Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Fighting Continues in Georgia; Dems to Have Chance to Vote for Hillary at Convention; Whites to be Minority by 2050; Inspectors Strive for Accuracy at the Pump

Aired August 14, 2008 - 13:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Giving up on Gori, a major city in the Black Sea nation of Georgia hopes it's seeing the last of Russian invaders. At this hour, it's still too soon to tell.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: It's not too late to vote for Hillary Clinton for president, if you're a Democratic delegate, that is. It seems Barack Obama won't be the only name voted on at this month's convention in Denver.

Hi there, I'm Brianna Keilar at CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.

LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon, live here at the international desk. We're following the very latest developments happening in Georgia. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

And first up today in the CNN NEWSROOM, the U.S. defense secretary has two words for Georgia, and that is step back. Here's the very latest for you.

A couple of hours ago, Robert Gates called Russia's presence in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia an aggressive posture and one that will hurt relations between Moscow and Washington for a very long time. Now, Gates added that he does not predict a need for American forces to intervene in that conflict. He made his comments at the same time we got word that Russian forces appear to have firm control over the key cities in Georgia. One of them, the country's Black Sea port.

Now, an unbelievable and frightening piece of video we want to show you. It is a reporter, a TV reporter from Georgia state television. Georgian state television is shot by a real bullet live on camera. Take a look at this. You see her camera man came to the rescue there. But she was nicked in the arm, was bleeding in pain, but the camera keeps rolling and she keeps reporting. No word on her condition, but her wound doesn't look like it is threatening. And she says that the bullet that hit her came from a Russian-controlled area.

But just to be clear, the video was provided, again, by Georgian state television. We had zero information from the Russian military on this. Nothing from the Russian military yet. We'll keep checking to find out the very latest on that.

We're also hearing the U.S. -- hearing the words "utter destruction" today coming from that region, describing South Ossetia's capital city. And that's where the fighting just erupted one week ago. And that's where CNN's Matthew Chance is for us today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: ... the South Ossetian rebel capital of Tskhinvali is a scene of utter devastation as a result of the fierce fighting. Militants raging here over the past week or so between Russian and Georgian forces.

Just behind me, two Georgian tanks that were destroyed in the street by Russian aircraft as Georgian forces advanced into this territory of South Ossetia in a military bid to take control of an area, which has really been excised Georgian government control almost since just a little after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Now Russian forces, Moscow-backed forces (ph) in South Ossetia. They say the Russians, that they moved their forces in primarily because Russian peacekeeping barracks had come under sustained attacks from Georgian forces. And also, that civilian areas were coming under attack, as well.

Now, one of the things we'll be looking at here in Tskhinvali is the casualty figures that are being claimed by Russians, of course, as close to 2,000 people. The Georgians say the figure is closer to a couple of hundred. We're going to try and get some clarity on that.

Also, trying to speak to some of the people who are still here. The civilians who stayed despite the fighting and the thousands of Russian soldiers who are now digging in, into defensive positions and clearing the ammunition and the twisted carcasses, the twisted metal of tanks and armored personnel carriers that were destroyed during the battle away from the streets of Tskhinvali.

Matthew Chance, CNN, in South Ossetia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: We're moving on, but we're going to have much, much more on the Russian-Georgian conflict coming up a little bit later on in the NEWSROOM. We're going to talk to a "TIME" magazine reporter and get his unbelievable images of the conflict in that region. Plus much more on the breaking developments as they happen -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Firefighters are dousing hot spots from a huge apartment blaze outside of Philadelphia. At its height, this fire was so intense, it actually showed up on weather radar. Three hundred seventy-five people lost their homes. About 200 took refuge in a fire station supported by the Red Cross.

Detroit mayor, alleged felon and Democratic super delegate. Kwame Kilpatrick won the right today to attend his party's convention. This happened at his arraignment on charges of perjury, misconduct, obstruction of -- obstruction and conspiracy to which not guilty pleas were entered on his behalf.

Without being asked, the judge agreed to let Kilpatrick travel to the Democratic convention in Denver and without an electronic tether. Prosecutors are appealing this decision, but in the meantime, a major voice in Detroit now wants Kilpatrick to quit.

