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Russia/Georgia Conflict; Olympic Opening; Behind the Scenes at Guantanamo

Aired August 09, 2008 - 11:00   ET

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

MELISSA LONG, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, you're in the CNN NEWSROOM on this Saturday. The news is unfolding on this ninth day of August.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: August.

LONG: I'm Melissa Long in today for Betty.

HOLMES: It's ok to go ahead and criticize whoever put July in that teleprompter.

LONG: That's ok. Maybe it was just kept in there, the form right?

HOLMES: Yeah, yeah, yeah. No excuse for that. No I'm kidding. Hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes, glad you could be with us this morning.

This is fighting between Georgia and Russia that's going on right now. You see civilians running scared. We'll be talking about this developing story. Also this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMIE MCINTYRE: I can see a lot more here than I can actually show you because the restrictions on videotaping and photographing are extremely tight. There are all kinds of things we can't show you.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

LONG: Behind the scenes at Guantanamo with our senior pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre.

And --

HOLMES: Wait just a second before you fire up the grill. We have another beef recall to tell you about. Yes, you're in the NEWSROOM.

Well, in the middle of the city in the middle of the day, despite unprecedented security for the summer Olympics, an American tourist has been killed in Beijing today after an attack. Another American and their Chinese tour guide also wounded. We want to head now to CNN's Larry Smith who has been covering this story for us in Beijing. Hello to you again, good evening to you there. LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good evening to you, T.J. We now have a name. We can put an identity to this. His name was Todd Bachman. The man who was killed in that attack today. He is of Lakeville, Minnesota. He's the father-in-law of Hugh McCutchen, who is the head coach of the men's indoor volleyball team. A team which will open its play here in Beijing tomorrow afternoon, Sunday afternoon and we understand as of this time that game will still go on as scheduled. That is what we understand right now. Now Todd Bachman was with his wife Barbara and their daughter Elizabeth. They were touring the drum tower which is an historic monument just about five miles away from where we are at Olympic Green. Barbara Bachman also suffered some serious life threatening injuries in that attack. Their daughter Elizabeth was not harmed. The Chinese tour guide who was with them also was not harmed.

The assailant is a 47-year-old Chinese national, he committed suicide by throwing himself off the second story of that building. So once again the man who was killed today in that attack, Todd Bachman and his wife Barbara right now still battling life threatening injuries here in Beijing. We do understand also that none of the Bachmans were wearing any clothing that would affiliate them with the U.S. Olympic team or would make them targets as Americans. Let's go back to you.

HOLMES: Again, like you say there, they weren't wearing anything that identified them as Americans, but still no reason there. Hearing from the experiences you have been having, no reason for people to think that Americans would have been targeted for any reason by the Chinese.

SMITH: It has not happened. As you mentioned, my personal experience here has been the exact opposite. We have been welcomed with open arms, and it just does not happen. You don't hear many reports of Americans touring over here coming under attack.

HOLMES: All right, all right. Larry Smith for us on the story there. Not the one we hoped to hear after day one, but Larry, we appreciate your reporting this morning.

LONG: Also in Beijing another small political protest today. Five demonstrators wrapped themselves in Tibetan flags and laid down in Tiananmen Square. A witness says they were led away apparently by plain clothes security agents. Yesterday three Americans were detained after displaying Tibetan flags near the site of the Olympics' open ceremonies. The protesters want China to grant independence to Tibet. The Chinese government insists Tibet is part of China.

HOLMES: One of the original kings of comedy is dead. Actor and comedian Bernie Mac died today after battling pneumonia. He had been hospitalized with pneumonia for some time. He also had Sarcoidosis, that's a chronic disease that could inflame lung tissue. However, his publicist and people are not saying, in fact, the pneumonia had anything to do with that sarcoidosis which had been in remission for several years. Mac got his start doing standup in his native Chicago. He drew acclaim for his Fox television series, you may remember the "Bernie Mac Show." It still comes on. His movie credits include "Bad Santa," also "Oceans 11, 12, and 13." And he also had a role in (INAUDIBLE). I spoke with one of his fellow kings of comedy, Steve Harvey, a short time ago, and he was just getting the word about Bernie Mac's death within the past half hour or so when I talked to him.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

VOICE OF STEVE HARVEY, COMEDIAN: You know, I know people are thinking, you know, about the comedy aspect, but my heart goes out to his family, man, because I don't know if people really understood how good of a father Bernie Mac was and just how good of a family man Bernie Mac was. Ad how he raised his kids the right way, and my heart is breaking for those people more than anything. I know we had a brotherhood we had formed because the "Kings of Comedy" had done things nobody else had ever done. But I try to take myself out of the equation when I think of moments like this, and the people who suffer most have to be his family, man. That's a heartbreaker.

