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NEWS STREAM
FIFA Reports Brazil On Schedule For 2014 World Cup; Human Rights Watch Says Assad Regime Targeting Bread Lines; Prosecutors In South Africa Charge 270 Miners With Murder; Andy Roddick Will Retire After U.S. Open
Aired August 31, 2012 - 8:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNA COREN, HOST: Welcome to News Stream where news and technology meet. Hello, I'm Anna Coren in Hong Kong.
We begin in Syria where fierce fighting is reported in several hotspots.
Also ahead, in perhaps the most important speech of his career, but just how well did Mitt Romney do in Florida?
And the tell-all book on the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. Why the Pentagon could take drastic action of its publication.
In Syria, several cities are now battlegrounds in the country's civil war. Well, much of Friday's fighting has been concentrated in three areas: the capital Damascus, the opposition stronghold of Homs, and Syria's commercial hub Aleppo.
The increased violence comes one day after opposition activists say nearly 100 people were reported killed across Syria on Thursday.
Well, these days not even a bread line is safe in Syria. And we need to warn you about our next story. It shows graphic video of the result of fighting in Syria. Well, it may be too disturbing for some viewers. Mohammed Jamjoom reports now on what activists say is a vicious pattern of attacks on civilians by the regime.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The horrific aftermath of an airstrike in Aleppo, a scene of utter chaos, the dazed and wounded smothered in dust and smoke, and it seems this was no random strike. According to Human Rights Watch, this attack happened on August 21. Witnesses said a helicopter had been circling overhead hours before the Aqul (ph) bakery opened. A queue of some 200 people had formed. A bomb was dropped on an adjacent building spraying shrapnel and debris all over the bread line. Hospital staff told Human Rights Watch that some 20 people were killed. The group says there is a pattern of such attacks.
OLE SOLVANG, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: On at least 10 occasions government forces have attacked such bread lines using artillery, helicopters and fighter jets. Several of these attacks killed and wounded dozens of civilians.
JAMJOOM: Human Rights Watch says that in all of the cases they've documented, save for one, government forces attacked the bakery when local residents were waiting in line, that they gave no warning. The bakeries were in neighborhoods or towns where no fighting was taking place.
These repeated attacks are either deliberate attacks on civilians, or they are reckless, indiscriminate attacks, both of which are war crimes.
They have been just one part of the deadliest month yet in Syria's conflict. Just last week the brutality seemed to reach new depths with opposition activists reporting that over 200 bodies had been found in Daraya, a suburb of Damascus that had fallen out of government hands. The regime claimed the terrorists had carried out the killings.
Hundreds of civilians have fled other districts around the capital amid intensified artillery attacks. 18 months after protests against President Bashar al-Assad began, Syria's uprising has become a grim war of attrition. The rebels gradually acquiring more effective weapons, but the security force still possessing an overwhelming advantage.
Amid the insurgency, a growing humanitarian crisis as Syrians continue to flood out of their war torn homeland at record numbers and neighboring countries worry if they can cope with the influx. For his part, al-Assad remains defiant, saying the battle for Syria is one of perseverance, even insisting things are improving. And the international community looks on with few options for intervening.
Mohammed Jamjoom, CNN, Beirut.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: Well, a short time ago I spoke with the German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle. And I asked him given the increasing violence in Syria, should Syrian President Bashar al-Assad stand trial for war crimes before the International Criminal Court.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GUIDO WESTERWELLE, GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER: That would be the best, but on the other hand if we can stop the killing, if we can stop the violence, or help the people in the country then the transformation with an exit for Assad would also be acceptable.
COREN: That he was given some sort of immunity.
WESTERWELLE: I'm not going into details. I think it was clear enough what I said.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COREN: We'll have much more of that interview in the next hour of CNN as the foreign minister discusses the situation in the EuroZone.
