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Former Bosnian Serb President Radovan Karadzic Awaiting Extradition to War Crimes Tribunal; New Assault on Insurgents Under Way in Iraq; Disgraced NBA Referee Facing a Judge This Morning; Terrorist Threats in Beijing
Aired July 29, 2008 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Heidi Collins. Tony Harris has the day off.
See events coming to the NEWSROOM live on this Tuesday morning, July 29th.
Here's what's on the rundown.
Firefighters scrambling in California today. They're trying to keep the flames from 4,000 homes outside Yosemite National Park.
Waiting for biopsy results today. Doctors checking a growth on John McCain's face for skin cancer.
Well, the economy stinks but you smell success. How to get rich during tough times. All day coverage in the NEWSROOM.
A fast-moving wildfire in northern California exploding into an out of control monster. Look at those flames. About 3,000 firefighters are battling the flames near Yosemite National Park now. High temps and rough terrains are not helping.
Here's what we know right now. 25 homes have been destroyed since the fire started on Friday. 4,000 homes are in danger today. Both of those numbers have doubled since yesterday. Four firefighters have been injured.
Fire is on Yosemite's doorstep. It's sending plumes of smoke over the national park.
Scott Gediman is a ranger at the park where he lives along with his wife and 4-year-old son. He is joining me now on the phone from Yosemite.
Scott, tell us first what you are seeing when you look outside your door.
SCOTT GEDIMAN, YOSEMITE PARK RANGER: Well, looking outside right now, I'm just seeing a lot of smoke. We have a lot of ash. We were basically raining white ash last night and right now. It is just a lot of heavy smoke.
COLLINS: So what are you going to do with your family? As we said, you are there with your wife and child. GEDIMAN: Well, basically, my wife and son are going to today -- go out of town and get a hotel. The smoke is just too difficult for them. We've been out of electricity since Saturday. And so just keeping food and keeping things going is becoming more difficult. So I'll stay on but they're going to go out of town for a few days.
COLLINS: OK. And that's certainly one of the concerns, I know, as far as whether or not the park will eventually close down is because of the power and the water, right?
GEDIMAN: Right. Exactly. Right now, there is no power and so some of the buildings have generators and we're able to keep, like, the visitors' center and the Yawani Hotel and Yosemite Lodge open on individual generators, but for the most part, you know, park rangers such as myself and other park employees -- there has not been power.
They were hoping to maybe get it on yesterday but with the increased fire activity, it doesn't look like that's going to happen any time soon. So the park is still open. Visitors can still come. You know, of course, the hiking trails and -- you know the park is fully open but we'll have to see what the next few days bring us.
COLLINS: Yes, and I guess we'll just have to wait on that. But, I mean, in the meantime, everybody's having to use ice chests to keep their food cold. I mean this is really sort of developed into an hour by hour situation?
GEDIMAN: Yes. Exactly. And in fact, I've got a whole kitchen full of ice chests and we're just keeping things going and just seeing what it brings us.
Of course, the health and safety of the park visitors and the park employees is our number one concern. And as long as we can keep, you know, the buildings open -- you know, people come to Yosemite from all over the world to see the park and the beauty. And so, that's -- you know, we certainly want to provide that opportunity but it's really, as you said, an hour-by-hour and a day-by-day basis.
COLLINS: Yes. And I know there's been several evacuations and now as we said double the number of homes are being threatened -- 4,000 homes.
We're going to keep our eye on the situation. In the meantime, Scott Gediman, Yosemite National Park ranger, we sure do appreciate your perspective there.
Thank you, Scott.
And we want to take a moment to get over immediately to Rob Marciano who's been watching all of this alongside us.
Rob, just unbelievable.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: What's going on, Heidi, is that we've got heat, we've got dry air. The winds are about as gusty as they would get on a typical day. But the critical fire danger is more towards the east. We have showers that are trying to push into the desert -- into the Pacific Northwest. That may act to cool what's going on across parts of Yosemite but this time of year it's tough to get any sort of substantial rainfall with that.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: All right, very -- very good. Thank you, Rob.
A new assault on insurgents under way right now in Iraq to tell you about. The goal to get al Qaeda forces out of safe havens in the volatile Diyala province northeast of Baghdad.
The very latest from senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre.
Good morning to you, Jamie.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi. Well, as you recall, Diyala province has been a hot bed of insurgent activity for some time. It's an area of the Iraq where the U.S. surge troops last year as part of the increase of forces there.
