of America. And every day they risk their lives to defeat our adversaries and to keep our country safe. We owe these brave Americans our gratitude, we owe them our unflinching support, and the best way to demonstrate that support is to give them the resources they need do their jobs and to prevail.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The bill also provides a 13-week extension of unemployment benefits, a doubling of the GI bill, and more than $2 billion in emergency flood relief for the Midwest.
Let's take a look at where the presidential candidates stand now on Iraq.
Democrat Barack Obama opposed the use of military force in Iraq. He voted for a war spending bill that would have withdrawn most U.S. troops by March of this year. He supports a phased redeployment of U.S. combat troops at a pace of one or two brigades a month. He also opposed President Bush's plan to send additional troops to Iraq. Republican John McCain voted for the use of military force in Iraq and was an early proponent of sending additional American troops to Iraq. He also supported President Bush's veto of a war spending bill that would have withdrawn most U.S. troops by March of this year.
The Iraq war five years and counting. This morning, President Bush signed that legislation paying for the war into early next year, when a new president takes over. It's a big focus driving a lot of our coverage today on CNN, with updates on the violence, the funding and the troops.
The Iraq war perhaps the most important foreign policy issue in the 2008 election. We want to hear from those of you directly affected by the war.
Tell us the most important thing the next president needs to know about the war. If you had the chance, what would you show the next president about the war? Share your stories and your photos at ireport.com/iraq.
Skyrocketing oil prices and supply worries on the agenda at the World Petroleum Conference in Spain this week. OPEC ministers meeting with major oil company officials. The focus, how to stabilize the market. The International Energy Agency will release it's oil market forecast tomorrow.
Record oil prices are feeling a runup at the gas pump. AAA reporting another record today. The average price for a gallon of regular now almost $4.09.
Senior business correspondent, Ali Velshi, now with some reasons behind the surge.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALI VELSHI, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Oil was up about $140 when it closed to Friday, and then this morning it surged past $142, then past $143, up to $143.67. Now there was some news behind this, and that is that in Nigeria, there was an attack on a Shell Oil facility. After a few hours it was sort of learned that no oil would be -- you know, no production would be stopped, so oil was actually settled down a bit, but we're still above $142.
Nigeria is very important. It's a major oil producer in the world and, in fact, it is the fourth largest producer of oil or supplier of oil to the United States after Canada, Saudi Arabia and Mexico. It's a much bigger supplier than Venezuela is.
We have some real issues that caused the price of oil to be higher this morning, but just to give you some perspective, Heidi, we started the year with oil at about $95 or so. When we hit $142.98, which it blew through this morning, that means that oil is up 50 percent just for this half of the year.
COLLINS: Oh.
VELSHI: So in half a year, we've gained 50 percent in oil. We've also got an increase in gas prices. Again, $4.08.
And you just think about these things. Nothing else in your life is up 50 percent. Your salary is not up 50 percent, your investments are not earning 50 percent. That's a very big deal.
COLLINS: That's for sure.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: In fact, let's go straight to Wall Street now to see how stock prices are looking today. Last week, the Dow tumbled more than 4 percent.
Any improvement today, Susan?
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
COLLINS: Well, you're already being nickel and dimed by new airline fees. We just heard Susan talking about the gas prices. Well, now they are eyeing your carry-on.
No more jamming those bulky bags in the overhead bins. Officials say they will become sticklers on size requirements, and that will cost you. Several airlines have started charging $15 for your first checked bag. Southwest Airlines one of the few to allow free checked bags.
The economy, it's issue #1, and we'll bring you all the latest financial news weekdays at noon Eastern. It's info you need on the mortgage meltdown, the credit crunch and more. "ISSUE #1" coming your way at noon Eastern.
We should learn more about the collision of two medical helicopters when investigators give a briefing at noon Eastern. The NTSB joining the investigation into yesterday's crash, the go team, to be specific.
At least six people were killed, one critically injured when the choppers collided in Flagstaff, Arizona. No one on the ground was hurt. The collision sparked a 10-acre fire that was contained by the evening.
