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Upcoming Winter's Heating Bills to Increase; Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Georgia Today; Update on the Elections: McCain and Obama to Debate Saturday Night; Siberian Husky Swallows Fork and Survives

Aired August 15, 2008 - 10:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning once again, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. Tony Harris is off today.
Stay informed all day right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Here's what's on the run down.

Hit by a van. Run over by a bus. A crowd lifts that bus off a traffic officer hoping to save the pregnant woman.

Barack Obama making waves and heading back. The trails to face John McCain tomorrow. What about those VP choices? Our guests raring to talk politics.

And pool shark. Michael Phelps makes it six Olympic gold medals today, Friday August 15th, you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Quickly, we want to get you right to the severe weather center. Reynolds Wolf is standing by now. Big tropical disturbance brewing. This could be trouble for the United States, Reynolds, in the next few days.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. You know, it's always this time of year we have to keep a sharp eye on the tropics. Right now, we're watching this area, right near Puerto Rico, San Juan. You can see the Dominican Republic and back towards Haiti. We've got some scattered showers, a few storms there. You're seeing a little bit of moisture right near Haiti that's being kicked up just from one of the sides, just helping push a few waves right near there.

In the higher elevations, it's going to interact with that cooler air. You have that (INAUDIBLE) you have the rain. The thing is, we're going to see more of that, even though right now we don't have any watches or warnings there in effect at this point. I can tell you that people happen to be say in San Juan or in southern part of Puerto Rico this hour are certainly going to be dealing with this heavy rainfall, some heavy surf in the southern end of the island. And as the system draws its way a little bit to the north and to the northwest and some locations just to the west, the Dominican Republic, that rain is going to intensify. Something that we have to watch very carefully.

Now, I can also tell you that our friends at the National Hurricane Center are going to be sending in quite a few planes, reconnaissance aircraft to the system to take a better look at it as we get to the afternoon hours, looking for that center of circulation. This is a non-tropical depression at this point. It is not a tropical storm, certainly not a hurricane but there is every possibility that could indeed occur as we make your way closer into the weekend.

Now, in terms of the path, in terms of the computer models, they do vary quite a bit from place to place. However, most of them are in agreement that the storm is expected to go west and then pull a little bit more to the northwest. Some of the models have it going towards the Florida keys, into say, the straits of Florida and some back over towards say the Bahamas and some of them even farther north towards the Georgia or Carolina coast.

There's a lot that can happen with these systems especially as it interacts with land. As it moves a little bit to the north. If it does follow that path, that goes back over to the warm ocean water. That center of circulation, if it stays in that area, could certainly intensify. We could see this thing really develop, gain some strength, especially over the next 12 to 24 to 48 hours. So there is something that we need to watch very carefully.

Again, Heidi, I don't want to sound like I continue to beat the drum, but it is the time of year that people along all the coastlines, along the eastern seaboard, especially in Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, need to go ahead and take those plans to go ahead and put those hurricane preparedness kits together.

COLLINS: Yes. Absolutely.

WOLF: Certainly, we're nowhere close to the time to evacuate or anything like that, but you need to have that plan in your mind because when these storms draw closer, rapid decisions are very rarely do you make the right choices. So if you have that plan in your head long ahead, then when the time comes to move, you know what to do.

COLLINS: Absolutely.

WOLF: And you can act accordingly.

COLLINS: It always happens to fast.

WOLF: It really does.

COLLINS: Better to have a plan in mind. All right. Reynolds, you got it. Thanks so much. We'll check back later on.

WOLF: Any time.

COLLINS: Ordinary citizens undertake an extraordinary rescue effort in New York. A pregnant traffic officer is hit by a van and then run over by a bus. The woman dies but her baby survives. Thanks to a band of heroes.

Josh Levs joins us now with the details on this. We say that we see a lot of incredible story, but I certainly haven't heard one like this.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's unbelievable, Heidi.

I just got off the phone with the spokesman for the hospital who tells me there are signs of hope for this child. The child remains in critical condition though, three pounds six ounces. So many people all over the country today thinking of this. and obviously, this is leading the New York Web sites.

Let's close in on this screen. I'll show you what's going on here. This is our affiliate NY1, New York 1. Man arrested for hitting, killing pregnant Bronx traffic agent. Over here, we've got "New York Post" saying 30 men and a baby. That's because the rescue story we'll show you nest. And here, this is "The Daily News," saying tragedy's child.