Now the U.S. has pulled a lot of the extra troops out of Diyala province and the Iraqi forces are taking the lead there. It's more evidence, though, that the surge did not defeat al Qaeda and Sunni militias in the area. That job is still going on and the level of violence in Iraq continues to be fairly high if you measure it against the number of Iraqis killed.
Diyala province has been the site of a number of suicide attacks that have killed several dozen Iraqis and, of course, just yesterday we have a series of suicide attacks again by female suicide bombers, both in Kirkuk and Baghdad. That killed upwards of 60 people.
So the level of violence in Iraq still pretty high if you measure attacks against Iraqis. If you measure attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq, it's remarkably low. In fact, so far in July, only nine U.S. troops have died in Iraq. That is, by far, the lowest total since the war began.
Commanders in Iraq warn -- U.S. commanders warn that, you know, this effort is not over by any means although General David Petraeus is still hopeful they'll be able to recommend U.S. troop draw downs later this year -- Heidi?
COLLINS: All right. We'll be looking forward to news on that, certainly.
CNN Pentagon senior correspondent Jamie McIntyre -- thanks so much, Jamie.
Ready to kill. Iraq's season increase in female suicide bombers, as you just heard Jamie talking about. Why is this happening? More about that shortly.
Meanwhile, your money, your concerns, and the latest headlines affecting your wallet. Oil prices bumping around today. Down slightly for now despite supply fears sparked by attacks on oil pipelines in Nigeria.
The gas prices do continue to slide. The national coverage has dropped more than a penny and a half since yesterday. Today's price, $3.94 a gallon. It's almost 14 cents less than a month ago.
And expect a rocky start on Wall Street today at the bottom of the hour.
Yesterday, the blue chips Dow lost more than 2 percent. So we'll wait for that.
Meanwhile, did you know a bad economy can actually mean great opportunities? Today one of our central themes is getting rich. Experts will share their advice on smart moves and financial land mines.
Number 10 on our list of money drains, gym memberships. If you're well intentioned but not strongly motivated, you'll be shelling out almost $500 a year for the luxury of not using your gym. Think about that.
Number nine, credit card debt. Take the median debt of all credit card holders. It's $6,600 and pay the minimum each month. It will takes you almost 18 years to pay it off and it'll cost you more than $4,800 at today's average rate of interest.
We've got more of this, too. Stay with CNN throughout the day for the rest of the list and other tips on how to save money and get rich.
CNN, for your money, it's "ISSUE #1."
John McCain has a spot removed. How serious is it?
CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta has what you need to know about the candidate.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Wild fire danger near Yosemite National Park intensifies today. 25 homes have been destroyed. Hundreds of homes have been evacuated as firefighters struggle to control the fast moving.
Want to go live now to reporter Kraig Debro with affiliate KTVU in Mariposa County.
What's the very latest, Kraig?
KRAIG DEBRO, KTVU REPORTER: Thanks, Heidi. We're at the Mariposa County fair grounds in Mariposa, California. This is the incident command post for this telegraph fire which has been burning very quickly since Friday afternoon. Behind me, on this road, see some Cal Fire trucks lined up here. This road is going to be very active, very full with fire trucks coming down from the hill on their 36-hour shifts fighting this blaze.
We've got 3,000 firefighters here right now. One crew is even here from Greece. Now, as you mentioned, 25 home destroyed. That is almost double the number from just two days ago.
But the fires just 10 percent contained so far. And what the problem they're having is that they're unable to get a line around all the fire because the topography is so difficult. They'll reach -- they'll go through a flat part and then they'll get a steep incline and they're having trouble tying those lines together.
So what they're doing is they're coming in with air support. They've got a few tankers up here, 12 helicopters dumping water on those areas where it's difficult to get the line in.
Now there are thousands of people that are out of their homes right now because either under mandatory evacuations, they just left on their own. 25 homes burnt. 27 outbuildings and firefighters are still trying to get the upper hand.
Now today they expect similar weather conditions as they had yesterday when the fire increased in size all the way up now to 29,000 acres and that's about a 47-mile square area, the size of San Francisco. They're expecting temperatures in the '90s, winds between 10 to 15 miles an hour.
Now there could be a break later on perhaps today in the evening or perhaps tomorrow early when they're supposed to get a system that's moving now from the northwest. They're expecting cooler temperatures. However, ahead of that system, they're expecting some winds that might complicate the situation.
Now this fire started because somebody was target practicing in their own backyard. Yesterday Cal Fire said there wouldn't be any charges because it was a non-negligent incident. Today, they're saying no decision on charges has been made -- Heidi?
COLLINS: Wow, that's really interesting. So what happens next with all of that as far as, you know, these possible pending charges?
