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Democrats United?; Plane Crashes During Little League Game; 15- Year-Old Suicide Bomber Captured in Iraq

Aired August 25, 2008 - 15:00   ET

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

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN's live coverage of the Democratic National Convention.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome back, everybody.

I'm Soledad O'Brien with the very latest on the Democrats' big opening night in Denver, the convention officially beginning at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time.

The delegates making their way right now to the hall, and they have got a busy and very possibly and likely emotional night ahead of them, Ted Kennedy making an appearance, Barack Obama by video hookup, and Michelle Obama reintroducing herself and her husband to millions of Americans.

We have got new polls to tell you about, new reports of tension between the and the Clinton camps, though both sides strongly say it's not happening.

Lots to cover, so let's get right to it by starting with Dana Bash. She's at the CNN grill in Denver.

Dana, first and foremost, what's Hillary Clinton telling the folks that she's been talking to today?

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, she made her first appearance here in Denver this morning, Soledad, and she spoke to some of her peeps, I think, is probably the best way to put it, some of her -- the delegation from her home state of New York, those who perhaps were out earliest and strongest for her and for her candidacy.

And the answer to your question of what she was saying is basically over and over and over again, you need to be unified. You need to work as hard for Barack Obama as you did for me.

And she is trying to get that message across, clearly, a bit of a preview of what we will probably hear from her tomorrow night, when she actually speaks to the convention at night. And what she's trying to do is try to tamp down on something that, frankly, some of her own confidantes and some of her supporters are saying very vocally here in Denver, which is that they haven't that happy, and they aren't in a mood yet to have a unified front for Barack Obama, because, for a lot of reasons, many of them are actually -- they don't feel that Obama and his campaign have reached out to them enough in terms of the issues that they care about, or even just in terms of trying to bring them into the fold.

But you mentioned the fact that both camps are trying to say, you know, that this is much ado about nothing. We did get a very interesting statement, a very unusual one from both campaigns, trying to make the case that all of this talk about the fact that there's a lack of unity is basically false.

But we do know from being here on the ground that it's not really that false, that there are people inside both campaigns, and the delegates who are going to be on the floor who are not yet ready to greet one another with open arms. I think that's probably the best way to put it at this point.

O'BRIEN: And I would imagine if you have to release a statement jointly saying that there's nothing to worry about, that's a pretty good indication that there are some serious problems that they're trying to work out behind the scenes.

BASH: You got it. Exactly.

O'BRIEN: Give me a sense of what we can expect to see tonight, the first, big opening night.

BASH: Well, the first thing that we're going to see in terms of what is most important to Barack Obama is his wife.

She is going to make a speech tonight, and she is going to do what we see from her on the campaign trail, which is to try to give a testimonial as somebody who knows him best, as a family man that understands him from the personal side.

You know, obviously, we know from polls, we know from history, we just know from ourselves that, you know, candidates are elected based on their policies, but they're also elected based on their personalities and their character. So, she is going to be a bit of a character witness for her husband tonight.

The other thing that is going to be quite interesting, and there's a lot of suspense right now as to what's going to happen, is with Ted Kennedy. Obviously, we know he was diagnosed with a brain tumor in May. He had taped a tribute to be released here, a video tribute.

But he is actually now here in Denver, and we were told earlier that he was going to be in the hall. We do, unfortunately, have some reports, and we are hearing that he is not having a great day in terms of his health, so it's a little bit of a question about whether or not he is going to be in the hall.

You know, Ted Kennedy is somebody who likes theatrics. They have been trying to tell us that he won't speak and that he didn't plan to speak, but there were a lot of hints, winks and nods that perhaps that was ultimately his plan to actually speak and have a really, really emotional moment in that hall tonight. But we're going to see what happens.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: We should mention his niece Caroline Kennedy in fact is the podium right now doing one of those sort of dry runs, checking out the lighting, et cetera, and the gavel. We saw Michelle Obama doing that with her two little girls a little bit earlier in the day, and now Caroline Kennedy has been doing that as well, Ted Kennedy's niece. She will be part of that celebration a little bit later tonight.

Dana Bash for us -- thanks, Dana. Appreciate it.

Lots more to tell you about. John McCain tonight not exactly lying low. We will be digging deeper with Democrat Hilary Rosen and Republican Ed Rollins when our coverage continues in just a few moments.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. You're taking a look at the hall in Denver. Democratic Chairman Howard Dean was scheduled to bang the gavel at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time, call the convention to order officially.

Lots of news already to talk about today, though.