Let's back up a little bit. We'll do into some of the video from the scene which should be in this other screen over here. This is for those of you who know the area or don't, this is in the Bronx, 188th and Webster. It's right near a campus for Fordham University. And this traffic agent was apparently about to leave for lunch when a van hit her, which left her in the middle of the road, too late for a bus to stop. A bus ends up on top of her and we have an eyewitness who will tell you from here what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARY BURGESS, PULLS WOMAN FROM UNDER THE BUS: I was standing across the street when we heard a loud bang and then I heard a second bang and then a third bang. So I walked over to the corner to see what had had happened, and when I got there I seen that somebody was trapped under that bus there. Somebody was saying there was a lady, it was a lady. So what we did, it was like there was 30 to 40 of us, we actually lifted that bus off of her, lifted the bus up, pulled her from under the bus. When we pulled her out and I seen she was pregnant, I just started to want to cry. I swear. I wanted to cry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: The driver has now been charged with criminally negligent homicide and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. And Mayor Bloomberg has weighed in on this. Let's close in on this screen here. This is from our page at CNN.com. Mayor Bloomberg offering his condolences to Sanz husband. And saying he hopes that this child grows up, he will come to understand his mother gave her life serving the city.

And obviously now, Heidi, we are all hoping that this child will grow up and will be healthy and fine.

COLLINS: Yes. Absolutely. Critical condition, as you say. All right. Josh Levs, thanks so much.

LEVS: Thanks.

COLLINS: So, unfortunately, the mother is dead but the baby is still alive. With us to talk more about that part of the story, CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen. All right. Elizabeth, how does this happen?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, two amazing things have happened here. First of all, it's amazing that the sheer impact from the van and then the bus didn't kill that unborn child.

COLLINS: Right.

COHEN: The second thing that's amazing is that during this trauma, during this accident, the mother's heart kept beating. We know that it kept beating because that's the only way that baby would stay alive.

COLLINS: Sure.

COHEN: That is the key thing, for a baby to stay alive in the uterus, the mother's heart has to keep beating. And how that heart kept beating after that woman was hit by a van and then under a bus, I mean, it's truly amazing.

COLLINS: Well, I would imagine it's possible that when the paramedics finally got on the scene after all of these citizens rallied to get that bus off of her, that they might have helped to try to keep the mother's heart beating? We're talking about blood flow here.

COHEN: That's right. Exactly. Blood flow is the key here. And I was talking to an obstetrician who said, you know, they might have intubated her and then given her CPR on the way to the hospital. And then once they got to the hospital, they might have given her medication to help her keep her heart going. We don't know those details but those are possibilities.

COLLINS: All right. Well, I know you'll be following it, and more too on the baby's condition. All right.

Elizabeth Cohen, thank you.

Outrage in a Pennsylvania community over a convicted sex offender's release from prison today. George Fagely served more than 30 years for sex crimes against children. Today he goes free. He won't have to check in with police or wear a tracking device. He won't be on parole and he won't have to register as a sex offender under Megan's law. Last hour we talked with a Harrisburg resident angry over that prospect.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNETTE ANTOUN, CONCERNED RESIDENT: I was outraged. Frankly, I'm not sure that's sealed in stone. The federal statute, I think, it's a Jacob Willaby statute says if they abuse children, upon release, it doesn't say anything about when the crime was committed. It says upon release they must register. Because I think the jury's out on this. They have scars that they say will never go away, and that they have trouble relating to men. They have trouble relating to women. They have trouble relating to anybody. And they're frightened. (END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Annette Antoun talking about the victims of Fagely. Authorities say Fagely is the founder of a religion that advocates using children for sexual gratification.

The Russian invasion of Georgia. The guns are mostly silent this morning but the concerns are growing louder. This morning, Russian troops are still blocking entry into the strategic Georgian city of Gori. That is fueling more doubts about Russia's commitment to a cease-fire and pullback. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in Georgia with a new cease-fire proposal in hand. It would require Russia to immediately withdraw its combat troops.

And new official numbers now on the humanitarian crisis. The United Nations says nearly 120,000 Georgians have been displaced by the fighting.

Let's begin our coverage now on Georgia with the new diplomatic efforts. The Secretary of State, as we mentioned, in the Georgian capital this hour with that new proposal in hand. CNN State Department correspondent Zain Verjee has the very latest.