DEBRO: Well, I'm not sure I got the first part of your question, but they are waiting on the charges because, initially, what they said was, since this person was firing on his own yard, and it was legal to have his firearm, that they couldn't charge him.
Once the word got out that he wouldn't be charged, there were some people in the community who got a little upset about that, and Cal Fire since backed off.
COLLINS: All right. Well, very good, we sure do appreciate the update.
Kraig Debro, thank you. And when the economy gets rough, the tough get growing. Their portfolios, that is. How to find bargains in our sour stock market.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: On the trail with fewer than 100 days to go until the election. Barack Obama heads to the Hill. He meets House Democrats today. The economy and his overseas trip expected to be discussed.
John McCain heating things up in Sparks, Nevada. He's holding a town hall meeting there. McCain also has a couple of fund-raisers planned.
A new "USA Today"/Gallup poll suggesting John McCain is gaining ground on Barack Obama. Obama leads by three percentage points among registered voters, 47 to 44 percent. He had a six-point lead last month.
Among likely voters, McCain is now leading, 49 percent, to Obama's 45 percent. Obama led that group last month.
The poll was taken over the weekend as Obama was returning from his overseas swing.
Barack Obama back from Europe and turning to pocketbook matters now -- the country's and his own. He's been raising money for his campaign, speaking to fund-raisers outside of Washington yesterday. Obama sounded confident but cautious.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We are now in a position where the odds of us winning are very good, but it is still going to be difficult.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Obama also met with economic advisers. He says the country needs another stimulus plan and more focus on renewable energy and universal health care.
John McCain has a spot removed. How serious is it?
CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta has what you need to know about the candidate.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: News as it develops as only CNN can bring it to you. See for yourself in the CNN NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: John McCain could get some news about his health today. Results of a biopsy on a growth removed from his face. The tiny spot getting a lot of scrutiny, though, since McCain is a skin cancer survivor.
He told CNN's Larry King voters shouldn't be worried about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you look at it and you be careful, it's fine. I had one serious bout with it and that was, frankly, due to my own neglect because I let it go and go and go. In fact, I was running for president at the time. I'm not making that mistake again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: McCain urged everyone to stay out of the sun and use sunscreen. He also says any discoloration on the skin should be checked. Always good advice.
CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here now with more on this.
So McCain does have a history of the most serious kind of skin cancer, melanoma. Should people be concerned about the latest mole simply because of his history?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, I think you have a higher level of concern for Senator McCain than you would for the average person that a mole removed. I think, you know, given the fact that he's had four melanomas in the past, he's going to have a higher chance of this being something.
Still very small chance, at this point, it's still a suspicious mole and nothing more until the biopsy results come back.
But keep in mind, again, he had a serious melanoma, as he was just talking about, back in 2000, Heidi. And he -- that's why you still see these scars on the left-side of his face, why you see swelling on the left-side of the face, as well.
COLLINS: Yes.
GUPTA: They talk about that point. They say there is a certain percentage likelihood of recurrence, and certain percentage likelihood that you're going to get melanoma again. That was eight years ago. So his percentages have dipped way down since then.
COLLINS: Right.
GUPTA: But it's still going to be higher than the average population.
COLLINS: OK. Well, I know that you were one of just a small group of journalists who had a chance to look into his medical records when you were in Arizona...
GUPTA: Right.
COLLINS: ... few weeks ago.
GUPTA: Yes.
COLLINS: The fact that this is on the other side of this face, do we take anything from that?
GUPTA: Less concern. I think...
COLLINS: Less concern? OK.
GUPTA: Yes. I think that, you know, you talk about different types of recurrence. There is a local recurrence which occurs right at the area where he had his melanoma in the past. That would be of a certain level of concern.
The fact that he had this mole on the other side of his face, I think I'm less concerned about that. It is less likely to actually be a local recurrence of that melanoma so.
COLLINS: OK.
GUPTA: You know, I should point out as well, I did look at all those medical records, about 1,200 pages, and we had three hours to look at them. But besides his melanoma history, which is, far and away, he's biggest -- part of his medical history, he's a fairly healthy 71-year-old guy. He takes some medications for this heart but that's really about it.
COLLINS: Yes. And he always talked about his mother who's in her 90s and had that...
GUPTA: Yes.
COLLINS: ... should be looking at that as far as his health.
GUPTA: Genes. Right.
COLLINS: Yes, good genes.
GUPTA: Right.
COLLINS: How long will it take to get these biopsy results?
GUPTA: You know he's a presidential candidate so it can be a little faster than the average person.
COLLINS: In about five minutes.
GUPTA: He actually said last night it would come back today which is...