(END OF AUDIO CLIP)

HOLMES: Again for some time there had been speculation about his condition and just within the past day or so, his publicists and others put out statements that he was actually getting better in the hospital. He was expected to be released, and then word this morning that he had in fact had died. Bernie Mac had planned also to retire from standup soon. Again, he was 50 years old.

LONG: Now if he is planning on one, there are doubts about John Edwards' political future today. The former presidential candidate admitting to an affair with Rielle Hunter, a videographer for his campaign. The former senator blames his conduct on an oversized ego. He talked with ABC's "Nightline."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN EDWARDS, (D) FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Then I went from being a young senator to being considered for vice president, running for president, being a vice presidential candidate, and becoming a national public figure. All of which fed a self- focused and egotism, a narcissism that leads you to believe that you can do whatever you want. You're invincible, and there will be no consequences.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

LONG: Elizabeth Edwards, who is battling cancer says her husband admitted the affair to her in 2006. She writes on her website and I quote, "Our family has been through a lot, some caused by nature, some caused by human weakness, and some most recently by the desire for sensationalism and profit without any regard for the human consequences."

HOLMES: Our CNN Brian Todd reports that there have been whispers of an affair for some time. Actually first surfaced in the "National Enquirer" last fall.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Under increasing pressure from a story that had gone beyond the tabloids to serious discussion among democratic party chiefs, the former presidential candidate admits he had an affair with a woman who had worked on his campaign. In a statement, John Edwards says he's ashamed and "In 2006, I made a serious error in judgment and conducted myself in a way that was disloyal to my family and to my core beliefs. I recognized my mistake and I told my wife that I had a liaison with another woman and I asked for her forgiveness." But Edwards denies he's the father of that woman's child and says he's willing to take a paternity test. During his presidential campaign this year, Edwards repeatedly denied that there was any truth to the story initially calling it false and ridiculous. He issued another denial just two weeks ago.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Senator, I have a question, when you were running for president you flat out denied having a relationship with Rielle Hunter. Did you give me a truthful answer? Were you telling the truth then?

EDWARDS: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Has you or your campaign provided any financial support to Rielle Hunter or Andrew Young? Have you or anyone affiliated with your presidential campaign provided any financial help to Rielle Hunter or Andrew Young?

EDWARDS: I have no idea what you're asking about. I have responded consistently to these tabloid allegations by saying I don't respond to these lies, and you know that Rae Lynn. You have covered me, and I stand by that.

TODD: The woman, Rielle Hunter, worked for Edwards as a freelancer making web videos. She told the program "Extra" that her travels with Edwards were a life-altering experience.

RIELLE HUNTER, FMR. EDWARDS CAMPAIGN WORKER: One of the great things about John Edwards is that he's so open and willing to try new things and do things in new ways.

TODD: Edwards says his wife, Elizabeth, became aware of the relationship in 2006 not long after it began. Edwards tells ABC News that his wife's cancer was in remission when he began the affair. Elizabeth Edwards has since then developed an incurable form of cancer.

(On camera): Government records show John Edwards' political action committee paid a total of about $114,000 to Hunter's production company for website and internet services. CNN has tried for weeks to talk to Rielle Hunter about this story without success. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

LONG: The fighting rages on this morning between Russia and the former Soviet Republic of Georgia and today Georgia's parliament declaring a state of war. Two countries are at odds over a breakaway region of Georgia called South Ossetia. Georgia, a U.S. ally, launched a military offensive this week against separatists in the region. Russia, which has granted citizenship to most South Ossetian residents responded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. MIKHAIL SAAKASHVILI, GEORGIA: Today Russia has now launched a full-scale military invasion of Georgia. Russian forces, including air, land, sea, and airborne forces are amassed against and attacking our sovereign nation.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

LONG: The president of Georgia Saakashvili, it is unclear how many people have died in the fighting so far. Russia puts the death toll around 2,000. Georgia says it is actually much lower.

