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Hostages No More: Colombian Captives set Free; Olympics Controversy: President Bush May Attend Opening Ceremony; Marines' Tours Extended in Afghanistan

Aired July 03, 2008 - 14:00   ET

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

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN ANCHOR: From presidential candidate to hostage in the Colombian jungle, then suddenly free. Ingrid Betancourt relives the moment.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: And what about the three Americans who were freed? Two are suffering from jungle sickness. How can doctors help?

DE LA CRUZ: And brand-new video from Zimbabwe. Terrified opposition supporters seek refuge at the U.S. Embassy. Can they escape the wrath of Robert Mugabe?

LEMON: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live here at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.

DE LA CRUZ: And it's nice to see you. I'm Veronica De La Cruz.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: Three American men hostages no more, and back on American soil. Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell, they and their families have a lot of catching up to do now that their five-year ordeal in Colombia is finally over.

They were rescued yesterday, dramatically, along with 12 other people held by a leftist militant group. Among them, former Colombian senator and presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, snatched by leftist rebels more than six years ago. Well, today she is with her children in Bogota.

And that's where we find CNN's Harris Whitbeck.

Harris, there is an emotional reunion there, no doubt.

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, absolutely. One of the most emotional scenes I have ever been a part of or witnessed, that scene on the French plane that brought Ingrid Betancourt's kids to Colombia to meet her after her six years in captivity.

She boarded that plane, bounded up the stairs of that plane, and saw the now grownup young people, a young man and young woman who are her children. She referred to the fact that during her six years of captivity, it was thinking about her children that kept her alive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) INGRID BETANCOURT, FMR. COLOMBIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (through translator): These children, they are my pride and my reason for living. My son, my moon, my stars. Because of them, I continued the wish to leave that jungle because I wanted to see them again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITBECK: Ingrid Betancourt's former husband and the father of those kids and her son visited Colombian President Alvaro Uribe today to thank him personally for the efforts, the Colombian government's efforts on behalf of Ingrid Betancourt. They then attended mass this afternoon. They will be delivering a press conference at the French Embassy, then they will be boarding that plane and heading back to Paris.

Ingrid Betancourt has dual French and Colombian citizenship. And she says she wants to go to France and personally thank French President Sarkozy for his efforts in obtaining her release -- Don.

LEMON: OK. So, Harris, she's going to go to France. But, you know, she was a presidential candidate in Colombia. Do you know if she is going to stay in that country?

WHITBECK: Well, they haven't said if she's going to stay here permanently, but she has said already that she wants to continue to work towards finding a peaceful solution to the Colombian conflict. And she has said that she has not determined yet how that fight or how that effort will express itself. But she definitely is...

LEMON: That was CNN's Harris Whitbeck reporting. Apparently we lost the signal there -- Veronica.

DE LA CRUZ: Well, we haven't heard yet from any of the freed American hostages. They're still talking to doctors and U.S. officials about their captivity and their rescue. But we have heard from some of their family members, who are jubilant today after the news that they waited five long years to hear.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMANDA HOWES, THOMAS HOWES' NIECES: I work at WHD. It's in Boston, with a local NBC affiliate, and we're in the middle of breaking news.. And we have been -- you know, I had been there all day.

And a news alert crossed on the bottom of the screen, and I click on it, and it's this wonderful news. You know, it mentioned Bogota, Colombia, U.S. military has performed the rescue of Ingrid Betancourt, as well as the three U.S. military contractors. And I just literally screamed with enjoyment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE GONSALVES, MARC GONSALVES' FATHER: It's been a roller- coaster ride. But, you know, I don't think I ever gave up hope.

There was things along the road that gave me encouragement, and I was certainly always hopeful that this day would happen. And now it's happening. And it seems like a miracle. But it's happening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DE LA CRUZ: The three men were captured by the rebel group FARC in 2003 after their plane crashed in the Colombian jungle.

