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Russia and Georgia Fight over Ossetia; American Olympic Tourist Killed; Bernie Mac Dead at 50

Aired August 09, 2008 - 17:00   ET

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


RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: The very first day of competition in Beijing has been marred by a deadly attack on an American tourist.
Also, the world loses a voice that was always good for a laugh. A look at this rare disease that has taken the life of comedian Bernie Mac.

And fierce fighting as Russia invades the Republic of Georgia. We're all over of those stories.

Hi, everybody. I'm Rick Sanchez, you're now in the CNN NEWSROOM. Let us begin with this. Russia is literally dropping the hammer on its southern neighbor Georgia. Russian warplanes bombing civilians, more troops moving in right now. These are some of the pictures that we have been getting in.

Here's why the Russians rolled the tanks just two days ago. Georgia attempted to reassert sway over two separatist enclaves friendly with Moscow. Given Russia's strong reaction, U.S. ally Georgia is pleading today for peace, pleading for the United States to come in and somehow help them.

From a shell-shocked Georgian capital, here now is CNN's Matthew Chance.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SR. INTL. CORRESPONDENT: It's a very tense situation in Tbilisi tonight as it is over across large areas of this country in anticipation of what the next move will be in this increasingly deadly, increasingly dramatic conflict that Georgia has found itself locked in with its giant neighbor Russia.

There's a great deal of violence that has been reported to us over the course of the past 24 hours. Moreover, Georgia, in fact, there have been air strikes by Russian warplanes particularly in a town just outside of Tbilisi, the capital, a town called Gori, where officials say an apartment block was hit by Russian -- by bombs carried by Russian warplanes. At least 60 people there were killed, according to the Russian -- sorry, the Georgian authorities.

Again, there has been a lot of violence as well continuing today inside Ossetia, in the main town inside Ossetia, Tskhinvali, where there has been fierce fighting for control of streets between Russian forces and the separatists they back as well as Georgian forces who have been attempting to wrest control of that breakaway territory in Georgia back into the control of the central Georgian government.

So a great deal of concern about what the next 24 hours will bring as the military situation in this country looks like intensifying, looks like worsening in various areas. We're having reports of the Black Sea fleet of Russia being mobilized, perhaps to begin some kind of naval blockade of Georgia in the Black Sea.

Also having continuing reports of military activity in the other breakaway territory of Georgia, Abkhazia, where Georgian authorities are reporting to us that they're coming under intensive artillery fire from separatist positions in Abkhazia. The separatists there, of course, just like in South Ossetia, backed by the Kremlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Matthew Chance is going to stay on top of that story for us. If we get anymore updates or if anything certainly happens there, we're going to be taking you back to the scene.

Meanwhile, Georgia is officially pleading for help. You may not know it, but Georgia has troops in Iraq, about 2,000. Now it's saying to Washington, fly them back home as soon as you possibly can. We spoke today to the Georgian president who had this to say when he spoke.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKHEIL SAAKASHVILI, PRESIDENT OF GEORGIA: I spoke today with President Bush, and, you know, he expressed strong support as well as Senator Obama and Senator McCain, with whom I spoke yesterday several times. It's so clear now that there should be a cease-fire, there should be disengagement, there should be internationalization of process of mediation, and protection of civilian population.

Right now people are in danger, children, women, small kids have been killed. And you know, we need absolutely to stop it. And the world has to stop it. Georgia cannot (INAUDIBLE) on its own. Georgia will protect itself. We are a small democracy, but -- we are the small nation of less than 5 million people.

We will try to protect ourselves, but only we cannot stop the violence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: All right. You may have heard Saakashvili there saying that he has spoken with President Bush. Mr. Bush has also spoken to Russia's prime minister, Vladimir Putin, and to its president, Dmitry Medvedev. The president so concerned about this fighting that he made a statement today while he was visiting the Olympics in Beijing. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: 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. We call for an end to the Russian bombings and a return by the parties to the status quo of August the 6th.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: I want to give you some more background information now on this region. Georgia was part of the Soviet Union, of course. That was back until 1991. Now it's not so much aligned with Russia, interestingly enough, as it is a U.S. ally. South Ossetia declared its independence from Georgia in the early 1990s, but South Ossetia's independence is not internationally recognized.

