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Russia Says the Fight is Finished But Georgia is Telling a Different Story; Michael Phelps Smoking the Field for his Third Gold Medal; New Handbook for Catholics And It's Not the Bible
Aired August 12, 2008 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
See events come into the NEWSROOM live on Tuesday, August 12th.
Here's what's on the rundown.
Russia says it's halting its military blitz into Georgia. Does the situation on the ground tell a different story?
HARRIS: One, two, three, four blows to the face. Police officers hit and kick a handcuffed man.
COLLINS: No bear hugs? What about hive fives? Priests get a list of the dos and don'ts of touching. Keep your hands to yourself, in the NEWSROOM.
Russia says it has stopped its attack, but Georgia says the bombings continue, even after the pledge.
Let's set the stage now.
Today Russia's president said the former Soviet Republic had been punished enough for its attack on South Ossetia. The province had tried to break away from Georgia and align with Russia.
Moscow's pledge to halt the fighting came as French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived in Russia. He is hand delivering Western demands that Russia pull back its troops. The United Nations and NATO also called meetings today.
Russia stirred international concerns by launching attack deep into Georgia, a U.S. ally. The push went beyond the provinces that have close ties to Russia.
Inside Georgia now, a massive rally showing support for the Democratic government. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen is in the capital city of Tbilisi. He's joining us now via broadband.
Frederik, tell us what you're seeing around us -- around you and behind you there. We see quite a few people gathering. FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Heidi. That rally that you were talking about has just now come to an end, only a couple minutes ago. The people here are clearing the square here. We're actually right in front of the parliament building.
Only a couple of minutes ago, though, this place was absolutely full of people. We believe that it was about 50,000 who had gathered here for the demonstration here in the middle of town.
The Georgian president, Mikheil Saakashvili, addressed the people of Georgia who had come here. He said -- called on them to stay patriotic, to be behind their country and its leadership, and that was really why the people gathered here in the center of Tbilisi, many of them waving the Georgian flag, singing the Georgian national anthem, and also, of course, showing solidarity for their country and also for their government.
Now you said it, Heidi, it's very questionable either with the announcement by the Russian government that they are going to stop their military operations in Georgia whether the conflict here is really coming to an end.
The Georgian authority are telling us that even after the announcement was made by the Russian government that Russian war planes dropped bombs on two villages in Georgia outside of the breakaway regions of Southern Ossetia. That coming after earlier this morning.
We are receiving reports from the Georgian governments that Russian war planes were bombing the city of Gori. Now that's a very important strategic town and one that was -- had to be abandoned by Georgian forces yesterday. They were forced to retreat from that area under heavy fire from Russian war planes and also from Russian artillery. The Georgians then later regrouped around the capital city of Tbilisi later.
The Russians, of course, for their part are saying they never had the intention to march into the capital of Tbilisi. They are now saying their military operations have come to an end -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Boy, it certainly sounds like a story that we need to continue following here, given sort of the two different sides of the story, clearly.
Frederik Pleitgen, joining us from Tbilisi this morning -- Frederik, we'll stay in close contact. Thank you.
HARRIS: Let's remind you, again, of the key players to watch in this crisis. Russian president Dmitry Medvedev says his troops must defend themselves and crush any signs of Georgian resistance.
Earlier he met with the French president, Nicholas Sarkozy, who also serves as the president of the European Union. And President Sarkozy hand delivered western demands that Russia pull back its troops. He'll also visit the capital of Georgia in Tbilisi. He will meet with Georgia's president, Mikheil Saakashvili, has already signed a cease-fire agreement.
Now we want to give you a better look at the map and the troop movements we have been talking about.
Our Josh Levs is joining us now from the NEWSROOM.
And Josh, I'm looking forward to this. Sort of lay out that map. Explain it to us.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. I mean it's a confusing story, obviously. Fortunately, sometimes all you need to simplify is a pretty simple map which I have behind me on this screen. Let's zoom in on. I want to tell you, first of all, what the big players are and also a key headliner I'm about to show you.
First of all, this is what we're talking about. Russia here, Georgia here. And this area in yellow on your screen right along here, that is South Ossetia, where everything began right here. And yes, I'm saying Ossetia for now. We'll talk pronunciation.
HARRIS: Yes, yes.
LEVS: So this is South Ossetia. Last week, because there had been separatists fighting going on, Georgia sent some troops in, had a crackdown, Russia then responded, sent their troops in. Later on it expanded throughout here.
But this is why I want to show you this region. For years now Russia and Georgia have both had peacekeeping troops in this area, South Ossetia.
Russia said something today, Tony, that's big. Russia has said, sure, yes, they're planning to end their assault, but they've also said they don't want any Georgian troops returning to South Ossetia, and they're saying they want a demilitarized zone, which would effectively mean no Georgian troops all along here, along the outside of South Ossetia, which could effectively give Russia military supremacy in this region that has been at battle for years.
Now we don't know if this will be talked about in international courts, but Russia is saying no Georgian troops come back inside South Ossetia. That would be big.