HOLMES: President Bush meanwhile keeping an eye on things happening there in Georgia and Russia as well. The president keeping an eye on things from Beijing. He's there attending the Olympics and today appealed for calm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: Georgia is a sovereign nation, and its territorial integrity must be respected. We have urged an immediate halt to the violence and a stand down by all troops. The call for an end to the Russian bombings and a return by the parties to the status quo of August the 6th.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Russia says it won't stop fighting until Georgia pulls its troops out of South Ossetia. CNN's senior international correspondent Matthew Chance is joining us now from Georgia. What have you been seeing?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've been traveling across Georgia today and the whole country is terrified of what the next 24 hours may bring, T.J. Certainly so far there's been a lot of violence in pockets of territory across this former Soviet Republic. Notably in an area called South Ossetia which is a breakaway territory of Georgia that wants to be part of Russia but is actually part of Georgia. There have been fierce fighting for control of the main town called Tskhinvali(ph). Russian forces say they are now in control of the center of that town, but Georgian forces deny that saying that they are still fighting for control of the streets of Tskhinvali(ph). Casualty figures are reported to be extremely high. According to the Russian ambassador to Georgia, as high as 2,000 people may have been killed as a result of the fighting in South Ossetia. As you mentioned, the Georgian authorities dispute that figure saying that it's much lower, but they don't have a figure of their own at the moment. Certainly it's very difficult for us to get into that region at this time to independently verify just how appalling this has been for the residents of South Ossetia. There's been violence elsewhere as well around Georgia well outside the area of that conflict zone. Just outside this, the capital, Tblisi(ph), there's been an oil pipeline bombed, a very strategic oil pipeline which disrupts supplies going to the black sea oil terminals that Georgia has to its west. Also there's been an apartment building bombed according to Georgian officials by the Russian air force. They say at least 60 people inside that apartment building were killed, and there have been reports like that coming into us from around the country over the course of the past 24 hours. As I say, people in this country are terrified about what the next 24 hours will bring.

HOLMES: All right. I know you will keep an eye on it. As a lot of people are around the world literally keeping on eye on what will happen there. Our Matthew Chance in Tblisi, Georgia for us. Matthew, thank you.

LONG: Of course there's a long history behind the conflict in Georgia. Josh Levs will be here in just a matter of minutes to explain it all to you. In the meantime you can find more background online on our website, cnn.com.

A community is in mourning as investigators are seeking the cause of a deadly bus crash.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: We turn now to that terrible bus crash in Texas that killed 15 people. Federal investigators now saying that bus was not licensed and the tire that blew causing the accident was an illegal retread. This weekend two Houston churches are mourning those that were killed in that rollover that happened north of Dallas. CNN's Susan Roesgen has this story for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 55 passengers were on this bus when it veered off the highway and flipped on its side. The passengers were Vietnamese Catholics heading to a religious celebration in Missouri. Just before midnight, they had prayed the rosary together and most were falling asleep. A survivor Leha Nguyen says she was worried the bus was going a little fast but she pushed the thought out of her mind, and when she woke up --

LEHA NGUYEN, SURVIVOR: As I opened my eyes, I see that, you know, the chair falling off and I was sitting right below the TV, and I felt that my leg was -- somebody lay on my legs, and then right next to me there was a lady, she got her arm really crushed.

ROESGEN: The bus was filled with injured men, women, and children. The youngest was 12 years old, the oldest, 70. Rescuers had to cut a hole in the bottom of the bus to get the victims out. 12 died at the scene.

(On camera): Some of the injured were taken here, to a hospital in Sherman, and one of the first problems for doctors was that many of the patients spoke only Vietnamese.

JANICE WALKER, CHIEF NURSE: The victims were very scared. The language barrier had a lot to do with that, but they were almost in a state of shock.

ROESGEN: And many were critically injured.