You have heard the name of that rebel group that captured Betancourt and the three Americans, but let's go ahead and take a look. This is a crash course on FARC.

The word is an acronym in Spanish. The group calls itself the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. It is the oldest and largest of Colombia's many rebel groups.

They are Marxist, about 8,000 strong, fighting against the government for 40 years now. And the group began as a sort of peasant army fighting for land reform. But their assassinations and long history of hostage-taking has earned FARC the label "terror organization" by the U.S. and the European Union.

Ingrid Betancourt embraced her son and daughter today for the first time in six years. We're going to hear from her directly about that experience.

Also, not all of those freed hostages are in tip-top physical condition. We're going to be taking a look at some of the nasty illnesses hiding in the jungle.

Keep it right here in the CNN NEWSROOM -- Don.

LEMON: We have some developing news, Veronica, into the CNN NEWSROOM. You know the controversy surrounding the Beijing Olympics, whether or not the president would go, go to the opening ceremonies or attend the Olympics, the games, themselves.

We're getting new word from the White House. Our Ed Henry joins us now with the very latest on that.

What are you hearing, Ed?

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Don.

For the very first time, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino indicating that the president is, in fact, likely to attend the opening games -- the opening ceremonies of the Olympic games. The significance is we've known a long time the president is going to the Olympics in August in Beijing, that he's going to watch the games. He's going to support the U.S. athletes. But the White House has been dancing around whether he will go to the opening ceremonies because human rights groups have targeted those opening ceremonies, saying that world leaders should skip them to boycott China's record. Well, an ally, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, has now, after first saying he would boycott probably those opening games -- the opening ceremonies, he's saying, look, maybe if there is some progress between China and the Dalai Lama, he would go. So Dana Perino was asked, is that an opening for the president to also attend the opening ceremonies?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA PERINO, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I'm not able to announce his schedule yet. He certainly is going to be going to China. And I would certainly think that the opening ceremonies will be a part of that trip.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: Now, as soon as reporters jumped on that, and the fact for the first time the White House was saying that they expect the president to attend the opening ceremonies, Dana Perino started trying to walk that back. And there was a humorous moment because her mom, Dana Perino's mom, was in the back of the briefing room watching her daughter brief the press as chaos ensued and those pesky reporters pounced on these comments.

Take a look at what Dana Perino did to try to get some help from her mom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PERINO: Mom, help me!

Look, I'm not able to announce the president's schedule. But he is going to the Olympics. And I expect that the opening ceremonies could be a part of that trip.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: So, didn't here it there, but she basically then said, "Mom help me!" Her mom did not come up and help her, obviously. But the bottom line is that the news here is that we do expect the president is going to attend the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. He'll face a lot of political pressure for that decision. But what he's going to say in August is that he's just there to support the athletes.

We'll see what actually happens -- Don.

LEMON: Haven't you wanted to say that on television, "Mom, help me!"

HENRY: "Mom, help me!" Yes. Sometimes during live shots, I wish my mom was here to help me.

LEMON: Or at least to cry on her shoulder after a bad one. We all have them.

HENRY: Absolutely, yes.

LEMON: All right. Thank you very much, Ed.

HENRY: Thank you.

LEMON: Veronica.

DE LA CRUZ: A tragic end to a weeklong search in Vermont. The body of 12-year-old Brooke Bennett was found in a shallow grave near the home of her uncle.

Michael Jacques faces federal kidnapping charges. And authorities say if an autopsy shows Bennett was killed, there could be more charges. Jacques could even face the death penalty.

He's been in custody since Sunday on charges of sexually assaulting another girl. That girl told the FBI she was forced into a sex ring, and Jacques planned to initiate his niece as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM SORRELL, VERMONT ATTORNEY GENERAL: There is nothing from this investigation that turned up, nor otherwise are federal and state authorities aware of any ongoing efforts to recruit young girls or boys here in Vermont to have sex with adults. And you can rest assured that if evidence is uncovered that we feel poses a risk to the public, we will be the first to raise alarm bells publicly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DE LA CRUZ: Authorities say the investigation is far from over. They have also charged Brooke Bennett's former stepfather with obstruction of justice.