Here to help us make sense of it is GOP strategist and CNN contributor Ed Rollins. Also joining us is Hilary Rosen, political director of the liberal HuffingtonPost.com.

Nice to talk to both of you.

ED ROLLINS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Let's get right to it.

Ed, let's start with you. Explain to me what exactly is happening in this new information we have about Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama working on a deal that would give her some votes in the presidential nomination role call. What specifically does that mean?

ROLLINS: Well, I think the bottom line is, they will put her name in nomination, and will start going through the role call. To do the whole role call is a tedious, long process.

O'BRIEN: It would take a long time.

ROLLINS: It takes a long time. And, obviously, they have a very limited amount of time to get on evening news, so they're going to start it. And I'm sure she's going to very graciously say, I ask for unanimous consent and everybody is -- for all my delegates to -- it's a nice way to sort of finish the night in a very shortened structure.

O'BRIEN: So, is your reading of the choreography of this, is this sort of an underscoring unity of the party or...

ROLLINS: Absolutely.

O'BRIEN: ... is this an underscoring of, well, you really could just not do it at all, and then you wouldn't have to worry about a spotlight; you wouldn't have to worry about the conversation...

(CROSSTALK)

ROLLINS: I think, in fairness to her people who worked hard for her and are elected her delegates, it salutes them a little bit, and, you know, whatever works out. It's their show at this point in time and it's up for them. It's not for a Republican to say what they should or shouldn't do, but at the end of the day, I think it will be unified...

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: Wow, Ed Rollins opting not to weigh in.

(LAUGHTER)

O'BRIEN: Someone write this time and date down. It's the first time ever in the history of mankind.

ROLLINS: Oh, I will have my shots.

(LAUGHTER)

O'BRIEN: Hilary, we have heard from some of the folks who are attending the convention who are Hillary Clinton supporters that they felt that somehow they have been dismissed and disregarded.

Do you think -- what kind of work does Barack Obama have to do to get those folks? Clearly, if you look at the poll numbers, it's having an impact on his poll numbers.

HILARY ROSEN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: First, I just need to clear the record on the last point.

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama agreed that there would be her name in nomination. She was willing to not have it put there. That was his campaign's desire. Then they will have the role call, because it's really a Democratic Convention tradition that the delegates like. It's a proud moment where the state chairmen stand up and say and, you know, California, the land of the free and the home of the brave, et cetera.

So, the role call and the fact that they're doing it has nothing to do with this Hillary Clinton/Barack Obama issue.

O'BRIEN: OK.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: But let's talk, then, generally, though, about disunity, which many people have come on from both camps, frankly, who have said... ROSEN: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Some have said, no, there's nothing going on at all. It's all hunky-dory. And others have said, no, that's just not true, that, in fact, behind the scenes, there's a public face of we're going to be unified, but there's obviously a lot of negotiation going on about who's going to get a spotlight. That's a fact.

ROSEN: Well, I think you really need to separate Hillary Clinton from Bill Clinton in this discussion.

Whether there's -- that Bill Clinton wanted to have more control over his own speech, as you referred to a statement earlier, that -- that's probably true, and he has to negotiate directly with the Obama people.

It's tradition that the presidential nominee gets to control the content of all the speeches, and that includes from former ex- presidents.

With Hillary Clinton, though, she really wants this convention to be a handoff to Barack Obama. She's working hard to make sure that all of her delegates and the New York delegation and all of her friends here really work hard for Obama. I think you're going to see her, you know, hit it out of the park for him tomorrow night.

She doesn't really want this drama. This is not in her interest. She wants this to be over. And I think she would very much like to have the emphasis today be where it kind of belongs for the convention, which is on Michelle Obama.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: Well, let me -- before we get to Michelle Obama, which we will in a moment, let me just ask a follow-up to that, because Hillary Clinton -- and I get that they're two different people, Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, with different agendas and sort of different ways to access the media, certainly.

But Hillary Clinton's supporters and surrogates have gone on to say she's not been treated well, that her people feel that, et cetera, et cetera. So, it's something that if they want it to be stopped, it could have been, and it hasn't been. And, you know, I'm not completely naive about the process. So, to some degree, doesn't she have control over that?

ROSEN: Yes, I'm not sure that it's naivete about the process as much as it is a problem where Hillary Clinton's voters are not necessarily controlled by Hillary Clinton.

