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Fire at Apartment Complex in Pennsylvania Now Under Control; Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Diplomatic Mission; Critics Question Ages of Members in China's Gymnastics Team
Aired August 14, 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, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. See events come into the NEWSROOM live on Thursday, August 14th.
Here is what's on the rundown. Conflicting signals out of Georgia. Russian troops on the move in a strategic city. Are they withdrawing? We have the coverage.
HARRIS: A fire raging through upscale apartment homes near Philadelphia. Firefighters hurt, fire engines damaged.
COLLINS: Gold for Chinese women gymnasts. But were some of the girls too young to compete? Age of uncertainty in the NEWSROOM,
We are following breaking news this morning outside of Philadelphia. 11 firefighters are reported hurt in a multi-alarm fire at a high-rise apartment complex in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. Local station WPVI says as many as three fire trucks were damaged.
The fire broke out yesterday afternoon in an unoccupied building of the upscale riverfront complex. It took six hours for firefighters from at least 20 different companies to get it under control.
Now joining you us on phone is Tom Sullivan, the public safety director for Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
And, Mr. Sullivan, if you can hear me OK, tell us what you know at this point.
TOM SULLIVAN, MONTGOMERY CO., PA. PUBLIC SAFETY DIR.: The fire has been under control about 3:00 this morning. An investigation is under way. We have probably about 100 firefighters still hoping to extinguish hot spots.
We have four buildings that received a various degree of damage, some have collapsed and are uninhabitable at the time.
COLLINS: What happened? I mean do you have any idea at this point?
SULLIVAN: Well, there's a -- fire investigators from the state police and the local fire marshal's office working today to determine exactly what happened. It's a large building, wood framed, under construction, essentially was a -- like a lumberyard. It was not enclosed yet.
That fire became fully involved very quickly and collapsed -- it collapsed. A lot of fire spread the building from either side...
COLLINS: Wow.
SULLIVAN: ... on to the attic area.
COLLINS: Boy, and we're looking at pictures of the flames and it's just unbelievable. Really, really engulfed. Obviously looks like it happened all really quickly, too.
Quickly before we let you go, the condition of the firefighters, what do you know about that?
SULLIVAN: We're not aware of any late bringing conditions. It was very warm here last night and a lot of firefighters were overcome by the heat and transported to the hospital for evaluation. And we're not aware of any real serious injuries at this point.
COLLINS: Well, that's terrific news. All right. We certainly do appreciate your time and we will continue to follow this story throughout the morning. Thanks so much.
HARRIS: The Red Cross reports nearly 400 residents are displaced.
Joining us from the phone now from the Red Cross, Tom Foley, CEO of the southeastern Pennsylvania division.
Tom, if you would, is that number, about right? About 400 people displaced?
Tom Foley. Tom, are you there is.
TOM FOLEY, CEO, S.E. PA. DIVISION, RED CROSS: Yes. Can you hear me?
All right, Tom, thank you. Is that about right, about 400 people displaced because of this fire?
FOLEY: Yes, that is correct. It's about 375 folks.
HARRIS: OK. And if you would, tell me about the effort of the Red Cross to help as many of those people as you can and how many are you helping so far.
FOLEY: We had about 200 people with us last night. Food and shelter, a lot of folks, of course, didn't have their medical prescription so we helped them with that as well. The developer was terrific, actually, helping us get everybody housed last night.
HARRIS: Mr. O'Neal, is that his name?
FOLEY: Yes. HARRIS: Yes, I'm hearing a lot about him. If you would, describe his efforts and beyond that, there are reports of just a tremendous effort by folks in that immediate community to help one another.
FOLEY: Absolutely. It was really terrific that so many partners for the Red Cross. Mr. O'Neal himself was out there helping us deliver water, Gatorade, food to the firefighters. He had his people working with us to make sure we were getting everybody housed last night.
We're just not used to that kind of good citizenship and it was just terrific to see it on display in this relatively small community outside of Philadelphia.
HARRIS: What was -- describe the scene. Describe that fire. I image you probably saw some of it on television at first and then saw the results of it. Boy, this did burn for six hours. Describe it, if you would.
FOLEY: Yes, it's hard to believe that flames would be that high. I mean these are basically four-story or more structures and the flames were bottom to top coming out of those.
HARRIS: Wow.
FOLEY: Because it's right on the river, you know, people were able to watch this happen and see how quickly it really engulfed...
HARRIS: Yes.
FOLEY: ... those buildings. It put the firefighters in a very difficult position.
HARRIS: And Tom, do you have everything that you need?
FOLEY: We do so far, because we've got such a great community there...
HARRIS: Terrific.
FOLEY: ... working with us and we had 24 of our volunteers there within about an hour, which is just terrific.
HARRIS: Tom Foley is with the Red Cross. He is the CEO of the southeastern Pennsylvania division.
Tom, thanks for your time.
COLLINS: Officials say the fire destroyed the centerpiece of a multi-million dollar revitalization effort in Conshohocken. The building was under construction. The blaze started in an area where fire protection features had not yet been completed. One county official says the building went up like a lumberyard.