HARRIS: Whoa, whoa, whoa. Does...
LEVS: Yes.
HARRIS: Does Russia want to, in effect, annex South Ossetia?
LEVS: Russia's not saying that and I'm not suggesting that. I'll tell you a little bit of history so you'll understand what we're saying here.
HARRIS: OK.
LEVS: South Ossetia -- the majority of people in South Ossetia have voted to break away independence from Georgia. There are also a lot of them that want to reunify with North Ossetia which is in Russia. Russia already supports the autonomous government, so there is a relationship there.
And there are a lot of analysts who tell us, yes, Russia wants real presence in South Ossetia.
HARRIS: Yes.
LEVS: Wants that chunk of Georgia. Russia isn't saying we are going to take...
HARRIS: Yes, yes.
LEVS: But they are saying no Georgian troops back into there, which is big. And that's one of the headlines for today.
Will Georgia ever agree to that? And what would that mean for Russia in that area? So that's -- go ahead.
HARRIS: Well, I'm just -- just to be really clear about this.
LEVS: Yes.
HARRIS: South Ossetia is within the territorial boundaries...
LEVS: Yes.
HARRIS: ... borders of Georgia.
LEVS: Yes. It's inside Georgia, but it's an autonomous region. The desire inside South Ossetia to break away goes back decades and decades...
HARRIS: Yes.
LEVS: ... to the Soviet era. There was a battle in the '20s -- 1920s over this. There was more fighting in the early '90s. That's when they created this agreement and they have made a cease-fire agreement. That's why you've had Georgian peacekeepers...
HARRIS: Exactly.
LEVS: ... and Russian peacekeepers. But for Russia to now say no Georgian troops return to this area, plus a demilitarized zone around it, that could effectively give Russia supremacy in South Ossetia, which would be very big for what we're talking.
HARRIS: And I'm going to keep asking you...
LEVS: Yes. It's all right.
HARRIS: ... this question, this particular one, throughout the morning. Tell us again why all of this is critical to the United States.
LEVS: OK, sure. And for this we actually have a graphic listing some of them. Let's go to that graphic right here.
I want to show you four of the big key reasons why United States and some other nations care. First of all, instability in the region would be a very big deal for the entire world. Really, no major nation wants instability in general in that area.
Then, it's a key oil transit line. Ali Velshi will join...
HARRIS: We're going to talk about that with Ali in just a couple minutes. Let's breakdown.
LEVS: Yes, I mean Ali -- he's going to trace it out for us. It's key and that's really important to a lot of the world. Also, Georgia is a big U.S. ally. Don't forget, this is a time in U.S. history where the U.S. needs every ally it can possibly get.
Georgia's an ally, troops in Iraq, Georgia has a relationship -- the U.S. doesn't want to lose that. Both major presidential contenders, Obama and McCain, are standing by Georgia in a lot of ways. Everyone recognizes it as a key ally.
And the last thing we're pointing out there -- this is important, too -- Georgia wants to join NATO. Russia does not want to see NATO expand eastward into its area. There's kind of a power play going on. The U.S. supports NATO. A lot of Western nations, obviously, support NATO.
HARRIS: Yes.
LEVS: Want to see that expansion. Those are all big reasons that the U.S. cares, that a lot of the west cares, and another reason that we will be all over it here -- Tony.
HARRIS: Absolutely. And I should mention that you are standing over in the international desk area of our news room and that team -- I don't know if we can get a shot of them -- but that team...
LEVS: Let's turn that a little bit.
HARRIS: ... is really working hard on this story.
LEVS: Yes.
HARRIS: And any updates that we share with you from the anchor desk or Josh shares with you from that area, those updates are coming from that team, as you can see, hard at work on the story.
Josh, good to see you. See you in another hour or so.
LEVS: You got it. Thanks a lot.
COLLINS: In Pakistan this morning, deadly violence. Police say that at least 12 people were killed by a bomb targeting an air force bus. The powerful explosion left a large crater in the road beneath the burning wreckage of the bus. It happened in Peshawar, the capital of a province near the Afghan border. Islamic militants in the region have said they will retaliate against a military crackdown that began in June.
HARRIS: So the rain, at least for now, is over in the northeast, but I guess it's heading to the south. We could use it here. That's for sure.
There he is, Rob Marciano with the weather.
Rob, good morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Terrific.
COLLINS: OK. We'll check back.
HARRIS: Thank you, Rob.
COLLINS: Thank you, Rob.
MARCIANO: All right.
COLLINS: Back to the fight for Georgia now. Will the shooting put holes in oil pipelines to the west? The CNNMoney team investigates.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: The gas price tumbled. Today a gallon of regular unleaded will actually cost you on average $3.80. That's about a penny less than yesterday. And that's the word from AAA.
It is the 26th consecutive day prices have fallen since the record average of $4.11 set last month. And oil prices do continue a slippery slide, now at a three-month low and dipping again this morning.
HARRIS: The news coming in this morning, the conflict in Georgia threatens vital energy pipelines linked to markets in the west.
