Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Evangelical Rally; Russia-Georgia Peace Deal; Tropical Storm Fay
Aired August 16, 2008 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN NEWSROOM, hello to you all on this Saturday morning. This is the NEWSROOM. And I'm T.J. Holmes standing by at the international desk this morning where we're keeping an eye on a lot of big stories.
RANDI KAYE, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: Hi there, T.J. I'm Randi Kaye in for Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And, again, like I said here, all of our editors and producers here keeping an eye on the major stories happening around the world. And, of course, one we're keeping a close, close eye on what's happening in the region of Georgia and Russia, where fighting has been going on.
Well, the Russian tanks are on the move. We're trying to figure out if this is exactly a power play or a move toward peace. We'll take it to you live in just a moment.
KAYE: Also happening now, the call on the mall. Live pictures of thousands of Evangelical voters rally in Washington. We'll go there to find out what impact they could have on the presidential race.
HOLMES: And a lot of you who are just joining this morning, news just in that we got this morning may suggest that there may be an end to the hostilities in Georgia where the fighting has been going on for about a week.
Officially the fighting had ended because a cease-fire agreement has now been signed. President Bush, however, is expected to brief reporters from his Crawford, Texas ranch in a short time -- actually briefing them right now. He's speaking to reporters. We'll bring you those comments as we get them on tape. We'll be able to turn it around and bring it to you as soon as we have them.
But earlier this morning, as I said, we learned that Russia signed a six-point cease-fire agreement with Georgia. Georgia, Abkhazia and South Ossetia had already signed that same agreement.
A troubling note here, though. Moscow is saying it is not happy about a preliminary missile defense deal between the U.S. and Poland. A Russian general says such installation would be primary target in the war.
We want to head now to our Frederik Pleitgen who's live for us. He's been reporting for us near the capital of Tbilisi -- well, they're in the capital of Tbilisi there in Georgia. Frederik, we have this cease-fire agreement in place now. Has there been any sign on the ground that things have been dramatically changing with forces, with troops around now that we do have this cease-fire agreement in place?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, T.J., in fact, we've just gotten some very fresh information there from the frontlines. They come from a town of Kaspi, which is very, very close here to the capital of Tbilisi and that is actually the frontline where Georgian and Russian troops meet.
What I heard there from our reporter on the ground -- he said that Russian forces there are indeed beginning to pull back their forces closer up north back to that other strategically very important town of Gori.
We heard reports earlier that Russians weren't moving, yet now there appears to be some movement going on. But the big question is whether that is really the actual pullout going on or whether that is just the Russian forces redeploying their troops somewhere else, doing some internal troop movement there.
We're keeping a very close eye on that situation. I'll give you an update on that a little later on.
Now I have some other information as well, because, apparently, the Russian forces before leaving there exploded a bridge over a river near that town of Kaspi earlier today. That's what Georgian authorities are telling us. We just got -- now got confirmation from our own reporter on the ground that indeed that bridge had been blown up.
On the whole, what we've been seeing on the ground is that there's still a substantial number of Russian forces in that area, in the town of Gori, also substantial number in towns around Senaki, it doesn't look like they'll be pulling out any time soon -- T.J.
HOLMES: Well, again, we appreciate you bringing us that new bit of information. Some of the Russian troops are moving and pulling back. We're not exactly sure where they're pulling back to.
Thank you for keeping an eye on that.
But also update our viewers if you can, Frederik, about some of the humanitarian issues that are happening there. We know a lot of this -- this fighting has affected the lives of the day-to-day Georgians. Tell us how that's being dealt with.
PLEITGEN: Well, you know, the humanitarian situation on the ground is still very difficult. I've been talking a lot to relief agencies like the United Nations. They're now trying to set up some tent cities for displaced people here within this country but they say they are absolutely frustrated with the situation on the ground.
They say there's still many towns that they cannot get to. One of them is that strategically important town of Gori that's still being controlled by Russian forces, although their forces aren't in the city center. They're more on the outskirts.
And also, those other areas like Southern Ossetia, the breakaway province where so much fighting and such heavy fighting raged over the last couple of days. They say there's a lot of people there, probably tens if not even hundred thousand displaced here in Georgia alone.
Many tens and thousands also displaced that moved up to the Russian side of things. And they say they're having a lot of trouble getting humanitarian aid to them. But what's even more important, they say, T.J., they're also having trouble going in there and getting people out who are in need of medical attention -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Again, our Frederik Pleitgen for us in the capital of Tbilisi.