"The Michigan Chronicle" reversed its former support after the mayor's recent jailing on a bond violation. And here's what others are saying.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It gets more and more emphasis on the fact that the community at large really wants the mayor to resign.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The mayor as an individual should look at the issues that relates to his problems. And he should focus on those issues and deal with that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's so much coming out. And I think he should resign with a lot of things. I think he should, just for his benefit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Also calling for the mayor's resignation, longtime Democratic Congressman John Dingell of Dearborn.

LEMON: And if you happen to be in Hartford, Connecticut, in the next month and you're under 18, don't plan to be out after 9 p.m. City leaders have imposed an emergency curfew aimed at cutting down on street violence. It goes into effect tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATHY LEWIS, HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT: Anything that you can stop kids from killing kids is a good thing.

LORIN WASHINGTON, HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT: It'll slow things down, but I don't think it'll stop anything.

MIKE FOTHERGILL, HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT: 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 to be back involved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, any underage looters (ph) will be picked up and taken home.

KEILAR: The arrests of dozens of workers are raising concerns today about security at a major airport. Immigration and customs enforcement apprehended the workers yesterday, 42 of them in all at Dulles International, outside of the nation's capital. The suspected illegal immigrants were on a construction detail.

An airport spokesman says they did not have access to high security areas.

Issue No. 1 this hour. Another black cloud over America's stormy housing market. According to the online marketer realty track, foreclosure filings grew by 18 percent from June to July of this year and 55 percent from the same time last year. One in every 464 American homes is in some stage of mortgage distress.

And leading the way, Nevada, where almost 1 percent of households have received a foreclosure notice. California, Florida, Arizona, and Ohio completing the top five.

Well, if you are seeing fewer cars and trucks on the highways and byways, it's not a fluke. The Transportation Department says Americans drove less in June for the eighth straight month. How much less? Well, 12.2 billion miles, almost 5 percent less than a year ago.

Lower demand for fuel, one of the reasons for the recent drop in gas prices, which have fallen for 28 days straight.

And traders on Wall Street bargain hunting, scooping up bank shares, especially right now, taking a check of the markets. The Dow up 140 -- almost 150 points. More with Susan Lisovicz, live, before the bottom of the hour.

LEMON: All right. Time now to talk some weather. More storms on the horizon and maybe one in the tropics.

What about it, Mr. Chad Myers, standing by in the CNN severe weather center? Getting the latest information, as we can see.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Don, literally. There is an airplane now, a hurricane hunter aircraft in the storm, which will be a storm, I think, today. It will be Fay. But now 35 -- 35 knots, the maximum wind speed we're seeing here. So estimated surface winds, the very latest here.

This is the track of the plane. I'll give you some -- here, there's San Juan. There's Haiti and the Dominican Republic. And here we go. Here are the big islands there. So this storm is estimated at 39 miles per hour. Well, that's enough to actually get a number, or if it flies through the middle, maybe, even give it a name. This -- if it gets a name, and I do think it will get a name, it will be Fay, F-A-Y.

This storm has been fairly impressive in the overnight hours. Didn't look good yesterday, but it certainly looks much better now.

This track is going to be very difficult. Because this is still three to five days away from maybe making some landfall somewhere. But the computer models are all in agreement that it certainly will go through the Turks and Caicos, very close to Haiti or the Dominican Republic, and then into the Bahamas.

And here's kind of where it changes. Some computer models taking it into the Gulf of Mexico, kind of like the big storm that we wouldn't want in the Gulf of Mexico, kind of like Charlie. But most of the models missing the U.S. altogether, making a big right-hand turn over the Bahamas and then out to sea. Now, this means it could veer into North Carolina, could be South Carolina, maybe the coast of Georgia or run right along the coast of Florida doing damage all the way up.

It is forecast to be a pretty strong storm: Category 1, maybe a Category 2. Don, it's not even a storm yet, and we're already saying what it could be. Right now we don't know,. Computers will tell us. But Mother Nature will have the last word.

LEMON: And it's always good to be prepared, right?

MYERS: Absolutely.

LEMON: Even though she does have the last word. OK, Chad Myers. Thank you very much. We'll be checking back with you throughout the day.

MYERS: If it's a storm I'll let you know.

LEMON: All right. Thank you, sir -- Brianna.

KEILAR: No sign yet of a New York City girl who lost her footing near Niagara Falls. State parks police say the 12-year-old slipped off of a rock while hiking along the Niagara River yesterday and then, before anyone could react, she was swept downstream. Searchers are using boats and helicopters to try to find her.