Well, tensions are running high in Kenya's second largest city Mombasa. The popular tourist destination has been hit by days of protest and a grenade attack that killed three police officers. Well, the violence was sparked by the killing on Monday of radical Muslim cleric Aboud Rogo Mohammed. Well, David McKenzie reports on the simmering tensions. And speaks exclusively with one of Rogo's long time confidantes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The gruesome aftermath of a drive by shooting in Mombasa, Kenya. This was clearly an orchestrated hit. Family members, some wounded, still in shock.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
MCKENZIE: Slumped over the chair, the target, Sheik Aboud Rogo Mohammed, prominent radical cleric, blacklisted by the UN security council and U.S. government.
Rogo was a vocal supporter of al Qaeda linked Al Shabaab in Somalia, accused of recruiting Kenyans to fight and accused of involvement in several terror attacks in east Africa. The response to his killing: chaos, days of rioting in Mombasa, Kenya's second city. Three policemen were killed in a grenade attack.
Amongst the youth of Mombasa, the support for Sheik Rogo ran deep. And the situation still tense.
They brought the Sheik's body right after he was killed, took it away from police and brought it here to the Mosque just down the street. And what is striking is this area of Mojango (ph) now is nearly completely deserted. You've got paramilitary police who are stopping anyone coming in or out on vehicles. And here you see the burnt remains of tires. This neighborhood is angry. And this place is all but deserted.
One of Rogo's long time confidantes has agreed to meet us. He's been hiding for days. Abubaker Shalrf Ahmed says Kenyan police killed Rogo and that he could be next.
ABUBAKER SHARIF AHMED, FACES TERROR CHARGES: If a policeman comes to arrest me, I have to go with him. If I go with him I'm dead. If I stay in my house, I have to defend myself, because I know if they come for me they kill me.
MCKENZIE: Sharif faces terror charges and is on the same U.S. government blacklist for suppporting Al Shabaab.
AHMED: In fact, I prefer to going back to Somalia, live with Al Shabaab. Maybe I'll have peace there. I can live a normal life.
MCKENZIE: The police have dismissed claims that they killed the Sheik, but the simmering tension remains in Mombasa. Many youth here feel neglected, forgotten by the state. Some have fallen under the influence of militant leaders like Abubaker Sharif Ahmed.
AHMED: It's a conflict between democracy and Islam. So whoever opposes democracy with Islam gets killed. What is happening in Kenya is going to affect the peace in Kenya. If they are going to kill us like this we have to fight back.
MCKENZIE: Ominous words in a country where sectarian violence is an ever present danger.
David McKenzie, CNN, Mombasa, Kenya.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: Well, coming up on News Stream, the man who hopes to become the next president of the United States delivers what could be a make or break speech. We'll have Mitt Romney's big moment.
A former Navy SEAL writes about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, now he could be in big trouble with the Pentagon over his tell-all book.
And Apple won a court battle last week, but Samsung is chalking up a victory in the latest round. We'll have more on the legal skirmish between the tech giants.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COREN: Well, the balloons and confetti have been swept up. And in a few hours Mitt Romney will take his campaign back on the road. But the big question is whether the Republican nominee for president will see a bounce following his crucial convention speech. It was Romney's chance to redefine himself to the American Public and outline his plans for the nation. Well, he seemed to aim his address at those who may be undecided or disappointed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Now is the moment when we can stand up and say I'm an American. I make my destiny. We deserve better. My children deserve better. My family deserves better. My country deserves better.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COREN: Well, Romney promised to restore America's greatness. His speech made clear that this race will be framed as a referendum on Barack Obama's presidency. And a big part of Romney's attack on Mr. Obama was over jobs. The Republican nominee detailed his strategy to end high unemployment and improve the sluggish economy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: What is needed in our country today is not complicated or profound. It doesn't take a special government commission to tell us what America need. What America needs is jobs. Lots of jobs. And unlike the president, I have a plan to create 12 million new jobs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COREN: Romney also provided a closer glimpse into his personal life. He spoke about his love for his wife Ann, talked about his parents and even about his Mormon faith.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: We were Mormons. And growing up in Michigan that might have seemed unusual or out of place, but I really don't remember it that way. My friends cared more about what sports teams we followed than what church we went to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COREN: Romney also showed off his conservative credentials. Among other things, he promised to repeal health care reform, oppose gay marriage and abortion, and vowed no tax increase for the middle class.