DR. AL CARDENAS, EMERGENCY ROOM PHYSICIAN: The types of injuries were multi factorial. That is head injuries, orthopedic injuries, abdominal injuries.

ROESGEN: At the crash scene, the first responders found a shredded front tire and they believe a blowout might have caused the crash. But federal investigators say it's too early to know for sure.

DEBBIE HERSMAN, NTSB BOARD MEMBER: The question was what caused this tire to lose air. We don't know the answer to that question. That's why we're here. We're here to look and see if that loss occurred before the accident, during the accident sequence, and so we're establishing all of those facts right now.

ROESGEN: Something else investigators will consider is whether that bus should have been on the highway at all. Texas officials say the bus company was not yet authorized to be on the road, and the owner had operated another bus service with a long history of safety violations. The company has made no comment. Susan Roesgen, CNN, Sherman, Texas.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

LONG: May be a while before we get any answers as to what caused that terrible crash.

HOLMES: Sad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOLMES: Barack Obama is the presumptive democratic nominee, but he still needs to win over some democrats. You know, those that were supporting Hillary Clinton.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: John McCain spending time with some fellow veterans today. The republican presidential candidate visits Nevada to address the disabled American veterans convention in Las Vegas. McCain attended the Iowa state fair yesterday, and even though he was in corn country, he reaffirmed his opposition to subsidizing ethanol made from corn. On the other hand, he told the crowd he's eager to help market U.S. farm products around the world.

LONG: Democrat Barack Obama is vacationing in his home state, his birth state I guess you should say, of Hawaii. Home state of Illinois, of course. Had a public welcome when he arrived. But he plans to spend most of the next few days relaxing with family and visiting with his sister and grandmother. Now he's now completely absent from the campaign trail, delivering this week's democratic radio address Senator Obama called on the Iraqi government to spend more of its own money on Iraqi reconstruction.

Who's counting, but 16 days to go until the Democratic National Convention. The party is still trying to heal some of the wounds from the primaries. CNN's Jessica Yellin reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Senator Clinton campaigning for Barack Obama in Las Vegas.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) NEW YORK: He represents the unity that we will have as we move toward victory in November and elect Senator Barack Obama the next president of the United States.

YELLIN: Before leaving for Hawaii, Obama insisted there's peace between the Democratic Party's top stars.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She is very enthusiastic about the need for a unified party. I think we're going to have a terrific convention.

YELLIN: Not if some of Clinton's most ardent supporters have their way.

Some Hillary holdouts still active through websites like this one say they won't vote for Obama at the convention. The few are even developing a documentary arguing that the primary was stolen. This trailer is on YouTube.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The people from the Obama group were on the telephone taking down names and addresses.

YELLIN: These vocal Hillary devotees could pose problems for the party.

ANNE KORNBLUT, WASHINGTON POST: I think they absolutely matter in terms of the spirit of the convention. I have heard some republicans talk about being heartened by the fact that there's still this impression the Democratic Party isn't united.

YELLIN: But a recent poll by the Pew Research Center shows Obama has actually gained support among Clinton's backers. 72 percent in late July, up 13 points since May. Still, 17 percent of Clinton supporters say they plan to vote for McCain, and 10 percent remain undecided. Obama and the DNC have tried to appease these critics with convention speaking roles for both Clintons and by inserting in the proposed party platform a message that says, "We believe standing up for our country means standing up against sexism." It is unclear how significant Clinton holdouts' influence will be come November.

KORNBLUT: I don't know that any one demographic could single handedly sink or win this election for anybody else. I do think it's one of the danger spots for Obama in this election in states in particular like a Florida. YELLIN: The Obama campaign insists they are not troubled by these Clinton holdouts. They say their influence is being dramatically overplayed by the media. Jessica Yellin, CNN, Washington.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE) HOLMES: Going behind the scenes at Guantanamo Bay. We'll take you for an unprecedented look at this controversial facility.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MELISSA LONG, CNN ANCHOR: 11:30 in morning on this Saturday. Here is a look at some of the stories the CNN team is working on for you this morning. An American man killed, an American woman seriously wounded today at a popular tourist site in Beijing. They were family members of a U.S. Olympic coach. China's official news agency saying that they were attacked by a Chinese man who then killed himself.