LEMON: Hillary Clinton supporters get their wish. The senator's name will be placed into nomination at the Democratic National Convention. We'll find out what that could mean for the party's big push for unity.

KEILAR: America at the next half century mark. Its population make-up won't be anything like it is today. We're going to tell you about the big changes ahead.

LEMON: All right. Well, doctors had never seen anything like it. That's what they say. A tumor in an Iraqi child that was almost as big as the boy himself. How he has a new chance at life now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Are you getting ripped off when you fill up? We're following inspectors as they put gas pumps to the test.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: The race for the White House today brings John McCain to Colorado. The Republican is in the town of Edwards this hour for a fundraiser. Soon he'll head to Aspen for remarks to the Aspen Institute think tank.

And for Democrat Barack Obama, another day in paradise. He is still in his native state of Hawaii, where he and his family are vacationing.

LEMON: OK, we have learned that Hillary Clinton -- Hillary Rodham Clinton's name will be placed into nomination at the Democratic National Convention. A party source tells CNN the Clinton and Obama camps agree it is the best way to soothe the wounds from a bitter primary season.

Last month, Clinton, who finished just behind Obama in delegates, suggested that placing her name in nomination would be a catharsis for her supporters. Clinton is campaigning for Obama.

Our senior political analyst, Mr. Bill Schneider, joins us now from the CNN Election Express on the road, approaching Iowa City. We can see Iowa City, Iowa. We can see the background, the landscape behind you in the window there. Is that a window, Bill? Or is that a flat screen television? But I want to be read part of the statement before you answer that.

BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I certainly hope so.

LEMON: It's a window, right? OK, let me read part of the statement.

SCHNEIDER: Very flat...

LEMON: OK. I want to read part of this. We have a little bit of a delay. Part of the statement from the Obama and the Clinton campaigns. It was released today, Bill. I want to get your thoughts on it.

And Senator Clinton says, "With every voice heard and the party strongly united, we will elect Senator Obama president of the United States and put our nation on the path to peace and prosperity once again. Here's the question, will putting her name into nomination really unify the party? Or is it going to dig up some old wounds and some old conversation that people really want to put to rest?

SCHNEIDER: Well, that's always been the concern. If the people are voting for her in the convention, will it expose the division in the party? This, you remember was a very close division. They had to go all the way through 54 primaries before the race was actually decided.

Well, the super delegates were almost certainly going to vote en mass for Obama. That's why they are super delegates, to ensure the nomination for the winner.

And by our calculation, Hillary Clinton should get 37 percent of the delegate votes, assuming that Michigan and Florida are allowed to vote at full strength, given their full votes, which Barack Obama has agreed to. So the risk is not great, and the calculation, I think, between the Obama and Clinton campaign is, once the historic statement is made that a woman has won these primaries and these delegates, that the party will unify behind Barack Obama and all the wounds will be set aside.

Well, it will provide some drama, so we'll see what happens.

LEMON: Yes, it's pretty unusual that some of this is happening. Also, we are hearing this. And maybe you can talk to us about it, Bill, that there may be some change to the actual delegate voting process? Are you hearing about that possibility?

SCHNEIDER: Well, I'm hearing about discussion. Nothing is settled; nothing is definite. They're having a discussion about the possibility of electronic voting so that the tabulation is recorded: how many votes Clinton gets, how many votes Obama and others get. And we'll just see the tally of the votes, rather than the traditional voice roll call.

Now, I've been to a whole lot of conventions, and I've never seen an electronic one. I doubt that it will happen this time. That would remove any prospect for drama. You know, all those wonderful moments of the convention when the delegates stand up and a roll is called. Alabama, and they say, you know, how many votes for Clinton, how many votes for Obama? And sooner or later Guam gets up. And they say, "I'm for Guam, where America's day begins." That's part of the traditional color of the convention. We would miss that. And I don't think we're going to miss it this time.

LEMON: Speaking of color, I like the way you say Alabama. No one does it like our senior political analyst, Mr. Bill Schneider.

Bill, have fun in the Election Express.

SCHNEIDER: I've been to a lot of conventions.

LEMON: You make it look really easy, my friend. Enjoy yourself. Thank you.

KEILAR: Leading our political ticker, a move that could anger conservative Republicans. John McCain floating the idea of picking a running mate who supports abortion rights.