So Zain, what are U.S. leaders saying about this trip and Condoleezza Rice's trip and the latest on the situation this morning?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, President Bush spoke just a short while ago and said that Russian bullying and intimidation is just not acceptable foreign policy. The President says that "Russia needs to just act responsibly." That the cold war is over and that Russia really has nothing to worry about from the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Unfortunately, Russia has tended to view the expansion of freedom and democracy as a threat to its interests. The opposite is true. Free and prosperous societies on Russia's borders will advance Russia's interests by serving as sources of stability and economic opportunity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERJEE: Now, the U.S. wants a cease-fire deal signed. That's what Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is trying to do. She's meeting right now with the Georgian leader, Mikheil Saakashvili. And it's taking a lot longer to get things wrapped up than anticipated. She also is demanding that Russia get out of Georgia. The U.S., Heidi, does have cards to play. It can pressure Russia, like threatening to kick Russia out of international clubs like the group of eight industrialized nations, an exclusive little club, and suspending contacts with Russia and essentially diplomatically isolating it.

But you know, the Russians may look at the situation on the ground and weigh their own interests and then just not care. One other important thing Secretary Rice is not going to Russia. The message the U.S. is sending by that is that it's not business as usual with Russia and that there will be consequences for this invasion.

COLLINS: Yes. That was very obvious, that she would not be making that trip to Russia. I wonder though if the missile defense deal with Poland could be making things worse.

VERJEE: Well, yes, absolutely. I mean, it's really another big poke in the eye of Russia. The Russians are really angry about that deal, and saying essentially that it's already made things worse, that preliminary agreement between the U.S. and Poland. The U.S. is saying Russia has got nothing to worry about. That's really aimed at Iran having this missile defense shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, but Russia is feeling really threatened. Because it's in its backyard. It would kind of be like the Russians putting a missile defense system in Cuba, in the U.S.'s backyard. The wouldn't like it and it's in a hostile country -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Watching the situation from the State Department for us, Zain Verjee this morning. Thank you, Zain.

Now, let's get the view inside Georgia. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen is in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi. He joins us now.

Frederik, the latest from where you are?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi. We're monitoring the situation here on the ground especially in that strategically very important town of Gori, which, of course, still being held by Russian forces.

What we're hearing from Georgian officials is apparently there are no Russian tanks or Russian troops in the center of town. However, they are telling us that there are Russian forces controlling the roads leading into that town and also out of that town. Of course, therefore, having control over that whole town. They say that the Russian forces are in a military base outside of Gori.

Now, what we're hearing from the Georgian side is apparently they're in negotiations with the Russian forces there in Gori trying to get some sort of transition going there, trying to bring in Georgian police forces to establish what the Georgians civil administration put it back in that town of Gori. And also to try and get the Georgian civil administration put it back into that town of Gori.

I want to give you an update on a couple of other towns in Georgia. The port town of Poti, which is a very important Black Sea port town, apparently there are still Russian tanks in that town. Georgian officials speaking of about 30 Russian tanks there and also you might remember last night there was a Russian tank column that was making its way from a town of Senaki, deeper into Georgian territory. Apparently that tank column at this point is still stationary -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen, staying on top of it for us from Tbilisi. Thank you, Frederik.

And now let's go from Georgia's capital to another strategic point, you just heard Frederik talking about it, that port city of Poti.

CNN's Michael Ware has this exclusive report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on-camera): Despite conflicting reports, Russian troops are not in control of the Georgian seaport city of Poti. However, they have sunk five Georgian Navy and Coast Guard vessels. And as we speak, just behind this wall, a small element of Russian troops and armored vehicles is in control of this part of the harbor. Loading Zodiac inflatable boats onto trucks. Locals say the troops arrived early in the conflict. Their presence quickly followed by bombing, which led to a number of civilian and Georgian military deaths and casualties.

Life appears to be returning to normal here in Poti. However, residents say the Russians are conducting occasional patrols in their armored vehicles. Nonetheless, the question remains what are these troops doing here and when are they going to leave?

Michael Ware, CNN, Poti.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Barack Obama called it a glitch, but the pilots called that incident with his campaign plane last month an emergency. You'll hear them next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Detroit's embattled mayor back in court this morning for the third time this week. A judge will decide whether there's probable cause to try Kwame Kilpatrick on assault charges. Some live pictures there for you inside the courtroom. The case stems from a confrontation with the investigators trying to serve a subpoena. Kilpatrick was in court yesterday on perjury charges. During a hearing a judge told Kilpatrick he could remove his electronic tracking device and attend the Democratic Convention. But later in the day, another judge ordered the mayor to put the device back on. We'll stay on top of that story for you.