And you saw it for yourself. It still are with those pictures there on the right of the screen. The intense heat radiated to the attics of neighboring buildings.
HARRIS: Russian forces on the move, a cease-fire seemingly still in place.
Let's get the latest from the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. One week after Russian troops first swept in, they are now on the move around Gori and firmly in place in the two territories at the center of this conflict, Abkhazia and South Ossetia. One of two split it from Georgia and move closely, more closely to Russia.
One ominous question today -- will Russia seize the two breakaway territories? Georgia has said it will not surrender any of its territory.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in France today to meet with President Sarkozy. He helped broker the cease-fire. And tomorrow Rice heads to Georgia's capital of Tbilisi.
And the first planes have delivered humanitarian aid to Tbilisi. The U.S. military is spearheading relief efforts.
CNN has deployed its vast international resources to bring you all of the angles on this developing story. CNN's Barbara Starr is covering the humanitarian effort. Michael Ware is outside the Georgian city of Gori, and Jim Bittermann is following diplomatic efforts.
Let's begin with Jim in Paris.
And Jim, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in the south of France. What is her agenda there?
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Basically, she arrived a little bit ago, Tony, and she's meeting with President Sarkozy and Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, as well as Sarkozy's top diplomatic adviser at one of Sarkozy's residence on the French Riviera.
They'll spend a couple of hours in meeting there and then she's going to fly up in Paris -- overnight here in Paris and then on to Tbilisi.
I think what she's doing down there with Sarkozy right now is try to get a brief on what exactly he found out when he talked to Russian president Dmitry Medvedev earlier and negotiated the six-point cease- fire. That was on Tuesday.
The unfortunate part about the six-point was that one of them is -- it leaves quite a large loophole for the Russians, in that they are allowed to -- pending an international peace agreement, they're allowed peacekeepers to take on additional security measures. Now those peacekeepers may be exactly the troops that we're hearing about that are causing the ambiguity about whether or not there is any cease-fire in place at this hour -- Tony?
HARRIS: OK. We will continue to follow the diplomatic efforts. Jim Bittermann in Paris for us -- Jim, thank you.
COLLINS: Now the race to get emergency supplies to thousands of Georgians left homeless by the fighting. The U.S. military playing a key role.
CNN's Barbara Starr at the Pentagon for us this morning.
So Barbara, what's the latest? How are these efforts going?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, all of this is really still unfolding. Pentagon officials confirming a second military aid flight did land in Tbilisi earlier today. But at the moment, they are waiting for a military assessment team to report back on what exactly is needed. So the full flow of humanitarian relief, perhaps, is still to come.
A lot of this -- the fighting, the humanitarian relief -- all really is dependent on what U.S. intelligence can really gather about the situation on the ground. In fact, U.S. officials confirmed to CNN that over the weekend they redeployed, redirected and sent some intelligence assets over Georgia. We believe they are satellites to have a look at the situation on the ground and try and develop some independent U.S. intelligence about Russian military moves and what the situation really is.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates will be in the briefing room about an hour and a half from now to speak with reporters. It will be the first U.S. military statement on the record, on camera about this unfolding situation -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. We all look forward to hearing some of that. Thanks so much, CNN's Barbara Starr from the Pentagon this morning.
HARRIS: Let's go inside Georgia now and the city of Gori. It has been a nerve center of rising tensions, and to some degree remains in limbo even today.
CNN's Michael Ware is there and spoke to our colleagues at CNN international just a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm literally standing on, for what it's worth, the front line in this conflict. Where I am at this moment is virtually on the city limits of that flash point city that you referred to -- Gori.
Now just moments ago Russian special forces troops were right here and they've only just moved back into the city. So we can confirm that despite confusing and contradictory reports coming from all sides, that Russian forces, as of this moment, remain in control of the city of Gori.
Now this untold number of reports of what's going on in the city and within its outskirts, none of which are able to be confirmed. However, there had been a number of car jackings of journalists and others who have attempted to enter the city. And for now, the Russians have put a firm roadblock and it's preventing any entry into the city of Gori.
Now this by and large cut Georgia's main artery from its capital Tbilisi to its port town. Now if you recall President Bush has stated categorically that the U.S. expects Russia to maintain the lines of communication for humanitarian assistance, including the seaport.
Now cutting this major artery certainly inhibits that access. While there are several other routes, this very much is the main artery that humanitarian aid would most likely use running in to the capital Tbilisi.
But what we can tell you, as I repeat, is that the Russian forces are firmly in control of the Georgian city of Gori, which is just outside one of the two disputed enclaves, this one being South Ossetia -- Andrew?
ANDREW STEVENS, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, that's right. But just to clarify you, Michael, Gori is actually in Georgian country proper, if you like. It's not in that break away province of South Ossetia.
Now we've been hearing reports over the last two or three hours of explosions rocking the city of Gori. I don't know whether you are in an area where you could hear or whether you've been able to confirm anything that's been happening as far as those explosions are concerned.
WARE: Well, I can't tell you that there's a number of dark smoke flames that are arriving in and around the area of the city. I cannot account for what they are. But what we're hearing from both sides most recently is that those explosions are controlled detonations of munitions. It's impossible to confirm that.