McCain opposes abortion, but he tells "The Weekly Standard" the party shouldn't require all of its candidates to feel the same way. McCain campaigned earlier this week with former Pennsylvania governor, Tom Ridge, who supports abortion rights, and Ridge is seen as a potential running mate for McCain.

The world's biggest retailer is accused of trying to throw its weight around illegally in this fall's election. The AFL-CIO and other labor groups are filing a complaint against Wal-Mart today with the Federal Election Commission. They accuse the company of warning store managers and department heads that Democratic victories would hurt the company, because Democrats would pass laws favoring labor unions. Wal-Mart is denying that it broke any laws.

And on CNN Saturday night, John McCain and Barack Obama on the same stage for the first time, back to back in a live forum moderated by Pastor Rick Warren. Be sure to catch it live right here on CNN. That's Saturday night at 8 Eastern.

LEMON: That will be very interesting to watch.

America's complexion, by the way, is changing. New census figures show a big shift that soon will leave whites in the minority. CNN's Alina Cho looks at the numbers for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This census report came out at midnight, and the surprising projection is that by the year 2042 -- that's eight years sooner than earlier estimates -- minorities will indeed become the majority, and eight years after that, by 2050, minorities are expected to make up 54 percent of the population.

Now, this is most evident in the Hispanic population, which will nearly triple from nearly 47 million today to nearly 133 million by 2050, making up 30 percent of the population, versus 15 percent today.

Now, the Asian population will rise from about 5 to 9 percent of the total, and the black population will go up slightly from 14 percent to 15 percent.

The U.S. population overall will rise to more than 400 million from about 300 million today.

So what's going on? Well, a couple of factors, the most significant being immigration and higher birthrates among immigrants. Another statistic is that the white population is aging. The number of people over 85 will triple in the next 40 years.

Baby Boomers are certainly living longer. America's face is changing and, of course, that raises a lot of questions about quality of life. Things like traffic, social services, education. Of course, there are language issues. With so many people, how will the U.S. deal with the influx? There are no easy answers.

Alina Cho, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: See this little boy here? He is alive today against odds that put his chances of survival at zero. Your heart will be broken and warmed when you hear his story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Well, this one sounds like only in the movies, but apparently, it may be in real life. What do a famous TV chef, a Supreme Court justice and a Chicago White Sox catcher all have in common? All of them were spies.

The government file of Julia Child was among thousands released today for the first time. She worked for the OSS, the precursor to the CIA. And apparently, before she was cooking up French souffles, Child helped cook up a repellent to keep sharks from detonating explosions meant for German -- U.S. boats during World War II.

Brianna is smiling a lot here.

Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg was also one of about 24,000 spies who worked for the OSS.

As was Chicago White Sox catcher Moe Berg. While Berg's batting average wasn't great, only .243, his Japanese and German language skills were much better than that. One of his missions involved a potential assassination plot against a Nazi scientist who was thought to be developing an atomic bomb.

Now, later on today in "THE SITUATION ROOM," Wolf Blitzer will have more on the OSS files, secret no more.

KEILAR: That is just wild, isn't it?

LEMON: Yes, it is.

KEILAR: Wow.

Well, the government today told us something we already know every time we pump gas or go to the grocery store. Susan Lisovicz on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with more on the latest reading on inflation.

Hi, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Brianna.

The annual rate of inflation, the annual rate of inflation now stands at a 17-year high, a 5.6 percent increase from this time a year ago. Even the month-to-month jump was noticeable. Up 1 percent, that's about double what most economists had expected.

The biggest culprit, of course, energy prices. They're up about 30 percent from a year ago. But Brianna, even when you strip out energy prices and food prices, the core rate still rose -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes, that's really worrisome, right, Susan?

LISOVICZ: It is because that's the problem about inflation. It can be viral. Companies may absorb the costs. It may eat the higher costs that they're paying only for so long. And then it gets passed on to us. And we are seeing increases, month-to-month increases all across the board: clothing, transportation, airline fares, hotel rates.

And the problem here is our wages, most of our wages are not increasing at a 5.6 percent annual rate. So we are not keeping up with the inflation rate. And that is something that is really worrisome.

Meanwhile, on Wall Street, we're seeing some inflated prices. There's some bargain hunting after a couple of days of tough gains -- tough losses. The Dow is up 146 points; the NASDAQ is up 28; and oil is down $2.50, Brianna. I think one of the reasons why is that, as we get these worrisome numbers, there's -- there's a sense that Americans will continue to drive less and use less energy.