She has said everything she can say, and tomorrow night she will make it stronger. In terms of getting the voters, that's really got to be the nominee's job, to get the voters. And that's based on the same kinds of things that brought them to Hillary, the issues, the passion, the intensity, the drive, you know, the -- the desire to fight for them every day. That's Barack Obama's job on Thursday night. Hillary's job tomorrow night is to say: I think this guy can do it, and I'm totally comfortable being there with him.

You know, she can only be everybody's therapist for so long. People are going to have to get over this.

(LAUGHTER)

ROSEN: We all can only be somebody's therapist for so long.

Back to Ed Rollins. We talk about Hillary's night is tomorrow.

ROLLINS: Sure.

ROSEN: Really, it's Michelle Obama's night tonight. How much pressure is on her? What does she have to do to deliver and strongly for...

(CROSSTALK)

ROLLINS: It's obviously a lot of pressure for someone that's not been a public person to stand up in front of...

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: Several thousand.

ROLLINS: Several thousand in the arena and hundreds of thousands or millions across the country.

So, my sense is she's got butterflies in her stomach. It's going to be a very important speech for her. And it's really kind of the first impression a lot people will have who haven't been looking at this on a daily basis over the last six or eight months. And my sense is she will do well. She's a very articulate woman. And I think to a certain extent, the spotlight will be on her, and I'm sure she will be fine.

O'BRIEN: Ed Rollins and Hilary Rosen with us this afternoon, that's our convention coverage for the moment.

We are back with the latest in just about 20 minutes, plus throughout the day, of course.

Reporting from New York, I'm Soledad O'Brien.

Let's send it right back to Atlanta and CNN NEWSROOM right after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: It's finally out of Florida and a tropical storm no more. But what's left of Fay is still making waves in the Deep South. Now Gustav is on the horizon. Chad Myers watching the warnings for us. We finally know who. Now we want to know why. Democrats prepare to nominate Obama/Biden, and we wonder why people want to be vice president. Our Rick Sanchez looks back at the veeps you may remember and some you may not.

Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips at CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. Those stories and more in 90 seconds. You're here with us live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, storm dangers. Imagine this bearing down on your home. It's one of four tornadoes that touched down yesterday outside Denver, Colorado. Incredibly, no serious damage was done. Florida's only now beginning to mop up from a week of record rain. The storm is blamed for 11 deaths there, plus one each in Alabama and Georgia.

Now word of a new tropical storm in the Caribbean. Chad Myers in the Severe Weather Center with his name.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Gustav.

PHILLIPS: Gustav.

MYERS: My name is Chad. His name is Gustav, the G storm. Obviously, now, we just got rid of F storm, the Fay storm. It is still affecting Georgia, Alabama, and the Carolinas today with severe weather, even heavy rain across Florida. But this now, the storm south of Santo Domingo and Haiti.

There is a hurricane hunter aircraft in it right now. It was flying out of Florida there. That's where you picked it up, right over the Bahamas. It flew right across Haiti, and now kind of making big zigzags through the storm.

And why it's doing that, it's trying to find the big tropical storm eye, and it found one, 30 miles around, and it was 60 miles per hour when it flew through it. And so, we're now thinking that this is a pretty significant storm and will be a hurricane by morning.

Now, the track may change from where it is now, because it always does. It either goes left or it goes right. The cone is usually always right, so don't focus on the middle here, but on to the left or to the right. I'm believing, from the latest computer models that I'm seeing, that we may have to shift this track a little bit farther to the south.

If that happens, that makes a better chance of the storm going into the Gulf of Mexico and affecting large populations there. If it stays on its current track, it very well may affect the east coast of Florida or the East Coast of the U.S., so, that's how far it really spreads, from the East Coast to the Gulf of Mexico, and that's only a couple of degrees east or west from where it is right now on this track -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. We will keep chatting. Thanks, Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

PHILLIPS: Well, when the weather becomes the news, remember to send us your I-reports a well. Just go to ireport.com or type in ireport@CNN.COM into your cell phone. Remember to stay safe, though.

Eight inmates busted out of jail in New Mexico last night. Seven are still on the loose. Police say the men used homemade tools to actually cut a hole in the roof of the Curry County Detention Center in Clovis. Police captured one of them overnight, but take a good look at these mug shots of the others that are still on the lam.

Edward Salas on your lower left is serving life for killing a 10- year-old boy. Larry McClendon is awaiting trial in a murder case. The rest, well, they are all suspects in other violent crimes.

And with the common enemy gone, Pakistan's ruling coalition is in turmoil. Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif withdrew his party from the bickering alliance today. He blames the coalition for failing to restore the judges ousted by former President Pervez Musharraf.