Frederik, we appreciate you and the updates and work you're doing there for us this morning. Thank you so much. We'll check back with you.
Also we want to let our viewers know, again, that President Bush, after getting a briefing from his Secretary of State Condoleezza rice who was in that region a few days this week -- he is to brief reporters. That briefing going on right now. We're expecting to get tape, video sound from that briefing. As we get it, we will turn around and bring it to you quick.
KAYE: Faith, religion and politics. Barack Obama hoping to build support among Evangelical voters who overwhelmingly favor Republicans.
Take a look, a CNN Opinion Research Corporation poll shows white born again or Evangelical voters favor John McCain over Barack Obama, 67-24 percent.
The focus will be on faith for the presidential candidates tonight. They'll take part in a forum hosted by well-know pastor, Rick Warren, that you can see live right here on CNN.
Barack Obama and John McCain will make a brief joint appearance -- their first of the campaign. But Warren will interview each candidate separately.
Christian conservatives are gathering on the National Mall in Washington right now for a day-long rally. And we expect to hear from a former presidential candidate.
Kate Bolduan joins us live with all the details.
Kate?
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Randi. Yes, we will be hearing from former presidential candidate and pastor, Mike Huckabee, a little later this morning.
But, first, let me just show you this crowd. I see hundreds here. They do expect thousands. And every time I look back, I see more and more people coming here. This is an annual event that organizers say is more about returning to core Evangelical values than it is about politics, but they do say part of today is about getting to these core issues like same-sex marriage, issues like abortion, getting them back into the political discussion.
Because this (INAUDIBLE) this group that is traditionally a lock for Republican Party, they say that they don't know -- they're sure exactly where the candidates stand and they want to hear them come out and to hear them address their issues more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY PERKINS, PRESIDENT, FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL; Clearly pro-life conservatives Christian, social conservatives, whatever you want to call them -- orthodox Christians -- are moving toward John McCain. His reluctance to talk about his record on those issues, though, is keeping it from having a clear line of distinction.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: That's Tony Perkins. He is the leader in the Evangelical community and one of the speakers that we'll be hearing from today here on the National Mall.
Now the polls -- they do show, as you mentioned, that John McCain does lead Barack Obama in support for Evangelical voters, but the polls also show that Evangelical community remains a little unsure about where John McCain stands on these issues.
And let's take a look here. This is -- this really shows the cross section of the Evangelical community. And what I have been hearing from the people I've been speaking to is exactly what we're talking about. They want to hear the candidates speak more about issues they care about, address especially, number one, their stance on abortion.
And there's no question, Randi, that today, even if they don't think the candidates are addressing as much as they think they -- these issues as much as they think they should, both candidates are going to be focusing squarely on these issues tonight. It all starts right here on the National Mall -- Randi.
KAYE: All right, Kate Bolduan for us this morning on the mall. And we do want to mention that former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is also going to be speaking there today and we will bring that to you when he does.
HOLMES: Our senior political analyst Bill Schneider is on the road to Denver Democratic convention. You know what's happening there. Coming up pretty soon. There -- oh he is rolling. He's aboard the CNN Election Express just outside Des Moines, we're told, right now.
Tell us exactly where are you, Bill? How are things going out there on the road?
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: We're in Kansas City. I could sing but it's a little too early. HOLMES: I hear you. We don't want you to. Well, we're talking about faith and politics and faith and religion and the presidential race. Well, tell us here, is it as cut and dry as it used to be? People thought Evangelical voters, they would be voting along these core social issues.
Is that the case anymore or do people believe Barack Obama and does Barack Obama believe he has an opening here?
SCHNEIDER: Well, it's not very sharply divided as it has been in recent years. Evangelicals really came into political power with Ronald Reagan in 1980 who reached out to them, made them part of the Republican coalition, and that's where they have been for the last 30 years. They've been some -- among some of the most reliable Republican Party supporters.
This year things are a little bit less divided. But one thing they don't entirely trust John McCain. He's with them on some important issues like abortion. He has always been an abortion rights opponent. But on some of the issues they don't really think they see eye to eye. He has said some things that they don't like, insulting some previous religious right leaders like Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell.
And Barack Obama insists that he's not an enemy or a threat to Evangelical voters. So it's not as deeply divided as it has been in the past and we have a new generation of Evangelical leaders like Rick Warren who will be hosting the forum tonight who says he still has conservative social but he has a broader agenda including issues like poverty, human rights and global warming. So it's changing, really, on both sides.