The next hour, inflation may be on the rise, but housing prices continue to decline. Yet another worrisome part of the economy.

Brianna, back to you.

KEILAR: All right. We'll check in with you in an hour. Thanks, Susan.

LEMON: Let's talk now about consumer complaints about gas stations. They have shot up right along with gas prices, but the complaints keep coming even as prices are falling, and that keeps gas inspectors going.

Here's CNN's Allan Chernoff.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Inspector Bill Bell is checking for tampering. If the state seals are missing, he knows the pump is suspect.

BILL BELL, SUFFOLK COUNTY WEIGHTS AND MEASURES INSPECTOR: So long as it's on the pump, we know no one's been tampering with the inside of the pump.

CHERNOFF: It's rare to find such a violation, says Bell. More common: a mechanical problem that could shortchange consumers. So from every nozzle, Bill and his partner, Joe Wood, pump five gallons into a precise five-gallon container.

(on camera) So he is giving a little bit of gas away.

JOSEPH WOOD, SUFFOLK COUNTY WEIGHTS AND MEASURES INSPECTOR: About a teaspoon full.

CHERNOFF: How often do you find that five gallons pumped here is not really five gallons?

WOOD: I would probably say 1 in 100. And it's probably more likely to be over than under. Under is even more rare.

CHERNOFF (voice-over): It did happen at this Mobile station in Texas last month. Inspectors found every single pump was shortchanging motorists by just a bit.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This pump has no longer got the state seal of approval of being accurate.

CHERNOFF (on camera): The inspectors are also checking for pump jump and pump creep. Pump jump is when the price at the pump starts climbing before you even start pumping. And pump creep is when the price keeps on going up even after you stop pumping.

(voice-over) It's most common, say inspectors, at no-name dealers who sometimes do a poor job maintaining their machinery. Inspectors also take samples to be analyzed in a lab for quality.

After water was found a few weeks ago in the gas at this station in Port Jefferson, New York, the owners shut down. And New Jersey inspectors recently found 350 violations in the 1,000 gas stations they checked.

ANNE MILGRAM, NEW JERSEY ATTORNEY GENERAL: That obviously concerns us enormously, because that means that a third of the gas stations have a problem and are not complying with the law. And that's bad for consumers.

CHERNOFF: To avoid problems, Bill and Joe say buy brand-name gas and, if possible, pump your own.

Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: A championship lineup. They've trained for most of their young lives, but are some so young the China fudged their ages so they could compete? Rumor, innuendo and outright accusations are flying.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: OK. We're following a couple of breaking stories for you today right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

This one is live from Indianapolis. Take a look at this. You remember yesterday we were looking at the scaffolding or at least this platform of window washers collapsing and them getting stuck. Same thing happening again here in Indianapolis.

This is a 31-story building, the M & I bank building in Indianapolis, downtown. And these workers are hanging here again stuck, and they are trying to be rescued. You can see some of the firefighters and rescue people there getting ahold of this one guy. This video just in. We're looking at live pictures before. They're hanging near the top of this 31-story building. The scaffolding that was hanging almost vertically along the side of the building for several windows was broken there. These are live pictures now. Live pictures, these people hanging, at least 29, 30, maybe 31 floors -- stories above the ground in Indianapolis.

OK, hold that thought. Because we're going to take you now to Boston.

A Boston area, this is courtesy of our affiliate WHDH. A crane has collapsed. It was being disassembled for shipment. And a piece of it collapsed, that's according to the fire department in Quincy. One person was transported to the Quincy hospital and according to the fire department there, the victim's health condition is unknown at this point.

The victim had claimed to have been seen or seen other individuals with him at the time of that crash according to the fire department. They are searching for one missing person. So we've got Boston, with a crane collapse and then we've got Indianapolis, with a window washer platform again collapsing. We're following those two developing stories for you right here today in the CNN NEWSROOM.

And also this other stories. A confusing situation in Des Moines. Three children rescued by police from a hostage situation involving a man believed to be their father. Two women are dead, including at least one who is acquitted -- acquainted, I should say, with the father. The man was taken to the hospital. His condition is unknown.