Ali Velshi is "Minding Your Business."
And Ali, good to see you. What's at stake here? I guess we can sort of hazard a guess, at what's at stake...
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
HARRIS: ... but why don't you lay it out for us?
VELSHI: A bit more than a million barrels of oil a day. And while it doesn't necessarily come to the United States, as we know, the tightness of supply for oil is a worldwide thing. So if somebody in another part of the world hasn't got enough oil, they pay more for it and they'll get it from the places that we're getting it from. The Caspian Sea -- and maybe I've got a map for you -- but the Caspian Sea is landlocked. There's a lot of oil in that sea. That's on the right.
HARRIS: Yes.
VELSHI: The big white blob on the right. It's landlocked. So the way to get oil to western countries in the Mediterranean has been to build pipelines. So you can see there's one big pipeline, the blue one, that goes out to Russia on the top.
But about four years ago, a western consortium built pipelines that don't go through Russia so that we're not dependent on getting that oil through Russia. So they go from Baku and Azerbaijan on the port of the Caspian Sea.
And you can see there's two basic pipelines. One goes through Georgia to the Black Sea -- that's on top -- the other goes through Turkey, down through the Mediterranean.
HARRIS: OK. OK.
VELSHI: And those go to Middle Eastern and western ports.
HARRIS: OK.
VELSHI: Now all of those pipelines that go through Georgia -- all of them are now closed. There's one pipeline that does remained open -- sorry, there are four of them, three are closed, one remains open, but the big one was closed last week because of some problems in Turkey. There were some separatist attacks on it unrelated to the Russia-Georgia crisis. BP has now shut down another two, one that carries gas and one that carries oil.
So, you know, we're not seeing much of a response in the price of oil right now.
HARRIS: That was the question, yes.
VELSHI: But it's worth watching.
HARRIS: OK. Great. And you'll be watching it for us.
VELSHI: We will.
HARRIS: Ali Velshi, "Minding Your Business," this morning. Thanks, Ali.
VELSHI: OK.
COLLINS: The crisis in Georgia becoming an issue in the presidential campaign. Both John McCain and Barack Obama aiming pointed words at Russia's leaders.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No matter how this conflict started, Russia has escalated it well beyond the dispute over South Ossetia and has now violated the space of another country.
Russia has escalated its military campaign through strategic bombing and the movement of its ground forces into the heart of Georgia. There is no possible justification for these attacks.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This pattern of attack appears aimed not at restoring any status quo ante in South Ossetia, but rather toppling the democratically elected government of Georgia. This would be unacceptable to all the democratic countries of the world and should draw us together in universal condemnation of Russian aggression.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: John McCain is campaigning today in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Barack Obama is in Hawaii. He takes a break from his vacation today for a fund-raiser.
Quickly, want to stay on top here of the situation in Georgia. We have with us on the line Andrei Nesterenko. He is with the -- Russian Foreign Ministry. He's joining us from Moscow by telephone.
I wonder if you can tell us, first and foremost, it's a very simple question. Is this a real cease-fire that we are hearing about? I'm sure you are aware of the reports that are coming out of Georgia now that there are actually still attacks going on.
ANDREI NESTERENKO, RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY: Well, actually, what I could tell you is that yesterday two foreign ministers, minister for foreign affairs of France, Mr. Bernard Kouchner, and foreign minister of Finland, Mr. Stubb, yesterday signed sort of a piece of document with president of Georgia, Mr. Saakashvili, on cease-fire and two other things -- humanitarian assistance to the area, which is troubled by the conflict and also the possibility for international organization to get assistance in securing the stabilization of the situation.
But we believe that it is a simple declaration of intention. What is needed in this situation is for Georgians to go back to the position which they in taking according to the agreements which we had in...
COLLINS: So -- forgive the interruption. I'm not sure what kind of delay we have here, but the question remains: are there still attacks going on in Georgia? Russian attacks going on in Georgia? Do you have that information directly?
NESTERENKO: Well...
COLLINS: Yes or no?
NESTERENKO: We are not involved in any sort of operation whatsoever at the moment because our president declared that the operation -- peace enforcement operation is over.
COLLINS: Right.
NESTERENKO: So we hope that nobody is going to use any military weapon on their own, I mean just to break this very, very fragile situation, which I believe is going to be stabilized.
COLLINS: So -- understood. So are you saying it is possible then that the attacks that took place after that cease-fire that the Russian president did announce were the acts of individuals?
NESTERENKO: Well, our president meant that if we are attacked, positions of the Russian peacekeepers are attacked or civilian people of Ossetia is attacked, we might retaliate.
COLLINS: OK. Still I believe the question remains, the very first question I asked about if there were Russian attacks that took place after the president said, "We are not going to attack any further."
Do you have that information?
NESTERENKO: Well, I said that we do not have any intention to attack anybody.
COLLINS: Intention?
NESTERENKO: We've been -- I mean, as Russia, we've been playing a peacekeeping role in South Ossetia according to the international decisions which have been made some time ago. And our peacekeeping forces have been attacked by the Georgian peacekeeping forces.