Sam Israel, on the lam for nearly a month, says he actually tried to commit suicide two days ago by swallowing pills. He told a New York judge today, when that didn't work, he surrendered.

The former hedge fund manager was convicted in April of bilking investors out of $450 million. Instead of reporting to prison on June 9th, Israel disappeared. His SUV was found abandoned on a bridge. He could get 10 years added to the 20 years he was originally given.

LEMON: Now a story about your civil liberties. The Justice Department reportedly is considering change rules to allow terrorism probes of Americans based strictly on a set of profiles. And according to The Associated Press, such probes could commence in the absence of the faintest suspicion of wrongdoing.

Triggers could include religion, ethnicity and travel to certain areas. The Associated Press reports the policy could be in place this summer even though President Bush has been opposed to targeting people based on their race or ethnicity.

Now, asked for a comment, the Justice Department spokesman says, "Any review and change of existing guidelines will reflect the department's traditional concerns for civil liberties and First Amendment liberties."

Now, we would like to know your thoughts. Should the FBI engage in ethnic or religious profiling in the hunt for terrorists? You can send your responses to cnnnewsroom@cnn.com.

DE LA CRUZ: All right, Don, pay close attention here. I've got to tell you something, because the closing bell rang last hour with Wall Street shutting down early for the holiday weekend. Something Don wasn't aware of just moments ago.

But still, there was enough time for oil to hit another new trading record. It rose just about $145 a barrel, but has since slipped a bit.

He's blushing.

It's OK, Don.

(LAUGHTER)

DE LA CRUZ: Better news from the Big Board, where things closed on a positive note. The Dow up more than 73 points, the S&P slightly higher as well.

And one factor that influenced stocks was the Labor Departments weekly unemployment report. Sixty-two thousand jobs lost in June, just about what analysts expected there. In all, 438,000 workers have gotten pink slips this year as employers react to the sting of soaring energy costs.

LEMON: Payback is... you know what.

Well, that's been a big problem for the troubled airline industry. Both AirTran and American reacting to record jet fuel prices by trying to pare down their payrolls.

AirTran says it's looking to slash employee pay from 5 to 15 percent. The cuts will be across the board and will begin next month.

The day after notifying flight attendants 900 of them may be laid off, American has announced more cuts. The airline plans to eliminate 6,800 jobs by the end of the year. That's 8 percent of its entire staff.

Well, you'll want to stick around next hour for my talk with personal financial guru Howard Clark -- or Clark Howard. And we'll tell you how you can compress, compress your gas budget. There's, you know, a little play on words there.

Plus, a whole lot more dollar-stretching ideas. That's the next hour in the CNN NEWSROOM. It's actually very interesting.

DE LA CRUZ: You're very clever there. Yes. All right. Well, we're looking forward to that.

Thanks, Don. A gruesome murder in the British capital. Two French students are stabbed dozens of times and then set on fire. We've got a report for you from London.

LEMON: And we'll find out about an exotic disease apparently picked up by two of the American hostages rescued in Colombia.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

LEMON: We're getting word now that 2,200 Marines will have their tours of duty extended in Afghanistan. This, after a particularly deadly month.

Let's get you now to Jamie McIntyre. He's standing by at the Pentagon.

Jamie, what can you tell us?

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Veronica, this is something the Pentagon said it was loath to do, extend the tour of some 2,200 Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit that were sent to Afghanistan as part of a one-time special deployment. The Marine tours are usually seven months, and the Pentagon insisted that the plan was just to send them there for that seven months and bring them back.

But now, after a request from the NATO commander who says he needs to keep more troops on the ground, those Marines are going to be extended, but just for another 30 days. The explanation from the Pentagon is that this is to help build on and cement the success that those Marines are having.