Let's take you live to Florida now. And Brianna Keilar joins us from Tampa. Brianna, how has the speech being received?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anna, and let me tell you where I am, first off. We're at historical Plant Hall, which is at the University of Tampa not far from where Mitt Romney spoke last night.
I thought it was -- I think we're really going to be seeing how it was received, actually, because Mitt Romney was trying to target persuadable voters, those voters who haven't made up their minds, maybe voters who went for Barack Obama four years ago and are now having second thoughts about whether they'd want to cast a ballot for him this year. So we'll be looking to see if he was able to sway any of those voters following this convention.
The centerpiece of Mitt Romney's remarks last night were criticizing the economic record of Barack Obama. And then also as we've seen the Obama campaign really create a liability out of Mitt Romney's business record, his time at the investment firm Bain Capital, we saw Mitt Romney stand behind his business record and hit President Obama for not having business experience.
He also talked about foreign policy, criticizing the president there as well. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: In his first TV interview as president he said we should talk to Iran. We're still talking and Iran's centrifuges are still spinning. President Obama has thrown allies like Israel under the bus even as he has relaxed sanctions on Castro's Cuba. He abandoned our friends in Poland by walking away from our missile defense commitments. But he's eager to give Russia's President Putin the flexibility he desires after the election. Under my administration our friends will see more loyalty and Mr. Putin will see a little less flexibility and more backbone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: So Mitt Romney, Anna, being a little hawkish there on foreign policy. We heard some criticism over the course of the convention specifically from former secretary of state Condoleeza Rice of President Obama's foreign policy credentials. It's a little harder to hit him on that, because of some successes like Osama bin Laden and decimating al Qaeda leadership and the fact that with Libya no American troops' lives were lost. But it's something that Mitt Romney attempted to chip away at.
And also you mentioned that he talked about his Mormon faith. This was a moment that I thought really struck me. He frequently will say my church, my faith, avoiding even saying the word Mormon. Well, he said it last night. And he said it in the context of an anecdote of how he was a little different being Mormon growing up in Michigan, but really it didn't make him that much different from his friends, Anna.
COREN: Brianna, Hollywood made an appearance at the convention as well with 82-year-old Clint Eastwood, I guess, giving a bit of a speech. What did we make of that?
KEILAR: This was a weird moment. I think that's really the only way to tell it. He gave a speech that was very much off the cuff and it -- at first I thought maybe there was some kind of appeal to that, that it was so unscripted. But it took this turn where it became strange and at times very uncomfortable as he started talking to an empty chair as if it were President Obama.
Take a -- or I should say -- we don't have a sound bite for that, but it was really something that he did repeatedly. And it struck a very different tone than Mitt Romney was striking, Anna, because he was trying to talk to independent voters who maybe had voted for President Obama before. And Clint Eastwood was really throwing out what you you'd call a lot of red meat there to the conservative base.
So the Romney campaign trying to say this wasn't a blunder, that you can't look at Clint Eastwood through the same political lens that you might look at some of the other speakers, but it was definitely be fair to say that he was way off the talking points last night.
COREN: It would seem that people attending the convention enjoyed it. They sort of lapped it up. But it did seem a little strange, I must admit.
Now Brianna, tell us, where does it go from here for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan?
KEILAR: He's going to be doing the kickoff rally obviously here in the Florida area. And then they'll be doing a bit of a travel push. We're going to see President Obama, though, doing the same thing as he moves into his convention, the Democratic convention in Charlotte next week. And what we're really going to be looking for are those poll numbers, Anna, to see just what, if any, bump in the polls Mitt Romney got from this convention. And then we'll be monitoring those over the next few weeks to see how perhaps President Obama may neutralize them with him, with his convention, or if maybe he doesn't. We'll be watching.
COREN: We certainly will. Brianna Keilar in Tampa, Florida, good to see you. Thank you for that.
Well, Romney differed in tone from his running mates hard hitting speech. But Presidential nominee Paul Ryan is now under criticism for playing loose with some facts. In particular, a story he told about candidate Obama visiting an auto plant and promising to keep it open for 100 years. Well it closed one year after that, but the decision was made before Obama took office.