Emergency landing on Barack Obama's campaign jet. New details coming out about last month's unscheduled stop in St. Louis. Obama's plane had mechanical problems. Newly released FAA tapes show the pilot no longer had control of the plane, he requested crash equipment standing by.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PILOT: At this time, we'd like to declare this an emergency. And also, have CFR standing by in St. Louis.

TOWER: I will show that and would you, do you have a preference on runways? Would you like runaway 3-0 or runaway 3-0 right?

PILOT: Well, which one is longest?

TOWER: Runaway 3-0 left.

PILOT: OK. We'd like 3-0 left and just for informational purposes, we have Senator Obama on board the aircraft and his campaign.

TOWER: Roger that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: The FAA now admits its earlier statements of no emergency were wrong after the plane landed, Obama joked that they decided to spice things up a little bit. Officials say an evacuation slide had inflated inside the tail of the jet. An investigation of course is under way.

Politics and religion. Barack Obama hoping to make inroads among evangelical voters who overwhelmingly favor Republicans. Take a look at CNN Opinion Research Corporation poll that shows whites, born- agains or evangelical voters favor John McCain over Obama 67 percent to 24 percent. Back in 2004, 78 percent of evangelicals supported President Bush.

COLLINS: Tomorrow night, Barack Obama and John McCain will bid for those evangelical votes at a live forum hosted by pastor Rick Warren. Warren is one of the founders of Saddleback Church. It's 23,000 members make it one of the country's largest. Earlier Warren told CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" what he'll look for in a candidate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. RICK WARREN, PRESIDENTIAL CIVIL FORUM: We're going to look at four different segments, one a segment on leadership. What is the personal character, competence, experience of each of these guys? One section will be on what I call stewardship, which is on the role and responsibility of the presidency, what they believe about the constitution, about the role of America.

We're going to look at a section on world view, which is all of those minefield questions that no matter how you answer them somebody isn't going to like them. And then we're going to look at America's role internationally, how we've been a blessed nation an how should we bless others.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: You can watch that forum live here on CNN. John McCain and Barack Obama together on stage for the first time tomorrow night. Mixing religion and politics live on CNN, 8:00 Eastern.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: A 300-pounder doing a victory lap? It could happen in Beijing. This is one athlete you've got to see. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: The U.S. racking up medals in the pool and now the gym. Our Larry Smith covering the Beijing games has a live update.

Hey there, Larry.

LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi there, Heidi.

For the fist time ever, the U.S. goes gold and silver in the women's all-around individual competition. And what a performance it was by Nastia Luken. She beats her best friend and teammate Shawn Johnson to take the gold in just a tremendous competition. So, again, first-time one-two and they keep China from sweeping the gold in this competition. The Chinese already had won gold team, gold medals and also in the men's all-around. But again it is Luken who takes gold in this.

Speaking of gold, Michael Phelps yet again, six gold medals, six world records. It's like a broken record it seems here. He's breaking records all the way through, this time in the men's 200-meter individual medley. And so he now is one away from tying Mark Spitz's record of seven golds in the same Olympics. Set back in 1972. He will go for that record, tying that record, Friday night east coast time in the men's 100-meter butterfly.

Now, today was the fist day, Friday, of the track and field competition. Well, some of the attention was on Reese Hoffa. You see he is a shot putter who once called himself the unknown shot putter. But now he's very well known in the world of track & field.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SMITH (voice-over): One weighs just a few ounces, the other a hefty 16 pounds. But two-time Olympian Reese Hoffa sees the Rubik's cube and the shot put as the same, as objects that must be conquered.

REESE HOFFA, TWO-TIME U.S. OLYMPIAN: Some of the lessons I've definitely learned is to be very determined. There's going to be a lot of people out there that probably don't believe you can do what you're doing.

SMITH: And few could have predicted Hoffa would be doing this. He was put up for adoption and placed in an orphanage at age four, encouraged by his adoptive family to play sports, he gave up baseball in his junior year of high school to try the shot put and won a state championship in his first year.

DON BABBITT, THROWING COACH, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA: He's kind of known as a guy with a whole lot of potential. But he'd been very hit and miss from time to time. Whereas now, he's turning to be about the most steady shot putter in the world.