The Marines have had a big effect in the south where NATO is short of troops. But it is not enough. They need more troops, as was made clear yesterday by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADM. MICHAEL MULLEN, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: What we're going through right now is an ability to in almost every single case win from the combat standpoint. But not unlike the insurgency in Iraq, we don't have enough troops there to hold. And that is key, clearly, to the future of being able to succeed in Afghanistan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCINTYRE: And the key to sending two more U.S. combat battalions to Afghanistan next year is the continued success in Iraq, a level of violence dropping there, allowing the U.S. to bring some of those troops back and free them up for Afghanistan. But right now they say they just don't have enough troops to battle the Taliban, which has shown an ability to come back, regroup and launch increasingly deadly attacks against the U.S. And last month was the deadliest for U.S. and NATO troops since the war in Afghanistan began -- Veronica. DE LA CRUZ: All right. Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon.

Jamie, thank you.

LEMON: You might not believe it, but some people think there is a bright side to $4 gas. We'll tell you why.

And forget the Griswolds. We'll show you that you can have fun on a budget family vacation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS REPORT)

DE LA CRUZ: Well, gas prices hit yet another record high today, an average of $4.09 for a gallon of regular. Still, our corporate cousin "TIME" magazine says there are some good things about high gas prices.

It has published a top 10 list. So we counted down items 10 through eight in our last hour, wanted to continue with this.

Reason number seven now, cheaper insurance. If $4 gas has you driving fewer miles, then you could save up to 15 percent.

Number six, with fewer people driving there could be 1,000 fewer traffic deaths every month.

Number five, more frugality. With gasoline more expensive, drivers are wasting less, many are slowing their speeds down and using more fuel-efficient vehicles.

And number four, less pollution. Using less fuel should reduce the vehicle emissions.

So, the top three things to like about $4-a-gallon gas, it's all coming up in the next hour of NEWSROOM. And one of those is more frugality, but nothing that you have to worry about because you're cheap anyway.

LEMON: You are -- what do you -- do you hate me or something? You're so mean to me today.

DE LA CRUZ: You know I love you.

LEMON: I kid because I love.

DE LA CRUZ: I know. You said payback is a...

LEMON: I didn't say that. I don't remember saying that.

DE LA CRUZ: Mom, help!

LEMON: Let's talk now about summer vacations. Well -- because you know a lot of people are going on summer vacations. It's the Fourth of July weekend. Many summer vacations have been scrubbed thanks in part to record-high fuel prices, along with rising food costs. But where there is a will, well -- or more apparently a budget, families can certainly find a way.

Our very own Rusty Dornin isn't too far from the CNN mother ship. She's live in nearby Stone Mountain, Georgia, with the story of two cost-conscience families.

Tell me about that, Rusty.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Don. Hmm. Hmm.

Well, you know, some folks come to Stone Mountain, Georgia. It's a destination, it's got a campground, 441 campers here -- or campgrounds. It's full, of course, this weekend. But they're getting people from as far away as California and Canada.

And you know, the amazing thing is with these high gas prices, that actually only half a million fewer drivers are on the road this weekend. That's according to AAA; it's 34 million drivers this year.

And a couple of families that came this year -- they planned their trip, well, in January -- are the Greers and the Redeckers.

We're talking to Ginger Greer and Tammy Redecker, who really planned and budgeted this whole thing.

Tammy, how difficult was this?

And we're going to also show you some pictures of their preparation. They took some of their videos for us to show us how well you planned this trip.

TAMMY REDECKER, BUDGET VACATIONER: A lot of it was just sitting down looking at menus, how many days we're going to be gone, and what do we already have. If we already had it at home, we weren't going to buy it. And if one of us had it and the other one didn't, then we decided to share.

And so we're pulling out two campers. And like I said, we put together a menu. We sat down, went day by day -- are we going to eat on the road, are we not, are we going to eat in?