So CNN's Wolf Blitzer asked Ryan if he wanted to revise his comment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL RYAN, REPUBLICAN VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The point is this is a story of the Obama economy, a man running for president in 2008 making all these grand promises and then none of them occurring. He got elected. He put his policies in place. And the plant still shut down. My friends who I went to high school with...
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: But that was a decision General Motors made.
RYAN: I'm not saying it was his decision. I'm saying he came and made these promises, makes these commitments, sells people on the notion that he's going to do all these great achievements and then none of them occur. These are empty promises that become broken promises. And that's the story of the Obama economy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COREN: Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan speaking to Wolf Blitzer there.
Well, coming up on News Stream, hundreds of miners are charged with murder in South Africa despite video evidence of police firing the fatal shot.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COREN: Well, controversial murder charges have been brought against hundreds of miners in South Africa. They are accused in the deaths of 34 fellow miners who were killed when police opened fire in clashes at the Lonmin platinum mine two weeks ago. Nkepile Mabuse joins us live from Johannesburg to explain what is going on -- Nkepile.
NKEPILE MABUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, Anna, the decision by the national prosecuting authority and the South African police brought this really controversial apartheid era drop doctrine of common purpose and charged these 270 miners with common purpose murder has really sparked so much outrage in South Africa that the justice minister has stepped in. He has asked the national prosecuting authority to explain to him, and I quote, the rationale behind this decision.
The Congress of South African Trade Union also very critical of this decision saying that it exposes the South African police's lack of training and that this also undermines the commission of inquiry that has been set up by the president.
Let's take a listen quickly to what ordinary people in the streets are saying.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's part of the dysfunctionality of our state. And it shows that if like ordinary citizens fighting for their rights can be accused of (inaudible). It's clear when visuals and pictures that it was the police that actually killed those people. It doesn't make sense to me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fact that violence is still in our nation really upsets me. And the fact that it's over freedom of association is -- which is one of the cornerstones of our constitution -- is quite upsetting.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's absurd for the state to charge our miners who are exploited on a daily basis with murder. I mean, they have a right to protest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MABUSE: The general feeling here in South Africa is that the police on the day overreacted. They lack training to control an unpredictable crowd like that. And that the commission of inquiry should be allowed to do its work independently before the police just lump this charge that has been really called bizarre by many people on the 270 miners, Anna.
COREN: Yeah, it is extremely bizarre.
Now according to many legal experts, they say that this case will in fact collapse. But why would the prosecution inflame an already tense situation?
MABUSE: You know, I mean the feeling here in South Africa is that there is a lot of political interference in the national prosecuting authority and in the South African police service. Generally in South Africa, people feel that the police should be taking responsibility for what happened.
And keep in mind, also, that two police officers were killed in the run-up to the shootout that we saw on the 16th of August. So there's also a feeling that the police feel that this is how they're going to get justice.
But having said that, South Africans generally have confidence in the courts. And it is the courts that need to still confirm this charge whether it will stand or not. And already a very well known law professor has said it will never stand in a court of law in South Africa. He sees this as a flagrant abuse of the criminal justice system -- Anna.
COREN: Nkepile, what does this then, mean, for the government? Because there has been obviously increasing pressure on President Jacbo Zuma and the ANC?
MABUSE: Exactly. A lot of people see this as yet another sign of how far removed, how distant the ANC is becoming to the people that it represented for so many years during apartheid. The ANC really held the hopes and the dreams of black South Africans. It has been the ruling party since democracy in 1994. And these are really troubling times in South Africa. People see the ANC as far removed and not representing people on the ground.
And of course this has been fodder for politicians who are, first of all, against President Jacob Zuma. You will remember his former ally Julius Malema who was expelled from the ANC has used this incident from the start to criticize Jacob Zuma. He is now saying that life was -- is much worse now under this current government than it was under apartheid. And he says President Jacob Zuma should go and this is the reason why -- Anna.
COREN: Nkepile Mabuse joining us from Johannesburg. We appreciate that update. Thank you very much.