HOLMES: Well, I'll get one more in here to you while I can -- while you're rolling along there. What -- this forum this evening, this is going to be a one-time voters or the first time, I guess, where voters can see these two back to back really and really compare how these two think on some of these social issues.
What do we expect these two to do tonight on stage? What do they have to do?
SCHNEIDER: Well, I think McCain has to assure Evangelical voters that on basic issues he's with them. He's their friend. He should be entirely (INAUDIBLE) to that.
And as we just heard in that poll, two-thirds of them are now supporting him. Not quite as much support as George Bush got in 2004. He got 78 percent of the Evangelical vote, but McCain is still doing well. He's just has to reassure them.
Barack Obama -- I don't think he's going to get their vote. He has to -- reassure them he's not a threat, that he's not a danger.
HOLMES: Right. Our Bill Schneider aboard the Election Express as it literally rolls down the road. We're going to check in with you hopefully again while you're driving and see if you can answer some of those questions. Bill, we appreciate you. And, again, as we were just talking about, don't forget tonight, John McCain and Barack Obama on stage for the first time tonight, mixing religion and politics in a live forum moderated by Pastor Rick Warren live here on 8:00 Eastern.
KAYE: There is a new storm on the horizon, tropical storm Fay. Where is it headed? And is there a chance it could become a hurricane? We'll ask our Reynolds Wolf right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: We want to turn back to the situation happening in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia where fighting has been going on the past week between Georgian and Russian forces.
Cease-fire in place now has been really signed by all sides -- all leaders of all sides here. But we have our Michael Ware on the phone from Gori, Georgia.
Michael, we have the cease-fire that is officially in place but you have noticed that in the real world and there on the ground, the fighting has not ended.
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, T.J., what I can tell you is that despite the signing of the cease-fire agreements by Moscow, Russian troops not only remain here in Georgia proper and in around the city of Gori, but I'm standing on what is left of a railway bridge crossing a key river here in Georgia that was destroyed overnight or early this morning by the Russian military.
I'm still observing Russian armored elements here in the region but the destruction of this bridge is a major message to the Georgian government. It severs a key east-west artery that links the capital Tbilisi with the Black Sea port of Poti.
It's also a symbol from the Russians that they intend to destroy Georgian infrastructure be it for economic or military purposes. Obviously this (INAUDIBLE) could move troops and equipment quite rapidly. Obviously Georgian officials feel that this is not within the terms of the cease-fire agreement and the agreement stipulates the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops.
That has not happened. I am still observing Russian armored elements and the destruction of this bridge, whether it occurred before or after the signing of that agreement, clearly is not within the spirit of the cease-fire.
So this is a key development here in the eastern front and the war in Georgia and it shows that the Russians are still intent on pressing their advantage be it on the eve of their withdrawal or as they intend to remain for a time yet to be determined -- T.J.?
HOLMES: And, again, I guess it was important -- I'm glad you pointed it out there. I was about to ask, when exactly the bridge was destroyed. Well, like you said, if it was right before or right after the signing, it's still not in the spirit of that agreement. Are there any other signs, any other or signals like destroying that bridge. Any other aggression, if you will -- we know there hasn't been, I guess, just a quick pullback or pullout by these troops but are they still making any aggressive moves? Are they still showing signs of getting in position to attack or are they attacking?
WARE: Well, there is no combat or exchanges of fire. Certainly there's no bombings or artillery barrages. It's the mere presence of these Russian armored elements that says it all, T.J. And the fact that they are here means that they continue to dominate the terrain and the people and the political environment here.
The Russian military simply has no answer -- I'm sorry, the Georgian military simply has no answer to these Russian troops. So the mere fact of their presence means that this standoff continues and the Russians are, obviously, bent on pressing whatever claims and whatever gains they have made and they're proving that they are very slow to withdrawal and keep to these strict terms of the agreement -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Our Michael Ware there on the ground there for us in Gori where he has witnessed from disturbing developments in the light of the cease-fire that is now in place.
Michael Ware, we appreciate you this morning.
KAYE: We also want to remind you that President Bush is being briefed by the Secretary of State Condoleezza rice about the situation in Georgia. Kathleen Koch will get the very latest on what came out of that briefing and we will bring it to you as soon as we have it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back. Take a look at your screen right there. That is Fay, the newest tropical storm of the season churning in the Caribbean this morning.
HARRIS: And everybody's wondering where will Fay go and will Fay -- will Fay get a name change?
Reynolds Wolf in the Weather Center there for us.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, she's going to stay with Fay but you're talking about...
HOLMES: Yes.