We'll have a live report on developments from the scene at the bottom of the hour.
Murder confession by letter. A newspaper receives a claim to the killing of a pregnant soldier. T.J. Holmes is on the scene investigating. He'll have the story for us coming up live in just a moment.
Brave new world. A baby that will never develop an inherited form of cancer. Elizabeth Cohen delivers on that story.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: A pregnant soldier found dead. Now a fellow soldier named a person of interest.
CNN's T.J. Holmes is following the story from Fayetteville, North Carolina, this morning and joins us now live with the very latest.
Good morning to you, T.J.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning there, Heidi.
And the very latest here is that, in fact, the Fayetteville police announcing they're treating this case as a homicide. Again, they're saying they're treating it as a homicide, but still can't officially say that she was in fact murdered. That is because the medical examiner who did examine the body has not come out with the results of that autopsy.
They haven't released those publicly, at least, and certainly if the police do know the results of that autopsy, maybe inconclusive right now, and they have not gone ahead and said that this in fact was a homicide. But they are treating it as such.
Now, there is a second autopsy being done right now. That is being done by the Army. The Army Criminal Investigation Division now has gotten involved in this case. Her body now, Staff Sergeant Megan Touma, her body is now with the Army in D.C. for another round, for another autopsy. That autopsy being done by a pathology lab up there that has more advanced technique, that could possibly give more answers to exactly how she died.
And the other (INAUDIBLE) over the weekend. Of course, Megan Touma was found June 21st in that bathtub at a hotel here in Fayetteville, North Carolina, decomposing. Her body was decomposing. Police not sure how she was killed, as we've been saying.
Now a person of interest. This news came out over the weekend, a person of interest has in fact been identified by police, even though they are not identifying this person publicly. We do not know what link this person of interest may have had to the victim. We do know, however, that this person was a soldier who was in training at Fort Bragg, the same place where Megan Touma had just been reassigned.
Also, another strange twist this weekend, Heidi. A letter sent to a local newspaper here claiming to be from the person who killed Megan Touma, saying -- kind of taunting the police a bit in this letter, saying that they have killed before and that they will kill again. Essentially claiming to be a serial killer. Included on that letter, the same sign that was used by the zodiac killer out in California, that person who was responsible for at least five killings, according to police, but was never caught.
So, a lot of unanswered questions here, and a lot of things just kind of thrown into this pot that have really made this story a lot more intriguing and confusing, but a lot of answers police are still trying to seek, Heidi. Right now, police are saying they are not going to come out and do a press conference, not expecting any interviews unless they say they actually have something to say. And right now, they are still investigating and do not have a break in this case. But if they get one, they say they will pass it along to us.
COLLINS: Yes, obviously pursuing the credibility of that letter, whether or not it seems to be accurate.
All right. CNN's T.J. Holmes following that story for us from Fayetteville, North Carolina.
T.J., thank you.
And new details today about the killing of a student body president. Eve Carson's autopsy was just released. The report says she suffered six gunshot wounds, including two to her head.
The body of the University of North Carolina student was found on a street near campus last March. Two suspects have been charged if her death. According to a confidential informant, the suspects went into Carson's home through an open door and took her to an ATM. Police initially thought Carson had been carjacked.
Firefighters still trying to get a handle on more than 1,000 wildfires in northern California. More than 550 square miles have been charred. Dozens of homes already burned and hundreds more in change danger. Right now, there are more than 18,000 firefighters on the front lines.
President Bush issued an emergency decree for seven California counties, opening the way for federal help to fight the fires.
Also want to take a look at these pictures coming in from Arizona. We told you about this just a little while ago. This one really flaring up near Flagstaff, Arizona, there.
You can see -- I believe this is the one that's about 500 acres or so in an area where they've had a massive bark beetle infestation. So that makes everything dead and very dry.
Already, as we've heard from Rob Marciano all day long, dry conditions have made a lot of these fires really move quickly through the areas. Once again, very heavily forested, dense area there you can see.