Well, a report from the United Nations nuclear watchdog is raising fresh concerns about Iran. The International Atomic Energy Agency says Iran is stepping up its capacity for Uranium enrichment. Iran insists its nuclear program is meant for peaceful purposes, but as Matthew Chance reports, the UN is demanding answers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this latest report from the UN's nuclear watchdog agency is sharply critical of Iran, pointing to an increase in Iran's nuclear activities, in contravention to UN security council resolutions. The report says Iran has doubled the number of centrifuges installed in its Fordo nuclear facility near the holy city of Qom. That, to more than 2,000 dramatically increasing, the pace at which the country could produce nuclear material.
Stockpiles of higher grade enriched uranium have also increase in Iran, according to the report fueling concerns that Iran could produce weapons grade material more quickly, and in greater quantities, if it wanted to than before.
Iran, of course, says its program is for exclusively peaceful purposes and that it does not intend to make a bomb. But the IAEA report accuses the Islamic republic of hampering efforts to verify that, cleaning up or sanitizing the Parchin military site, for instance, where nuclear inspectors believe Iran may have conducted experiments in the past related to nuclear weapons.
Matthew Chance, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: Well, it's been no easy day for one ex-navy SEAl. The author of the tell-all book on the raid that killed Osama bin Laden could be in trouble with the Pentagon. Details next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COREN: Hello. I'm Anna Coren in Hong Kong. And you're watching News Stream. These are your world headlines.
Well, violence is ramping up across Syria. Opposition activists say 30 government soldiers have been killed in clashes with rebel fighters in Aleppo. There are also reports of running street battles in Homs. Well, some shells from Syria even landed across the border in Northern Lebanon, injuring a Lebanese soldier, well that is according to the Lebanese internal security forces.
Mitt Romney has officially accepted the U.S. Republican Party's nomination as its presidential candidate. At the party's convention Thursday, Romney vowed to restore, quote, America's greatness after what he called President Obama's unfulfilled promises. Romney and running mate Paul Ryan will spend Friday campaigning together in Florida and Virginia.
One of the richest men in Britain has fought off a legal challenge that could have cost him $5 billion. Well, London's high court ruled in favor of Russian oil tycoon Roman Abromovich. Well, his former business partner and fellow oligarch Boris Berezovsky was suing him for breach of contract.
Well, No Easy Day, the tell-all book about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. Well, now the Pentagon is threatening legal action against Matt Bissonnette, the former Navy SEAL and author of the controversial book. Barbara Starr has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Appearing in this CBS 60 Minutes exerpt in disguise and under his face name Mark Owen, this is actually Matt Bissonnette, the former Navy SEAL who wrote the book No Easy Day, a firsthand account of being on the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.
MARK OWEN, EX-NAVY SEAL: My worry from the beginning, you know, it's a political season. This book is not political whatsoever. It doesn't -- it doesn't badmouth either party.
STARR: Is there classified information in the book? Maybe. Military officials tell CNN photos like this one of advanced night vision goggles that SEALs use worry them. Bissonnette's account of the secret mission has new details. He says as the team went up the stairs of the compound, bin Laden poked his head out. Bissonnette heard other SEALs fire two shots. Bin Laden then disappeared back into the room.
By the time Bissonnette got inside, bin Laden was on the floor, not standing up as was first reported. Bissonnette and another SEAL then fired into bin Laden's chest to ensure he was dead.
CNN's Carol Costello spoke to Peter Bergen.
PETER BERGEN, CNN SECURITY ANALYST: People's recollections of these events are not perfect.
STARR: The White House still addressing skeptics.
JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: As more debriefings happened, debriefings of the special operators involved in the mission as well as others, some of the initial information turned out to incomplete. We acknowledged that at the time.
STARR: The Defense Department is now expected to inform Bissonnette that he has violated secrecy agreements and that both he and his publisher could be forced to forgo royalties.
Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: Well, you just saw him in Barbara Starr's report. CNN security analyst Peter Bergen joins us now live from Washington with more.
Peter, before we get to the controversy, I guess, that has now unraveled, firstly does this book set the record straight in your opinion?