WOLF: ... the first part.
HOLMES: The title.
WOLF: Yes.
HOLMES: The title.
WOLF: Could you get more tease -- that's great, great question. The forecast from the National Hurricane says that, yes, she will increase to hurricane strength. The idea is when will that occur? Right now if you happen to be -- let's say you're one of these tropical systems and you want to get bigger, we got two things going for you.
One thing you got the warm water. The storm needs warm water to gain power. Water temperatures right in the windward passage anywhere in the mid to upper 80s. You also need minimal sheer. Well, that's the second thing. You've got minimal sheer in this environment.
However, the big fly in the ointment is the storm's close proximity to land, which is actually causing the storm to actually not increase in power.
But still, the storm expected to take more of a westerly turn as it does, will move over open water, and when that occurs, that's when the strengthening really is expected.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WOLF: Again, a lot of it is just wait and see and watch and for the very latest information stay here right at CNN, your hurricane headquarters, and we'll deliver you the latest goods. So let's send it back to you in the news desk.
KAYE: All right. Thank you, Reynolds.
WOLF: You bet, guys.
HOLMES: That one-man gold rush continues for Michael Phelps. He swam into history last night with his seventh gold medal of the games that ties him with Mark Spitz with the most gold at single game. But it almost didn't happen by 1/100th of a second almost didn't happen.
He used one last stroke in the 100-meter butterfly to touch that wall first, 1/100th of a second. The wall is all operated electronically so they know for sure he was the winner.
Phelps has one more event to swim in Beijing. However, to go for that record eight, Larry Smith joins us from Beijing now. He's going for the eighth. And this is one he should pick up, their favorite.
LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, yes, if you were a Michael Phelps fan, it'd be hard to find somebody, anybody in the U.S. or even, at this point, really, the world who isn't a Michael Phelps fan. I mean you go to give this guy prompts what he's trying to accomplish here.
You're going to love this bit of news. In the 4x100 medley relay, OK, which is the event that he's going to be swimming in with his U.S. teammates, Saturday night, East Coast time, about 10:58 East Coast time, it's an event the Americans have never lost. 11 times they won the gold. The only time they didn't was in 1980 when the games were held in Moscow and the U.S. did not participate because of a boycott.
So Michael Phelps, again, going for that record eighth in a few hours, I guess, you could say from now. Now before he enters the pool, Dara Torres will swim in the final race in her incredibly decorated Olympic career. Already 10 Olympic medals. She goes for an 11th and a gold at that as she's already qualified first in the 50-meter free style. Her story is one that is simply incredible.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH (voice over): While Dara Torres teaches her daughter to swim, she's teaching others a lesson in longevity.
DARA TORRES, 41-YEAR-OLD OLYMPIC SWIMMER: I'm proving that you can be 41 and you can follow your dreams and that age is just a number.
SMITH: This 41-year-old mom is competing against athletes who weren't even born when they she made her Olympic debut in 1984.
TORRES: I kind of forget that sometimes I'm so much older than them. But the minute I'm on the blocks, I feel like I'm their age. So, you know, it has its moments that you can tell the difference between a 20-year-old and a 40-year-old, but for the most part inside I feel like I'm their age.
TARA KIRK, 2004 OLYMPIC SWIMMER: I'm pretty impressed. I hope when I'm 41 and have had a kid that I look as hot as her.
KAITLIN SANDENO, 2-TIME OLYMPIC SWIMMER: I don't know how she does it but she's doing it and, you know, all the best to her. And I think she's a motivation to a lot of women.
SMITH: A nine-time Olympic medalist, Torres earned her spot in Beijing by winning both the 100 and 50-meter freestyles at the U.S. Olympic swim trials. Her win in the 50 was highlighted by Torres breaking her own U.S. record.
It comes almost eight years after she first broke the record during the summer games in Sidney. At the time Torres was 33, the oldest swimmer on the U.S. Olympic team. She thought she was done.
TORRES: This reporter stops me and says, "Excuse me, Miss Torres, can we ask you a question?" I said sure, and puts the camera on, and sticks the microphone in my face, and he says, I just want to know, in eight years, are going to be back in another Olympics at 41?
And I looked at him and I said that's the stupidest question I ever heard and I walked off. I mean I just know why I ever thought I would be in this position especially with a kid and trying to balance all this.
SMITH: Beyond motherhood and middle age, Torres says she's also trying to change the minds of doubters who believe to be this good at this age she must be taking steroids. Torres says that's why she takes regular blood tests.