However, on the approach leading to this city, you can see, for what it's worth, a rag tag series of columns of Georgian military. Now it's a mix of infantry, some very light armor, some artillery patients, and amounts to more than perhaps a brigade against what's amassed from the Russian army which is far superior.
So by and large, the route to the capital Tbilisi is well and truly open to the Russians. And the forces that we've seen are in no position to defend either this road nor the capital itself.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: OK. That was CNN's Michael Ware.
COLLINS: Rob Marciano is standing by now in the CNN Severe Weather Center talking about all kinds of things but specifically, there is this tropical storm that's kind of kicking up a little bit in the Atlanta.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. It's start to fire up.
Good morning, Tony. Hi, Heidi.
We're looking at this thing -- for the last couple of days we're looking at it and today, it looks a little bit more organized. Yesterday they were going to send out planes out there to check it out. They canceled them.
Now because of flare-up again, they'll probably going to send them out here in the next couple of hours and criss-crosses thing and take some numbers.
Still, our computer model want to take it towards the Bahamas. What it does after that past the weekend is still yet to be seen. Really have to wait until this thing is established as a tropical depression and then the computers will digest those numbers and spit out a more accurate forecast.
Nonetheless, folks could travel to Puerto Rico or even Florida or live in Florida or the southeast coast. You certainly want to keep up abreast of the situation as it continues to develop.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Yes, it sounds like.
COLLINS: Ooh, now, that is my kind of weather.
HARRIS: Oh boy, oh boy.
MARCIANO: As you please.
COLLINS: I smell football coming, too.
HARRIS: That's right. That's right.
MARCIANO: I kind of smell it, too.
COLLINS: Yes. Thank you, Rob.
MARCIANO: All right. See you guys.
HARRIS: The complexion of America is changing and a lot faster than you think. In just 34 years, the Census Bureau says whites will no longer be a majority in this country. Immigration and higher birth rate, especially among Hispanics, causing a rapid shift in demographics.
Here's the breakdown, projecting now to 2050, Hispanics will make up 30 percent of the population. Blacks will account for 15 percent, whites 46 percent, and Asians, 9 percent.
And more of us will be living longer. The Census Bureau estimates the number of people older than 85 will triple to 19 million.
COLLINS: A violent weekend and tonight a major city slaps a curfew on kids.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've seen outside on my porch. I'm walking to the store, I'll get shot. That's what I think.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anything that you can stop kids from killing kids, it's a good thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Street cleaning in Hartford.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: A strict teen curfew starts tonight in Hartford, Connecticut. It is a response to last weekend's violence. One man was killed and six young people wounded in a shooting.
Now the month-long curfew means no one under 18 is allowed on the streets after 9:00 at night without a parent or guardian.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anything that you can stop kids from killing kids, it's a good thing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It will slow things down, but I don't think it will stop anything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's where the strength of the curfew is going to come in. Not as much as getting them off the streets as getting the parents back involved, forcing the parents...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: The ACLU could file a legal challenge to the curfew. The group believes it violates the civil rights of minors.
COLLINS: They're called passive pushers. It's a disturbing new study saying some parents make it all too easy for teens to abuse alcohol and drugs.
Chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is weighing in on this this morning.
So, Sanjay, does this report really suggest that some parents are actually steering their teenagers towards drugs and alcohol?
It's ridiculous.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I know. And they may be doing it unwittingly. And you know, a preface by saying, you know, parenting advice is always a dangerous thing to give. You and I both have kids so...
COLLINS: Yes.
GUPTA: ... I think no one is trying to indict these parents. But this passive pusher title is probably pretty appropriate. This idea that parents may leave prescription medications sitting around the house that could be abused, the idea that they may not monitor their child's whereabouts on any given night, and in the worst cases, they actually use some of these substances with their children.
Consider some of these statistics out of this particular survey. When -- where do children get these medications? And about third of them get them from the home -- parents or the medicine cabinet. They're just taking it. It's easy.
COLLINS: Yes.
GUPTA: A third from friends and classmates. But if dive one step deeper, which we did here, you find that 25 percent of teens actually know a parent who uses marijuana and 10 percent of the parents of teenagers surveyed said their parents have actually used a substance with their particular teenager.
So it's, obviously, more than passive pushing on those particular cases.
COLLINS: Yes.
GUPTA: Teenagers, most formative years to a child's life. How a parent reacts in that situation towards the use of drugs and alcohol, very, very key. Most parents doing a good job, but the passive pusher population is what they're targeting here.
COLLINS: Wow. I mean, obviously, something needs to change, and clearly parents shouldn't be using drugs with their kids.
GUPTA: You know, there are some obvious ones here. You know, and some people think maybe it's a way to help get the teenager through those tumultuous years...
COLLINS: God.
GUPTA: .... of doing it with the child so they don't do it somewhere else. Right. I think most of the study showed not a good idea. You got to set up the role model behavior yourself.
But also, some of the things that may be lesson to it, this idea of leaving medication sitting around. Safeguard those prescription drugs from your kids in your own home. Monitor your teens' whereabouts including on school nights and more family dinners, which is my favorite one out of the list.