Actor/comedian Bernie Mac is dead at the age of 50. Mac suffered from an inflammatory lung disease and was being treated for pneumonia in a Chicago hospital at his time of death.

Russian news reports say that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has arrived near the border between Russia and Georgia. A Russian diplomat says at least 2,000 people have been killed in the fighting between his country and the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. The fighting may have caught many of you by surprise this morning of course as you're waking up and hearing about this development.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Truth be told, this conflict has been going on hot and cold for many, many years and certainly worrisome to the Bush administration. Josh Levs has been looking into this for us and has an explainer for some of you.

JOSH LEVS: Yeah, we want to talk a little bit about South Ossetia. Because it's not something a lot of people are familiar with, certainly not something you hear often in the news. It is a critical region that can affect the United States in some important ways. We want to trace you through some of the basics about it. It's one of our top stories right now on cnn.com. You can see on the screen behind me. We also have a graphic for you. Let's go to that right now. These are some key facts for you to understand about South Ossetia. First of all, it's an autonomous region inside Georgia. Russia supports the autonomous government there. Population is small. When you hear 70,000, that's like a small town in the U.S. Majority support independence from Georgia, and a lot of people in that region support reunification with North Ossetia, which would be part of Russia. So you have this interplay between Russia and Georgia for that area, South Ossetia. One more screen I want to show you now that takes you through some of the key things that led up to what you're seeing today. There have been cease fire agreements in the past to stop violence there. Russia has peacekeeping forces already. That's important to understand. When you see these tanks coming in, they can say we're sending more peacekeeping troops. The Kremlin supports separatists. Recently you have this whole new wave of violence which is what led to what you're seeing right now. And Georgia launched a crackdown, then Russia responded. That's the background basically for what you're seeing right now with Georgia and Russia fighting over this area, South Ossetia, which has said in many ways it wants independence from Georgia.

Now, why care in the United States? Well, first of all, it's a critical region. No one wants to see that region destabilized. There's also something else and that is on the screen behind me. This is from the Energy Information Administration. Let's close in on this quote if we can right here. That region is important to world energy markets. It is a key transit area for oil and natural gas. Seems like these days almost every major story ends up affecting oil and oil prices. But if that area is destabilized, it can destabilize a route that is used to transport a lot of oil. Also, T.J. and Melissa, a couple things to keep in mind, Georgia has troops in Iraq. So they are in that way a key ally of the United States. They also want to grow NATO, expand NATO eastward, so the United States has a lot of interest in Georgia's stability for oil and other reasons. That's another reason why we're going to keep such a close eye on this story in the coming days. Keep brining you all the developments and see if the region is destabilized or if things are brought to a more peaceful solution.

HOLMES: A peaceful solution is what everybody is hoping for now. Josh, we appreciate you once again this morning.

We will turn now to that split verdict that we saw this week in the first war crimes trial at Guantanamo Bay. Osama bin Laden's driver could complete his sentence before the end of the year. Senior pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre spent much of the week at the U.S. prison. He gives us now a look behind the scenes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From the air, Guantanamo looks like any Caribbean island but this 45 square mile tip of eastern Cuba is firmly under U.S. control as it has been for more than a century.

(On camera): There's some charter planes that fly to Guantanamo but no commercial flights. The main way in is by military air. I'm sitting in the cockpit of a KC-10 refueling plane on final approach to Gitmo.

(Voice-over): These U.S. air force pilots are making one of the regular runs to the U.S. naval base carrying defense attorneys and prosecutors to see the 80 or so detainees who face trial. The airport is on one side of the bay, and on the other a 15-minute ferry ride away is the base and the infamous prison.

(On camera): This is a view very few people get to see. We are inside camp four of Camp Delta inside Guantanamo Bay. These are where the detainees who are the most compliant are kept. They have the most freedom here. They have 12 hours of recreation a day. They have two hours when they can co-mingle. They also have things like movie night where they can watch movies that are selected by the U.S. military, things that are appropriate. I'm told that the Discovery channel is big here. I can see a lot more here than I can actually show you because the restrictions on videotaping and photographing are extremely tight. There are all kinds of things we can't show you. Can't show any locks. We can't show any faces of the detainees. We can't show any faces of the personnel who work here. We can't show any guard towers because they may or may not be occupied, they don't want to give away what their procedures are.