About 120 people have been evacuated from this area. And obviously they are trying to knock these fires down so more homes and certainly the people are not in danger.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: Brave new world. A baby that will never develop an inherited form of cancer. Elizabeth Cohen delivers on the story.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: A British woman is said to be carrying the first baby guaranteed free from an inherited form of breast cancer.
Medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, is here now to talk more about this.
So, how did they do that?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: There is a breast cancer gene called BRACA. I think a lot of people have probably heard of it. It runs in families. And so what this couple did was they went to a fertility specialist, they created a number of embryos, then they tested the embryos. Anything that had a BRACA gene, forget it, they weren't using it. If it didn't have a BRACA gene, then they would put it in the mother to achieve a pregnancy.
Now, this is done with all sorts of diseases like Huntington's Disease and Cystic Fibrosis. It's not as commonly done with breast cancer.
And an important thing to remember, this baby that they've created, this baby may indeed grow up to get breast cancer. This baby is just guaranteed not to get that particular form of inherited breast cancer. So that's an important distinction. It's not a cancer-free baby.
COLLINS: Right. Right, understood. But I bet there are a lot of people who think, all right, well, if you can do this, then you can probably go ahead and make a baby look the way you want them to look, or make them as smart as you want them to be.
COHEN: Right, "Let's get that blonde hair, blue-eyed genius baby, honey, we've always talked about."
COLLINS: Yes.
COHEN: Right, exactly. That factor is raised often by people who say this technology is, you know, kind of dangerous and should we continue with it. But the reality is, is that scientifically, they don't know how to create a blond-haired baby. They don't know how to go in and manipulate those genes or get a genius baby. I mean, who knows what you have to do to get a genius baby?
So it's not even possible to do that right now. Now, could it be possible in the future?
COLLINS: Yes.
COHEN: Sure. And so those are definitely ethical considerations that people need to keep in mind.
COLLINS: Yes. Lots of them, too.
COHEN: Yes.
COLLINS: All right. CNN medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen.
Thanks, Elizabeth.
COHEN: Thanks. COLLINS: To get your "Daily Dose" of health news online, log on to our Web site. You'll find the latest medical new, a health library, and information on diet and fitness. That address, CNN.com/health.
New avenues for oil exploration. The melting North Pole may uncover billions of barrels of black gold.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: A quick check of the political headlines now.
Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, word coming from the Clinton camp the former president will sit down with Obama sometime in the next few days. They're also denying reports Bill Clinton is upset with Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TERRY MCAULIFFE, HILLARY CLINTON CAMPAIGN CHAIRMAN: As it relates to Barack Obama, he will go 24/7. He is fine.
Is he's somewhat angry, as I am and others at some of the treatment Hillary received from the press? Sure. But, you know, that's life. We don't talk about it anymore. We're past that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: John McCain met with the Reverend Billy Graham and his son Franklin at their home in North Carolina on Sunday. McCain said he appreciated the chance to meet with the (INAUDIBLE) evangelist, but McCain is back on the trail today with a couple of events in Pennsylvania. We'll be watching for those.
Barack Obama will be speaking to voters in Independence, Missouri, today.
Nelson Mandela and a group of former world leaders calling Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's election "clearly illegitimate." Mugabe is at an African Union summit in Egypt right now. And CNN's Nkepile Mabuse is joining us from Johannesburg, South Africa.
A lot of people saying this election was just a sham.
NKEPILE MABUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Definitely. (INAUDIBLE) that the election observers has said that the election on June 27th was not free and fair, but we are unlikely to see African leaders get really tough with Robert Mugabe. Many of them refuse to relinquish power in their own country. Some have also suppressed (ph) opposition parties in their country now. Not (INAUDIBLE) democratic principles and human rights, or were likely to see Robert Mugabe to get into talks with the opposition, MDC, in that country, and form some kind of transitional government.
COLLINS: Nkepile, unfortunately we're having a really hard time hearing you. We are trying to follow the story the best that we can, and we appreciate your reporting as always out of Johannesburg, South Africa.
We'll stay on top of the story throughout the day here.