That is absolute aggression. This is absolutely criminal, and I believe that it's going to be investigated by international organizations, which are dealing with such cases in the future.
COLLINS: OK. So regarding the claims by the Georgian government that Russian war planes hit two Georgian villages and military forces bombed an ambulance outside -- these are the specifics now -- outside of the breakaway province, you say to that, that did not happen, or it was not the intention of Russia for that to happen?
NESTERENKO: I don't -- I don't believe any word of the political figures of Georgia. Not what they're saying anything of that sort. What they -- they lied to the whole world that they're not going to attack their republics, which are within the borders of Georgia and they did it.
So they breached their promises, they breached the promise to American colleagues, to NATO colleagues, or partners and so on and so forth. So this is the real demonstration of the real policy of the kind of political leadership of Georgia.
COLLINS: When the cease-fire was called by the Russian president, what was the intention? What did he envision for the future of these two countries? NESTERENKO: Well, I cannot say anything on that point, as the representative of the president. Understand me correctly. So what I could tell you that our presence in South Ossetia, again, according to the international agreements, is just to secure peace in that region and what we're -- been asking for, both sides, South Ossetia's side and Georgian's side, as parties in the conflict, to discuss how they're going to lead in the future, to discuss all the aspects of this very sophisticated situation.
And for that particular reason, there have been a special commission set up with the participation again of South Ossetians...
COLLINS: OK.
NESTERENKO: .... Georgians. We've been also represented there, and they've been also an international conference. But I'm...
COLLINS: Is that why the -- is that why the French president is set to arrive today? What will his role be in all of this? Nicolas Sarkozy?
NESTERENKO: Well, as I understand, the president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, is acting as the president of the country who is currently having presidential post within the European Union.
So European Union is trying to assist international efforts, how to relax the situation...
COLLINS: OK.
NESTERENKO: ... and bring it to normal.
COLLINS: OK, understood. We appreciate your comments very much today, the head of the press department for Russian foreign ministry, Andrei Nesterenko.
Thank you.
HARRIS: Want to take you to Tbilisi right now. Georgia's president, Mikheil Saakashvili is speaking.
Is he speaking now? OK.
He is speaking now, just moments ago. He said this moment is not about who is president, it is about freedom and democracy for Georgia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRES. MIKHEIL SAAKASHVILI, GEORGIA: ... carried out for many, many days, but then, of course, when military intervention started, we had no choice. What -- we are a small democracy, fighting isn't equal. But what the other alternatives is to surrender automatically, lay down arms, and say, OK, we are here, and come and overrun us.
And unfortunately the Georgian government was left with no choice. Any responsible government of democracy has the responsibility to protect its own civilians. I regret every loss of life, I regret any destruction that might happen at this time.
The point is Georgia has never started it. Georgia would never start it. And, again, we will -- nothing is lost. We will never, ever allow the Georgia that is broken up into pieces. We are talking about middle of Georgian territory. We are talking about historic (INAUDIBLE) of Georgia.
A most unfortunate thing is that the local population because of all things suffered so tremendously that, basically - because of all these years of, you know, Russian direct administration, the whole place was military camp. It had no normal life anymore.
Yes, we know they block roads, they didn't allow us to develop schools, hospitals, you know, to live normal lives, to have agriculture. They told them, OK, you're a military camp now you should just, you know, get sellers from Russian army and serve Russia.
I don't think this is an option for the territory. This is an option for territory, development, demilitarization. We'll get there. We will get there provided that European Union and genuine intervention, maybe if there's intervene and make the process international.
Is it possible now? I don't think Russia is ready. But eventually international opinion should prevail and they'll allow more transparency and more internationalization of the process.
QUESTION: How much did the U.S. know before you went in? Did they give...
SAAKASHVILI: It's not about permission -- excuse me. But the point is that we've been contact before...
QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)
SAAKASHVILI: No, no, no. During the whole period, I have to make it very clear, when we came under attack, I informed that the situation was precarious. I contact the general of NATO, I called U.S. officials, I called the Russians, and we called a number of other friendly nations saying that, you know, we are in trouble. They are shooting at us and people are dying. And we asked them for their advice.
And obviously, nobody knew how to figure out. Russians, the Russian diplomats on the spot were telling us that they don't really know what's happening. Apparently they knew it very well because -- when the Russian tanks started to appear, they understood that it was just, you know, some kind of a maneuvering saying, you know, diplomatic maneuvering, saying that they have nothing to do with it.
So basically what we've done is to react -- you know, first of all, to appeal for international help, but unfortunately it was too late to arrive anyway. And then the second is to react to Russian intervention. This is nothing that was done in secret. It was very transparent. We always -- we were appealing and reaching out to the world, saying that we are in trouble and please do something about it, stop them. And frankly, every international mechanism has failed at that moment because I guess time was too short.
Now, of course, it's pretty late for many things, but it's not too late yet to stop, again, this -- the violence again, to, you know, at least get back to some normalcy in terms of bringing people back to their households and start the restoration process.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: And there you have Georgia's president, Mikheil Saakashvili, taking questions from reporters now. And I suppose the take away that you heard there, the strongest, clearest statement yet. "We will never, ever allow Georgia to be broken into pieces."