Now, a week ago, the coalition forced Musharraf to resign on threat of impeachment. Today's move could allow the party of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto to tighten its hold on the government, but not if Sharif has anything to do with it. He's named a retired judge to run against Bhutto's widower and political successor in next month's presidential election.

Well, defying the West, Russia's tightening the screws on the Republic of Georgia now. And here's the latest. The Russian parliament voted unanimously today to recognize independence for Georgia's two breakaway regions. Russia's president still has to agree.

Earlier this month, Russian troops invaded Georgia after Georgia tried to regain control of one of those regions, South Ossetia. Now, the U.S. and its Western allies say that Russia still hasn't lived up to a cease-fire agreement by pulling out all its forces. Most pulled out Friday, but some remain.

Now, Vice President Cheney will travel to the region a week from tomorrow. Meanwhile, a White House spokesperson says he will reiterate U.S. commitment to Georgia in talks with the Georgian president. Cheney also plans to visit two other former Soviet republics and Italy.

Live pictures now of the Pepsi Center in Denver. It is kickoff day of the historic Democratic Convention. Barack Obama is two days away from becoming the first African-American presidential nominee of a major U.S. party. The best political team on television will be there every step of the way, bringing you live coverage all week from Denver and CNN election headquarters in New York.

Time to buy? Well, the National Association of Realtors says that existing home sales rose 3.1 percent last month. That's almost double the rate analysts were expecting and a five-month high. Still, sales are down more than 13 percent from a year ago, and the median home price has dropped more than 7 percent.

Now, gas prices are dropping again, partly due to a drop in demand. AAA says the average price for a gallon of regular is around $3.68. That's about 43 cents off the record high that AAA reported in mid-July. Only people in Alaska and Hawaii are still paying $4 or more for regular unleaded.

Now, also dropping is your confidence in the economy, unfortunately. A new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll says that 75 percent of Americans think the economy is in very poor or somewhat poor condition. Compare that to a year ago, when just 43 percent felt the same way. Today just 25 percent of Americans rate the economy as somewhat or very good.

So, how is the latest news sitting with investors? Let's take you live to the Big Board now, Dow industrials down 235 points. We're going to take you back to the trading floor a little later in the NEWSROOM.

Now, tapping into your 401(k).

Stephanie Elam looks at what you should consider before cracking your retirement nest egg.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Paying off debt, buying a new car, or paying for a vacation, may seem like good reasons to withdraw money from your 401(k). But it may be more costly in the end.

LYNNETTE KHALFANI-COX, PERSONAL FINANCE EXPERT: Taking money out of your 401(k) should be an absolute last resort financially. The problem is that when you tap into that 401(k), really, you're foregoing the potential savings you could be building up for your golden years.

ELAM: But some people have no other options.

KHALFANI-COX: Especially now with the economy being in a recession, a lot of people are cash-strapped and there may be very legitimate reasons for taking what's called a hardship withdrawal from your 401(k).

ELAM: A hardship withdrawal allows access to your account to pay medical expenses, cover a down payment or foreclosure, pay college tuition, or cover funeral expenses. But there are major financial drawbacks.

KHALFANI-COX: If you take a withdrawal, that is considered an early disbursement if you've not yet reached the age of 59-1/2 and you will be subjected to ordinary income taxes and a penalty.

ELAM: Stephanie Elam, CNN, New York. (END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: (AUDIO GAP) but the sand can be risky as well. A teenager was critically injured over the weekend when a sand cave collapsed on top of him. It happened at the state park just outside Seattle. The boy was buried for 20 minutes before frantic witnesses could actually dig him out of there.

Park rangers say that fences and warning signs in the dunes keep getting torn down.

They say the impact came out of nowhere, a group of cyclists on a Sunday morning ride slammed from behind by a taxicab. The accident left bikes and equipment scattered over a Miami causeway. Six riders were hurt, one of them critically.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DETECTIVE JUAN SANCHEZ, MIAMI BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT: They did not see the car coming. They didn't know they were going to get hit until they started to get hit. Some of them were hit by the car. When the first one was hit, they all started jumping up into everybody, and everybody went down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now, police say the cab driver admitted falling asleep at the wheel. So far, no charges have been filed.

A small plane crashes on a baseball infield, and a rescuer with a helmet cam runs toward the scene. You're going to see what he saw.

And after one of the longest nominating fights in presidential history, the Democrats are finally ready to make history, the national convention kicking off today in Denver. We will take you there live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN's live coverage of the Democratic National Convention.