COLLINS: Yes.
GUPTA: Because they say that if you have dinner with your family five times a week on average, your child is much more -- less likely to abuse later on in life. So that's an easy one. That's a lay-up. And then model healthy behaviors, like we were talking about. Don't be using illicit drugs yourself, especially around your kids.
COLLINS: Yes. Stay in tuned with those kids. Lock the liquor cabinet if you have to.
GUPTA: Yes.
COLLINS: I mean that's about an age old one.
GUPTA: That's right.
COLLINS: We've been doing that for years and years so -- all right. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, not giving parenting advice today.
GUPTA: I always do that. Now that I'm a parent myself, I know the perils of that.
COLLINS: Yes.
GUPTA: Yes.
COLLINS: Thanks, Sanjay.
GUPTA: All right, thank you.
HARRIS: Boy, here's a strange one. Why would anyone kidnap a bear from a zoo?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He just wanted a bear. He got out of the car and he said, I stole a bear.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: A bear on the lamb. We've got the great cub caper.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Issue No. 1 is the economy. More tough times for the housing market while inflation, really, jumps, surges in July.
Ali Velshi is "Minding Your Business" this morning. And you know what, Ali, if you want to know why we're not likely to get a cut in interest rates from the Federal Reserve anytime soon, let's talk about these new inflation numbers.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That's right. well -- inflation is running at 5.6 percent -- this is consumer inflation -- over the last year. That's the fastest pace in 17 years.
Now, typically, when you want to contain inflation, that's because there's a lot of demand and you curb that by raising interest rates. Well, that's why the Fed can't cut...
HARRIS: Yes. VELSHI: ... interest rates right now because that tends to increase demand. Inflation at 5.6 percent, that's double what historical inflation is. I mean usually it's under 3 percent. So that's a bit of a problem...
HARRIS: Yes.
VELSHI: ... on that front.
Now we continue to have this housing crisis, Tony...
HARRIS: Boy.
VELSHI: ... on top of us. We've got new numbers about foreclosures. I want to show where in the country foreclosures are the highest. This list will look familiar to you, Tony, because we've talked about it sort of monthly.
Nevada still leads the country. California is second, although it's got the highest number of foreclosures, then Florida, Arizona and Ohio. You know, Nevada, California, Florida and Arizona were all places where people really bought heavily into it when the prices were going up. So they fell, you know, because the market sort of collapsed under them.
HARRIS: Right.
VELSHI: Ohio is a different story. The Midwest jobs were lost, factories were closed, and people got stuck with their houses and couldn't sell them.
But in all of those cases, we've still got a lot of foreclosures, and we're seeing that trend increase. Last year compared -- right now compared to last year, foreclosure filings are up 55 percent.
HARRIS: Man.
VELSHI: That's the whole process, Tony.
HARRIS: Right.
VELSHI: The sad part here is we're seeing the number of foreclosure repossessions jump.
HARRIS: Seizures, yes.
VELSHI: Yes, that's a big -- look at that, 130 -- 183 percent versus a years ago. These are people who have just gone through the whole system and couldn't make it work.
HARRIS: Ali, I hear you're doing your radio show for CNN Radio today.
VELSHI: Yes.
HARRIS: Love that. VELSHI: On Thursdays at 11:00 Eastern. Yes, we open up the phone line. People could send us e-mails, can go to CNN.com/askali, or you can call us up at that number, 877-266-4189.
HARRIS: That's terrific.
VELSHI: And you know what it is, Tony, we get to hear from our viewers...
HARRIS: Yes.
VELSHI: ... what they are worried about or what they think is happening, and it -- you kind of just informs our reporting a lot more than if we just, you know, read it somewhere or...
HARRIS: Prices, their homes and their jobs, right?
VELSHI: Yes, that's right. That's what matters.
HARRIS: It's issue No. 1.
All right, Ali, appreciate it. Thank you.
VELSHI: See you, Tony.
COLLINS: Quickly want to get this information to you now. Just into the CNN NEWSROOM, beleaguered by legal problems Detroit's mayor in court just moment ago to face arraignment on perjury charges.
Well, according to the judge, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick will be allowed to travel to the Democratic convention.
You may remember, he is a superdelegate and he can do it without the electronic tether that had been ordered earlier in the case.
Kilpatrick has been mired in controversy over romantic text message with his former chief of staff. Those messages indicated the two were involved in an affair. They had denied it under oath.
Two more voices are now calling for Kilpatrick to resign. Congressman John Dingle says Kilpatrick is dragging down the hopes of the city. And the "Michigan Chronicle" says, quote, "We strongly urge the mayor to step aside and address his problems. His issues are holding the city hostage. Detroit's future is bigger than the mayor."
HARRIS: A visit to grandma's house goes wrong. American children struck in Georgia's war zone when we talk live with their worried father.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: How did you like that show? Did you see that show? That "Rent" show?
COLLINS: I loved that.
HARRIS: You like it?
COLLINS: I saw the original cast...
HARRIS: Yes.