BERGEN: I think the book is largely accurate. As I said in Barbara's piece you've got to bear in mind that this event took place in the middle of the night after a firefight. There was no electricity on in the neighborhood. It was a moonless night. All the SEALs are on night vision goggles. So I think any kind of description of an event like that, you know, I think you have to caveat it a little bit and say as in all events, whether eye witnesses -- no one is going to have a perfect recollection.
That said, you know, I've read the book. I reviewed it for the Washington Post. I think the book fits with everything that we know in the public record. I've written a book myself on the 10 year hunt for bin Laden. I obviously, you know, was concerned that Mark Owens' book might be very different from my account. And it turns out that they're very similar.
As Barbara said in her piece, there is a slightly different account of how bin Laden was killed. But it doesn't basically change the overall picture, which is bin Laden was unarmed when he was killed. His weapons were -- he didn't reach for his weapons. He didn't put up any resistance. He was killed about 15 minutes into the actual operation.
COREN: Yeah, interesting details indeed.
Peter, let me ask you this, did you learn any new details about the mission from this book?
BERGEN: I think the mission -- you know, I know quite a lot about this having spent, you know, a year writing about it and writing a book on it. I think the book gives a lot of new texture. And it's, you know, it's one thing have -- you know, obviously I interviewed a lot of people who had knowledge of the operation, but it's very different to hear it directly from the horse's mouth, which is why, of course, the 60 Minutes piece with Matt Bisonnette will be so interesting.
You know, to hear what it smelled like the night of the raid, to have a visceral sense of what it was like to be in the helicopter as it crashed, which Matt Bisonnette was on the stealth helicopter that went down within seconds of the raid happening. You know, all that is very interesting. I think the book is well written. It's -- you know, it's very interesting. And obviously I'm not alone in that view, because, you know, it's already number one on Amazon and it hasn't even been officially published.
COREN: Peter, let me ask you this, in your review in the Washington Post you said that you were surprised that it was published so quickly considering it's against the code of silence among the SEAL Team 6. Why do you think he published this book now?
BERGEN: Well, by his own account I think there are three reasons. He says he wants to set the record straight. And certainly there have been -- there's another book that's out there called SEAL Target Geronimo by a former SEAL team commander, which is completely nonsensical, based -- and in fact special operations command issued an unusual public statement saying it was fabrication. He never spoke to anybody on the raid.
So I think part of Bisonnette's motivation is to sort of set the record straight. I think part of it, surely is, you know, there's quite a lot of money to be made here. But to his great credit he is going to donate more than half the proceeds to charities that help fallen -- the families of fallen Navy SEALs. Now of course that may all be moot if in fact the Pentagon does go in and basically as Barbara reported essentially prevent this guy from getting any royalties and his publisher.
But I think there's some risks for the Pentagon to have a very public dispute with this guy. After all, he was part of the team that killed bin Laden. And I think -- I read the book fairly carefully, and I"m not obviously a national security lawyer, it seemed to me that this guy made quite a lot of efforts not to give away the kinds of tactics and procedures that would put him in legal jeopardy.
So, you know, it remains to be seen if the Pentagon actually is going to follow through. Balanced against that, the Pentagon may want to make an example of him. He's not -- actually there's a whole shelf full of these kind of memoirs from Navy SEALs now. And the Pentagon hasn't gone after them, but in this case it's so high profile, so much interest, that they may feel that they need to make something of an example so that basically the flood gates aren't opened for everybody on this mission to write a book at a certain point.
COREN: Peter, do you believe that there was classified information published in this book?
BERGEN: You know, it's hard for me to make a judgment. I didn't notice it. And certainly I think that the author and his co-author whose a very experienced guy on special operations, it seemed to me that they made an effort not to, you know, disclose classified information.
I'll give you an example, it's been widely reported that the, you know, helicopters on the operation were so-called stealth helicopters. That is not reported in the book at all. So I think that they probably went out of their way to try and avoid it.
Now -- but, you know, at the end of the day it's the Pentagon's assessment, not my assessment that counts.
COREN: Peter as always, a fascinating a conversation. Peter Bergen joining us from Washington, thank you.