COLLINS: OK.
GUPTA: ... which is pretty fast.
COLLINS: Yes.
GUPTA: It usually takes a few days for the results to come back. COLLINS: Sure.
GUPTA: So -- also it depends whether they froze it off. They actually use some freezing materials to take the mole off or they actually remove it with a knife, so a little bit different, but by the end of the week, I imagine, for sure.
COLLINS: OK. Well, let us know what we find out about those results.
GUPTA: I'll keep on top of it. Yes.
COLLINS: Perfect. Thank you.
GUPTA: All right.
COLLINS: CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
Minutes now to the bell. The Dow comes out of the gate barely above the 11,000 mark. We're going to be tracking the numbers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, Heidi Collins.
COLLINS: Welcome back, everybody. 9:30 Eastern Time now -- just about anyway.
Wildfire at the entrance to Yosemite National Park now threatening as many as 4,000 homes. That's, in fact, doubled what it was yesterday.
From the California fire zone, here's Tim Daly of affiliate KXTV.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TIM DALY, KXTV REPORTER (voice over): The most aggressive push by the telegraph fire east through the Merced River Canyon toward the town of El Pertal.
A family from the valley watching the fire from a high spot alarmed.
SAMANDA GUERRERO, MARIPOSA COUNTY RESIDENT: You know it's pretty scary. I mean we're not used to it, you know, from coming right up out of Merced. You can see a cloud of smoke so it's pretty bad.
DALY: It is bad for the men and women trying to control the telegraph fire. Early today, in the canyon, a fire boss described how they intended to slow its progress.
KEN FRENCH, CAL FIRE: Our intent was to paint that whole mountain on the green side with retardant and then fire off that little line, fire off that and close this door.
DALY: That same mountain, 10 hours later, alive with fire. Aircrafts couldn't drop retardant because the heavy smoke was blocking visibility. A strike team here from Stockton can only watch and hope the fire on that hill doesn't cross Highway 140 and start burning another.
BRAD PALMER, STOCKTON FIRE DEPARTMENT: Wait for it to come down, hope that -- you know, if the wind kicks up, if embers -- the fear is that embers kicking over the road, and so if that happens, we'll -- you know we'll try to pick them up but, unfortunately, the terrain on -- even on this side of the road is about as steep as it is on this side.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we will have on that information...
DALY: A community meeting at Mariposa High packed the auditorium with people concerned about the fire's progress.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Next question, is the hospital open? Yes.
DALY: Twelve homes in the community of Midpines were lost over the weekend. Jan and Louise were among the many hundreds forced to evacuate. Today, they were given ten minutes back at their home to grab a few things and then get back out.
JEN NERESIAN, FIRE EVACUEE: It's a big fire and it's really out of control and spreading in all directions and really unpredictable.
DALY: Highway 140 in the Yosemite National Park is closed for now. Drivers need to use 41 from the south or 120 from the north.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Park officials at Yosemite say they don't think the fires will keep many tourists from visiting the park. They say the campgrounds are actually still full.
Want to take a moment to get over to Rob Marciano now with more on the conditions out west.
Boy, this thing, basically, doubled as far as how many homes have threatened overnight.
MARCIANO: Yes, it could have been a lot worse. I mean the weather is not helping. It's not raining there. But it's not necessarily hurting. We don't have, you know, tremendous amount of unusual wind there. We have the heat. We have low levels of humidity. And we have, you know, gusting winds in the canyons that certainly firefighters have to contend with.
But as far as the critical fire danger is concerned, that's really across the northeastern part of the state in through Nevada associated with this storm system, which isn't going to bring really any rain to the fires but it will kind of change the wind direction, maybe bring a little bit more of an onshore flow.
But this is -- this fire is so far inland that onshore flow doesn't really matter. It's really a matter of direction how quickly those winds are shifting and how fast they're blowing.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: All right, Rob, thank you. An awful lot going on today.
In fact, the opening bell about to ring on Wall Street. So let's get to Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange with a preview of the day's trading.
And Susan, some of these new numbers that have just been released.
SUSAN LISOVICZ CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. They're very distressing because they show that the housing market isn't getting better, Heidi, but only on Wall Street with a nearly $6 billion write down be viewed as a good thing.
We're expecting a modest bounce after the Dow plunged 240 points yesterday. It's the 20th time this year that the Dow has lost more than 200 points.
Merrill lynch is the company we're talking about. It's dumping its mortgage-related debt at fire sale prices in an effort to purge those toxic assets from its balance sheet.
There is the opening bell and we're watching financial stocks because it's an ominous sign for other Wall Street firms stuck with the same kind of asset that nobody wants.