O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody, Soledad O'Brien joining you with the very latest from the Democratic National Convention, which now begins officially in less than 90 minutes.

Lots to cover, including some new poll numbers that show the race is in a deadlock, and Hillary Clinton's supporters less than thrilled about Barack Obama. As for what they will do about it in November, that, of course, is another question.

So, let's run some of those numbers.

Bill Schneider is with us.

Hey, Bill. What are you seeing?

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, what we're seeing is a very unhappy country out there.

This race is close, but that's a surprise, because -- look at this -- they disapprove of the way President Bush is handling his job. They think things are going badly in the country. They think the national economy is lousy. They oppose the war in Iraq.

And yet the race is close? How could that be?

If George Bush were running for re-election, or Dick Cheney were running to succeed him, it would be a blowout.

Well, here's the reason. When we asked voters in our new poll, do you think John McCain's policies would be the same of those of President Bush or different, the voters are split. They're just about 50/50. And voters who think things are going badly in the country but McCain's policies would be different from Bush's, they're voting very strongly for John McCain. That's the reason the race is so close.

O'BRIEN: So that leads us to the kind of obvious question, why are they not at this point, yet, really hammering home that connection between George Bush and John McCain?

That would seem to be Strategy 101. We've been talking a lot about Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama today.

SCHNEIDER: Yes, that's right. Well, somehow over the course of the summer, the election has become a referendum on Barack Obama. Everyone's talking about Barack Obama -- who is he, what does he stand for, what does he believe?

That's not what the election is supposed to be about. It's supposed to be about the way things are going in the country, about John McCain, about what he as well as Obama would do as president.

And that's why the Democrats have to use this convention not just to sell Obama, but also to convince voters that McCain would be a third term for Bush. And they may be able to do that because, you know, they've been running ads, but they've got to make the speeches. They've got to hammer that point home. And that's risky -- it's not risky, it's difficult because all the spotlights will be on Obama.

O'BRIEN: Yes. It seems almost counterintuitive -- all the spotlights on Obama when you really need to be talking about the other guy in the race, to some degree.

SCHNEIDER: That's right.

O'BRIEN: We'll see how it goes, because it really kicks off officially in less than 90 minutes.

Bill Schneider, thanks so much.

Coming up in just a moment, the campaign and the war. We're talking about it with two women with a very personal stake in the election.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: The agenda tonight, including the Pledge of Allegiance, led by our next guest, Angie Morgan. She and Kathy Ross-Douquet are in Denver representing Blue Star Families for Obama, a grassroots organization that was founded by Army and Marine' spouses. This was, we should note, claimed its 4,147th life today.

Let's get right to it.

Ladies, thanks for being with us.

Angie Morgan let's start with you, if we can.

ANGIE MORGAN, BLUE STAR FAMILIES FOR OBAMA: Yes.

O'BRIEN: You're one of three people who's going to be leading the pledge. That's a tremendous honor -- at the convention opening ceremony. How do you -- you look calm.

How are you feeling? Are you nervous?

MORGAN: Well, I've been practicing -- no, well, I've been practicing my whole life the Pledge of Allegiance, so I believe I'm ready.

O'BRIEN: Oh, good. Good.

MORGAN: But it is a great honor. It is a great honor just to be here in Denver representing Blue Star Families for Obama. And we're an organization that is pro-military, pro-Obama. So we're just excited to have such a great -- just a great time and a great opportunity to share our message.

O'BRIEN: Kathy, I think that there are many people who might assume that people in the military would automatically be for John McCain, of course, with his reputation as serving in the war.

Why are you for Barack Obama?

KATHY ROTH-DOUQUET, BLUE STAR FAMILIES FOR OBAMA: I think Barack Obama and our -- or the folks in our group think Barack Obama is the best person to lead us for the coming world. We think he understands today's military, and even more, today's military family, which are a key part of being ready for whatever comes in the future.

O'BRIEN: Angie, there are folks who say, listen, Barack Obama has, in general, softened his position on the war -- you know, conditions on the ground will dictate what he does. It's a different tone than he's taken when he was first campaigning early on.

Does that concern you, that change?

MORGAN: Actually, I think what is most exciting for military family members isn't -- it's the bigger picture than the war on Iraq. We are very excited about Senator Obama and his stance on active citizenship because as military family members, we've been serving our country strongly and very proudly since 9/11. And we're really excited that we have a candidate in Senator Obama who's going to call upon every American to contribute to the greatness of our nation.