So where does that lead the process of building some kind of peace, some kind of lasting cease-fire, as the back and forth continues. We will, of course, continue to follow this story for you as it develops -- as developments break right here in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Back in the United States, they say he spit on them. Police officers respond to a handcuffed man with fists and feet. The video everyone's talking about today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning once again, everybody. 9:30 Eastern Time now. I'm Heidi Collins.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Tony Harris. Welcome back to the CNN NEWSROOM. Russia says it's reined in its attacks, but Georgia says bombs have continue to rain down on at least two villages. Let's back up a second here.
Five days ago, fighting broke out in South Ossetia. The province had tried to breakaway from Georgians and strengthen ties to Russia. The fighting spread well into Georgia, beyond the disputed territories. There have been no exact numbers on casualties or refugees who have fled the violence.
This morning, thousands of protesters massed in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, the rally, a show of support for their Democratic government. Also today, a renewed push for peace. The president of France is in Moscow to hand deliver western calls for a ceasefire.
Covering diplomatic developments for us, CNN European political editor Robin Oakley.
Robin, good morning to you. Tough to know how that outreach is being received at this point in Moscow.
ROBIN OAKLEY, EUROPEAN POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, it is indeed. President Sarkozy, of course, is there in his current position as head of the 27 European Union countries trying to broker an effective ceasefire. One of the key tests, of course, will be whether Russia having now ceased as it claims its military operations is going to put up with international peacekeepers in South Ossetia rather than maintaining its own forces there.
And Mr. Sarkozy is, the way I understand, facing not just Dmitry Medvedev, the new president, but Vladimir Putin, the former president as well in these negotiations, Tony.
HARRIS: And that's interesting, Robin. Is that part of the offer, that international peacekeepers in some way take the place of the Georgian and Russian peacekeepers?
OAKLEY: That is certainly been the hope of European leaders at one stage. But it's a difficult one for the Russians to agree to. One of the other key things here is, of course, although they say they've ended their military operations, to what extent are they going to pull back? They've obviously done everything they can to attempt to destroy Georgia's military machine to not enable Georgia ever to do anything like it attempted in South Ossetia again.
But just how far are the Russians going to pull back? Are they going to try and insist on the overthrow of President Mikheil Saakashvili, a democratically elected president? It would be very hard for the European Union countries to accept that, Tony.
HARRIS: Well, on that point, it seems as though, I can't think of many real options in terms of leverage that the European Union or the United States, for that matter, would have against Russia. Sanctions seem out of the question.
OAKLEY: That's one of the huge problems that they do face. The European Union countries depend on Russia for 40 percent of their energy supplies. That gives them a certain weakness in negotiating with Russia.
But of course, here is a counter to that, and that is that the European Union countries are Russia's biggest trading partner in the world. But, of course, Russia in this particular military adventure hasn't just been concerned with the situation in Georgia. There's a wider political perspective for the Russians here.
They're trying to say to countries in their near neighborhood, don't mess with trying to become members of NATO, like Georgia and Ukraine want to do. Just remember, we're the big boys around here. We're the once who call the shots in the causes in these kind of areas. Don't go messing with any other thoughts. And they've shown just how ruthless they can be, Tony.
HARRIS: Pretty solid perspective there. CNN European political editor Robin Oakley for us. Robin, thank you. COLLINS: You know, this conflict has another face. The people forced from their homes and fighting and fear, and now seeking safety either inside or outside of their country.
I want to talk a little bit more about that. The human toll. And turn over to Josh Levs in the NEWSROOM.
Hey, there, Josh.
LEVS: Yes. Hi, Heidi. You know, it's one of the more frustrating things about trying to cover this story. We really don't know how many people have been killed. How many people have been wounded? How many lives destroyed? This is one of the biggest things that we want to know. Certainly if this does died down, the actual fighting, we'll begin to get those numbers.
And the numbers that we're getting from the different sides are all over the place. Russia has said that at least 2000 people killed in Tskhinvali alone, which is the capital of South Ossetia. There are some fighters in South Ossetia who say 1,600 people have died. Meanwhile, Georgia says hundreds or thousands have been killed by Russian troops. We just don't know. And I want you all to keep that in mind when you hear the claims on different sides, nothing substantiated yet.
Same with these claims of ethnic cleansing. We're hearing that from both sides. We have nothing to substantiate that at this point. But there's a lot we don't know. Let's close in on this screen behind me. We'll just take a moment to think about the human toll of this.
This is up at cnn.com right now. These are some of the powerful photos. There are some homes that have been destroyed. And I'm just -- I'm so struck by this photo right here. A husband comforting his wife in Gori, which is just outside the breakaway province of South Ossetia.
Now, there are some major humanitarian groups that have some information online. I want to show you this right now. Let's go to the Red Cross. They today are flying in 15 tons of medicine and medical supplies to Georgia. They're managing to get that in today, and anyone who wants to contribute, ICRC Web site has that there.