HOFFA: I know the person I am, I can do almost anything, just give me enough time. I can do it.

SMITH: It's the same focus that's drawn him to the Rubik's cube, which he can usually solve in less than a minute.

HOFFA: When I first started doing the shot put as a pro, there weren't very many people that thought this guy is going to go 70 feet and you know make his way up to be one of the top in the world. And it's the same thing I got with the Rubik's cube, I just kept doing it and doing it. When I finally did it, it blows everyone's minds. When I finally did it, I'm just -- I'm like a pitbull, I just lock my jaws on it.

SMITH: As the number one ranked shot putter in the world, Hoffa may lock down on a gold medal in Beijing. And if he does, those who know him best expect him to do it with flare.

BABBITT: I remember, you know, when he won the Drake relays one year, he took an impromptu victory lap and the place went crazy. They never saw a guy his size do a victory lap.

HOFFA: I definitely try to bring a little bit of personality to shot putting just to show that we're not just a bunch of guys who go out there, throw, and then just leave. We have personalities and we're a lot of fun to hang out with.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SMITH: Well, the shot put competition is almost completed and Hoffa didn't have his best night. He will not medal in that even. Heidi, let's go back to you.

COLLINS: Darn it. All right. We love the story anyway. Larry Smith, live from Beijing. Thank you.

Bullets peppered the windshield.

Journalists too close to the action in the Georgia war zone.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Quickly want to get over to our Reynolds Wolf who is standing by to talk a little bit more about this tropical disturbance that we've been watching over the last few hours.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Nine days after Russian forces rolled into the former Soviet Republic of Georgia, there are new concerns today. And maybe new hope. Here's what we know.

This morning, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in the Georgian capital Tbilisi. She's delivering a new cease-fire proposal. It would require concessions from Georgia that force a more immediate withdrawal of Russian combat troops. Russia's president says he hopes Georgia will sign it. And new official numbers now on the humanitarian crisis. The United Nations says nearly 120,000 Georgians have been displaced by the fighting.

President Bush speaking out this morning on this conflict. He praised Georgia as a strong ally of the U.S., and blasted Russia for its aggressive actiona.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. GEORGE W. BUSH (R), UNITED STATES: The Cold War is over. The days of satellite states and spheres of influence are behind us. A contentious relationship with Russia is not in America's interest. And a contentious relationship with America is not in Russia's interest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: President Bush says he's being continually briefed both on the diplomatic efforts and humanitarian efforts for refugees.

Danger in the war zone. News crews on the job and under fire. Their harrowing encounters caught on tape.

Josh Levs is joining us now with that dramatic video.

And boy it is -- frightening just seems like such an understatement.

LEVS: It is. Yes. I mean, in some cases -- literally in the line of fire, it's kind of amazing. And this is one of our most popular stories on CNN.com today. In fact, this is where some are watching it. Let me show you the popular list. It's the No. 1 video people are looking at right now. "Bullets fly at news crew's car."

We're going to back up a little bit and we're going to start now with the first piece of really dramatic video. We've got it right here but, let's take it full. I want you to hear and feel what's going on.

(VIDEO CLIP OF NEWS CREWS UNDER ATTACK, COURTESY OF NTV)

LEVS: So here's what you're seeing here. You're seeing members of two different networks inside Turkey, who are in this area, traveling from Gori up into South Ossetia. All of a sudden they're being shot at. One of them says he got hit in the head. I'll let you know right now, we are told that they're all fine. They all made it safely back to Turkey. But obviously, a real scare.

Let's go to the second piece of video now.

(VIDEO CLIP COURTESY OF GEORGIAN PUBLIC BROADCASTING)

LEVS: All right. You heard some popping there. That is Tamara Urushadze, she's with Georgian State Channel. That's run by the government. She says she was shot at. We were able to hear those popping sounds that you just heard. And look at her arm, here. You'll see there was some sort of superficial wound there. We believe it was only superficial. But again, something happened there. We can't know whether she was targeted. But we know something obviously happened. She, by the way, puts her flak jacket on and keeps going, returns to her live shot.

One more piece of video now, from RUSTAVI 2.

(VIDEO CLIP COURTESY OF RUSTAVI 2, NEAR GORI, GEORGIA)

I'm going to keep talking at the beginning, I want you to know what this is. This is a private channel inside Georgia. And we are told that this group, who was working to cover the crisis, they were just near Gori. And what happens is a civilian who is driving a car with South Ossetian plates is about to show up. You'll see him, he's wearing fatigues. And he's carrying a weapon which he will then point at the crew.