So we're just, again, it's the bigger picture than the war in Iraq. It's really about the man and his vision and, really, his leadership.

O'BRIEN: And you have a big advocate in the man's wife, Michelle Obama, who will be speaking tonight.

What do you want to hear from her? Tell me a little bit about her role with the Blue Star Families.

MORGAN: Well, really for me, from my perspective, I'm just excited that our military family community has a strong voice. We have, in Michelle Obama, an advocate who is there to listen and hear us not complain -- really focus on solutions. She's made it her primary mission in this election to learn about military families. And we're just excited to have her ear and to have her influence to offer us solutions.

O'BRIEN: What would you, at the end of the day, Kathy, what would you like to hear from Michelle Obama, who has truly taken up your cause?

And I know she's held a lot of roundtables and held discussions with your folks.

ROTH-DOUQUET: She's held a lot of roundtables. And perhaps one of the things that gets our attention the most is that she's -- and her husband both -- have shown a lot of interest in creating a military family advisory board that would help them both during the campaign and that would help them once he's in the presidency understanding the issues that face us and addressing them in a way that's best both for the military and for the families themselves.

O'BRIEN: You must be both very much looking forward to her speech tonight, as are many people who will be watching.

Angie Morgan and Kathy Roth-Douquet joining us.

Thanks, ladies.

MORGAN: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: We appreciate it.

Good luck with that Pledge of Allegiance. We're looking forward that, too.

MORGAN: (INAUDIBLE), Soledad.

O'BRIEN: No, you won't.

ROTH-DOUQUET: Me, too.

O'BRIEN: You've been practicing your whole life. You told me yourself.

MORGAN: Practicing my whole life.

(LAUGHTER)

O'BRIEN: You'll knock it out of the ballpark.

MORGAN: No, but hard...

O'BRIEN: We're rooting for you on that.

MORGAN: It's going to be great.

Thanks.

O'BRIEN: Absolutely. That's it for now.

I'm Soledad O'Brien.

"THE SITUATION ROOM" is just ahead, continuing our nonstop coverage from the convention.

Let's go back to CNN NEWSROOM right after these short messages.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: He's a big fish on Capitol Hill, but would Joe Biden be a small fry in the White House?

Being V.P. isn't always what it's cracked up to be. That's just ahead.

But first, 3: 42 Eastern time. Here are some of the stories we're working on in THE CNN NEWSROOM.

Talk about staying power -- the remains of Tropical Storm Fay still drenching a big chunk of the South, bringing the threat of tornadoes and more flash flooding.

And we're learning a lot about a jail break in Eastern New Mexico. At this hour, authorities say eight inmates escaped from a county jail by cutting a hole in the roof, apparently with handmade tools. Police caught one. The others, including a convicted murderer, still on the lam.

After a divisive primary battle, Democrats hoping for a big dose of unity in Denver. They're kicking off the National Convention today, two days before officially choosing Barack Obama as the first African- American presidential nominee of a major U.S. party.

Here's something you don't see very often -- a plane crash rescue through the eyes of the rescuer. You can see the pilot and the passenger pulled from the wreckage, dazed but alive. Their small plane crashed on a baseball field in East Texas while a Little League team was practicing.

More now from reporter Kristen Ross of CNN affiliate KBTX.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTEN ROSS, KBTX CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was anything but your typical ball game in Caldwell Wednesday night.

AUSTIN HOSEA, WITNESS: It was just coming in and it nailed it. It hit the pole. If it wasn't for the pole, it would have probably came in in left field and hit some of us.

ROSS: But this was no fastball, rather a single engine Cessna plane that crash landed just a few feet from the pitcher's mound.

AIDEN HOSEA, WITNESS: I just didn't know what to do. I was just so scared.

ROSS: One of the first officers on the scene captures the chaotic moments following the crash on his helmet camera, as people rush onto the field to help.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The left wing was kind of hanging and it was on top of him. And so were trying to move the wing so that they could crawl out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where are you at right now, Colin (ph)?

Do you know what happened?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No?

ROSS: A scary day that many believe could have been much worse.

GENE HAWKINS, WITNESS: We're saying prayers for the pilot and the passenger and hope they're OK.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, apparently we're told that both men in the plane are expected to be OK. No one on the ground was hurt.

In Guatemala, a small plane carrying humanitarian workers went down after the pilot made distress calls about engine failure. Ten people on board were killed, including eight Americans. Four passengers survived.