COLLINS: ... of New York. Yes.
HARRIS: Yes. And there was a movie that did OK, right?
COLLINS: Yes.
HARRIS: It was OK?
COLLINS (singing): 525,000...
HARRIS: Great.
COLLINS: I loved it.
HARRIS: Sure.
Let's hope the folks there from "Rent" can help the markets as we get the business day started. Yesterday the second day of (INAUDIBLE) losses for the Dow in a row. The Dow dropping 109 points yesterday, the S&P and NASDAQ down as well.
Home foreclosures, as Ali just mentioned just moments ago, up. And home repossessions, seizures of the housing sector continuing to struggle, apparently, with no bottom in sight. We're going to follow the markets, of course, throughout the morning with Susan Lisovicz right here in the NEWSROOM.
Bottom of the hour. Welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Tony Harris.
COLLINS: Hi, everybody, I'm Heidi Collins.
An update now on a breaking story we're following outside of Philadelphia. A massive inferno at an upscale apartment complex in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania is now under control. The county public safety director says several firefighters were overcome by heat and taken to the hospital, but none of the injuries was life threatening.
The fire broke out yesterday afternoon in an unoccupied building of the river front complex. Fire fighters from at least 20 companies battle the blaze for more than six hours. Officials say the blaze destroyed the centerpiece of that multi-million dollar revitalization effort in Conshohocken.
HARRIS: A cease-fire holds, the world watches, but Russian troops remain in the Georgian City of Gori. And firmly in place in the two territories at the center of this conflict Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Want to split from Georgia and align with Russia today, there are growing concerns that Russia will defy Georgia and support that split. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is on a diplomatic mission. Today, she is in France. Tomorrow, the capital of Georgia. And in Tbilisi, the first humanitarian aide has arrived. The U.S. military is helping to spearhead the relief efforts.
COLLINS: The U.S. believes 15,000 Russian troops are in Georgia. That's at least 5,000 more than one week ago.
CNN's international correspondent Matthew Chance was on the ground as a Russian armored column rumbled out of Gori yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Russia's military advance came without warning. A column of armor heading towards Georgia's capital in an unprecedented show of force.
(on camera): Well, there's been a lot of speculation about where the Russian troops are. Well, here they are. Well inside Georgian territory and outside the main conflict zone of South Ossetia. They're now on the road to Tbilisi. The big question is how far will they go?
I can see there are troop carriers here, there are armored personnel carriers. We haven't seen any Georgian forces up ahead. We don't know whether they're going to encounter any resistance. But these are incredible scenes.
But this wasn't the full-scale invasion many Georgians fear. This column is now turning off the road to Tbilisi. I'll just get out of the way of the armored personnel carrier. And it's heading down this road to a village.
Georgian officials have indicated to us that this is a planned incursion by Russian forces who don't know what they're doing at the moment. In fact, let's try and ask them.
(voice-over): I asked the Russian officer what his men were doing. "No comment," he answered. "But the Georgian people know we're here." A couple of soldiers edgy and smelling of alcohol had fallen behind and approached us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
CHANCE: "We've not been ordered to take Tbilisi," they told me. "Russia doesn't want a war. We were forced to send our troops here," they said. Georgia officials say Russia is failing to respect its own cease-fire.
(on camera): Well, these are the first Georgian forces that we've come across. After the Russians have moved in, there are about five kilometers, three miles or so, from where the Russians have positioned themselves inside Georgian territory. Now, obviously, they're heavily armed. They've got filled bombs there.
(voice-over): But this Georgian army may be in no position to resist the military might of its giant Russian neighbor.
Matthew Chance, CNN, Georgia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Besides a massive military, Russia has another powerful tool in its arsenal. Huge reserves of oil and natural gas.
Our Josh Levs has some startling figures.
And Josh, I think once you explain some of these numbers, folks will get a better picture at what appears to be the international community's lack luster in some eyes that international community seemed hand strong in this response.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure. I mean, clearly oil is playing a part in that. And a lot of the analysts are saying that there are a lot of nations out there that because they're so tied to Russia on oil, their hands are tie. There's not that much that they can do in a sense. And it is pretty amazing. We were looking into the figures today.
You know, you've heard us talk about oil. This is a map behind me about some oil pipelines that go through that region including Georgia. And you know, as we've been reporting, the pipe has been shut down in the middle of this conflict. But what I want to do now is take you over to this other screen behind me on my other side. And we're going to show you some of the startling statistics you were talking about there.
How much Europe gets its oil from Russia? Let's start with this first one right here where talks about Russia in general. It has the world's largest natural gas reserves and of all nation's in the world, the eighth largest oil reserve. That's from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
This next one now, 29 percent of Europe's oil imports come from Russia. That's a massive amount. This is European nations as a group. Now, natural gas, sometimes even more -- these are broken done by nation. Germany gets about a third. Turkey about two-thirds of its natural gas from Russia. France, 20 percent. Finland is one of the countries that gets all of its natural gas.
I saw a private analysis that said in total, European nations are about getting half their natural gas from Russia. So again, massive ties in that sense. Let's go to this last one which gives you a summary from Energy Information Administration.