(Voice-over): In fact, this is one of the few shots of barbed wire we were authorized to videotape. The fact is barbed wire is everywhere on the base, but you didn't see it in the background of any of our live reports from Guantanamo because a military minder was standing right next to us to make sure we cropped the security fences out of our shots. There are, however, no restrictions of photographing iguanas which are as ubiquitous in Guantanamo as the barbed wire. Just don't feed them or you could end up on the wrong side of the fence. Jamie McIntyre, CNN, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

LONG: Some video you might want to check out this morning, a guy off to get some groceries, and he encounters this would-be robber. And he proves he himself is one tough customer. More on the story coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LONG: Before you fire up the barbecue later today or on Sunday, word of a recall. Whole Foods is recalling ground beef sold in 23 states. Seven people in Massachusetts, two in Pennsylvania have been sickened by E. Coli.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I count on them to tell me the truth where my food comes from and that it's healthy and good quality.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In general I think they certainly take care of their products and I think if this is the case that I wouldn't tend to fault them for it.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

LONG: So Whole Foods says the beef was processed at a plant linked to a big E. Coli outbreak earlier in the summer. Ground beef purchased at Whole Foods since early June should be tossed and you're instructed to take the packaging to the store for a refund.

HOLMES: And quick thinking and a whole lot of bravery to tell you about in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Where a would-be armed robber is behind bars after a customer in a grocery store took matters into his own hands and it was all caught on a surveillance tape. We have the details now from Diana Zoga of affiliate KTUL.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANA ZOGA, KTUL (voice-over): Watch closely as one camera catches the moment a robber walks into the store. Another, the moment he shoots at a customer. What you can't really see is the gun jamming seconds before another customer makes his move.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I said if there was a chance to do anything, you better take it now.

ZOGA: Craig Stutzman is at home today with a swollen jaw, stitches and scrapes. You're the guy on the tape?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I guess so.

ZOGA: You can see Craig in the striped shirt tackle the robber who fought back with the butt of a gun. Still, Craig with no weapon held on, even as the robber tried to run away. Craig kept up the fight, which spilled into the parking lot. Why did you hang on? Why were you so insistent on hanging onto this guy?

CRAIG STUTZMAN, TACKLED SUSPECT: I can't give you an answer. I've been thinking that myself. I don't know.

ZOGA: Outside another bystander gets the gun and a few seconds later police arrive and cuff Tony Cleveland.

SGT. DAVE WALKER, TULSA POLICE: We don't want to put out there that we expect citizens to take action like that, but absolutely this gentleman here taking the type of action that he did led to the arrest and the clearance of this case. And put a real bad guy behind bars.

STUTZMAN; Just reaction really. I'm not sure why but it's just what happened.

ZOGA: Craig Stutzman is not a security guard. He's never taken a karate class. He's a mild-mannered mechanic by day turned literal crime fighter by night.

STUTZMAN: You know, it's just one less, and, you know, one less, and it's such a small percentage of people out there that are like that, and, you know, one less percentage wise has got to be huge.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Craig is being called, and for good reason, a Good Samaritan in Tulsa.

LONG: The next story I think will make just about anybody squirm whether or not they're afraid of snakes or not, chalk this one up to stupid human tricks. It happened at the Iowa state fair. You can watch though as this snake gets a little grabby with a local TV weather guy. Starts out friendly enough but then the snake slithers into the guy's pants and latched on.

Oh, my goodness.

Only at the Iowa state fair, right?

I bet you never knew, did you? LONG: I'm looking at the guys behind the camera right now. Their eyes were bulging out of their heads, shocked by this. Behind our cameras you look like you're in pain T.J. Rescue efforts were hindered by bouts of severe giggling. I don't think this guy was giggling. It took several minutes and persistent tugging to convince that snake to lose its grip.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Children being touched by terrorism. How do they deal with the grief, the anger, the senselessness of it all?