Hot spots linger in the charred remains of a residential complex in suburban Philadelphia. More than 350 people have been displaced, 125 residents residences were destroyed there. The cause of the fire isn't quite clear yet.

And Kwame Kilpatrick, you know, the mayor of Detroit. Well, did he get a free pass? He got a free pass to attend the Democratic Convention coming up. The judge has modified terms of the Detroit mayor's bond for multiple alleged felonies. We're following all of these stories.

KEILAR: Russian tanks barrelling through a non-Russian city, but one described to us as fully under Russia control. It's Goergia's invasion crisis that has the United Nation's leadership quote, extremely concerned. This U.S. Air Force cargo plane landed with relief supplies, the first of many to come, touching down in the Georgian capital today. More than a 115,000 thousand people are reported displaced by the fighting. As you can imagine, they need food and medicine and shelter.

And American diplomacy is at work to try to end the conflict. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in France today. She is publicly urging Russia to honor the cease-fire agreement and she'll be traveling next to Georgia.

Well, this past week in Georgia, it's been trauma, tragedy and even though it's not a declared war, this conflict has delivered all of the personal horror of one.

From the start some of the most powerful images we have seen of the human impact of this conflict came from the camera of a Yuri Kozyrev, photographer for "TIME" magazine, joining us now on the phone.

Yuri, thanks for being with us. And tell me, I know, you haven't been traveling with the Russian military. But you've seen them everywhere. Tell me where you have been and what you have seen.

YURI KOZYREV, "TIME" PHOTOGRAPHER: Well, unfortunately I was late. And when I ride by myself and it was on Monday. And I saw a lot of military, Russian military on the ground. I saw the local. It was amazing, actually. You know, Thursday, when they were coming out of the base ground. It was like a huge, huge military (AUDIO GAP) a lot of, you know, (AUDIO GAP) the town is completely destroyed.

KEILAR: And Yuri, tell us, we're looking at your photographs right now. Tell us, what city were you when you took them and where are you now?

KOZYREV: Well, it's the capital of South Ossetia, Tskhinvali. It's the main target for the Georgian troops.

KEILAR: And --

KOZYREV: It's where the tragedy actually happened.

KEILAR: So this is in South Ossetia, the breakaway region, the zone of conflict as it's been called. I want to pull up some of the individual pictures that you took. The first one I'd like if we could pull up is a picture of a woman. She's near three coffins.

Tell us, Yuri, what is going on here?

KOZYREV: Yes, it's one of the victims. You know, it's one of the family who lost three members.

When I arrived to the town, I just driving around tried to take as many pictures as possible. And I saw her weeping with three boys inside. And it was put on fire so it's really hard to recognize the boys. Nobody knew who this -- who died.

And the same day, like three hours later, they -- I was at the same spot and they told me that finally they found their family. So I visit the family and it was like the first minutes when they brought those coffins. So this woman, she lost two children, two daughters and her husband. So they were killed. And then the Georgian troops put on fire their vehicle. I don't know why but that's what happened.

KEILAR: And this is, Yuri, this is so much of what you were capturing. It gives us just an idea looking into the impact on one family.

Yuri Kozyrev, who is taking photographs in the conflict zone for "TIME" magazine. Thanks so much for taking time out to chat with us in the middle of this.

Mikhail Gorbachev weighing in on the crisis between Russia and Georgia. The man who helped end the Cold War, shares his views on this latest threat to world stability and America's involvement. That's "LARRY KING LIVE" CNN tonight, 9:00 Eastern.

LEMON: And the U.S. Navy is formally charging six sailors with abusing Iraq detainees. It allegedly happened here at Camp Bucca in Iraq. All six service members face possible court-martial. The Navy is investigating an incident where the sailors reportedly assaulted or mistreated 10 Iraqi detainees. Court proceedings against the accused could begin within the next 30 days.

KEILAR: An Iraqi boy, just a toddler, actually, went on a life or death journey. And thanks to the kindness of strangers, he emerged on the other side. If you've never believed in miracles, you may want to hold that thought and watch this report from CNN's Arwa Damon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 2 year-old Safat (ph) is about to undergo surgery he may not survive. Frankly, we are afraid, his father says. It's a major operation and his tumor is a big one. Doctors at the King Hussein Cancer Center in Jordan, had never seen anything like it.

DR. IYAD SULTAN, KING HUSSEIN CANCER CENTER: We really don't know what will happen when we open Safat's abdomen and get this tumor out. Safa has a chance of survival, definitely. So, today particularly, the day in Safat's life.