TORRES: You really don't see a lot of athletes out there saying, you know, I want to be tested. They may say oh I passed the drug test but to want to be tested and to do blood testing which really no one is ever doing, I think it's a huge step. So I can't sit there and -- I mean I can say it's a -- until I'm blue in the face that I haven't taken drugs but now I'm proving it.
WHITNEY MYERS, FORMER 2-TIME NCAA CHAMPION: I think it's amazing what she's doing. And I know there's a lot of questions about how she swims so fast but -- I mean she has the body for it. She has the mindset. She's had the experience. And more power to her.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: Well, here's how the oldest swimmer in Olympic history begins to get ready. Somebody walking on her back part of her routine. 41- year-olds are going to be rooting for Dara Torres in her finale.
Very quickly in track and field, it is Tyson Gay who does not qualify for the 100-meter. He finished fifth in his semi-final heat, so the world champion will not get a shot at gold.
Let's go back to you.
HOLMES: Heck of a disappointment there, but a great story there with Dara Torres.
Larry Smith, we appreciate you with all of the updates for us this morning. Enjoy yourself there in Beijing.
SMITH: Right.
HOLMES: We'll talk to you again soon.
And something our viewers won't want to miss that gold medal winner there, Michael Phelps. CNN.com live this Tuesday, you can chat with him. Go to ireport.com, submit your own video questions for him. He's live Tuesday morning at 8:30 Eastern only on CNN.com/live.
KAYE: Journalists under fire. Check this out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Scary moments there. Telling the world about the conflict in Georgia has been dangerous and, as you can see for some journalists, deadly.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
T.J. HOLMES, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Hello again. Welcome back, everybody. I'm T.J. Holmes.
RANDI KAYE, CNN NEWS HOST: I'm Randi Kaye in for Betty Nguyen.
Updating our top stories, in the troubled former Soviet Republic of Georgia, confusion in the wake of a formal ceasefire. Word just in from CNN's Michael Ware in Gori, Georgia, says Russian troops have yet to pull out despite the terms of that e cease-fire agreement.
He reports the Russians have destroyed a railroad bridge, which is a key transportation link between Tbilisi and the Black Sea to the west.
Tropical storm Fay is dumping heavy rain over Haiti and the Dominican Republic and heading straight for Cuba. The storm could even make its way to Florida over the next few days. It's the sixth storm to form in the Atlantic this season.
HOLMES: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is with President Bush at his Texas ranch today. She has briefed him now on the situation in Georgia. She just actually returned from that region.
CNN's Kathleen Koch now joins us by phone from Crawford. Good morning to you Kathleen. What are we learning from the president, what are we expecting him to say, and what has he said about the conflict?
KATHLEEN KOCH, GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT, CNN: T.J., the president came out and just spoke to cameras for only about three minutes, did not take any questions. The secretary of state did speak with reporters and answer questions afterwards.
What the president said first of all is there is some progress to report. The fact that Russian President Medvedev signed onto the peace accord he said is an important development. It's a hopeful set. He said now Russia needs to honor that agreement, withdrawal its forces, and end military operations.
The president said clearly the major issue is that Russia's concern-- or Russia's contention that South Ossetia and Abkhazia may not be a part of Georgia's future. The president said they are a part of Georgia, they will remain so. He says there was no room for debate on this matter.
And he said again that the U.S. fully recognized that reality.
So when the President then left the secretary took a couple questions, and she said Russia cannot have it both ways and recommence its behavior in 1968, bullying its neighbors, and then also try to be a member of the international community.
Excuse me. I'm climbing into a press van here as we take off after the press conference.
But she continued by saying that president Sarkozy of France said as soon as the peace agreement was signed, the ceasefire, that Russian President Medvedev said the minute he said it that Russian forces would begin to withdraw.
The secretary of state said Russia perhaps is not honoring its word there. So she says again the United States is watching very carefully on that point right now. T.J., back to you.
HOLMES: All right. Kathleen Koch there for us in Crawford just out of that briefing a short time ago. We didn't realize you were on the move there, but we appreciate you keeping us updated and giving us that information as you were on the move, again, hopping into that press van. But as she was mentioning that, the president came out and spoke to reporters for just about three minutes. We are expecting to get that video and tape into us within the next half hour, so when we get it we'll turn it around show it to you.
KAYE: The Russian-Georgian conflict erupted with explosive fury, both civilians and journalists sometimes caught in the violence. Josh Levs has been filing some pretty remarkable videos of the reporters under attack-Josh?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Randi, one of the things I have wanted to know from the day this conflict broke out is how many casualties there are on the different sides.