Meanwhile, moving now to this story, a secret plan, in fact, to take out Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda. "The New York Times" is reporting details of the plan which it says was drafted late last year. According to The Times, the plan would have made it easier for U.S. Special Forces to go into tribal Pakistan. That's where military commanders think bin Laden has been hiding.
But the proposal, said to have been drawn up in secret, remains just a paper document. The Times says policy disagreements and battles among American counterterrorism agencies have stymied the plan.
Also a problem, missteps in Washington's relations with Pakistan. The Times quotes a senior Defense Department official who says there is "mounting frustration at the Pentagon."
Violence is down and security is improving in Iraq. The latest security report submitted to Congress this month shows major violence down, 40 to 80 percent, from levels seen before the so-called surge. And total security incidents have fallen to the lowest level in more than four years.
The report goes on to say coalition and Iraqi forces have reduced al Qaeda in Iraq's ability to launch attacks. But the report points out the group still poses a major threat.
Iraqi checkpoint backup, countering women suicide bombers with female security guards.
Here now, CNN's Jill Dougherty.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At a checkpoint in Yusufiya, Iraq, southwest of Baghdad, a woman dressed in the traditional long, black abaya approaches security. Iraqi cultural norms forbid a man to pat down a woman, so a U.S. female soldier carries out the check. Is she a peaceful, local woman, or could she be hiding a bomb?
In mid-May, an Iraqi army officer was killed in this town by a female suicide bomber.
CAPT. MICHAEL STARZ, U.S. ARMY: When he came out to meet her to help her with a problem that she was having, she detonated the vest and killed him and injured some of his soldiers.
DOUGHERTY: Now, in a U.S.-sponsored pilot program, Iraqi women are being hired and trained to carry out security checks on females. It's called Daughters of Iraq, a spinoff from the Sons of Iraq program which hires local men to run checkpoints. Each woman is fingerprinted and has biometric data registered.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just did a square knot.
DOUGHERTY: Their training includes first aid. An Iraqi colonel explains what the job entails. They'll work two to three days a month and will be paid $200 to $300 a month. Here in Yusufiya where families struggle to survive, that's good money.
(on camera): These are farm women from local towns, many of them are widows with numerous children and almost no income.
(voice-over): Fawzia has six children. Her husband was shot to death when his car broke down. "I am ready to work as long as it helps me financially," she says. "I have five children in school. My daughter is at home. She's sick. She's very weak, and her medication is so expensive."
Having women work in this tradition-bound society is a social revolution, Fatima, a volunteer leader woman tells me. "Many women would like to do it," she says, "but their parents would not agree because it's a rural society and it's shameful for girls to go outside the home."
Increasingly, Iraqi insurgent groups are using women as suicide bombers and to smuggle weapons because they know women are rarely checked. The U.S. and Iraqi military hope the Daughters of Iraq will help solve this critical security gap.
Jill Dougherty, CNN, Yusufiya, Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: The Iraq war, five years and counting. It's our focus, driving a lot of coverage today on CNN with updates on the violence, the funding and the troops.
And perhaps it's the most important foreign policy issue in the 2008 election. So we want to hear from those of you directly affected by the war.
Tell us the most important thing the next president needs to know about the war. If you had a chance, what would you show the next president about it? Share your stories and your photos at ireport.com/iraq.
New avenues for oil exploration. The melting North Pole may uncover billions of barrels of black gold.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Want to get back to this story we've been following for you. The NTSB go team now joining the investigation into the collision of two medical helicopters.
Mike Watkiss from affiliate KTVK is joining us now from City Hall there new Flagstaff, Arizona.
I know there's going to be a briefing a little bit later, Mike, coming up from the NTSB.
MIKE WATKISS, REPORTER, KTVK: That's exactly right. About one hour from now, Heidi, we're expecting to hear from federal investigators who have just gotten on the scene of this deadly crash.
Want to show you the banner headline, a little Flagstaff daily newspaper, "Daily Sun." It really says it all: "Tragedy Over Flagstaff." Of course, referring to the midair collision of two medical helicopters inbound to the big regional medical center here yesterday just before 4:00.