Now, there are some live pictures coming in to us today, staying on the international front, from the Olympic Stadium in Beijing. There it is, this is day one of the games. There has been a shocking turn much events there. Officials say that a Chinese man has stabbed Americans, two Americans, has killed one. This as they toured a historic monument.

The victims, family members of an Olympic coach. CNN's Larry Smith is in Beijing. He is bringing us now some of these details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY SMITH, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Tragedy marred the first day of competition at the Beijing Olympics as one American was killed and a second seriously injured. The man who was killed name is Todd Bachman, he is the father-in-law of Hugh McCutcheon, who is the head coach of the U.S. men's indoor volleyball team. Bachman's wife Barbara was also seriously injured and suffered life-threatening injuries in a knife attack by a 47-year-old Chinese national who then took his own life by throwing himself off the building.

Now this happened at the Drum Tower in central Beijing. It is an historic monument that is a tourist attraction, happening just after midday. Now the USOC says that none of the Bachmans were wearing any clothing that would affiliate them with the U.S. Olympic Committee nor were they wearing anything that would mark them as Americans.

Larry Smith CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: And this story, he made us laugh about real life like few could. Really universally liked and respected, comedian Bernie Mac has died at the age of 50. We're going to look into the disease that may have been a contributing factor in his death. It's a disease most of us have never heard of but maybe should.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We do welcome you back to the world headquarters of CNN. I'm Rick Sanchez. We do have some stunning news coming out of Chicago this morning. The founding "King of Comedy" has died, 50- year-old comic genius Bernie Mac lost his battle against pneumonia.

Our own John Lawrence is looking back on Mac's award-winning legacy of laughter.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BERNIE MAC, COMEDIAN: I just want to have fun.

JOHN LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A huge voice of comedy now fallen silent. Friends of Bernie Mac were surprised by the comedian's death this weekend from pneumonia-related complications.

STEVE HARVEY, FRIEND AND COMEDIAN: I'm just completely stunned by the news, man, because you know the brother is young. We're the same age.

LAWRENCE: The 50-year-old Mac hailed from Chicago's South Side to gain respect as a stand-up comedian as well as being the star of the acclaimed sitcom "The Bernie Mac Show."

MAC: Bernie Mac, why you so strict?

Tough love is good for them. I don't play. Never did play this small, never smiled or nothing.

LAWRENCE: He also appeared in several films including "Guess Who?", a loose remake of "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?".

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dad, this is Simon.

MAC: Simon?

LAWRENCE: Mac suffered from sarcoidosis, an inflammatory lung disease which produces tiny lumps of cells in the body's organs. His publicist says his most recent health problems were not related to the condition reportedly in remission.

HARVEY: There's a big hole in the ozone layer right now because Bernie's gone.

LAWRENCE: John Lawrence, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Friends and fans alike were shocked by Bernie Mac's sudden passing. Says "Ocean's" co-star George Clooney: "The world just got a little less funny. We will miss him dearly." Comedian Chris Rock says he appreciated Mac's friendship even more than his humor: "Bernie was one of the greatest friends a person could have. Losing him is like losing 12 people because he absolutely filled up any room that he was in. I'm going to miss the Mac-man." Comedian Bernie Mac dead today at the age of 50.

For years Bernie Mac has suffered from sarcoidosis, which inflames internal tissues such as lungs and lymph nodes. Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen gave our Randi Kaye an overview of this disease.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: In a nutshell, what happens in sarcoidosis is that an immune response, which is normal, which is good to have, kind of goes awry and creates these clumps that you see right here. And those clumps can get so big that that interfere with an organ's functioning, for example, the functioning of a lung, and leave someone vulnerable to getting a disease like pneumonia, which is what put Bernie Mac in the hospital.

Now, for some people this disease goes away quickly. For other people, it can last a lifetime. And symptoms include a persistent cough, shortness of breath, fever, and weight loss.