In Kyrgyzstan, the deadliest plane disaster in almost 20 years. Sixty-five people died yesterday when a Boeing 737 bound for Tehran crashed while trying to make an emergency landing at the country's main airport. Twenty-five people survived. All of Kyrgyzstan's aging planes are banned from Europe over safety concerns.

Iraq's prime minister says U.S. and Iraqi negotiators have agreed that there will be no foreign troops on Iraqi soil after 2011. In fact, Nuri al-Maliki says any agreement on the future of U.S. troops in his country must include a specific timeline for withdrawal or there's no deal.

White House Spokesperson Tony Fratto said that nothing is written in stone yet, but he believes Baghdad and Washington can reach a mutual agreement.

Just when you think you've seen it all in Iraq, police capture a 15-year-old girl wearing an explosive vest.

Was she prepared to die for a cause or was she forced into the ranks of suicide bombers?

CNN's Arwa Damon reports from Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "Clear all the civilians!," a voice yells. This girl, tucked to a cart, is wearing an explosive vest -- detected when she was searched by a female security official at a checkpoint in Baquba.

As you can see in this police video, the cameraman is keeping his distance.

She's just 15 years old. We're concealing her identity because of her age.

"Is everything OK?," someone asks.

"Yes, yes," the policeman replies.

With the belt safely removed, the girl is taken into custody. At the police station, her voice trembles. Her sentences are incomplete, often incoherent.

"A woman put it on me," she says.

"Do you know them?," the police ask?

"I swear I don't know them," she answers. She says her husband was present when the women put the vest on her and she also swears she didn't want to detonate herself.

"If you didn't want to detonate, why did you get rid of the trigger?" a police officer asks her.

"I didn't throw it away. Maybe it fell. I don't know about this," she replies.

The police try to convince her to lead them to the women. "Take us to them so we can help you," they say.

"She led us to a house," General Abdul Kari Kallah (ph) says, "where there are two women and a man who are involved in preparing suicide belts and prepping the women."

The police found a second vest, but the house deserted. They detained her parents.

"She was duped," Kallah explains. "This operation was prepared by professional women. She said she was carrying this belt on her body to transfer it from one location to another."

She says she was promised it wouldn't explode, but her story keeps changing. Later, she swears she didn't even know the vest contained explosives. I was going to give it to my mother so that she could inform the police," she swears.

The police are searching for the terrorist cell members.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: U.S. forces in Iraq have arrested a suspect in the kidnapping of American journalist Jill Carroll. "The Christian Science Monitor" reporter was abducted in January of 2006 and freed unharmed two months later. A military spokesperson says the suspect was one of two senior members of al Qaeda in Iraq captured during operations in Baghdad earlier this month.

Michelle Obama making the speech of her life, Senator Edward Kennedy making a dramatic appearance -- all part of the first day of a historic Democratic Convention. The best political team on television is covering it all for you live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This convention it's Pepsi that's on everybody's lips because...

(voice-over): Pepsi paid a reported 68 million bucks to hang its name here for 20 years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From the Pepsi Center.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a look inside the Pepsi Center.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Pepsi Center.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Live pictures from inside the Pepsi Center.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to be inside the Pepsi Center.

(MUSIC)

MOOS: And doesn't that Pepsi logo remind you of Senator Obama?

(MUSIC) MOOS: With an unconventional moment, I'm Jeanne Moos.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Jeanne Moos will bring us all those unconventional moments from the convention.

Wolf Blitzer, do you drink Coke or Pepsi?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: No comment.

But let me tell you what's coming up in just...

PHILLIPS: Because this is not sponsored by either one.

(LAUGHTER)

BLITZER: Let me tell you what's coming up in a few minutes here.

We're a little more, Kyra, than an hour way from the official beginning of the Democratic National Convention. And we'll have the full force of the best political team on television to bring you all the angles.

First, they call her the closer. Michelle Obama has a vital moment in tonight's program.

Will she be able to win over her detractors?

And Ted Kennedy from his sick bed -- he's now here in Denver for what's expected to be a very special moment tonight.

Plus, the protests, the Clinton fans who can't let go and all the pomp and pageantry of this four day event. You won't want to miss it. We're bringing it to you -- all of it to you live from Denver right here in "THE SITUATION ROOM."

That's coming up -- Kyra, what do you like, Coke or Pepsi?

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Well, I was just -- my producers, they all piped in and said Tab, Fresca, Mr. Pibb. Those are all Wolf.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: No comment.

BLITZER: Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Oh, he's such...

BLITZER: No comment.