DORNIN: So how much is food going to cost for this whole trip for these two families?

GINGER GREER, BUDGET VACATIONER: For the two families, probably not more than $150 for both families.

REDECKER: Yes. I was going to say -- yes.

DORNIN: That's some budget. That's some menu planning.

GREER: And it's good food. I mean, it's not just sandwiches.

REDECKER: Yes. We're having steaks twice.

GREER: Steaks, baked potatoes, chicken.

DORNIN: But you're not going out to dinner, right?

GREER: Not going out to dinner, no.

DORNIN: Now, how much did it cost you...

Now, they live in Crestwood, Kentucky.

That's a 450-mile drive, right? So what were your -- how much did it cost you in gas?

GREER: Right now we're up to $300.

DORNIN: How about you, Tammy?

REDECKER: We're right around $300 also.

DORNIN: OK. And so you figure for the whole trip, how much is your gas going to cost?

REDECKER: Hopefully no more than $700. But we've budgeted close to $800 -- $800, $900 just in case.

DORNIN: And the other thing that's interesting about all this is the Greer family didn't go on vacation last year.

Why?

GREER: Because of gas prices.

DORNIN: And you did this year.

GREER: And we did this year.

DORNIN: And it's even higher.

GREER: And it is higher. We -- it just --we just wanted to get away. And so we started early so that we could budget, in January. Stone Mountain, and then we're going on to the beach. That was all paid for. So our expense this next few weekdays happens to be gas.

DORNIN: All right.

So two families that took a lot of effort into planning, budgeting.

Also going to the cheap gas stations, right?

GREER: Cheap gas stations, budget stores, coupons.

DORNIN: And no eating out.

GREER: No eating out. REDECKER: No eating out.

DORNIN: All right.

Well, you can see, Don, that it takes a lot to try to conserve to have that family vacation this year, but people are figuring out very creative ways of doing it.

LEMON: OK. You got the assignment of the day, too, Rusty. Thank you.

Happy Fourth to you. Thank you very much.

Rusty Dornin in Stone Mountain.

And AAA says high fuel prices mean fewer people driving, but what else is in store for you this upcoming Independence Day holiday? Our Josh Levs breaks it down, next hour, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

DE LA CRUZ: Former hostage Ingrid Betancourt told reporters she couldn't believe how her children had grown into adults while she was held for so long. We have their tear-filled family moment coming up in a few minutes. And we'll hear from Betancourt herself.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: I'm Don Lemon live in the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.

Are you OK over there?

DE LA CRUZ: I almost fell out of my chair. That's how excited I am to be sitting next to you today.

LEMON: I've got your back -- telekinesis.

DE LA CRUZ: I'm Veronica De La Cruz. It is nice to see you as well. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

LEMON: Time now to tell you some of the stories we're working on for you today right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Three Americans who were held hostage in Colombia for more than five years are to be reunited with their families. They arrived at a Texas air base last night after their dramatic rescue.

A Vermont man is formally charged with kidnapping his 12-year-old niece. The girl was found dead and 42-year-old Michael Jacques could face execution in the case.

And more than 1,700 wildfires continue to ravage California. They have scorched more than 770 square miles and destroyed 64 structures since June 20.

DE LA CRUZ: Well, there they are. Three American men, their feet on American soil for the first time since 2003. That's when they were taken hostage in Colombia, after their plane crashed in the remote jungle. They look fine, they look happy. We are told they are relieved. But we're waiting to hear all of that from them directly.

A dozen other people were also rescued yesterday in a sophisticated Colombian Military operation.

One of those other hostages freed was Ingrid Betancourt, a one- time senator, one-time Colombia presidential candidate, and today, overjoyed mother of two, now grown-up children. She tried to put her emotions into words.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

INGRID BETANCOURT, FREED FARC HOSTAGE (through translator): The last time I saw my children, Lorenzo (ph) was very small. He looked like my nephews right here. And I could lift him up and I could hug him in bed. But today -- I've just told Lorenzo that I'm going to hug him again in bed and I hope his girlfriend doesn't get jealous. Because I want to have that touch with my children again.