LONG: There's a summer camp in Pennsylvania that's trying to help out. Here's CNN's Mary Snow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This exercise may appear to have nothing to do with battling terrorism, but for these kids it's a step toward building trust. They are the children of 9/11, the bombings in Madrid and in London and victims of terrorism in Israel. Each had a family member killed or seriously wounded. For the first time they have been brought together in a camp called project common bond. They share the mundane, and then there's the reason they have traveled to Pennsylvania.

Martin Hart was 17 when his father was killed in the London bombings three years ago. He left a subway that was attacked only to be blown up by a suicide bomber on a bus.

MARTIN HART, CAMPER, PROJECT COMMON BOND: If it's in a normal situation, it's hard, but terrorism, it just tears a family apart. But you've just got to stay strong.

SNOW: Staying strong means addressing their anger. Carolynn Iskyan's father was killed in the World Trade Center.

CAROLYNN ISKYAN, CAMPER, PROJECT COMMON BOND: Where do you get off just deciding one day to drive a plane into a building and killing all these people. And I was like yes I was angry at them. I was angry at my dad for going to work. I was angry for people for not stopping it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you do with that?

ISKYAN: I talk about it.

SNOW: It's a bond Evyatara Alush didn't expect to find in the United States. A terrorist shot his parents inside a toy store in Israel. Killing his father and injuring his mother who escaped with his little brother.

EVYATAR ALUSH, CAMPER, PROJECT COMMON BOND: Since I was really young, like the age of 6 when my father died, I thought that terrorism is only in Israel.

SNOW: While at times they are just kids, the camp also aims to create a generation of leaders dedicated to fighting terrorism. George Tarr's was killed by rebels in Liberia's long-running civil war.

GEORGE TARR, CAMPER, PROJECT COMMON BOND: We have to understand them as well in order to bring peace into our life and into their life as well.

SNOW: The project was run by Tuesday's children, an organization for 9/11 families. It joined forces with similar groups, like one in Israel run by Jacob Kimchy.

JACOB KIMCHY, COUNSELOR, PROJECT COMMON BOND: We need to look at terrorists and say, you didn't win. We're together now and we're going to take it to a better place.

SNOW: Mary Snow, CNN, New York.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

LONG: And NEWSROOM continues at the top of the hour, with Fredricka Whitfield.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello.

HOLMES: Who is busy.

LONG: Yes, I know very busy.

WHITFIELD: It's been an incredible morning but I don't have to tell you guys that because you've been handling it all. Straight ahead in our legal segment as we do every noon hour on the weekends, we're joined by our legal experts and this time we'll be dealing with a number of legal cases, involving the Caylee Anthony case. Very confusing case. What has happened to this 2-year-old child reported missing. Reported missing, a month. The mother is in jail. What's the status of that. And the grandmother, her behavior now being evaluated as well. And we're all pretty excited about this time of year, right? Olympic Game.

HOLMES: Oh, yeah.

WHITFIELD: The Olympic fever.

Ok the Olympic fever. Well, I've got it too and I have it every Olympic season.

LONG: And you have an even greater reason to have it.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, it's kind of in my blood. I am not the Olympian, I have a member of my family who is, my dad. And so we're about to embark on our own excellent adventure to Beijing. So in the noon hour you will understand why this particular Olympics, it's so significant for him and his generation of Olympic athletes. Many of whom will be reuniting in Beijing, and we hope to be there. Dad doesn't know that part though, that's a surprise.

LONG: Really?

WHITFIELD: Yeah, but it's going to be a really cool adventure.

LONG: And when did he compete?

WHITFIELD: '48 and '52. He's a five-time medalist. He has three golds, a silver and a bronze. Track & field. 800, 4 x 4 and the 400.

HOLMES: There's where you get all your athletic ability from.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. Sadly I didn't do more with it in terms of my athleticism, right?

HOLMES: You turned out all right, Fredricka. We'll see you here shortly.

LONG: Set goals, lose weight, sounds easy enough? But we all know it isn't. But if it came down to do or die, would it be easier, would it give you that fire to change. Dr. Sanjay Gupta's "Fit Nation" takes him now to New Orleans.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As a young soldier Chad Swallow prided himself on his athletic ability. But when he left the structured regimen of the military, his health went downhill.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Within a year of getting out of the military, I really started putting on a good bit of weight. I would go on a diet. And the weight would come off 50 pounds and I would put on 100. It was a very, very dark dismal place.