And let's watch what happens.

LEVS: And Heidi, what we're told happening there is he ended up actually shooting into the sky, not shooting at them directly. But they believe this was a civilian and they also believe that because he was -- had a car with South Ossetian plates, he may have come from that area.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

We don't know if he was affair THAT they were journalists. Apparently he was apparently trying to car jack. And we are told that there's been a lot of car jacking in that area.

So, clearly a lot of concerns for journalists. If you're interested to learn more about the kinds of concerns that journalists face in war zones all over the world, let me show you a web site before I bring it back to Heidi. This is the Committee to Protect Journalists -- it's cpj.org. Nothing new from this week, but, they total deaths to journalists in countries all over the world each year. You can always check that out -- cpj.org.

And obviously, Heidi, a lot of precautions taken by all journalists in the region. But it's a tremendous concern right now.

COLLINS: Yes, absolutely. Josh Levs, watching that situation for us regarding Georgia and everything that's happening there.

Thank you, Josh.

LEVS: Thanks.

COLLINS: Well, it may be the dog days of summer, but, it's never too early to start worrying about upcoming winter heating bills. Especially since those bills are set to jump this year.

CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow has our Enery Fix from New York.

Hi, Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Hi there, Heidi.

Well, before you crank up the thermostat this winter, think about this: Consumers are expected to pay an average of $1100 to heat their homes this year. That is a 20 percent increase from just a year ago. For people in the northeast it is even worse. Heating costs in that area expected to near $3,000 this year. There are some government programs out there to help pay the bill. There is a low- income home energy assistance program. Also the weatherization assistance program. Both of those help low-income families make their homes a lot more energy efficient, Heidi. So people should definitely check those out.

COLLINS: Yes, definitely. Making your home more efficient is a permanent way to lower bills and it's something that everybody could do.

HARLOW: That's right. It might cost a little bit more upfront, but, you can save of a lot in the long run.

You want to start by getting a home energy audit. You can actually do that yourself. The Department of Energy's web site shows you just how to do it. An audit pinpoints where your home is losing energy, it evaluates the efficiency of your energy system. Keep in mind -- older furnaces they're about 60 percent efficient only. That means about 40 percent of the heat is escaping your home. It's essentially lost.

Now, modern heating systems can be as much as 97 percent efficient. Of course, if you upgrade to one of those, that's an investment. Usually, though, Heidi, it does make more sense for colder climates like Minnesota, as you and I both know well.

COLLINS: Yes, oh, yes. All right.

What about water heating? How much does that actually factor into the bill?

HARLOW: I was surprised when I saw this number. The government actually does say that water heating can account for up to about a quarter of the energy that your home uses.

So, if you consider lowering water temperature, that can help you save a few bucks. A 10 degree reduction will cut your bill by about 5 percent. As for the water heater tank, if it's warm to the touch, consider insulating it. You can get something that I'd never heard of -- a precut jacket or blanket. It costs about $20, or some utility companies will actually give you one for free. You can put that around it, help save some money.

But we want to hear folks' Energy Fixes out there. Tell us. Log-on to ireport.com/energyfix -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. Great. Thanks so much, Poppy. Appreciate that.

Mortgage relief for Iowa's flood victims. Three major mortgage lenders now allowing flood-ravaged homeowners to delay payments for up to three months. No penalties either. Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Citigroup say those eligible must be in declared disaster areas and suffering from financial hardship due to the loss of their home or income in the floods.

A celebrity homeowner in crisis. The Donald -- who else, steps up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: A legal victory for the wife of mega church pastor Joel Osteen. Victoria Osteen was sued by a Continental Airlines flight attendant who accused the pastor's wife of assault during a flight in 2005.

Sharon Brown claimed Osteen got so upset over a drink spill on her that she threw Brown against the door and elbowed her. Osteen testified she never touched Brown. Yesterday the jury agreed, calling the incident a disagreement, not an attack. Brown had been seeking more than $400,000 in damages.