And I have so many dreams that I want to share with them. I have so many things that I want to say to them.

This is Alejandro (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I want to say, what is the first thing that you told your children, that your children told you, when you met each other on the plane.

BETANCOURT (through translator): I thank you for the question. Big hugs, big kiss. I know you guys were waiting for us to speak.

What do I -- what did I tell my children? I can't remember. I have no idea. I think I cried. I think I hugged them. I have no idea what they told me. I did tell them that they were beautiful. I think I told them they were beautiful. I told them they were tall. I told them that they would have to put up with me because I was going to behave like a piece of gum. And I was going to just eat them up with kisses.

Mela, my daughter, I think she's beautiful the way she's dressed, now like a woman. But when I left her, she looked like a daughter. She put on her belt that I sent her from captivity.

Lorenzo, he looks beautiful. He tells me that is the fashion. So great, this is the fashion.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We would like to talk some -- with the children -- how they prepared for this moment. What do they want to do in this first moment?

Now you're going to go back to France. And what do they think of the military operation -- with the risk of the operation? Now you're free and that was the one thing that allowed for their mother to be free. MELANIE DELLOYE, BETANCOURT'S DAUGHTER (through translator): I want to say, first of all, that this is the strongest and most beautiful moment of my life to see our mother, so beautiful, finally. We were behind -- we were against the military operation because we were fearful that there would be blood. We never wanted to put my mother's life in danger, or the other people that were with her.

But this military operation was not a military operation. It was an intelligence operation, which is different. My mother said it was perfect. They're all alive, and this is what we wanted from the beginning.

Now I keep thinking about the people that are still there and the families, the families that still have so much pain in their hearts. We still have to continue fighting for them, because I remember when I saw the images of the people who were released in January and February. We were so happy for them. But I kept thinking about my mother, who was still in captivity. And now she's here. And now it's our turn.

But we need to keep fighting so this moment will come for everyone. Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right. We're told that Betancourt, who is a dual citizen -- we heard about that -- that she will travel to France in a day or so. She's a dual Colombian/French citizen.

Just looking at them, Elizabeth -- we were talking about -- she looks good. The other hostages look good, at a glance. But you don't know what's going on. And we understand they did, though, at least some of them, picked up some sort of weird disease in the jungle.

Tell us about that.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. Two of the hostages, we're told, picked up a parasitic disease called leishmaniasis.

Take a look at what causes leishmaniasis. It is tiny. That's a blown-up version. It's caused by the bite of a sand fly, which is one-third the size of a mosquito. So you don't even see this guy coming. But if you get bit, you can get this disease in two different forms.

One is cutaneous, where you have sores on your face and on other parts of the body. And believe me, the ones we're showing you here, this is the tame version.

LEMON: It's mild.

COHEN: That is mild. They get them a lot worse than that. Some people have to actually have plastic surgery to create (ph) the damage that is there. It can take years for these things to go away. The other form is called visceral, and that actually attacks the internal organs. The internal organs really start to suffer. And if left untreated, it can kill you.

LEMON: All right, it can kill you. But can doctors treat it? That's the question.

COHEN: They can treat it, absolutely.

There are terrific anti-parasite drugs that can treat this disease. And if -- certainly if given in time, the person can be fine. And they've had great success with these drugs.

LEMON: We hope they're OK. Considering, all things considered, I think they've fared pretty well. And everyone --

COHEN: Oh absolutely.

LEMON: So happy that they are back home and healthy.

COHEN: Absolutely. And it probably will take some time to figure out what -- psychologically -- what the damage has been.

LEMON: And we talked a little bit about that in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Interesting information. Again, we wish them the very, very best.