Just about a half mile from that hospital, those two helicopters colliding. Seven people on board total. Three on one of the aircraft, four on another. Three in one of the aircraft, all of them killed in one of the helicopters. Three aboard one of the other helicopters.
One survivor, a flight nurse, a man apparently in very critical condition. Amazing that he survived at all looking at that crash scene. Just nothing but debris.
Lots of folks out recreating yesterday. The day was a beautiful day, not a lot of wind. So it doesn't appear that weather was a factor.
People saw these two helicopters crashing in to one another, falling to the ground. There was a secondary explosion on the ground. As emergency responders, first responders, were going out, some of them knocked off their feet, some minor burns. Those folks now being treated.
But again, we're expecting a lot more detail about exactly what happened one hour from now. Local and state officials scheduled for a news conference here at City Hall in Flagstaff, Arizona.
COLLINS: Mike, I quickly have to ask you, any idea if there were patients on board either of these helicopters?
WATKISS: Yes, indeed, on both of them. Both of them were inbound with patients, and we have now confirmed that one of the helicopters, those patients were killed among the fatalities. And one of those patients was a firefighter who was working a fire up by the Grand Canyon, had sustained injuries, was being brought here to the regional medical center.
Both of the patients and at least two members of the crews on each aircraft also killed. Again, only one survivor -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Wow. It makes the story so much worse.
All right. Mike Watkiss, thanks so much, covering the story for us from our affiliate KTVK.
Thanks again, Mike.
A stark reminder now of global climate change may have some people seeing dollar signs.
CNN's Becky Anderson traveled to the arctic to take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A vast ocean of ice, unforgiving and unforgettable. And today, very much under threat.
I flew north over the Arctic to man's last stop before the North Pole to meet one of the world's leading climate change scientists.
JAN-GUNNAR WINTHER, DIR., NORWEGIAN POLAR INST.: What we see here is open water. And it's a prime example of climate change, because this fjord was always frozen in the winter. The last three winters, it's not been any sea ice here.
ANDERSON: If the Arctic is the barometer which measures the Earth's health, these symptoms point to a very sick planet. But ironically, the great melt is likely to yield a wealth of untapped resources.
(on camera): Well, for decades, people have been plundering the Arctic. But it's a race for oil and gas resources that is now causing concern.
(voice-over): The current center of activity in this great optic gold rush is the Barents Sea off the coast of Russia, where experts say there could be as much as the equivalent to half a trillion barrels of oil.
MANOUCHEHR TAKIN, CENTER FOR GLOBAL ENERGY STUDIES: Some people talk about a quarter of oil and gas to be discovered in the world in the coming decades might be found in the Arctic Basin.
ANDERSON: Drilling for black gold can be a dirty business, so it's no surprise the Norwegian government is monitoring the situation closely.
JENS STOLTENBERG, NORWEGIAN PRIME MINISTER: All countries that would like to try to look for oil and gas in this area should respect international law. Second, they should obey to the most strict environmental guidelines and restrictions.
ANDERSON: It's the potential for environmental catastrophe that's concentrating minds.
STOLTENBERG: There will never be 100 percent guarantee, but a history of more than 30 years oil and gas activities in the North Sea, in the Norwegian Sea, and also now for actually almost 30 years in the Barents Sea, is that as long as we obey to very strict, and one mantle (ph), and safety standards, we can do it with very, very few accidents and very little spillage.
ANDERSON: At the moment, it's the lack of people and industry that makes this environment so striking. But, with oil prices rising so rapidly, the race for new reserves is on. And if, or more likely when, the search begins in earnest, this vast beauty could become a very cold, dim and distant memory.
Becky Anderson, CNN, the Arctic.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
COLLINS: The great outhouse race hits a bump in the road.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We lad a bad turnout of crews at the starting line there. And things just went south from there. I think we hit the only pothole in the town.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Toilets on wheels for when you got to go -- in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: A new look for the Straight Talk Express. Now it's a flying machine for the McCain campaign.
Actually, they were already using a plane, but it was chartered from JetBlue. The new Straight Talk Express is a 737 painted to look just like the original bus, but it goes a lot faster. It's also set up with better lighting for interviews.