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: So how do you get it? Obviously you know the symptoms, but how do you -- where does it come from?

COHEN: You know, some people are genetically predisposed to getting this. So some people are just more vulnerable to getting it in the first place. And then on top of that, some people have exposures to tree pollen or insecticides or moldy environments that kind of trigger it to happen. And this disease can impact the lungs, the lymph nodes, the eyes, the skin, lots of different parts of the body.

KAYE: And are some people more prone to getting it than others?

COHEN: Yes. They definitely are. There have been studies on that because they were kind of wondering, are some people getting this more than others? And it turns out that African-Americans do get sarcoidosis more than other people do and that black women actually get it more than black men do. It usually affects people between the ages of 20 and 40.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Here's the news that we had thought before sadly enough was not the case. Bernie Mac had said that his sarcoidosis had gone into remission in 2005.

Quick thinking and a giant dose of bravery. Check this out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why did you hang on? Why were you so insistent on just hanging on to this guy?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just reaction, really, I'm not sure why. But it's just what happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: All right. So, OK, what is that, right? It's a would- be armed robber. He's behind bars after a grocery store customer takes matters into his own hands.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SANCHEZ: Another person has died of their injuries in yesterday's unbelievable bus crash that we've been telling you about that took place in north Texas. This brings the total now to 16 people who have died. That's what's left of the bus. Look at that.

The bus was carrying a group of Vietnamese Catholics on an annual church trip to Missouri. Police say the driver apparently just lost control of his vehicle, hit a guardrail after the bus blew an illegally re-treaded tire. Well, when they blew the tire, that's when the problem truly started.

A memorial service has been held. This one you're looking at right now was held last night. It was at a church some of the victims attended. Hundreds of people offered prayers in this special Mass.

Take a look at this. It's an armed robber taken down by an unarmed civilian. The gunman was holding up a grocery store in Tulsa, Oklahoma. When he fired at a customer, his gun jammed, that's when another customer, Craig Stutzman, moved in, tackling the suspect. The gunman beat Stutzman with his weapon, but Stutzman refused to let go until police arrived.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Well, Stutzman, who is described usually as a mild- mannered mechanic by day is now home recovering with injuries to his face and his head.

A memorial service this morning for Bruce Ivins, that's the main suspect in the anthrax attacks investigation. Family and friends gathered at a Maryland church where Ivins used to play keyboard during services. Ivins killed himself last week as authorities moved in on a murder indictment against him. Five people were killed with these anthrax-laced mailings that now federal officials say he, not the Iraqis, was responsible for.

Federal authorities have opened a civil rights investigation into a police raid on the home of a Maryland mayor. The Berwyn Heights mayor, Cheye -- let me help you here, Mayor Cheye Calvo says that sheriff's deputies raided his home last week, handcuffed him and shot and killed his two dogs. The police say they intercepted a package with 32 pounds of marijuana but admit the mayor is an innocent victim of the drug smuggling scheme. They say the drug dealers shipped drugs to an unsuspecting person and then send a courier to pick them up.

Violently playing out overseas, the escalating between Russia and Georgia. This is a story that we've been following for you since the very beginning. We understand now that the Russian ambassador has made himself available to us. Vitaly Churkin is going to be joining us in just a little bit. We'll be asking him questions about what's going on over there.

And then cruising for credit and the losses to you, did you know that they could be astronomical? Tens of millions of dollars swiped by hackers just from driving around. And if you've shopped at some well-known stores, they may have your credit card, that's right, your credit card number. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. Time to talk about "ISSUE #1" to you and to all of us. This is being called the largest identity theft case ever prosecuted in the United States, 11 men in five countries have been accused of stealing more than 40 million credit and debit card numbers. They used wireless technology to try and capture card numbers as they were swiped at cash registers.

CNN's Brooke Baldwin now has more on this new type of hacker.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's called "war driving." The goal? Find an unsecure wireless connection, crack the computer's code and capture confidential information.

One expert says it's easier than you think.

JONATHAN GIFFEN, GEORGIA TECH: Too often systems and data are not protected in the way they should be. >>

BALDWIN: Jonathan Giffen teaches computer science at Georgia Tech. Today he's our war driver.