DAMON: His parents give their child what they fear could be a final good-bye. We first met Safa and his family in Baghdad. His tumor was among the most treatable in children. But despite a year of chemotherapy, it kept growing and doctors in Iraq said there was nothing more they could do.

Iraq's decrepit medical institutions and the emigration of (INAUDIBLE) medical professionals, means that many curable diseases end in death. Safat's story came to the attention of the Ray Tye Medical Foundation in Boston. It offered to help whether to provide money for treatment or just to help little Safat to die in peace. So Safat and his family made the journey to Jordan, for what would literally be life or death surgery.

Safat's tumor was almost as much as his tiny, frail body. About 5 kilograms or 12 pounds. As doctors began the operation, his parents waited. Praying for a miracle, but fearing the worst. The surgery lasted five hours. And it was a success. His mother Manad (ph) can barely express her happiness.

Safat still has a lengthy recovery ahead of him. But his parents know he is lucky just to have the chance of life. They will always be grateful that the kindness of strangers saved their son, an opportunity denied to so many other Iraqi children.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: And if you want to learn more about the foundation and the hospital that stepped in to save that little boy and others, just visit our Impact Your World page at CNN.com/impact.

LEMON: Aww, he's cute.

KEILAR: Oh, adorable.

LEMON: The curious case of Kwame Kilpatrick one scandal after another, after another, after another for Detroit's embattled mayor. We'll talk with a former supporter who's finally seen enough.

KEILAR: And vacation souvenirs you could live without. Strange diseases, debilitating illnesses. What to do if you get sick while visiting another country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: So we're just talking here, it's happened to the best of us, even happened to me. Everybody sitting on this desk. Appendicitis in Amsterdam; bronchitis in Beijing; migranes in Milan. There are few things worse than getting sick on vacation, especially if you are overseas.

And our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here with tips on traveling healthy. First though, Elizabeth, you have some nightmare vacation stories to share from some of our viewers.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: We do. Do you remember on your show I said send me some e-mails about your nightmares --

LEMON: Oh, and they did it?

COHEN: Oh, boy! Did the ever! All the details. I know it all. I heard about, let's see, getting sick from raw shellfish in China; losing seven pounds in fluids overnight. Yikes. A root canal in Guatemala. Where do you go to get a root canal when you're in the middle of Guatemala? Prostate infection on the Baltic Sea and take a look at this woman. This is Judy Armstrong, she lives in Colorado. she was hiking in the Amazon in Brazil. She broke her leg as you can see, tore all the ligaments in her ankle and had to be carried off the mountain by four very nice and very strong Brazilians.

LEMON: I'm sorry.

COHEN: Yes, I know. The poor thing. But you know what? She recovered fine, she's doing well.

These people are veterans for what to do when you're sick overseas. If you want to hear some of their tips for what to do when things go wrong and you're not at home, go to CNN.com/health. My column is up there right now with all of the information.

LEMON: Yes. But I want to hear from you.

What can we do to be healthier, seriously, on vacation?

COHEN: What experts told me is that you want to think about this before you leave. OK? Think about it before you go. Here are tips for what to do.

First of all, take antibiotics with you if you're going to a place where you're worried about the food or the water. Because if you start feeling sick, you can take them right away. Actually, Brianna, has a story about that. Also consider buying travel insurance. Your U.S. insurance may mean nada -- nothing -- zilch -- when you get overseas and you're going to have to come up with cold hard cash.

Also, watch where you swim. And you what, Don? I hadn't really thought about this. I mean, you think about what you're going to eat and drink, but someone, another one of these people who wrote to us said she took a dive into a lake in Brazil and immediately realized that it was used as the sewer for the little rural village there and became quite ill. Sorry, (INAUDIBLE). I mean, sometimes you have to be graphic, right?

LEMON: I had a diving accident before I came to work here. OK, so. And which brings me to my next point. Adventure vacations, big deal, everybody's doing them.

So give us some tips if you're like, you know, I'm going to go hiking or mountain climbing, or I don't know, repelling from mountains.

COHEN: Yes. Sometimes you're going to repel off a mountain where there's political disruption.

LEMON: OK.