Evangelicals and the presidential election, a new movement putting an old voting bloc up for grabs.
CNN's Kate Bolduan has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Call them political misfits, the post-religious right, or even the next evangelicals. No matter the label, these voters are anything but easy to define.
SHANE CLAIBORNE, AUTHOR, "JESUS FOR PRESIDENT": We have found the light of the world. We found the hope of the planet. And it burns much brighter than McCain or Obama or America. Amen.
BOLDUAN: Shane Claiborne is the perfect example. We caught up with Claiborne, a Christian activist and author, on his book tour in Pittsburgh. The title says it all, "Jesus for President."
CLAIBORNE: Over and over, we are hearing things like, "I knew there was more to Christianity than what I saw on TV, than televangelists and patriotic pastors and cover-up (ph) bishops." BOLDUAN: He represents a new movement of young evangelical voters. They care about traditional issues like abortion and gay marriage, but say their agenda is far broader. Poverty, social justice, and the environment are moving to the forefront.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): To the kingdom of the poor and broken.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's getting harder and harder to find good grease.
BOLDUAN: Claiborne's tour bus even runs on veggie oil.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And it's cheap.
BOLDUAN: In 2004, about three-quarters of evangelical voters supported George Bush. A solid voting bloc political analysts say may not be such a lock this year because of these young evangelicals.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: The impact is likely to be that they will dilute the evangelical support for the Republican Party. And the evangelical vote will be more up for grabs than it has in many years.
AMANDA WIDING, UNDECIDED VOTER: I'm very undecided. I feel like there are certain issues where I identify more with the Republicans and others where I identify more with the Democrats.
STEPH WALKER, YOUNG EVANGELICAL: I grew up in a very Republican family, but my growth and my faith, it's kind of moved me in a different direction.
BOLDUAN: Back on tour, Shane Claiborne say's it's more about how you live your life November 3rd and 5th than how you vote on November 4th on Election Day.
CLAIBORNE: What a lot of us are doing is trying to learn from the mistakes of the generation that's come before us and go, well, we're not going to endorse a candidate or a party. This is not about going left or right, but going deeper.
BOLDUAN: Kate Bolduan, CNN, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Quickly want to show you the sights where Senator Barack Obama will be talking a little later today. This is Independence, Missouri. Going to be talking about patriotism today.
And also, John McCain is going to be holding a news conference in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, a little bit later on today, 12:30 Eastern Time, I believe. So this is interesting, because as you well know, Missouri and Pennsylvania are going to be states that both candidates will be fighting hard for come November.
Chicago firefighter shot in the line of duty. He was investigating a possible arson case when he took a bullet in the ribs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAYMOND OROZCO, CHICAGO FIRE COMMISSIONER: He's been a fire investigator for three to four years that I know of. So, you know, know him to see him. Good man, good family man. And all we can do now is just pray that he's going to be OK and he's going to make a good recovery.
It's been a long time. I have to go back in memory a long time. I'm going back thinking about when a firefighter was shot in the line of duty. It's been a while, so, you know, it was just the wrong place, you know, wrong time, and he's out doing his job.
And we don't really have all these details. We'll let the police department look at that. Like I said, our main concern is his health and making sure that we take care of his family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The firefighter is hospitalized in serious but stable condition.