GIFFEN: We're looking to see if there are open wireless access points that would allow us to gain entry into someone else's network.

BALDWIN: Along with Giffen's assistant, armed with a laptop, we hit the road to see just secure cybersecurity really is.

GIFFEN: We've been out now war driving for about four or five minutes and we've already picked up several hundred open access points.

BALDWIN: Several minutes later, we found more than a thousand different access points, some were highly encrypted where no hacker could attack. Others were not secured by passwords where we could peek into someone's computer and find private information.

We didn't do that, but that doesn't stop hackers. All they need is a laptop, wireless connection, and some simple software called a sniffer program.

(on camera): And then, boom, you could capture credit card information.

GIFFEN: If the credit card information is being transmitted unencrypted across a wireless connection, yes, you could.

BALDWIN (voice-over): The Feds say that's a how a group of hackers made off with 41 million credit card numbers in the biggest identity theft case ever prosecuted in American history. They hit major retail chains, including Sports Authority, DSW, and T.J. Maxx whose parent company lost $197 million.

Our war driver parked in front of a several stores and in a matter of minutes Giffen could point, click, and crack into a system. We're not sure which store, but that doesn't matter to hackers.

GIFFEN: What we're seeing is somewhat concerning. It's using an insecure form of encryption that an attacker could break within just a couple of minutes.

BALDWIN: And steal your credit card number.

(on camera): It's frightening.

GIFFEN: It's cause for concern, particularly because there are better ways of running wireless networks. There are stronger forms of encryption that would prevent an attacker from breaking in.

Brooke Baldwin, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: And this story, the one many Americans are talking about on this day. He is coming clean. Former presidential candidate John Edwards admits to having an affair. His startling confession and reaction from his wife. We'll have both. Stay with us. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Our top story playing out violently overseas, the escalating conflict between Russia and Georgia does seem to continue. There you see Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin cut short his trip to the Olympics in Beijing to deal with this crisis. He says that Georgia has lost the right to rule the breakaway region of South Ossetia. And Russian tanks and warplanes are targeting the area now. President Bush is calling for an end to the bloodshed. The Georgians want much more from the president of the United States. And now Russia's ambassador to the United Nations is good enough to join us. Mr. Vitaly Churkin is with us now.

Mr. Ambassador, thanks, sir, for taking time to talk to us.

VITALY CHURKIN, RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Can you make the American people try to understand why it is that you invaded what seems to be a sovereign country?

CHURKIN: Well, the Georgians in the past few days have launched a military assault on South Ossetia, a small republic with a small South Ossetian population of about 100. In the past 36 hours they killed by shelling, by heavy artillery 2,000 civilians in the capital city of Tskhinvali and completely razed to the ground 10 villages in the borderline between South Ossetia and Georgia. To us...

SANCHEZ: So to be clear, what I'm hearing you say is that you've gone into a sovereign country to defend the South Ossetians against the Georgians.

CHURKIN: We have certain responsibilities there as a peacekeeper under an agreement signed between Georgia and South Ossetia back in 1992. So we perform our duty as a peacekeeper and are now involved in a peacemaking operation in order to make sure that genocide of South Ossetians doesn't happen.

SANCHEZ: Why did you not try the negotiation method first? Did you reach out to...

CHURKIN: Well...

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: ... Saakashvili? Did you reach out to the Georgian president and tell him, stop this, we've got to figure this out?

CHURKIN: Oh yes. We've been trying to urge them for the past few years that first of all he needs to sign a non-use-of-force agreement between South Ossetians. And what we are telling him that it will be crazy to launch a military operation. In fact, he has been swearing at every corner that he has no such intention, but in fact this is exactly what he did, apparently hoping that a small victorious war would be good for his political image.

SANCHEZ: You know, there's so many different ways and words do matter in a case like this. I've been reading the reports from you and others on the Russian side saying, look, this is nothing more than a peacekeeping mission. And yet many who follow this are saying really this is an all-out military aggression. Which is it, sir?