And of course, financial companies had been battered by the housing market. And we did get new numbers at the top of the hour. Closely watch index shows home prices plummeting nearly 16 percent, May, from a year ago. None of these 20 major cities saw in this report recorded price gains. We expect consumer confidence in the next 30 minutes. And investors, meanwhile, showing a wee bit of confidence.
Checking the numbers. The Dow Jones Industrials are up 34 points. About a third of a percent. The NASDAQ is up half of a percent. And I'm checking financial shares. We got five financial stocks in the Dow 30. Three of them are higher. Merrill Lynch, however, is under pressure. A lot of analysts today saying that Merrill is taking tough medicine to save the patient, but right now its shares are under pressure. And we're following the numbers and we'll be back with you shortly, Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Very good. Susan, thank you for that.
LISOVICZ: You're welcome.
COLLINS: We want to get over to Gerri Willis now at the same time with a little bit more on these home prices and how they have gone down.
Gerri, I guess -- so, what is this, 22nd consecutive month? GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: You know, yes. And, unfortunately, I couldn't hear Susan. So, I'm not really sure, you know, what she had to say. I assume she went over the numbers on the individual cities with you.
COLLINS: Well, not individual cities, but she did tell us basically down about 16 percent across the board there.
WILLIS: Yes. And if you look at the, you know, cities that really had trouble, in this report, Las Vegas down and down hard. We actually should have a full screen for you on the actual numbers here. Miami, Phoenix, L.A., San Diego. What you see here is the sun belt is really having the hardest time here.
Now, I want to tell you something because these numbers can be very scary. They're all in the mid-20s, high 20s. Prices down that much year over year, May to May. A city like Las Vegas, for example, it actually had a year over year price gain back in 2004 of 50 percent.
A lot of these cities have yet to give back all the gains that they got during the boom. So think about this. Sit back and think about this. These are big, scary numbers. They are certainly the steepest decline we've ever seen before. But for many of these cities that experience such a rise, such a boom, during the housing, you know, boom, these cities still not giving back all those gains even though you're seeing dramatic, dramatic falloffs in prices.
And I can tell you that coming from the National Association of Realtors says that what's going on here is that home sales are being, you know, held up, stopped, prevented by the credit crisis and that it's difficult for the housing market to recover because there's no way to get new people into homes.
So, dramatic story here with these numbers. Even Charlotte, North Carolina, down. This was a city that until a couple of months ago, this previous housing report in April, you know, it had been showing gains all along. Now, all of them are down and down hard. Big news from Kaye Scholer. And I have to tell you, they have a really great database.
The numbers are really well well-respected. So, these numbers are very meaningful. By the way, you may wonder what's the whole country doing according to their database, because...
COLLINS: Sure.
(CROSSTALK)
WILLIS: ...We're really talking about a 20 city composite.
(CROSSTALK)
COLLINS: Exactly.
WILLIS: Just 20 cities. If you look at the whole country, the numbers are down. They only do this on a quarterly basis, but down 15 percent. So, a big falloff in prices across the country, whether you're talking about being in the metro areas, the cities, or in more rural areas.
COLLINS: These numbers give any indication, Gerri, of -- I mean, because this is really what everybody wants to know. Fine, it's bad, right now. But how much longer are we going to be looking at numbers like this? I think 22 months in a row.
WILLIS: I know. And you know, I wish I had a great answer to this. This is either the worst numbers on record. You know, we continue to have the credit crisis. I wish there were a silver lining I could report right now, but you know, the guess is when we get the credit crisis behind us, people start moving into new houses.
Hopefully, we've got some more confidence in the system after Congress approved this housing bill over the weekend. You got to think that's going to have some effect generally on the housing market. But we've got a lot of inventory to absorb. We have got...
COLLINS: Yes, everywhere you look.
(CROSSTALK)
WILLIS: ...of houses just sitting on the market waiting for owners.
COLLINS: Yes. Absolutely. All right, Gerri. Thanks for the break down on that. We'll stay in touch with you and talk to you again shortly here. Gerri Willis, thanks so much.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
COLLINS: Rough economic times on the other side of the world, too. Starbucks wakes up and smells the coffee. The Java giant says it will close two thirds of its stores in Australia by the end of this week. Almost 700 people out of work. Starbucks says its situation in Australia is unique and other international operations are not perfected. The surprise announcement follows big cuts in the United States. 600 company-owned stores are being closed.
Get smart, get rich. It is the central theme today here at CNN, where your money issue is number one. Right now, list of tips on how to get more for less.