BERGEN: Thank you.
COREN: Let's now get the very latest on Hurricane Isaace with our Mari Ramos. Mari, what's it's doing at the moment?
MARI RAMOS, CNN WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know what, we're fortunate that the storm finally has weakened. And it's not even considered a tropical depression any more as it continues to just slowly meander around the southern portion of the United States. I'll give you that forecast in just a moment, but let's kind of go back in time a little bit and recap some of these tremendous rainfall totals that we got from the storm.
Let's go ahead and start, first of all, looking at this picture. This is one of the NASA images, really amazing. You're looking at what was Hurricane Isaac as it was moving across. This is already hen it was considered a tropical storm. And you can still see how well formed it was, extnending all the way from Texas all the way almost to the Eastern seaboard, to the Carolinas.
So what a large, large storm, indeed. And of course it was moving so slowly. These rainfall totals are just amazing.
New Orleans, half a meter of rainfall, that's the biggest rainfall totals that we saw. New Orleans proper. Other places in Mississippi and Florida, even. Over 400 millimeters of rainin Vero Beach. There are still places there that are underwater near West Palm Beach and also Mobile, Alabama got some significant rainfall from this storm.
On the ground, it looks like this. These are pictures from right outside of New Orleans. Let's go ahead and roll the video. Yeah, they're getting out of there again. This is an area called LaPlace. It's on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain. And these areas got flooded. They don't have a seawall here. They don't have a wall, a protective barrier, but literally hundreds and hundreds of people had to be evacuated from their homes because the water from Lake Pontchartrain actually began moving into these neighborhoods, just kind of pouring on through. So all of these people had to be evacuated to other places.
Let's go ahead and come back over here to the weather map. Let me show you where the storm is now. And you can see that circulation telltale sign of an area of low pressure. And you can see all that moisture. It's still picking up a lot of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. And that is still going to be a concern. There's the threat for flooding in these areas. And remember, these are those same drought areas that we've been talking about for so long in the corn belt of the United States.
As that track continues here across the Midwest, some areas will get easily over 100 millimeters of rain. Most of this is beneficial rainfall, Anna, because of the drought, but you've got to remember some of these areas like here in Illinois, they've only had, what, maybe 70 millimeters of rain since June 1. So they could get more than that even in one day, or in a couple of days, which could cause some flooding. That could be a huge concern for the populations here. Even though I know for the most part they're going to be very happy that they're finally getting some rainfall there.
Let's head to the other side of the world. I want to talk to you about another storm that hit -- this one hit in the Korean Peninusal. It's called Tembin. Remember Tembin? It's still -- it was still around even yesterday.
I want to show you some pictures shot earlier in the day from the Korean peninsula. This is from South Korea. And, yeah, telltale signs here also of a strong storm. You can see some of the winds still flowing pretty hard over some of these areas and a lot of damage caused by this second storm in just a matter of days that moved through here. Down trees, downed power lines, broken windows and landslides. That's still also a huge problem. And that rainfall totals have also been significant over this area, but guess what, Anna, I want to end it on a happy note, because come back over to the weather map.
Do you see what I see? Can you tell what I'm talking about here? For the first time...
COREN: I think you're saying there's not clouds.
RAMOS: Yeah, kind of, yeah...
COREN: Over Hong Kong?
RAMOS: Yeah. Well, you know what, the first time in 45 days that we don't have a tropical cyclone in this part of the world -- yay.
COREN: That is good news.
RAMOS: That is good news.
COREN: I know, it's been so active. So active.
RAMOS: It has. We've had seven in a row hit portions of east Asia so enjoy the weekend. Finally.
COREN: We will. And those blue skies.
Mari, as always, lovely to see you. Thank you. Bye-bye.
Coming up on News Stream, FIFA weighs in again on Brazil's readiness for the 2014 World Cup. Well, just a few months ago FIFA suggested things could be going a lot faster. Are the preparations now up to speed? Find out next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COREN: Welcome back.