GUPTA: Stuck in a constant yo-yo weight loss cycle. Chad knew he was doing irreparable damage to his body.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Getting on the scale at the doctor's office and seeing 464 pop up. That was a big wakeup to me to know that you know, Chad, if you don't do something now, you're going to be dead in 10 years or you're going to be damn close to it.

GUPTA: Knowing he didn't have the willpower to do it without any help, Chad opted to have gastric bypass surgery. The operation was a success but it didn't come without hardships.

CHAD SOILEAU, LOST 260 POUNDS: I went through so much to have the surgery and then after having the surgery, having a blood clot, having internal bleeding. Having to have my gallbladder yanked out.

GUPTA: But now weighing less than half of his original size, Chad doesn't have any regrets.

SOILEAU: That's what's really gotten me through this entire process is my goals. I set up a list of goals, about 84 goals, I think, that included some silly things. As being able to bend over and tie my shoes. I finished all of my original goal list and realized that, ok, let's set some new goals. I'll be an iron man triathlete next year in November 2009, mark it. My name is Chad Soileau, I have lost 260 pounds.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN reporting.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: We've been telling you all morning about the conflict happening in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia, fighting happened between them and separatists and a region South Ossetia and also with Russian troops involved. We're joined now by the Georgian president who is joining us now live, President Mikhail Saakashvili. Sir, thank you so much for giving us some time. I hope that you can hear me ok there. Mr. President, do you have me? It looks like the president is not able to hear me at the time. I will try one more time. President Saakashvili.

PRES. MIKHAIL SAAKASHVILI, GEORGIA: I can hear you, I can hear you.

HOLMES: Again, sir, this is T.J. Holmes, CNN in Atlanta in the U.S. Thank you for your time. Tell us what do you hope to happen now with this fighting? You've asked parliament to issue a state of war. What does that mean? What powers does that give you, and what is next?

SAAKASHVILI: It's not about powers bringing to the president. It's all about the reality. The reality is that small nation of Georgia is being brutally attacked by big neighbor Russia. And as we speak, there is multiple -- 90 percent of all aerial attacks from Russia come deliberately targeted at absolutely 100 percent civilian targets. Today, for instance, in only in one instance. Russian planes destroyed the whole residential corridor killing hundreds of people in an absolute civilian area.

HOLMES: Sir, we can't confirm that over here at CNN, some of these allegations that you're making here and certainly the Russians are saying that is not the case and that they have been there on a peacekeeping mission. I know that you disagree with some of this but we have to tell people what they're saying. This was a Russian peacekeeping mission. They were in there, and you all actually, the Georgians were actually in there targeting some of their peacekeepers. So the other side is saying you all started this.

SAAKASHVILI: Well, I mean, we -- we it's Russian has been amassing troops across our borders for several months and they've been managing to use them inside of Georgia. We have Russian-backed rebels who have been attacking us over and over again but we only responded after unilateral cease fire to their attacks on -- a few days ago, hundreds of Russian tanks, APCs and armored vehicles started to move in through Georgia/Russian border into our sovereign territory. This is exactly the kind of invasion (INAUDIBLE) into Afghanistan in '79. This is exactly the kind of invasion they did in Czechoslovakia in '68 and then to Hungary in '56. Every time when they did this, they were looking for some pretext why they would do it. And right now, it's like history is seen again. It's so tragic in my own country. And it's not about peacekeeping and what they're doing right now is a war crimes, clear humanitarian disaster and destruction of --

HOLMES: Again, these are strong allegations you're making here against the Russians. We want to tune in now, I want you to listen as well to what the Russian deputy foreign minister had to say just a short time ago. Let's listen to him and we'll get your reaction on the other side. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unfortunately what happened, starting from the 7th of August, is a drama to Georgia. It's a drama to South Ossetia. It's a drama to Russia. The man who launched that is president of Georgia. There is no arguing about it. We should be absolutely convinced that this was a very bad, very bad, if not to say criminal, political decision.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well sir you hear it, they're calling it a criminal decision on your part.