PHILLIPS: No comment. We're have a little delayed reaction there with those head sets. All right, Wolf, we'll check in with you later.

It's something else that we're drinking.

Well, work's a pain and the boss is always on your back. You're frequently passed over for a promotion. A day in the life of a vice president? Well, in many cases, yes, but not always.

Here's our Rick Sanchez.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): John Adams -- founding father, patriot, our first vice president. He wanted to be president, you know, but ended up a runner-up -- to George Washington. Back then, you come in second place in the Electoral College, you get to be vice president. It turns out he hated the job, complained to wife Abigail, calling the job "the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived" -- a sentiment echoed by so many V.P.s after him.

Fast forward, 1960 -- Lyndon Johnson calls FDR's former veep for some advice on whether to accept the V.P. job. John Nance Garner tells him the vice presidency "isn't worth a pitcher of warm spit."

Even so, LBJ takes a big gulp and tells Kennedy he'll take the spot. Good thing for Kennedy.

Johnson delivered Texas by the slimmest of margins.

Did LBJ like the job?

Heck no. Kennedy had him doing jobs that sounded good on paper -- chairman of the National Aeronautics and Space Council, for instance. But he found himself powerless after five years as Senate majority leader, one of the most powerful jobs in Washington.

LBJ learned what it meant to be only a heartbeat away, though. Two hours after Kennedy's assassination, he was sworn in as president of the United States.

LBJ went on to sign the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts, presided over passage of Medicare and Medicaid, and fought the war on poverty.

Let's go to 1969 -- the country in chaos -- assassinations, race riots, the protests against the Vietnam War. Nixon wins the presidency and chooses a V.P. that he considered so unfit for the job he once called him his insurance policy against assassination. Spiro Agnew ended up resigning for accepting bribes and pleading no contest to tax evasion. Nixon himself went down 10 months later for what became known as Watergate.

1976 -- Walter Mondale comes along and he breaks the mold, becoming an activist vice president -- the first V.P. to have an office in the White House. Jimmy Carter, his boss, wanted his V.P. to have a big role. Mondale even sat in on intelligence briefings, assumed the role of presidential adviser.

But then there are the moments. 1992, for example. You remember Dan Quayle, frequently bungling his words and, of course, his notorious misspelling.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE). You write phonetically with (INAUDIBLE) -- there you go. All right.

SANCHEZ: Speaking of bizarre moments in veep history, Dick Cheney's hunting incident. Ouch. But seriously, Cheney and Gore did pick up the ball where Quayle dropped it. They expanded the V.P. role Mondale had set up for them. Gore, heavily involved in environmental issues and pushing the dot-com boom. Cheney took the veep's job even further -- so much so, it's often a topic of late night comedy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN")

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Cheney can claim Bush as a dependent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Rick Sanchez, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, you won't find this in the mall directory. More than 200 marijuana plants -- some of them six feet tall -- found in a storage area at a mall in Miami. The Feds say someone diverted electricity from the mall to power this grow house, with wiring so flimsy it could have caused an explosion. So far, no one's been arrested.

The closing bell is about to ring on Wall Street.

Stephanie Elam is standing by with a final look at the trading day -- hey, Steph?

ELAM: Do you do this Susan? Do you toss from stories like that to Susan?

I don't think you do.

PHILLIPS: And I just thought, you know, I'm going to stay away from the -- all the pot jokes. I didn't want to set you up too badly.

ELAM: No, because I doesn't really help, because we're talking about, you know, people heading back to school and it's like stay away from that and focus on your schoolwork. I was trying, but nothing -- nothing was working off the top with that one.

But, you know, we were talking -- we were sitting here in this room talking about people heading back to college and we realized that between the three of us in here -- my two producers and me -- all three of us checked our universities and they all went back to school today. So, that means summer's coming to an end, which makes us all a little bit sad around here.

But Volkswagen has an incentive to help those folks make a transition that's a little bit smoother. Of course, we all know the automakers are trying to find ways to move cars off of their lots. And in this case, the incentive is money.

The German car maker is going to contribute $1,500 in college fees for anyone who makes a pre-ordered deposit for its new Volkswagen Bruton minivan. The minivan needs to be ordered by August 31st and purchased by -- or at least by November 30th. The money will be held by U Promise. And that's a service that helps people earn, save and pay for higher education.

So I guess some help out there if you're in the market for a minivan while you're working on your higher education out there.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Now, let's take you to "THE SITUATION ROOM" and Wolf Blitzer live out of Denver -- Wolf.