Look at this. Haggle like a pro. No.1 on our list. Don't be afraid of silence. Keep your mouth closed. Keeping your mouth closed can tell a business that just one more concession will seal the deal and earn your business. No. 2, ask for the deal you want. Be specific and make sure you are talking directly to a decision maker.
No.3, pit one company's bid against another. Make them compete for your business. And no.4, be honest about your feelings as a customer. If you feel tricked, say so. Then use specifics to explain why. And no.5, don't let a company break its promise to you. If they do, make them pay with a fair concession. You, the customer, should suggest how they can make it right. So, there you have it.
Angry demonstrations to tell you about now. Could be just hours away. Supporters of the so-called Butcher of Belgrade, gathering ahead of his expected extradition.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Some news we want to get straight out to you now. Just in to the CNN NEWSROOM. There's been an incident in Ohio -- Athens County, to be specific, in the city of Guysville, Ohio. Apparently, a couple of pipe bombs have been found at two separate post offices this morning.
This is all according to the Athens County sheriff's deputies. One of the bombs was found at the back door of one post office. And then, second pipe bomb was found at another post office apparently about two miles away or so in a town there called Stewart.
At this point, we are not hearing of any injuries but we do know that the bomb squad -- Columbus Bomb Squad has responded to this incident, and they of course are blocking off the area to make sure everyone stays safe.
We also are aware that there will be some possible video, a possible live report coming our way. Crews are en route at this time. Again, two pipe bombs have been found at two separate post offices in Athens County, Ohio. We'll stay on top of that news for you.
Meanwhile, the so-called Butcher of Belgrade could be moving at any minute. Former Bosnian Serb President Radovan Karadzic is awaiting extradition to war crimes tribunal, but his supporters in Serbia are not giving up just yet.
CNN's Alessio Vinci is live in Belgrade with more on this story.
Good morning to you Alessio.
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you, Heidi. Port officials here in Belgrade insist they have not received any appeal blocking the extradition of Radovan Karadzic, the U.N. war crimes tribunal at The Hague. In fact, no one here expects one will arrive before his transfer to the court in the Netherlands. In fact, his transfer is not much a question of if but how soon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VINCI (voice-over): A Karadzic family member was spotted Monday morning delivering two suits to the courthouse where the former Bosnian Serb leader is held. And court officials confirmed they have received no appeal blocking the extradition.
We have been waiting for 13 years and the moment has arrived, Belgrade war crimes prosecutor told CNN. If all the procedures had been carried out and there are no doubts, then it could be done right away. New video surfaced on Serb television showing an apparently relaxed Karadzic attending a lunch party in June at a village outside Belgrade. The woman with him is not identified and no one seems to suspect the bearded man among them is Europe's most wanted man.
Belgrade is rift with speculation that Serb officials want to extradite Karadzic before a plan demonstration Tuesday evening, when thousands of radicals and nationalists are expected to gather in Belgrade for an organized protest to support the man they call a hero. Karadzic's lawyer attended a smaller, spontaneous gathering on Sunday evening and told hard court supporters the extradition was near.
My only goal as well as that of Radovan Karadzic is for that not to happen, he said. But we are aware that it will eventually happen and unfortunately we cannot change that.
Serb officials have deployed dozens of extra riot police in front of the courthouse and throughout town, but analysts point out these rallies are being organized by parties who have lost recent elections and much of their support in Serbia.
STEVAN NIKSIC, SERB JOURNALIST: They are unsuccessful. So, since they lost everything, they lost the chance, they lost hope for any political future they're now marginalized and they have radicalized. I mean, they have been radicalized from inside as a way to express their anger.
VINCI: Some of that anger is being vented directory at Serbian President Boris Tadic who recently defeated radicals in national elections. CNN has obtained copies of several e-mails recently sent to his office.
One man wrote, "you call yourself a Serb but you have betrayed the whole Serbian nation." Another man from Montenegro said, "God will judge you." A third e-mailed in bright red characters read "You are a dead man."
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VINCI: And Heidi, a former Serbian prime minister credited with the arrest and extradition of another Balkan strong man Slobodan Milosevic, the former president of this country. That man was assassinated while in office in broad daylight here in Belgrade back in 2003.
So, officials here are taking those threats extremely seriously but, at the same time, they are not backing away from their promise and their intention to cooperate with the U.N. war crimes tribunal and extradite any war crimes suspect.
Heidi?
COLLINS: It's still so amazing to me how incredibly different he looks. Just stunning when we see that video. And I know you'll be covering this proposed rally that's going to be happening tonight. We'll check in with you later on. Thanks so much Alessio Vinci from Belgrade this morning.