Let's go now to the U.N. refugee agency. This is one actual solid figure I have my hands on. So, I want to show it to you. The latest figures they're getting from Russian officials in North Ossetia indicate 30,000 people remain there from South Ossetia. So that would be at least 30,000 refugees who fled north. Then there are thousands more who may have fled south or to other areas. We're talking tens of thousands of them.
And one more Web site before I bring it back to Heidi here, that's this, iocc.org. The International Orthodox Christian Charity. They have this emergency appeal going on right now. If you want to impact your world, learn how you can help. Obviously, you can get to that, iocc.org. And if you want to get all the latest news and information throughout the day, the photos, the map, all of it, obviously, we have that right out here for you at cnn.com -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes. And, you know, it's just always hard to understand the story or be able to relate to it until you see some of the faces of the people that obviously this is affecting. So great job. Appreciate that, Josh.
LEVS: Thank you. It's heart-wrenching, yes. Thanks.
HARRIS: You know, it seems everything he touches turns to gold these days. American swimmer Michael Phelps, he is a beast. He wins number three in his quest to catch an Olympic legend.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Now to Beijing and America's golden boy. Swimmer Michael Phelps smoking the field for his third gold medal. And he's not even halfway through his grueling schedule.
CNN's Larry Smith live from Beijing this morning. And I didn't stay up long enough to see the race last night, but apparently he was just a beast again in the pool.
LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, see, Tony, that's the advantage of being here in Beijing 12 hours ahead, because I set my alarm to wake up, and watch and see him...
HARRIS: Good point.
SMITH: ...On TV to do his thing. He's incredible. You know, I mean, yes. Three gold medals now, three world records, and he's already set an Olympic record in the 200-meter freestyle and that final is still coming up. We'll talk about that here in just a moment.
By the way, overall, three gold medals and seven medals total for the U.S. in swimming today. It was a very good fourth day of competition in the pool for the U.S.
Now, think of this. Tiger Woods, Roger Federer, Tom Brady, all probably the greatest super stars of this decade, but Michael Phelps may be about to eclipse them if he gets what he wants here in Beijing. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH (voice-over): The elements he works in -- calm, cool and clear about what he's attempting to do.
MICHAEL PHELPS, OLYMPIC SWIMMING GOLD MEDALIST: I want to do things that no one else in the sport has ever done.
SMITH: Michael Phelps has already done lots of things, and he's just 23.
NATALIE COUGHLIN, OLYMPIC SWIMMING GOLD MEDALIST: We're not even realizing what an incredible athlete he is. Like, obviously, he's amazing. He breaks all these world records, but I think being a part of that, we almost take it for granted. BOB BOWMAN, PHELPS SWIMMING COACH: It will remain to be seen where history ultimately places him, but clearly today I think he's the best swimmer we've seen.
SMITH: Bowman began coaching Phelps as an 11-year-old who had trouble focusing but none finding trouble.
BOWMAN: It's a little bit counterintuitive, because even though he was so rambunctious as a young swimmer when he raced he was very focused.
PHELPS: I always had dreams of being an Olympian, being a world record holder, being a professional athlete, and being a gold medalist. And I had to focus on those goals to achieve them, I knew that.
SMITH: Swimming nearly four miles per workout and often twice daily practices with hardly a day off will focus you. Although it is just that kind of intense work that may have cost Phelps much of his childhood.
PHELPS: I would never trade going to the Olympic games and standing on the top of the medial podium or, you know, being able to turn professional or, you know, travel all over the world. I'd never turn that in. So, to me it was worth to it give it up.
SMITH: Phelps has the opportunity to break the Olympics' most hallowed record and eclipse Mark Spitz's seven gold medals in the 1972 games.
PHELPS: There are a lot of things people haven't done and you know, I want to change the sport. And then, you know, be the first person to do these things.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: The amazing thing is, too, with Michael Phelps, he is only 23 years old, again. And he has already said he will be in the pool in 2012 in London. So the gold train doesn't stop here in Beijing.
Tony?
HARRIS: Yes, why would he stop? I have to ask you, you talk about the train. Is the only thing that could slow Michael Phelps down perhaps the schedule? I know it gets pretty grueling from here out.
SMITH: Well, it is grueling. 17 races in eight days. But he has done this before. He has tried this kind of program in other meets, so he knows what he has to do. He swam a similar schedule in Athens.
Now, coming up East Coast Time, he's back in the pool, late tonight, Tuesday night, Wednesday morning here. He'll go for two golds in the 200-meter butterfly and then also in a relay. So by the time you go to bed, Tuesday night there in the East Coast, he could have five gold medals.
HARRIS: I'm going to try your method, Larry. I'm going to set the alarm clock. I'll try that. Larry Smith for us from Beijing. Thanks, buddy.
SMITH: I'll call you.
HARRIS: OK, appreciate it.
COLLINS: And what a great segway because all this sleeping makes me think of snoring. So, this is a problem. In fact, it could be seriously annoying your sleeping partner. But there are new ways to stop the noise. Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here now to talk more about this.