They tell you that Russia's economic growth really throughout this decade has been driven number one -- issue number one there, driven primarily by energy exports. So basically this is where Russia's focus has been. It has succeeded at building a lot of ties to the west particularly to Europe. And this is something that Europe needs to not mess with too much because they need to continue to get those imports. I want to tell you one more thing, Tony. Let me have a second here. HARRIS: OK, sure, sure.
LEVS: The screen behind me is going to look like The Matrix, but I'll explain it. I want to go over to it for a second because the United States also gets oil from Russia, but nowhere near as much as Europe does.
This is a list of the nations from which we import. And I know there's tons of numbers, ignore it. Russia is down there at number ten. So, the United States here, we do get some of our oil from Russia, same source, Energy Information Administration. It's not one of our top ones though. And you know, we still get a lot domestically as well.
HARRIS: Yes, that's right. That's right.
LEVS: But the truth is, more and more nations are building those ties. We're getting more from Russian and Europe, big time. It's exploded. How much oil and natural gas they get. It's a dependence and it absolutely plays out on the ground.
HARRIS: All right, Josh, appreciate it.
LEVS: You got it. Thanks.
HARRIS: Thanks, men.
COLLINS: Georgia, halfway around the world, its crisis hitting far too close to home for our next guest. Joe Evans is the father of two little girls now stranded in the war-torn country -- 7-year-old Ashley and 3-year-old Sophia were visiting their grandparents when the fighting broke out.
Joe, when was the last time that you were able to talk with your daughters?
JOE EVANS, YOUNG DAUGHTER STRANDED IN GEORGIA: I spoke to my daughter, Ashley, this morning.
COLLINS: You did?
EVANS: So, we're fortunate enough that the cell phones are on there.
COLLINS: Well, that's terrific. What did she have to tell you?
EVANS: She said -- daddy, I want to come home.
COLLINS: What is the situation? I imagine that you're able to speak with -- I believe it's your wife's parents, is that correct?
EVANS: Yes. My in-laws. They have spent every summer there, never a problem. So, it's very rural. It looks like Amish Country, Pennsylvania. And my daughter says to me -- daddy, grandma and grandpa want to take us to the airport. We got turned around by Russian troops in Gori. So, she was crying. She's 7-years-old. She knows what's goes on. Her baby sister is there, my other daughter, Sophia, and it's been brutal, really. It's crushing.
COLLINS: Well, I can only imagine the constant worry you must have. And I can see it on your face. When your 7-year-old, Ashley, told you that they were turned around by Russian troops, I mean, you know, clearly, that's got to be a very scary situation. How did she describe it to you?
EVANS: Yes. That was in Gori, about two hours out from where they were. It takes four hours to drive to Tbilisi to get to the embassy to make the bus convoy out to Armenia. And I just thank God they're still alive and didn't get sprayed. They're spraying heat like the place is on fire.
COLLINS: So they were trying to get to the embassy, correct?
EVANS: Yes, that's correct. But the East-West highway is blockaded by Russian troops in Gori.
COLLINS: Right. We had heard that from the president yesterday when he came out and spoke from the Rose Garden. That was one of the things that he had mentioned from his intelligence reports. So that is the same thing that you're hearing. What's the latest now? Where are they? And are they going to be able to get home?
EVANS: I need big help. I sent my brother-in-law over there on British Airways via Armenia. He made it to the border. And I want to thank CNN because their news crew gave him a courtesy ride into the city of Tbilisi. He's made contact with the embassy and I have Congressman Chris Smith helping me on logistics. He's made good calls for me that I just couldn't have made. He's gotten in touch with the ambassador. He's gotten in touch with Condoleezza Rice's team and she's touching down there. I need help.
COLLINS: Yes. She is definitely going to be in the region.
(CROSSTALK)
EVANS: These are our American girls. They've got to come home. We -- they are babies.
(CROSSTALK)
EVANS: We've got to get them home. Thank you for helping me.
COLLINS: Well, we're looking at pictures of them right now, Joe, and we are certainly interested in your story. I imagine you aren't the only one. Have you talked with other people who have relatives that are there and are trying to get back to the United States?
EVANS: Yes. Well, I know some of my wife's cousins are here and they have relatives back at home in Tbilisi, and everything is dysfunctional. It's mass hysteria, social breakdown, social disorder. It's absolutely chaos. Their families are suffering. They have a hard life to live as it is. They really don't need this right now.
COLLINS: Well, we certainly appreciate your story and you talking to us at a time when I know things are really difficult for you and your family. Will you let us know how it turns out? We would like to talk with you once they get back home, Joe.
EVANS: Yes. Well --
COLLINS: To make sure that everything is OK.
EVANS: Of course.
COLLINS: All right, Joe Evans, we sure do appreciate it. Thank you.
EVANS: Thank you.
HARRIS: Boy, you're right. You can see the stress and strain all over his face there.
On top, but under age. China won the women's team gymnastics competition, but were all the women old enough?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: The U.S. and China in a tight race for overall medal count. But the Chinese are taking a big lead in gold.