CHURKIN: Now it has turned out into a peacemaking operation and unfortunately the Georgians are still present and fighting on the South Ossetian territory. In order for this tragedy to end, they must pull out of the territories they have occupied in the past few days, out of South Ossetia.

SANCHEZ: You just said they must pull out. So are you essentially here on the air on CNN saying that unless they pull out of South Ossetia, your troops will remain there?

CHURKIN: Exactly. This is something we need to do to make sure that the South Ossetian population is not annihilated and that the fighting does not continue.

SANCHEZ: But then what we're describing, is it not, correct me if I'm wrong, is an escalation of the conflict.

CHURKIN: Well, it's not an escalation. It is an attempt to prevent total annihilation of south Ossetian population and total occupation of that autonomous region claiming independence. It's a peacemaking operation. We have to be there until there is assurance that south Ossetians can live freely and securely in their own homes.

SANCHEZ: Well, peacekeeping is an interesting word, sir, because peacekeeping implies that you're trying to stand between them to keep them from attacking each other. But it sounds more, by implication, if nothing else, like you're there attacking the Georgians for the sake of the...

CHURKIN: You're absolutely right in your definition of peace keeping. We've been doing that for the past 16 years. Unfortunately, as they launched their military venture, they attacked Russian peacekeepers. 15 peacekeepers have been killed. About 150 peacekeepers have been injured. So it's a great violation on the part of the Georgians of the international law both in terms of breaking peace agreements, which have existed for pas 16 years, attacking the peacekeepers and attacking the civilian population in such massive scales. It's nothing short of genocide.

SANCHEZ: So it sounds like you've had enough. And what you're doing now is attacking the Georgians.

CHURKIN: No. It's not that we've lost patience. It's that we came there in defense of the civilian population where 30,000 refugees of south Ossetia, of the small people in the territory of the Russian federation and 2,000 people killed. Enough is enough.

SANCHEZ: So you are attacking the Georgians?

CHURKIN: No, we're not attacking the Georgians. We are repelling the Georgia aggression from south Ossetia. And sometimes in such situations you also have to take care of military infrastructure, which is there supporting their aggressive acts. If there are some civilian casualties in Georgia outside of Ossetia, of course, we are profoundly troubled by that. Tragically such, things do happen in a situation of fighting.

SANCHEZ: Vitaly Churkin, the ambassador to the United Nations from Russia. It's an interesting and complicated story for many Americans.

We thank you to for taking this time to take us through your version of events.

Another story we're following today having to do with Senator John Edwards, admitting to having an affair with his former campaign worker. Now the woman's family wants Edwards to honor a pledge to take a paternity test.

We're coming back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN EDWARDS, FORMER U.S. SENATOR: I would welcome participating in a paternity test. I know it's not possible that this child could be mine because of the timing of events. I know it's not possible. Happy to take a paternity test and would love to see it happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Guess who wants former Senator John Edwards to make good on that pledge, the family of his ex-mistress. That's according to "ABC News," which broke the story last night of the former presidential candidate's admission of an extramarital affair with a campaign worker. He is on the record denying that he's the father of her child, but it gets complicated.

CNN's Drew Griffin reports on how a private indiscretion has suddenly exploded into what turns out to be a public humiliation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Edwards story has been fodder of the "National Enquirer" for more had than a year and the headlines show why. A presidential candidate and former U.S. senator with a cancer-stricken wife has an affair and, according to the tabloid, fathers a child with this woman, a campaign consultant named Rielle Hunter. John Edwards had dismissed the allegations.

This is what he said just last month in New Orleans.

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

GRIFFIN: Now the stunning about-face. In a statement, Edwards admits, quote, "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 recognize my mistake and I told my wife that I had a liaison with another woman, and I asked for her forgiveness."

The pressure had been mounting on Edwards for several weeks since news stories appeared about a confrontation with the "National Enquirer" here at the Beverly Hilton Hotel last month.