All right, so what are some of the things that are out there, because it really is a serious problem for some people?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, absolutely. It's a totally serious problem. And, in fact, it can be associated with sleep apnea. So, it's not just annoying, but it can be a sign that you are seriously ill. And some people think, oh, I'll just live with it. Well, no, you should do something about snoring. And there are some new approaches out there that I think frankly most people have not heard of.
COLLINS: OK.
COHEN: So, let's go over a couple of them. And they actually sound a little bit scary but they're really not. A doctor can put implants into your soft pallet. The soft pallet is -- I know, exactly. And when you make that sound, ughh, what you're doing is you're sort of scratching that soft pallet.
(CROSSTALK)
COLLINS: Right, right. There you go.
COHEN: So way in the back of your throat, they can put some implants and they can make it less gushy so that you're less likely to snore. Now that sounds scary, but you know what, it's an outpatient procedure. You're done in an hour, local anesthesia. Not really so bad.
OK, if you think that's weird, how about a treatment where they inject the back of your tongue with radio frequency waves.
COLLINS: Yes, OK.
COHEN: Yes, a little strange, too. But, again, an outpatient procedure and in and out in an hour, and it sort of flattens the base of your tongue a bit, because the point is you want to create some space way back there. You know that place that -- you know, the ughh place, you want to create space back there so that air can get in and out. And if air can get in and out, then you've got a much (INAUDIBLE). COLLINS: OK, all right, well. It does really affect your love life, I imagine. Because you're fighting for sleep, you're fighting your partner to fall asleep first.
COHEN: Exactly. And there was actually a study that showed that 23 percent of people who sleep with a snorer have to go to another room to sleep at some point in the night.
COLLINS: We know what that means.
COHEN: That just can't be good, right. Just can't be good.
COLLINS: Well, what are some of the things that you can actually try to do on your own? Let's say you're not going to go in and have all these --
(CROSSTALK)
COHEN: Have radio frequency injected into your tongue?
COLLINS: Exactly.
COHEN: OK. That just sounds like a little much for you. There are some things that you really should try first because they might actually work.
COLLINS: The piece of tape, right?
COHEN: Well, the little piece of tape across the nose. Some people find that helpful. Here are couple of other ones. Do not sleep on your back. That will make you snore more. Don't drink before you go to bed. That won't help. And lose weight.
And really, I suppose we should have put that first. That's the biggy. If you're overweight and you're snoring, that is the first thing to do. You've got to lose weight.
COLLINS: OK. Yes, and then the other person who's trying to fall asleep is the one who's usually drinking the alcohol.
COHEN: Right. Actually, in hopes of sleep, right.
COLLINS: All right, Elizabeth. Thank you. Appreciate it.
HARRIS: An odd list to report to you. Can a priest touch a child? One dioceses spell out the rules.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now common sense just isn't good enough. It is really sad, but it's necessary in the culture in which we're living.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Yes. Is a hug OK? What about wrestling? Find out what's on the touching list
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: A cuffed suspect kicked and punched by police. Shocking new video from Florida.
Al Pefley has the story now. He's with affiliate WPEC in West Palm Beach.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AL PEFLEY, WPEC REPORTER (voice-over): The incident started with this armed hold up at a CVS Pharmacy in West Palm Beach. A guy wearing a scarf over his face armed with pepper spray demands Oxycodone. He gets two bottles worth about $80, but he doesn't get very far. Moments later outside the drugstore, he was nabbed by a policeman who happened to be in the area.
Surveillance video from a squad car camera shows the armed robber, Pablo Valenzuela handcuffed on the ground, being kicked by two West Palm Beach police officers Louis Schwartz and Kurt Graham. And then a few minutes later, after he's on his feet, you can see another police officer, Jason Zangara punches him a number of times in face.
According to the police report, Zangara punched the guy because he spit at him. And Officer Zangara didn't want him to continue spitting fearing he might have some sort of disease that he could get. The police chief says all three officers went too far and used excessive force.
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE CHIEF: To see this, you know, actually happens, obviously, I'm not pleased with it at all. We are held at a much higher standard than anyone else.
PEFLEY: As for Graham and Schwartz, the two West Palm Beach officers who is kicked the man while he was on the ground, Schwartz wrote in the arrest report they did it because they were trying prevent the man from biting him. Also, before he was caught, Schwartz says the suspect fired pepper sprayed at him.
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE CHIEF: When you mix all this volatile stuff together, then you know emotions run high, and it's possible for something like this to happen, but this agency just can't tolerate it.