A new assault on insurgents under way right now in Iraq. Iraqi forces backed by U.S. troops launched the operation this morning in the volatile Diyala Province. It started with raids in the City of Baquba. The goal, to clear out al Qaeda in Iraq and other insurgents. Diyala Province is north of Baghdad and borders Iran. Military commanders say it is the last major insurgent stronghold around the capital.
Deadly attacks in Iraq carried out by women. It is an increasing danger even with the new safeguards in place. CNN's Arwa Damon now from Baghdad.
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ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are all too familiar images in Iraq, but the nature of Monday's attacks is raising alarms. Four suicide bombings, all apparently carried out by women and all apparently designed to inflict maximum casualties among civilians.
In Kirkuk, according to the police, a woman ran through a crowd of Kurds holding a demonstration, before detonating explosives, killing scores and wounding well over 100.
In Baghdad, the target was a Shia religious procession and the attack was well-coordinated, as hundreds of thousands of pilgrims were marching towards the shrine, three women detonated explosives within half an hour, killing dozens, wounding many more.
In the capital, it's the type of violence the government thought it had taken sufficient measures to avoid, setting up checkpoints, and conducting foot patrols to protect the pilgrims, even deploying more than 200 women specifically to search females around the Imam Kadhim Shrine, the destination of the pilgrims Monday.
"Women, children and young men were killed in the explosion," this woman says.
This is an insurgency that's shown its ability to exploit weakness. The female suicide bombers simply struck pilgrims in an area where they weren't being searched. The use of female suicide bombers is not new to Iraq, but recent numbers show a shocking increase.
Brigadier General Kasa Mata (ph), the spokesman for the Baghdad command says, "The number of male suicide bombers started decrease so long they resorted to the cheapest tactic, and that is the use of women."
According to the U.S. military, there were eight female suicide bombers in 2007. In the first seven months of 2008, there have been at least 24. They seem to have various motives. Some have links to al Qaeda and want revenge for brothers or husbands who have been killed. Others are coerced or suffer deep psychological illnesses, aggravated by years of suffering and violence. They are easily lured by promises of heavenly rewards. DAMON (on camera): The last year has seen a dramatic decline in violence, so this spate of suicide bombings apparently aim at increasing sectarian tensions is a worrying development. And right now, the Iraqi security forces are just not equipped to deal with the threat posed by desperate, vulnerable women for whom life has become hopeless.
Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.
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COLLINS: Sentencing today for a former NBA ref. He gambled and lost.
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COLLINS: Animals act just like kids sometimes. Watch this kangaroo throwing a temper tantrum because the zoo keepers wouldn't let him in the shed. That's kind of make you mad. It happened at the Atlanta Zoo. Pretty unbelievable.
The video was sent to us by one of our iReporters. Both of the zoo keepers, by the way, are OK.
A disgraced NBA referee facing a judge this morning. He'll be sentenced in a gambling scandal that put the integrity of pro-sports in question. CNN's Richard Roth has the case.
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RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR UN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Like any referee in any sport, former NBA official Tim Donaghy had his share of disagreements on the court. But little did players, coaches, or fans of the NBA know that a man paid to be an impartial judge was gambling on dozens of games that he officiated.
MICHAEL MCCAIN, LEGAL ANALYST SI.COM: He was part of a pattern of behavior that is illegal, is very wrong and sets a very poor example for others, particularly for all the people who watch the NBA.
DAVID LETTERMAN, THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN: I had a lot of fun. Went out to dinner and then came home and watch the crooked NBA finals.
ROTH: The scandal is no laughing matter for the NBA's powerful commissioner, David Stern. The leagues integrity was further shaken when Donaghy told federal investigators that there are other cheating refs. Stern was force to play defense.
DAVID STERN, NBA COMMISSIONER: On behalf of my officials, I would like to tell you that they don't engage in the criminal conduct of which Mr. Donaghy has accused them.
ROTH: Since Donaghy spoke to the fed, several NBA referees have reportedly been interviewed by the U.S. government. None have been charged with crimes. And while most league observers believe Donaghy was simply a rogue ref, many agree that the league had to make some changes.
MCCAIN: The big issue here is one of gamesmanship, is one of sportsmanship. The idea that our games are supposedly real based on actual events and not scripted, unlike entertainment events such as wrestling.
ROTH: Commissioner Stern says the NBA has reviewed tape of all of their officials' work just to be sure there were no other rouge refs. And he also hired a retired U.S. Army General to oversee the official's work. Fans think the NBA still has some rebounding to do.
What's your opinion right now of that whole affair and your trust to the game.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, to get their credibility back.