On July 21st, the former senator was in Los Angeles raising awareness for the homeless. That night a "National Enquirer" reporter, Alex Hitchens, was waiting for Edwards at the hotel. The paper says it had a tip Edwards, Rielle Hunter and Hunter's baby were meeting in a room. At 2:40 in the morning, Hitchens said he surprised Edwards as Edwards was trying to leave.

ALEXANDER HITCHENS, REPORTER, NATIONAL ENQUIRER: I say to him, Mr. Edwards, Alexander Hitchens from the "National Enquirer." We know that you've been with Rielle Hunter tonight and your child. Then we said to him, don't you think it's about time to actually tell everyone that you are actually the father of this child?

GRIFFIN (on camera): And the reaction, again, was?

HITCHENS: Sheer panic.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): Hitchens said Edwards did not say a word. Instead ran downstairs into this bathroom in the basement and held the door shut. According to "ABC News," Edwards now admits he did go to the hotel that night and did meet Rielle Hunter as the "Enquirer" has reported.

Wednesday, the tabloid turned up the heat on Edwards, publishing this blurry photograph, claiming the photograph hot in the Beverly Hilton Hotel during the encounter. The paper says the baby in the picture is Edwards'.

But is it? Edwards told "ABC News" the child could not be his because of the timing of the birth. But the former senator says he wants to take a paternity test to prove he's not the father.

This man, Andrew Young, an Edwards staffer, said last year he's the father, not Edwards.

Still, the child's birth certificate adds to the intrigue. The name of the child's father is left blank.

John Edwards was a former North Carolina senator, John Kerry's 2004 running mate, and this year a populous candidate for president.

The pained language of his statement reflects how far he has fallen from those days. "In the course of several campaigns, I started to believe at I was special and became increasingly egocentric and narcissistic."

If you want to beat me up," he says, "feel free. You cannot beat me up more than I already have beaten up myself."

Drew Griffin, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: What might differentiate John Edwards' infidelity from that of other politicians is his wife's medical condition. Elizabeth Edwards suffers from an incurable form of cancer.

Here is what she's saying, that her husband's secret affair has been brought out in the open. This is from the DailyKos, by the way.

Ms. Edwards says, quote, "Our family has been through a lot. Some caused by nature, some cause by human weakness, and some -- most recently -- caused by the desire for sensationalism and profit without any regard for the human consequences," stop quote.

Politics being what it is, you knew the Edwards' admission has to become fodder on the presidential campaign trail. Fellow Democrat Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton treading very lightly on their former peer's personal problems.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: John Edwards was a great champion of the working people during the course of this campaign. Many of his themes are ones that Democrats as a whole share. Those will be amplified at the convention and I wish them all well.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D), NEW YORK: My thoughts and prayers are with the Edwards family today, and that's all I have to say.

SANCHEZ: By the way, Senator Clinton was campaigning on behalf of Barack Obama yesterday in Las Vegas. Senator Obama taking a vacation now in his birth state of Hawaii.

Less than a month now before the party convention, John McCain is pounding the campaign trail this weekend, addressing the veterans convention in Las Vegas, just a short time ago criticizing Obama's position on the Iraq war. He says Senator Obama lacks the judgment to be a commander in chief.

Senator Barack Obama is taking a break from campaigning, as before mentioned. Here he is now in Hawaii where he was born and where his grandmother still lives. Other than a private fundraising event on Tuesday and working on his speech for the Democratic convention, Senator Obama says he mostly plans to take it easy.

We're going to be bringing you more of what the candidates are saying on the campaign trail, unfiltered, as we often do here on CNN, coming up as we continue throughout our newscast this evening.

SANCHEZ: Call it a working retirement with lots of rewards. We'll introduce you to a woman who is spending her twilight years teaching hundreds of struggling schoolchildren. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: When you think about retirement, you picture palm trees, right? Lovely rounds of golf. I do. And finally just kicking back. Well, what about teaching hundreds of failing schoolchildren in a foreign country? May not sound relaxing. May certainly sound like an awful lot of work, but that's the kind of retirement that's given today's "CNN Hero" the experience of a lifetime. Meet now Viola Vaughn.