COHEN: And so you want to think about that. Before you go to a place where things maybe aren't so stable, go to the state department and we give you the specific URL that you want to go to. They post alerts for various parts of the world. And did you know you can actually register your trip with the state department. If you're going to some place that's not very safe and you want someone to know where you are at all times, you can actually register your trip and we have the web site for that, as well.

LEMON: All these things you're telling us about all these people, did their nightmares have happy endings?

COHEN: I am glad to say that almost every single person who e- mailed us, they all said that they were very happy with the care they got. And they were really happy that it was so cheap.

This guy who got sick in China, he spent a day in the hospital, paid nothing. Another person with a skin infection in Singapore, several days, also paid nothing. They said they were amazed or maybe the most someone paid was like $200. I mean $200 in the U.S. hospital, I don't think they'll give you an aspirin. So, people were very impressed.

KEILAR: Well, that is good advice. And mine -- I second that. Take the antibiotics with you. I didn't. I got salmonella in Peru, in November.

COHEN: And your finance did and he was much better off.

KEILAR: Whoo! He took the antibiotics, I wasn't prepared.

COHEN: There you go.

KEILAR: I was the one who ended up in the clinica.

LEMON: Did you bring the jalapeno peppers back? Is that what happened?

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Thanks, Brianna. Thank you, Elizabeth.

KEILAR: Well, you run into them all of the time, maybe you're even one of them. Those people who cannot put down their Blackberrys even when they're on vacation. Doctors say that only creates more stress and that's not healthy at all. You need time to unwind, relax, and reconnect with your loved ones.

LEMON: OK.

China's golden gymnasts. They took the team competition, but were all of them old enough to be on that team? That's the question, lots of accusations still flying over this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: It is time for the Olympic medal count. Team USA and China still trading turns in the top spot. After today's events, China has got 35 total medals, the United States has 34. But the host team is widening its edge on the gold. South Korea remains in third place where it's been for days, but not it's got some company. Australia moving up into a tie with 16 medals.

China has been vaulted into a big controversy over some of its teeny tiny female gymnasts. They won the team gold, but some of them allegedly weren't old enough to even be competing. Today, an "Associated Press" report adding fuel to the fire -- "A.P." says it found an article published by Chinese state media last November that gave one of the athletes ages as 13, three years short of what it should be for her to compete.

More on her and the controversy 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 Haku 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 underage. These are the girls raising eyebrows. According to their passports, they are all 16. But the "Times" reports a 2006 biography on Haku (ph), listed her birthday as 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's 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 16 either.

(on camera): One of these girls is 68 pounds. Do you know of any 16-year-olds that are 68 pounds?

DEBBIE JOHNSON, GYMNASTICS 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're much bigger. They average maybe 100 pounds, 110 pounds, 5'2, 5'3, 5'4, in that range.

KAYE (voice-over): A Chinese gymnastics official reportedly suggested sports writers in China got the ages wrong, insisting their passports are valid.

(on camera): The Chinese team's average size is 4'9, 77 pounds. The gymnasts from the U.S. are about three-and-a-half inches taller and 30 pounds heavier. Only one American, Shawn Johnson, stands shorter than 5'0 and weighs under 100 pounds.

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's not how legendary gymnastics coach Bela Karolyi sees it. The man who once coached 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, FORMER U.S. GYMNASTICS COACH: What is obvious is that half of the Chinese team is underage. But -- the thing is over with. Nobody could really prove (INAUDIBLE) because they have the passport 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 the 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)

KEILAR: No comment from Chinese state media about today's "A.P." report. But earlier they had this to say -- quote -- "Before the Beijing Olympic games, there were already foreign media writing articles on the age of China's female gymnastics team. The team reacted quickly and have clarified with abundant evidence that all girls of the team were born before December 31st, 1992."

LEMON: OK. So, Brianna, the Spanish Olmypic basketball team is facing some heavy pressure off the court. Asian rights groups are blasting the athletes for a photo where they're all doing a slanted eye gesture. Players say one of the teams' commercial sponsors asked that they pose that way for an ad. Two team members, who play in the NBA, have apologized for causing any offense. They say it was meant to be light-hearted, not racist. We'll talk about this next hour with our guest, Carmen Van Kerckhove. She heads up the consulting firm that deals with issues on race.

KEILAR: The curious case of Kwame Kilpatrick. One scandal after another for Detroit's embattled mayor. We'll talk with a former supporter who's finally seen enough.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)