Stomping bad guys -- law enforcement looking for ways to get the job done without the loss of life. So they are turning to a new generation of weapons that are less than lethal.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Smoke deployed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You ready?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pull pin and bomb.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're in Moundsville, West Virginia.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Team ready?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At the 12th annual Mock Prison Riot. The old state penitentiary has the history of having the bloodiest riots of any prison in the country.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go! Get down!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it's kind of ironic that we have the capability to bring Less Lethal in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Less Lethal is...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a great thing to be able to assist in preventing crime.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Less Lethal technology is the only way to go in a law enforcement and corrections community.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We use batons, use beanbag guns.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These can be fired either out of a 12 gauge or a .37 millimeter launcher.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pepper ball.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The newest technology this year is Taser.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Taser is an electronic controlled device.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Taser will stun you...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... will leave a mark on you...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ah! Ah! Ah!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... will hurt you, but won't kill you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's been shot in a low muscle mass hit. I'm going to give you a little taste right here of what it feels like and then I'm going to shut it off. This is what it feels like for about a second.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ah!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is not a pleasurable experience. Compliance is what we're after with electronic control devices.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just during that five seconds you're totally incapacitated.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's what we're trying to get at. All right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Less Lethal product...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This would be a less than lethal round, not the real one, of course. And it would be more industrial, more for a correctional facility and area denial system. Being able to be used on the border to prevent border crossings.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's good for law enforcement because it saves lives. That's the bottom line. We want Less Lethal. We want to be able to put these people in a court.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As a police officer, my life is just as valuable to me as the criminal's life is. I do not want to take a life if I don't have to. If I make it through my career and never take a life, I am going to be happy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was good. That was fun.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Well, you know what they say. When you've got to go, you've got to go.
Check out this outhouse race in Georgetown, Minnesota. Eight teams, three people each, and very few rules. Just a chance to see who has the fastest toilet in town. The winners, the intrepid Flying Buttresses. They say team spirit carried them to victory.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ASHLIE DALEN, THE FLYING BUTTRESSES: We had all the team collected effort and just the funniness of having an outhouse race. That's really community spirit right there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Remarkably, this is the first year of the race. The Flying Buttresses get to defend their throne next year.
A meal fit for a queen, and a Prince Charming to serve it all up, complete with a smile and tiaras.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: It may not do much for a man's ego, but it's sure making the ladies happy.
CNN's Kyung Lah reports on a Tokyo restaurant serving up Prince Charming for its customers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): And they lived happily ever after, just like the fairy-tale says. Right? Not always.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. My princess is...
LAH: But dream life meets real life at The Butlers Cafe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every princess needs your special tiara.
LAH: Yes, those are tiaras gracing the heads of giddy customers, or...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My princesses.
LAH: As they're called here.
They're served sweets and tea, surrounded by flowers from a dashing man on bended knee. And not just any man. All of the servers are western men. Innocent fun, nothing more they say, here at your beck and call. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, my princess.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, my princess.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, my princess.
LAH (on camera): Do you sell these?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please enjoy, my princess.
THOR HELGASON, BUTLERS CAFE: Well, I mean, I thought it was English teaching or nothing. But no, apparently there's other work for us out here.
LAH (voice-over): The owner came up with the concept by walking through the streets of Shibuya. She spoke to 200 women who all told her the same thing. They wanted a cafe where the waiters were male, good looking, would treat them nice, but most importantly, were western.
"Being a gentleman is embarrassing for Japanese men," says cafe owner Yuki Hirohata. "Our culture isn't like that." Hirohata says women are exhausted by the rules of Japanese society, unyielding in its expectations of a woman's role in maintaining a career, home, husband and family.
"We're tired from our daily lives," says this customer. "These guys are different than Japanese men. They're smoother and make me feel special."
CHRISTOPHER DEVERILL, BUTLERS CAFE: And I think maybe just for the princesses it's refreshing to see, you know, this guy who is confident. He's like, hey, how are you?
LAH (on camera): Prince Charming.
DEVERILL: Yes. Maybe Prince Charming.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really?
LAH (voice-over): Brendan Reed, a native of Chicago, Illinois, doesn't mind being the object of their affection.
BRENDAN REED, BUTLERS CAFE: You have bars for men, you have bars for women. You have Hooters. You have -- like, you have a lot of places where you're going into kind of a special place or a special area where rules are a little different.
HELGASON: Something I haven't told anybody about back home yet, but...
LAH (on camera): I think the cat is out of the bag.
HELGASON: ... I guess I'm going to have to now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one, lift. LAH (voice-over): Campy, silly, perhaps. But for just one lunch, these ladies say, it's their storybook come to life.
Kyung Lah, CNN, Tokyo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: CNN NEWSROOM continues one hour from now.
"ISSUE #1" with Gerri Willis and Ali Velshi starts right now.