PEFLEY: Valenzuela suffered a cut over his left eye and had four stitches. The police report says he apologized for his actions and told investigators he's had a drug addiction for a long time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: One of the officers involved in that beating has resigned. The other two are on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
HARRIS: DNA evidence has helped free a man in prison 18 years on a child rape conviction. An Ohio judge ordered Robert McLendon's release yesterday. An independent lab using new technology determined McLendon's DNA profile didn't match evidence from the crime scene. McLendon's daughters said the family never gave up hope.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICOLE MILLER, DAUGHTER: It's been a battle and a struggle. The whole time that he's been gone, but we've always had faith and believed in his innocence, and knew that this day would come. We just had no idea it would take so long. And you know, he's been so strong throughout the whole time. And, you know, very thankful for the DNA evidence. And then, again, like I said the Innocence Project who are helping to bring all this to light.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: A lawyer with the Ohio Innocence Project believes prosecutors will formally drop charges against McLendon within the next two weeks.
COLLINS: A new handbook for Catholics and it's not the bible. The Archdiocese of Cincinnati giving new rules about appropriate physical contact with kids. Here's Tom McKee of our affiliate WCPO.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM MCKEE, WCPO REPORTER (voice-over): The Decree on Child Protection is designed to prevent child abuse and handle abuse incidents after they occur.
DAN ANDRIACCO, ARCHDIOCESE OF CINCINNATI: Originally, I think that was all left to common sense. And now, common sense just isn't good enough.
MCKEE: Appropriate physical contact includes side hugs, shoulder to shoulder hugs, pats on the head, shoulder or back, handshakes and high fives.
ANDRIACCO: It is really sad, but it's necessary in the culture in which we're living.
MCKEE: Among the prohibited physical contacts are unwanted affection, bear hugs, kisses, lap-sitting and touching the buttocks, chest, knees, thighs or genitals.
The decree applies to classroom teachers, to coaches and volunteers, priests, anyone coming in contact with children. They all have to undergo a criminal background check and be fingerprinted, the provision begun in 2003. Dan Andriacco says since then, 266 people have been red-flagged.
ANDRIACCO: Offenses ranging from murder to rape to registered sex offenders.
MCKEE: Elder high school principal Tom Otten says he's 100 percent in favor of the tougher standards to keep children safe. TOM OTTEN, HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL: Never though I would see that. But having gone through some of the issues in the past and the near past, I think it's a good thing to spell it out because when we relied on common sense, some people, we found out, some people don't have it.
DAN FRONDORF, SNAP: It's a good step, it's just not enough.
MCKEE: That's the reaction of Dan Frondorf of SNAP -- the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.
FRONDORF: We still wish there was more measure of accountability for the people who perpetrated crimes in the past.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: The archdiocese says that since the original rules are put into place 15 year ago, only two or three priests have been accused of improper activity.
HARRIS: OK, caught on tape. It may look like a really ugly dog, but Texas police think they're on the trail of a mysterious creature. Hang on a second here, Michael. Let me see if I can pronounce this. The...
COLLINS: Goat sucker.
HARRIS: Yes, yes. Or A.K.A. -- how would you even --
COLLINS: Chupacabra.
HARRIS: All right. That's it, the goat sucker.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: You know, it's called a Chupacabra or goat sucker. Lovely, huh? A vampire-like creature terrorizing one South Texas town, but does the blue-skinned animal really exists? More now from Andrew McIntosh of affiliate KENS in Cuero, Texas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm seeing it, but I don't believe it. It is in the day time.
ANDREW MCINTOSH, KENS CORRESPONDENT: A Dewitt County deputy in trending reacts to seeing what just may be a...
SHERIFF JODE ZAVESKY, DEWITT COUNTY, TEXAS: A chupacabra.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How crazy is that?
CPL. BRANDON RIEDEL, DEWITT COUNTY, TEXAS DEPUTY: I've been patrolling these back roads for a long time, and I've never run across anything like this until that day.
MCINTOSH: Last Friday, hours before sunset, Cpl. Brandon Riedel and his partner were checking fence lines near Cuero when they stumbled across the alleged creature of the night.
REIDEL: We came around the corner and saw this running down the road.
MCINTOSH: Reidel says it's hairless with a long snout, short front legs and long back legs.
REIDEL: It's just strange.
MCINTOSH: Noticing the unique photo-op, he turned on his squad car's dash cam.
REIDEL: So I hit the record button and it was just -- this is all we got.
MCINTOSH: What they've got has the deputies and even Sheriff Jode Zavesky baffled.
ZAVESKY: It's amazing. We still don't know what it is.
MCINTOSH: Some believe the thing that eventually disappeared into the brush could be the legendary goat sucker himself, the chupacabra. Reidel says it's about the size of a coyote, but when he froze the video and saw its profile --
REIDEL: I knew it wasn't a coyote.
MCINTOSH: He tells us it looks a lot like this creature found dead in Cuero last year. It was first believe to be a chupacabra but tests at Texas state showed it was some sort of coyote. The sheriff believes the beast caught on tape may be the same thing, but as Cuero receives national attention and quickly becomes the chupacabra capital of the world, this law man admits anything is possible.
ZAVESKY: I love this for Dewitt County. It has brought a lot of attention to us. We're not near ready to put this on to bed yet.
MCINTOSH: Reporting in Cuero, Texas, I'm Andrew McIntosh.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Well, Russia says the fight is finished. But Georgia telling a different story this morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