Our Larry Smith joining us live from Beijing with the latest on the summer games.
And Larry, are you kidding me here? I understand you got a pretty big upset to share with everyone.
LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know what, tennis fans are going to be pretty shocked. The question now is Roger Federer, after such a phenomenal run, he was almost untouchable for so many years. Could he possibly be on the decline? That was the question right now. If he did not win the gold medal here and he will not.
American James Blake, just a few moments ago, upsetting the top seed in straight sets. And so Blake was on to the semi-finals, Federer going home. And now the question is for the Swiss, where does his career go from here as we approach the U.S. open here in New York in a couple of weeks?
Now, aside from that, the big buzz today on the sixth day of competition has been the Chinese and their incredible haul in the gold medal chase. Now, 22 golds, that is more than halfway towards their projected goal of 40 that they had set before these games. And again, that's the big talk here as we wrap up the Thursday in Beijing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH (voice-over): Still perfect on the beach, American beach volleyball Misty May-Treanor and Kerry Walsh defeated Norway in straight sets to advanced to Friday's medal round with a 3-0 record. The victory extends their winning streak to 104 straight matches. In the Olympic pool, the focus for a change was not on Michael Phelps. Alain Bernard of France won the 100-meter freestyle beating out Australia's Eamon Sullivan who'd set the world record in a semi- final heat. American Jason Lezak tied for the bronze. Bernard's victory was revenge of sort after Lezak came from way behind to edge the Frenchman on the thrilling anchor leg of the 400-meter freestyle relay.
The U.S. women failed to win gold in the 800-meter freestyle relay for the first time since the event began in 1996. They took the bronze medal. The Australian team won gold and the Chinese took the silver.
And a dramatic turn of events in the women's 100-meter freestyle semis. The world record holder Australia's Libby Trickett would not have qualified for the finals but she got in when a Chinese swimmer who had won her semi-final hit was disqualified for a false start.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: As for Michael Phelps, there's a couple of preliminary races on this day. He returns to the pool Friday morning, Beijing Time, looking for his sixth gold medal in the men's 200 individual meddling.
And in men's basketball, it is almost over. The final seconds, USA leading Greece, 92-69. We'll have more on the redeemed team next hour here on CNN.
HARRIS: Yes. And Larry, just very quickly here, back to the James Blake story. Great for U.S. tennis and great for you as medal hopes in Tennis. (INAUDIBLE), the number one. See, I don't believe James Blake has ever beaten a Roger Federer before. And to beat him in straight sets, this is a pretty terrific result.
SMITH: Yes. You know, I haven't had time to look up to see what their history. But I think you're right. I don't think he has beat him before. And now, Roger has got some questions now he has got to answer within himself.
HARRIS: Terrific. All right, Larry Smith, Beijing for us. Good to see you, Larry. Thanks.
COLLINS: China's gold in the women's team gymnastics tarnished in the eyes of some critics. They're questioning the age of three team members. Take a look at this now from CNN's Randi Kaye.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): How old does this girl look to you? The Chinese gymnastics coach says Ha Ku Shin (ph) is 16, the required age to compete in the Beijing Olympics. But is she really? A recent investigation by the "New York Times" suggests half the Chinese team, three out of six, could be under age. These are the girls raising eyebrows. According to their passports, they are all 16. But the "Times" reports, a 2006 biography on Ha listed her birthday at January 1st, 1994, which would make her 14, not 16. This girl was listed as 14 in a local competition in China recently, and a Web site in China says this member of the team is 15. Amanda Borden represented the U.S. in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
AMANDA BORDEN, FORMER OLYMPIC GYMNAST: Are they 16? I'm not sure we'll ever know the exact age of those girls. They do look like they are far from being 16.
KAYE: Borden says there are definitely advantages to competing at a younger age. Gymnasts are smaller, more flexible.
BORDEN: We tend to be a lot better and at our peak performances when we are younger, before we go through maturity.
KAYE: This Chinese gymnast knows that is true. In this documentary now on YouTube, she admits she was too young to compete at the 2000 Sydney Olympics where she won a bronze medal. She says she was just 14. Debbie Johnson has been coaching gymnastics for 30 years. She says the girls don't look sixteen either.
One of these girls was 68 pounds. Do you know of any 16 year olds that are 68 pounds?
DEBBIE JOHNSON, COACH: No, I don't. I don't.
KAYE: What's the average height and weight of a 16-year-old gymnast that you see here at your gym?
JOHNSON: At my gym, they are much bigger. They average maybe 100 pounds, 110 pounds, 5'2", 5'3", 5'4", in that range.
KAYE: A Chinese gymnastics official reportedly suggested sports writers in China got the ages wrong, insisting their passports are valid.
(on camera): The Chinese teams average size is 4'9", 77 pounds. The gymnasts from the U.S. are about 3.5 inches taller and 30 pounds heavier. Only one American, Shawn Johnson, stands shorter than five feet and weighs under 100 pounds.
(voice-over): A spokeswoman for the International Olympics Committee told the "Times," we feel comfortable having heard feedback from people directly involved with the athletes, but that is not how legendary gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi sees it. The one who once coach Nadia Comaneci and Mary Lou Retton told the Associated Press, these people think we are stupid. And during NBC's coverage of the games Tuesday night, Karolyi continued.