(CNN HERO)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: As usual, we're going to play more of what the candidates are saying in their own words. CNN wants to give you the tools to make informed choices on this presidential election.

First, I want you to hear a little bit of Senator John McCain. He's here talking to veterans in Las Vegas just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Better than most, the men and women in this room know the hardships and costs of war. You were there when your country needed you. You shouldered heavy burdens and accepted great risks. I'm sure many of you will also recall from your experiences in war, as I do from mine, that when you're somewhere on the other side of the world in the service of America, you pay attention to the news from back home. It affects morale. And even during this election season with sharp differences on the wisdom and success on the surge in Iraq, Americans need to speak as one in praise of the men and women who fight our battles. They are the best among us, as you were before them. And I know you will join me in applauding the courage and skill that will see America through to victory.

Though victory in Iraq is finally in sight, a great deal still depends on the decisions and good judgment of the next president. The hard-won gains of our troops hang in the balance. The lasting advantage of a peaceful and Democratic ally in the heart of the Middle East could still be squandered by hasty withdrawal and arbitrary timelines.

And this is one of the many problems in shifting positions of my opponent, Senator Obama. With just three months to go before the election, a lot of folks still trying to square Senator Obama's varying positions on the surge in Iraq. First, he opposed the surge. Then he confidently predicted it would fail. Then he tried to prevent funding for the troops who carried out the surge. Not content to merely predict failure in Iraq, my opponent tried to legislate failure.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Barack Obama on the economy is what we'll have of on that side of the candidacy. We'll bring you more of what they're saying coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Let's check in now with what Senator Barack Obama is saying, talking about the economy and a tax policy. Here's what he's saying to reporters aboard his campaign plane enroute to Chicago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OBAMA: Well, we've been talking about the economy the entire campaign. And the stories that I hear on the campaign trail, single moms who can't afford groceries or don't have health care, folks who have lost their jobs. And if they are finding a new job they are getting paid two-thirds whether they were making before with no benefits. You know, that's been the constant refrain of this election season. The American people are hurting and they're anxious.

And our economic plans, specifically for mine, have been relief to meet their short term, putting more money into their pockets, and long term relief in terms of serious health care policy, an energy policy that can drive down gas prices. Making sure that we're investing in roads and bridges and schools and other infrastructure here in the United States that can put people back to work.

So my sense is that during the summer months, you know, people are not going to be paying as much attention as they're going to be paying in September and October. And the key, not just for our campaign, but I think the key for this election cycle is for the American people to be very clear about the choices that they face when they go into that ballot box on November 4th.

And the challenges are clear. John McCain and I have a fundamentally different view of our tax policy. He wants to give tax breaks to corporations. I want to give tax breaks to middle-class families. We have a fundamentally different view on health care. I want to provide health care for all Americans to reduce costs for those who have it. John McCain wants to put forward a Bush proposal that endangers the employer-based system.

So on a whole host of these issues, are there going to be very, very clear contrasts. And I think when the American people start focusing on those contrasts they will see two fundamentally different visions of where we can take America.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: And do remember you can always hear the candidates in their own words live and uninterrupted on the campaign trail at CNN.com/live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez here in the world headquarters of CNN.

As a soldier, he was lean and mean as a fighting machine. You have heard that before. When he left the military, he packed on the pounds and had serious worries about his health. Now thanks to gastric bypass surgery, he slimmed down again.

Here's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, reporting on his success in today's "Fit Nation" segment.

(FIT NATION)

SANCHEZ: It is known as the day of new beginnings. Yesterday was 8/08/08. That's right, look at the numbers. And this little girl that you're seeing right there already has a special relationship with the number eight.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: A number of maternity wards busy yesterday with babies being born on 08/08/08. Fun to say. One of them was in Denver where this beautiful young lady, Marie McReynolds, came into the world. but her connection with the lucky number goes even further. Here's what her dad told her grandmother.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KEITH MCREYNOLDS, FATHER: I said, I thought she was born at 8/08. And she's like, no, that's today. And I said, no, the time is 8:08. And she's like, oh are you serious? And I'm like, yeah, I'm serious.

(END VIDEO CLIP)