Right now we still don't know. That's the biggest unknown we have so far.
But one of things we do know is how journalists are affected because they're there reporting it and we get the videos. And now some of the most powerful videos and popular videos we have at CNN.com.
Let's start with some of the first ones, we'll put them into the screen to my left, your right, which shows some Turkish journalists when they were traveling through just a little bit before the break. Let's listen and watch as that comes in.
This is what you're hearing here. This is a group of Turkish journalists with NTV-Turkey. They were traveling in South Ossetia when all of sudden they came under fire. These bullets started hitting them.
We are told that they're fine, that they made it through fine.
Let's go to the next one now. That's a journalist with Georgian Public Television, a state run television. She says she was shot. We can't tell exactly what happened, but there were popping sounds. And you are going to see here she has some sort of wound to her arm. It looks like it's just on the outside. She's bleeding there.
She, by the way, puts on her flak jacket and resumes doing her live shot.
The next one now is also from inside Georgian television. This one's private, Russabi(ph) TV. Let's look at this.
I want you to know what you're seeing here. This group is group traveling near Gori. And they will come up to a man who apparently is a civilian, a car with South Ossetian plates.
He is going to point a gun at them, and he is apparently trying to car jack them and take their car away. But watch what happens as we see him come in, and listen to the sounds.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEO CLIP) Those journalists also made it through fine. But not all journalists have made it through.
Last piece of video we have for you right here, this is in the aftermath of an attack in Gori, some type of bombing in which a Dutch cameraman did die. A Dutch journalist made it through. An Israeli journalist was wounded. But a Dutch cameraman died in that attack.
I will just show you quickly here. This is the Web site behind me. This is from the Committee to Protect Journalists. They are reporting three deaths of journalists in this conflict.
It's one of the few statistics we actually have. Obviously, the bigger thing we want to know right now is casualties of all people on both sides, but until some of the smoke clears that still will be really unknown, Randi.
KAYE: It's amazing that women, the one reporter who was shot during the live shot and then continued to do her report, that she was first putting on her flak jacket. You would hope all of them would be wearing them at this point there.
LEVS: And others were. That struck us, too.
KAYE: All right, Josh Levs, thank you for that amazing video.
HOLMES: So a baby who actually shares his birthday with the date his mother died is now doing better. This baby was delivered after his mother was struck and killed by a van and a school bus.
You may remember this story. You see a "New York Post" Web site picture here of the pregnant women Donnette Sanz. There she is.
Dozens of bystanders lifted a five-ton bus off of her to free her from underneath. Now the community is pulling together to help her son she was pregnant with, who did survive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We asked that New York City and America be generous at this time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a child that is going to grow up without its mother, so, hopefully people will come forth and just have an outpour of love and just contribute to whatever we can do for this child's future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And the woman was actually a New York police department traffic agent. She was actually walking across the street and was hit by a van whose brakes gave out. She was thrown into the path of that bus and she was pinned under that.
A prayer vigil held Friday outside the hospital where the baby was born premature, weighed three pounds, six ounces. Officials say he'll have to spend the next six to eight weeks in the hospital, but the child has been upgraded from critical to stable condition this morning.
FAYE: Now to a bizarre missing girl case in Florida. A bounty hunter heads to Orlando this weekend to bail out the girl's mother. Three- year-old Caylee Anthony was reported missing in July, a month after she disappeared.
Her mother is charged with child neglect, making false statements, and obstructing the investigation. She's being held on $500,000 bond.
Last night Nancy Grace of "CNN Headline News" had an exclusive interview with the bounty hunter.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NANCY GRACE, HOST, CNN HEADLINE NEWS: Mr. Padilla, earlier you said that you believe mom, Casey, may have "misplaced Caylee." How do you misplace a baby? I have two of them, and it's hard to misplace them.
PADILLA: I'll tell you, I walked out of Kezar stadium in San Francisco after a soccer match in 1970 and I turned to my wife and I said "Where is Julie?" And she said "Don't you have her." And it took us one hour of hell before a woman, a wife of one of the Brazilian soccer team players, took her away from a woman that was leading her away.
GRACE: Why do you think Casey has misplaced Caylee?
PADILLA: Because I think she's on drugs, and I think she drinks, and I think she passed her off to baby sitter to spend more time without being bothered.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, again, a story we've been keeping an eye on this morning. Big story--Georgia and Russia conflict. President Bush speaking on it a short time ago in Crawford, Texas. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GEORGE BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Briefing by my national security team on the latest updates and latest developments in Georgia, and there is some progress to report.