Donald Trump coming to the rescue of Ed McMahon. The developer says he'll buy McMahon mansion and lease it back to the 85 year entertainer. The home has been on the market for two years, listed most recently for $4.6 million. McMahon defaulted on the mortgage and was headed for foreclosure. Trump says he was a fan of McMahon's during his "Tonight Show" days and helping him out would be an honor.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

COLLINS: Could be big trouble brewing in the tropics. Talk about it coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: On the road to next week's Democratic National Convention, in Denver. Senior political analyst Bill Schneider with the Election Express, right now in Des Moines, Iowa.

So Bill, there's a lot of talk, as I'm sure you know, about Hillary Clinton having put in her name for nomination at the convention.

How big an issue is this turning into?

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, the convention could be headed for a big showdown. Or not.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(voice-over): Hillary Clinton says her supporters are looking for catharsis at the convention.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: We do not want any Democrat either in the hall or in the stadium or at home walking away saying, well you know, I'm just not satisfied. I'm not happy.

SCHNEIDER: Clinton's name will be placed into nomination and her delegates will have the opportunity to vote for her. KEATING HOLLAND, CNN POLLING DIRECTOR: The Obama campaign and the Clinton folks put out a joint statement on this which makes it seem like they've struck some sort of peace deal.

SCHNEIDER: Will the vote make the party look united or divided?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: If Hillary Clinton's name is called and she walks to the stage, or, we hear some kind of a roll call and we have Barack Obama supporters booing, that is not what the Democratic party needs.

SCHNEIDER: If the Florida and Michigan delegations have their full votes restored, something Obama now says he favors and if the superdelegates hold fast for Obama, Clinton should get about 37 percent of the votes. That's why superdelegates were create.

HOLLAND: To make sure that the pledged delegates, the regular delegates, had some sort of adult supervision.

PRESTON: Clinton will have the chance to get to the stage and to tell all of her supporters, thank you for helping me make all those cracks in the glass ceiling that's above our heads. We almost made it. But guess what? Barack Obama is our nominee. Let's get behind Barack Obama.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER: If this is a showdown, it's really a scripted showdown. Just like in the movies. And we know how it's supposed to end -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, we do. All right. Bill Schneider with the Election Express. Thank you, bill.

So politics, a hot topic on talk radio always.

With us in Washington, radio talk show host, CNN political contributor, Bill Bennett.

Hey there, Bill.

WILLIAM BENNETT, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Hey.

COLLINS: And Bill Press, host of "The Bill Press Show."

All right, guys.

BILL PRESS, HOST, "THE BILL PRESS SHOW": Hi, Heidi.

COLLINS: I guess the first question is going to be about Hillary, obviously, putting her name in for nomination.

Does it guarantee any sort of Unity? Bill Press, I'll begin with you.

You know what? I think it's a bad idea. I'm an Obama supporter. But, I don't see why -- look, we had a very healthy primary process, God knows it was long enough. Obama won and Hillary lost. And to go to the convention now and re-open that debate I think is like ripping a scab off an old wound and looking backwards.

I really think the convention should show unity and look forward. I don't know why they agreed to this. I think it's a mistake.

COLLINS: Bill Bennett, your thoughts.

Do you think it's a mistake?

BENNETT: I agree with Bill Press for the only time this century.

(LAUGHING)

COLLINS: All right. We're taking notes here.

BENNETT: Shall we move on?

No. You know, I think I know why they did it, which is that she's got power. But, let me stay with Bill's metaphor. We're ripping the scab off. She says that her folks wanted catharsis. Do you remember Greek tragedy? Catharsis usually happens on the stage with catharsis -- there's often a lot of blood.

But the notion they will stick to the script and this will unify the party -- we're talking about the Democratic Party here. And I don't mean this as a criticism. But following scripts is what Republicans do, not what Democrats do.

PRESS: Hey, Heidi, I've got to tell you --

BENNETT: It's tricky, it's dangerous.

PRESS: Bill and Heidi, I will bet you money that in St. Paul, there will be no roll call for Mitt Romney or Mike Huckabee in the John McCain campaign.

BENNETT: We've never met a rule we didn't like. You guys have never met a rule you didn't want to break.

COLLINS: Oh, well there you go.

Hey guys, let's talk about the situation that we certainly can't avoid and that is Georgia -- the crisis there. An opportunity for the candidates to react to this very hot foreign policy situation.

Let's go ahead and listen in to both of them for a moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Russian actions in clear violation of international law have no place in 21st century Europe.

(END VIDEO CLIP) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The United States, Europe and all other concerned countries need must stand united in stemming this aggression.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: OK. So, Bill Press, I'll start with you, again.