Thank you, Elizabeth.

DE LA CRUZ: Well the city of London is looking for answers after the gruesome double murder of two French grad students. The motive, still unknown.

CNN's Phil Black reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One of these young men was stabbed 196 times. The other, 46 times. Authorities say Laurent Bonomo and Gabriel Ferez suffered injuries to the head, neck, torso and back. Scotland Yard's lead investigator in the case describes the killing of these close friends as "brutal, frenzied and horrendous."

DET. CHIEF INSP. MICK DUTHIE, LONDON METROPOLITAN POLICE: Everyone working on this case, including myself, have been deeply shocked by what we've seen. I have never seen injuries like this throughout my career.

BLACK: Both men were French, 23-years-old, graduate biochemistry students at London's Imperial College. They arrived in London in May, and were due to return to France at the end of July.

Professor Steve Matthews worked closely with Laurent Bonomo. PROF. STEVE MATTHEWS, IMPERIAL LONDON COLLEGE: He was very well liked. He was intelligent. And he also had a bright future. He was conspicuous in the fact that he was a mature, well rounded individual with excellent English. He really did have a good future.

BLACK: The small apartment where they died was rented by Bonomo. Police say whoever killed them set fire to it using fuel to cause an explosion.

(on camera): There is a lot of concern here in London right now about a dramatic increase in knife attacks. But most of that is street crime, fights and robberies, that start and end very quickly. This was different. Police say the victims were tied up in that apartment and their injuries were inflicted over a long period of time.

(voice-over): Police say a man was seen running from the building shortly after the explosion, but authorities don't know how many people were involved. And they have don't know what the motive was. But they're pretty sure of one thing. They say whoever did this would have been covered in blood when they left.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

BLACK: The story is receiving significant coverage in France, from where many people travel to London for work, study and fun. But rarely do they meet such a terrible end.

Phil Black, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: So Zimbabwe holds an election. Most of the world rejects the outcome. The long-time president begins another term. But that's not the end of this story. New pictures here you'll only see on CNN from outside the U.S. Embassy in the Zimbabwe capital. More than 200 people seeking refuge, afraid of what they say awaits them if they go home.

Now, many are supporters of the party that pulled out of last month's run-off. They say they've been hurt, threatened or seen their homes destroyed because much their politics. The U.S. State Department says it's trying to help as many people as possible.

DE LA CRUZ: Arrested in Indonesia. Twelve men suspected of planning a terror attack on a popular tourist spot. Police say they found bomb parts and weapons. They believe the men are all linked to the military group, Jemaah Islamiyah. Their alleged target -- the western island of Sumatra. Police say the men wanted to blow up a cafe.

LEMON: It is just one day since a horrific scene in Jerusalem. A Palestinian man speeds a bulldozer down a busy road, smashing cars and buses along the way. Israeli police managed to shoot the driver dead, but not before he killed three people with the bulldozers. Now today, look at this amazing picture of survival. A mother and her baby. She and her husband were on a bus on that street. They thought the bulldozer attack was a suicide bombing, so they threw their baby out of the bus to save it. The parents and baby survived with some scratches, of course, and all are back together today.

DE LA CRUZ: It truly is an amazing story. One of our I-Reporters sending that to us.

As if the great flood of '08 wasn't enough, now hordes of pesky insects are preying on people in the Midwest. The biting details here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Barack Obama speaking live now in Fargo, North Dakota -- taking questions from the audience.

Let's take a listen in.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ... That's the most important thing we can do to make sure that our children continue to be able to live out the American dream. And we're not doing a good enough job right now. We passed a law called No Child Left Behind, and we left the money behind for No Child Left Behind.