First of all, I want to thank Secretary of State Rice for her trip, and thank you for coming back here to Crawford to give me a firsthand briefing.
She went to Tbilisi. Met with President Shaakashvili and his team. And during that time the president signed the six-point peace plan negotiated by president Sarkozy on behalf of the European Union.
President Medvedev of Russia has now signed onto the terms of this agreement. And that's an important development. It's a hopeful step. Now Russia needs to honor the agreement and withdraw its forces, and, of course, end military operations.
Secretary Rice will soon travel to Brussels where she will meet with the foreign ministers of our Nato allies and EU officials to continue to rally the free world in the defense of a free Georgia.
This morning also I was briefed by secretary gates on the U.S. military's humanitarian mission to help the Georgian people recover from the trauma they have suffered. In recent days of military flights have landed in Georgia to provide relief supplies, and more will be arriving in the days ahead.
A major issue is Russia's contention that the regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia may not be a part of Georgia's future. These regions are a part of Georgia, and the international community has repeatedly made clear that they will remain so.
Georgia's a member of the United Nations, and South Ossetia and Abkhazia lie within its internationally recognized borders. Georgia's borders should command the same respect as every other nation.
There's no room for debate on this matter. The United Nations Security Council has adopted numerous resolutions concerning Georgia. They resolutions are based on the premise that South Ossetia and Abkhazia remain within the borders of Georgia, and that their underlying conflicts will be resolved through international communications.
These resolutions are based on the premise that South Ossetia and Abkhazia are to be considered a part of the Georgian territory and that to the extent there are conflicts they will be resolved peacefully.
These resolutions reaffirm Georgia's sovereignty and independence and territorial integrity. Russia itself has endorsed these resolutions.
The International community is clear that South Ossetia and Abkhazia are part of Georgia, and the United States fully recognized this reality. It will continue to stand by Georgia's democracy and continue to insist that Georgia's sovereignty and independence and territorial integrity be respected.
Thank you very much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: You have been listening in to President Bush this morning a short time ago briefing reporters, not taking questions but giving about three and a half minutes talking about the situation in Georgia and in Russia, certainly saying that the Russians need to adhere to that ceasefire agreement that all parties have now signed onto and pull its forces out of the region, but still saying that the issues of the regions and conflict of South Ossetia and Abkhazia should remain and still remain a part of Georgia.
But President Bush there speaking a short time ago from his ranch in Crawford, Texas. FAYE: A tropical storm churning in the Caribbean. What kind of threat does it pose to the U.S.? Reynolds has new information on where that storm is headed.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: "Fay," such a sweet name. It doesn't really tell the story about this tropical storm that's churning in the Caribbean as you see right now turning at this hour.
FAYE: And so, of course, we want to find out a little bit more about Fay. Reynolds Wolf tracking this storm has all of the answers for us, of course, and some new information.
REYNOLDS WOLF, METEOROLOGIST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. We do have some new information for you.
"Fay" is a nice name, but so was "Katrina," so let's keep that in mind.
Right now we have tropical storm Fay latest winds at 45 miles an hour, gusting to 60. The latest forecast we have at the National Hurricane Center is very interesting. Now they're pulling the path back a bit more to the east.
They still forecast the storm to remain as a tropical storm just north of Jamaica near Kingston as we get into Sunday morning with wind around 60 miles per hour, still gaining a bit of strength, and then passing right over parts of central Cuba just to the east of Havana into the straits of Huerta as a category one storm.
And then at 9:00 a.m. On Tuesday, maximum sustained winds right at 90 miles per hour crossing Tampa and losing strength along the Florida peninsula. At 8:00 a.m. Wednesday just to the north of Tampa and northwest of Orlando and then back into parts of Georgia.
Keep in mind, though, don't focus on that line. Look at the cone. You notice that it pans over to parts of the Atlantic and then back over to the gulf. So there's potential the storm could move a little bit more east and perhaps a bit more to the west, and that fluctuation of power can always be expected.
Remember, this is a rotating, spinning storm over choppy seas and over landmasses on a rotating planet. These things are very difficult to watch. We'll keep a close eye on it over the next couple of days and be prepared throughout the Gulf Coast and into Florida.
That's a look at your forecast. Let's send it right back to you at the news desk.
FAYE: Good advice. Thank you, Reynolds.
If you have ever been in a security line at the airport and everyone has to get the laptops out-
HOLMES: It takes forever. FAYE: Yes, it does.