BELA KAROLYI, COACH: There was documented evidence that half of the Chinese team is underage. But they think it is over. Nobody could really prove, because they have their passports given by the government. KAYE: Former Olympian, Amanda Borden suggests if the U.S. team had done better in the finals, the focus would still be on the games, not the girls.
BORDEN: I think had U.S. won the women's team, none of these issues would have come up.
KAYE: The competition may be over, but the fight continues.
Randi Kaye, CNN, Orlando.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: The Chinese state run news agency has commented, quote, "Before the Beijing Olympic games, there were already foreign media writing articles on the age of China's female gymnastic team." The team reacted quickly and have clarified with abundant evidence that all the girls of the team were born before December 31st of 1992.
HARRIS: Busted at the Olympics for doing his job.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And this is the moment I encountered the Chinese response.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Wow, a reporter arrested covering a protest.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Age. Try to hide it and your hair will give you away. Medical correspondent Judy Fortin looks at why silky locks take a rough turn in your 30s, 40s and 50s.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JUDY FORTIN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We can spend a lot of time and money on our hair. There are entire magazines devoted to just that perfect style. But as we get older, our locks start to look different.
DR. LYNN MCKINLEY-GRANT, WASHINGTON HOSPITAL CENTER: Hair reflects a lot of -- reflects your heredity, reflects your health. It reflects what you do externally to your hair in terms of maintaining it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like it getting a little bit longer.
FORTIN: Tara Burroughs is the artistic director at Crimpers Hair Salon in Atlanta. She sees all kinds of damaged hair from frizziness to split ends.
TARA BURROUGHS, CRIMPERS - ATLANTA, GEORGIA: The biggest thing that I hear is thinning and dullness in their color. We tend to do a lot more shine treatments as females get older because that's the first thing -- I hear that over and over again. They said, my hair just isn't shiny like it used to be. It's lacking the shine.
FORTIN: In our 30s, we might begin to notice damage from drying, dyeing, processing, and perming. Hair can become thinner, more brittle, and diet has a big impact.
MCKINLEY-GRANT: You need a certain amount of protein in the hair. You do need water. You need vitamins to grow a healthy head of hair.
FORTIN: In our 40s, you may start seeing some gray. That's because we begin to lose the pigment in our hair called melanin. It gives hair its color.
MCKINLEY-GRANT: There's not a pill that will get it back. There are things in bottles that will help.
FORTIN: Some people are prematurely gray. Doctors say it's heredity. In our 40s and 50s, we may begin to lose hair faster. More than 50 percent of men over the age of 50 have hair loss. As for women, once they reach menopause, 40 percent will experience hair loss. Also, medication can affect the hair. Some high blood pressure and cholesterol medications can cause hair to thin. In some cases, you may be able to talk with your doctor about possibly changing treatments.
Judy Fortin, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: A bear napping at the zoo. And I don't mean sleeping either. This cub gets an unexpected ride already? His life is a real circus.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: The bear facts now. Man swipes a cup from an animal -- you heard me correctly there. His cousin steals it back. What kind of craziness is going on here?
Chris Cato of CNN affiliate WSPA has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS CATO, WSPA CORRESPONDENT: If your cousin brought this home from the zoo, you would barely believe it. But you are not Joy Crawford.
JOY CRAWFORD, SUSPECTS COUSIN: They just wanted a bear.
CATO: And your cousin is not Chad Montgomery.
CRAWFORD: And for him to go after an animal, that's just natural for him.
CATO: Deputies say over the weekend, Montgomery broke into Holly Wild Animal Park and the bear was not his initial target.
CRAWFORD: He was going after two little monkeys. One of them jumped on his back and bit him. And he throw it down and then went after the bear.
CATO: A cubnapping, the culprit carried away a 7-month-old black bear named Newell.
(on camera): According to police reports, Montgomery then brought his purloin pet to this truck stop in Blacksburg where he offered people a chance to pet the bear for a dollar. But his cousin says he was actually only charging 50 cents.
CRAWFORD: For taking it out, a penny, a quarter, a dollar, why would you take it and walk it around in a parking lot after you stole it? That's just as stupid as stealing it.
CATO (voice-over): Crawford said on Sunday when Montgomery told her what he had done.
CRAWFORD: He got out of the car and he said, I stole a bear.
CATO: There was only one thing she could do.
CRAWFORD: I stole the bear from Chad because Chad stole the bear from the zoo.
CATO: She and her son went to Montgomery's home, where he was keeping Newell in a pen, loaded the bear up in the back seat of her car, and drove him back to the zoo. It wasn't easy.
CRAWFORD: It's embarrassing, and it's --
CATO: Embarrassing?
CRAWFORD: Yes, embarrassing.
CATO: Now Montgomery is charged with burglary and grand larceny.
CRAWFORD: The whole family believes that he needs to learn his lesson.
CATO: And Newell is back in his cage, knowing that the wildest creatures don't necessarily live in a zoo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