And -- look, we have to raise standards in our schools. Our schools have to have high standards, especially in areas like math and science. But you don't measure the quality of a school just with a single high stakes standardized test, because teachers are starting to teach to the test, and that's pushing aside art and music and history and civics and all the critical things that our young people need as well.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: So, here's what we're going to do. Here's what we're going to do. We're going to change No Child Left Behind. We are going to invest in early childhood education. Because if young people are learning their letters, and their numbers, and their colors, and being read to when they're very young, then they aren't behind when they start school. And that closes the achievement gap. And that's especially important for Native American children, and African- American children, and Latinos, oftentimes who start off already behind.

We have to not just talk about how great our teachers are, we have to reward them for their greatness by giving them higher salaries and giving them more support, more professional development.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: We've got to update our curriculum and the way our schools are organized and designed. Our schools are still designed for the agricultural age. And that's why, frankly, you're getting three months off to golf. But I tell you what, schools in other countries are working harder. And that's something that we've got to do. We've got to work smarter, and we've got to work harder.

Let me make one last point about this.

Well, before I do that -- once kids get out of high school, they're going to need secondary and --

LEMON: Barack Obama, Fargo, North Dakota. Taking a question there, answering it about No Child Left Behind. He's speaking to a group of veterans there. And just moments ago, we got a statement from Barack Obama. And that happened a while ago.

But he also spoke about it at a press conference in Fargo early this morning. And he said, "Good morning, guys. I want to begin this press conference by saying what wonderful news it is that the American hostages were released in Colombia. And I want to congratulate the Colombian government for the outstanding job that they did and commend the administration for any assistance it might have provided in executing such an outstanding operation." Talking about those three American contractors on their way home, safe and sound, back on American soil after years in captivity.

Barack Obama in Fargo, North Dakota. We will follow.

DE LA CRUZ: Picking up litter off the highway. Not exactly. And there was a lot more loot where that came from. We're going to tell you exactly what happened.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We're going to get you now to some pictures of what's going on in Industry, California. These pictures courtesy of our affiliate KABC. This is a refinery fire. We're being told that a fire, an explosion, happened at this oil refinery in the city of Industry, California. It's in eastern Los Angeles County.

No injuries so far reported in this. The county fire inspector there says the fire and explosion reported there about 10:00 this morning, almost 11:00, 10:47 to be exact. They say it happened in the cooling unit at the refinery. The refinery has been evacuated of about -- I'm not exactly sure how many employees are there. But about 100 firefighters are on the scene battling this blaze.

Again, Industry, California. A refinery fire. New video into the CNN NEWSROOM. We'll follow that for you -- Veronica.

DE LA CRUZ: Normally filled with tourist, Big Sur, California is more like a ghost town today. Most everyone fled after a wildfire jumped containment lines. Crews say it could be the end of the month before they have it all under control -- 56,000 acres and at least 16 homes have burned already.

In Arizona, firefighters are worried about erratic winds around Crown King. A wildfire has come within three miles of the historic mining town and it's only 10 percent contained. In about an hour, Arizona's governor plans to see how bad it actually is.

DE LA CRUZ: All right. Well today is Thursday, July 3rd. Tomorrow is July 4th. Lots of people getting away for the holiday weekend. What is the weather going to look like?

Let's go ahead and check in now with Chad Myers.

Hey, Chad,

(WEATHER REPORT)

DE LA CRUZ: Thanks, Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You're welcome.

DE LA CRUZ: First the floods and now mosquitoes. They're pestering just about anybody who dares to go outside in the water- logged Midwest. In Iowa, they're swatting at 20 times the normal number of mosquitoes. People say the pesky insects have started attacking in swarms.

LEMON: And making your dollar go farther. We'll talk with one of America's favorite misers, Clark Howard, coming up in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The road to riches runs right through San Antonio, Texas. About 100 grand hit the city's Loop 410 during yesterday's afternoon rush, prompting a mad scramble among motorists. The suspected drug money was tossed from a car being chased by police.

Authorities say the cash is marked. It is against the law to spend it. And anyone who has the need to, can get in touch with the law enforcement -- the Drug Enforcement Administration there.

The next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.