HOLMES: It's a pain.
FAYE: Yes, it is.
HOLMES: That could change. Could you imagine the day you don't have to take the laptop out of the bag?
FAYE: I can't wait.
HOLMES: We'll tell you about it in a second.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Communism, Christianity? The Reverend Franklin Graham just back from a humanitarian mission to North Korea. He had a rare look inside the secretive communist nation.
I'm going to be asking him all about that trip live right here on CNN Sunday morning. That's at 7:00 eastern tomorrow morning.
All right, you may not know this, but we've been asking repeatedly for John McCain and Barack Obama to come on our show live on CNN Saturday morning. They keep telling us no. but they sent us these as replacements.
FAYE: They couldn't be here because they have this big forum tonight. They're very busy, which we'll talk about in just a second. So they sent us these wall fixtures, I guess.
HOLMES: This is what we have.
FAYE: They actually come from this company called "Fat Head," and you can get them for your own wall.
You can actually get one for your own house or choose one which you will have to do eventually anyway if you're going to vote.
HOLMES: These are, the "Fat Head" company, a lot of people know they usually makes sports figures and helmets and things like that.
FAYE: I think they have one of you somewhere. I saw one in the airport.
HOLMES: Really? At the airport?
FAYE: You're at the airport.
HOLMES: In the men's room?
FAYE: I wasn't in there.
HOLMES: Oh, the women's room.
FAYE: Let's move on. Wow. We're talking about why they're not here today so they send these because they're very busy tonight. Tonight on CNN we're going to look at how religion has shaped their faith, their views, their candidacy. John King hosts the next president campaign kickoff tonight at 7:00 eastern.
Then watch John McCain and Barack Obama live, the real thing, tonight on CNN. The forum on faith hosted by Reverend Rick Warren begins at 8:00 p.m. eastern time.
HOLMES: All right. Move from fat heads to this.
Big foot, really? There's a man explaining that this mess you see here is actually big foot, or was big foot. Is he telling the truth? Do you believe it? Or is this just a freezer full of nonsense?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right, UFOs, ET, what not. Some stuff people just can't stop talking about.
FAYE: No they can't.
But here is one of those, the supposed discovery in north Georgia of a bigfoot carcass. Yes, that's what they're saying. It's been getting more clicks than any other story on CNN.com.
HOLMES: Josh Levs, "Mr. Reality" as we call him around here, can we do a reality check on this? Have we confirmed that this is in fact bigfoot?
LEVS: I would have done a reality check the day they announced it. Why do people feel the need to believe this one? Help me out here?
FAYE: The last one was a hoax.
LEVS: But what is it about bigfoot? Why do people want to believe this so badly that they will fall for anything?
First of all, there are a couple guys in north Georgia that say they're in north Georgia and they go into the woods and find it. Then they will drive their truck to the middle of the woods to allegedly take it back.
And this photo they keep showing that you guys showed before the break, it is so disgusting. Can you pan in on that? So freaky. Anyway, there you go.
What? So you got to wonder why people even want to know that this has been debunked. But I will tell you in case you wonder, I saw this form the Reuters news agency. They reached a guy that conducted the DNA tests on the samples provided. One is human. The other one is 96 percent is possum, people.
So, no, it's definitely not bigfoot. And there's actually a scientific group out there, "The Bigfoot Field Research Organization." They say they are the only scientific research organization exploring the bigfoot/sasquatch mystery, and they're saying Georgia bigfoot body hoax has been debunked.
So if you needed anything to prove it to you, the information is out there. You have some human material, some possum material. Sorry, folks, this is not what they want to believe it was. But maybe next time.
HOLMES: Yes. Next time.
FAYE: I'm shocked. Aren't you?
LEVS: I'm sorry. I don't mean to shock you so early in the morning.
FAYE: Thanks, josh.
You're in the CNN "newsroom."
You're in the CNN "Newsroom." The news is unfolding live on this Saturday, the 16th day of August. I'm Randi Kaye.
HOLMES: Good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
Georgia and Russia have signed a peace accord, but the question now is will it last?
FAYE: Evangelicals rallying on a mall in D.C. What is the bottom line?
HOLMES: Also, (INAUDIBLE) to show you here that sits on a gold mine, but not everyone is a believer.
You are in the CNN "Newsroom."
We have new hopes today for an end to the military conflict in the Republic of Georgia. Here is what we know right now.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has signed a ceasefire plan designed to end the fighting. This comes the day after Georgia's President Saakashvili reluctantly agreed to it as well.