How did they do?

PRESS: You know, first of all, I think both candidates pulled together and are behind the White House in their efforts to get a cessation to hostilities and to get things back on track there.

I think this could have played better into John McCain's hand. But, I think McCain has overplayed his hand. You know, he was out there before the White House. At first it sounded like he wanted to start World War III. It turns out his top -- one of his top foreign policy consultants is a lobbyist for Georgia. And now he says he's going to send Joe Lieberman and Lindsay Graham as his envoys to Tbilisi. I think McCain's got to slow down and got to recognize he ain't president yet. This is George Bush's controversy to take care of.

COLLINS: Interesting.

Are you going to agree with him again, Bill Bennett?

BENNETT: Only half. That first part where he said it advantaged McCain.

The interesting thing about this to me is when this broke. I said, you know, we've been talking about China and other things on the radio show. Who's been talking about Russia and seeing this coming? A couple of people, Bob Kagan was one, a couple of Democrats were actually talking about it, Richard Holbrook.

But John McCain's been talking about it for two or three years and so credit to him for seeing that. He's understood what's going on in Russia, he's understood Putin and he has predicted this. I think his position was strong and clear. Obama was shaky at first but has now fallen in, as Bill said, behind the President and in line with what John McCain has been saying.

I think -- I only think this -- I don't mean to score a cheap point on this. But, these situations remind you of what it means to be a president, as the commander in chief. And I think McCain has sounded and looked very good on this and Barack Obama a little unsteady, understandable, given his experience levels, but understandable.

PRESS: But you know, Bill, I think in all fairness, if Barack Obama had sent Susan Rice or his people over to Tbilisi, you and others would be rightly condemning him for such arrogance, for such presumptuous actions as a candidate for president. I think John McCain is guilty of the same thing.

BENNETT: Well, Barack has been everywhere else in the world, except there. I think it would be perfectly fine.

The problem with the Susan Rice was that she started by attacking John McCain and then had to pull back from it. When cooler heads like Holbrook came if and said, look, we've got to be clear on this and unified.

COLLINS: Yes. Obviously there's so much to talk about with this issue.

But something that we're doing today, I want to get to this question real quickly before we let you go. We're focusing some of our coverage on faith and politics.

I want you to look at this poll real quickly, guys. CNN opinion research corporation poll. This is taken July 27th to 29th, hitting McCain against Obama. White Born-Again or Evangelical voters choice for president. You see the numbers there.

Do you think anything that would happen that could change these numbers dramatically? Both your answers, quickly Bill Press first.

PRESS: Yes. I'll tell you what could happen. If John McCain picks a pro-choice running mate like Tom Ridge or Joe Lieberman, I think his numbers are going to evaporate, cut in half.

COLLINS: All right. Bill Bennett?

BENNETT: Oh, lord, more trouble. I agree. Not, evaporate or cut in half.

But yes, if he picks a provide pro-choice candidate, his numbers will go down. I think when people get a real sense of Barack Obama on the issue of life, that he's to the left of the NARAL, I think his numbers could go down, too.

But, let me give a promo like everyone else is, to this debate Saturday night.

PRESS: Absolutely.

BENNETT: I think it's going to be fascinating. I hope Rick Warren doesn't take a dive and I hope he asks the tough questions about tough issues because he's got a singular kind of authority on these kinds of things now. Be very interesting to see.

COLLINS: All right. Well, hey, I like this. The two Bills. Maybe we should talk further about this, you guys.

BENNETT: Apparently interchangeable.

COLLINS: Yes. Well, apparently today.

PRESS: The dueling Bills. COLLINS: That's right. The Dueling Bills.

Bill Press and Bill Bennett, appreciate your thoughts.

And as Bill Bennett was saying, want to give you a reminder now. You can watch that forum live, here on CNN. John McCain and Barack Obama together on stage for the first time tomorrow night, mixing religion and politics. That's live on CNN 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

To this now, a dog in distress. And this fork was causing the problem. This beautiful Husky has an odd appetite.

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COLLINS: Talk about biting off more than you can chew. Meet Apache; a dog for a taste for utensils. About two weeks ago, Apache ate a fork. Never a good thing. But, for Apache, the situation was dire. Vets discovered the fork had pierced a vein in his chest and was causing bleeding around his lungs. They rushed Apache into surgery, removed the fork and gave him multiple blood transfusions. We are now happy to report Apache survived and is doing great.