TOMMY DEE, THEKNICKSBLOG.COM: It's the biggest scandal that they've had to deal with certainly I think in the David Stern era. But again, as long as they throw the ball up every night, the fans will always be paying attention.
ROTH: Richard Roth, CNN, New York.
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COLLINS: Targeting the Olympics. A new video from one terrorist group getting more attention now with the games set to begin next week.
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COLLINS: Thanks heavens for wind and rain. China is infamous for its polluted skies. But today's bad weather seemed to clean up the air just a little. Officials say they hope it will stay that way. At least until the start of the Olympic Games next week. Meanwhile, others are busy beautifying the city, flowers, flowers everywhere. Emily Chang has more.
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EMILY CHANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): This is one of many greenhouses across China where flowers are being grown to meet massive demand for the Olympics. Beijing has ordered 40 million flower pots for the games including hundreds of different specifies. Flowers will be the finishing touch on the city's Olympic face lift. They'll decorate Olympic venues, roads, hotels, and tourist attractions.
Flowers can struggle in Beijing's hot and humid summer climate so they've crossbreed special heat resistant strengths like this that will bloom through July and August. In case of heavy rain, which can also damage flowers, there are hundreds of thousands of backup pots being stored.
In the Olympic Flower Distribution Center, flowers are bound into bouquets that will be given to Olympic medalists. All bouquets are identical. Made according to very precise specifications. This is what the finished product looks like. It's bound up in Chinese silk and it's just one more detail that China hopes will help make this the most colorful and vibrant Olympics in history.
Emily Chang, CNN, Beijing.
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COLLINS: All eyes on Beijing next week for the opening of the summer Olympics. The event could be an attractive target, though, for terrorist. And CNN Homeland Security correspondent Jeanne Meserve reports one group may already be making plans.
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JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a recently released video, the Olympic symbol is engulfed in flames. An explosion is superimposed on the image of a stadium and the leader of the Turkistan Islamic Party threatens to conduct violent military actions against the upcoming games.
T.I.P., which is believed to have links to al Qaeda is fighting for a Muslim State in Western China. It has claimed responsibility for several bombings in China. And while those claims have not been verified, its videos do show the construction of a truck bomb and a martyr message.
IntelCenter, a private intelligence firm that monitors terrorist groups uncovered the videos and released them to the media. It says the threats should be taken seriously.
BEN VENZKE, INTELCENTER: We have video material of them conducting vehicular bombings, executions of security force members, attacks on security force convoys, and other types of operations. Very much like we see groups in Iraq and Afghanistan.
MESERVE: U.S. Intelligence officials described T.I.P. as dangerous, but question whether it has the capability to mount a spectacular attack on the Olympics in the face of a massive Chinese security operation.
But as the 1996 bombing in Atlanta demonstrated, even a small device can have a huge impact when amplified by the prism of the Olympics. The T.I.P. may be calculating that its threats, whether carried out or not, will be noticed.
VENZKE: Most people in the world are not aware that there is a Jihadist group operating in Xinjiang Province or anywhere in China for that matter. So, this is a chance to sort of elevate their profile.
MESERVE (on camera): In earlier statements, the T.I.P. threatened an attack with biological weapons. That is not repeated in their new video and there is considerable doubt about their capability to do that.
Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington. (END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. Tony Harris has the day off. Stay informed all day in the CNN NEWSROOM. Here's what's on the rundown.
Crews struggling to get their footing against a California inferno. Thousands of homes in danger this morning.
A snap shot of the presidential race today. A new poll suggesting John McCain is gaining on Barack Obama.
Living the good life during bad economic times. Our money experts tell you how to get rich today, Tuesday, July 29th. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
A fast-moving wildfire in Northern California exploding into an out of control monster. About 3,000 firefighters are battling flames near Yosemite National Park. High temperatures and rough terrain certainly aren't helping. Here is where we stand right now. 25 homes have been destroyed since the fire began on Friday. 4,000 homes are now in danger today. Both of those numbers have doubled since yesterday. Four firefighters have been injured.
Parts of the south and southwest are dealing with some real heat. Meteorologist Rob Marciano telling us a little bit more about that.
Certainly not going to get a break as far as new temperatures go.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No. You know, it's the last week of July so it doesn't take much of the sun to get going on the ground here. 102 expected in Dallas, 90 in Denver, 105 in Vegas. Good news for the folks out west. It won't be extraordinary heat. It's not going to be necessarily cool where those fires are, but it could certainly be a lot worse.
Winds will be gusty at times. Especially in this little weather system that's going to cruise across the north west that will switch the winds a little bit and bring --