Well, Samsung has won the latest round in its legal fight with Apple. The battle between the two tech giants spans the 10 countries that you can see here in red. Well, this time a court in Japan made its decision and it rejected Apple's claim that Samsung infringed its patents. Well, Apple accused Samsung of copying a patent on transferring media from a computer to portable devices, but Apple was only seeking about a million dollars in Japan.
Well, it's very different to the case in California where Apple was awarded $1 billion in damages. In that case, Apple accused Samsung of copying the look and feel of its devices, including the way a web page bounces back if you scroll too far off the edge.
Well, the countdown is on to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. A top FIFA official says work on the stadiums is on schedule. And all projects are at cruise speed. Well, that's certainly music to Brazil's ears after it got something of a tongue lashing earlier over its preparations.
Well, Shasta Darlington reports from Rio.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A football friendly Brazilian style, played barefoot on Atroturf in a Rio de Janeiro Favela. Across town, the tone was also friendly at the latest board meeting of international football's governing body FIFA.
JEROME VALCKE, FIFA: Today, all the 12 stadiums I would say are on track, meaning that none of them is in a critical situation.
DARLINGTON: Earlier this year FIFA's secretary-general said Brazil needed a kick in the backside to get ready for the 2014 World Cup. But he was conciliatory when he sat down for an interview with CNN.
VALCKE: The main impression is that the cities are working hard.
DARLINGTON: We went to check out Rio's iconic Marikina stadium for ourselves. The head of the renovation says workers are on schedule to finish for the Confederation's Cup, a traditional warm-up event for the World Cup.
ICARO MORENO, EMOP (through translator): We're working very intensely, 5,500 men. We're contracting even more to finish by February 2013.
DARLINGTON: Workers are widening the seats. They've also modernized the stadium to give fans a 360 degree uninhibited view of the game.
But some things are out of their control.
Marikina, this is Brazil's temple to the beautiful game. They built it in 1950 for the first World Cup. They didn't win it then. This is their second chance. But team Brazil won't even make it to this pitch unless they play in the final game.
Most recently, Brazil failed to bring home the gold from the London Olympics. But football sensation Ronaldo told CNN he was optimistic about the World Cup.
RONALDO, SOCCER LEGEND (through translator): The Brazilian people have high expectations about winning the cup in our own country. And I'm certain that by the time we get to the cup our team is going to be competitive.
DARLINGTON: A victory on home soil would no doubt be a dream come true for kids like these across Brazil.
Shasta Darlington, CNN, Rio de Janeiro.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: Well, a chance for deadline day for Europe's football club. So let's join our Alex Thomas in London to see if any of the big teams are being busy. Hello, Alex.
ALEX THOMAS, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Anna.
There are barely more than 10 hours for sides to bolster their squads before that transfer window slams shut. Remember it doesn't reopen until January. And while fans will have their eyes on even the smallest clubs, it's the big sides that always attract attention on deadline day. Will any of the star names be bought or sold in a last minute splashing of the cash? We can see some panic buys sometimes.
Well, despite winning England's Premier League last season, Manchester City still seem keen to spend some money. Brazilian fullback Maicon is reportedly close to a move from Inter Milan given the city have conceded two goals in each of their matches so far this season, surely a center half is also on Roberto Mancini's shopping list. As well as Maicon, Inter have sold Julio Cesar. So will the 2010 European champions need to dip into the transfer market as well today?
Their city rivals, AC Milan, have lost a host of star names. This picture is from February. And since then, four of the team in that picture have left, which could explain while Nigel de Jong has been signed from Manchester City. He's a defensive midfielder.
Let's end with a player, instead of a club, American international striker Clint Dempsey officially still at Fulham, but surely not for much longer considering the long list of teams he's been linked with including the likes of Liverpool, Aston Villa, and Arsenal.
Now after defeat of men's fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was the shock result on the court at the U.S. Open on Thursday, the biggest news off it was Andy Roddick's announcement that this tournament will be his last in professional tennis. Although many had predicted the decision for some time, Roddick's revelation spelled the end of two major careers in two days after Kim Clijsters' retirement on Wednesday.
While the Belgian quit after losing her second round match, Roddick is still in the event for now. He plays Bernard Tomic later.
The American's 2003 victory at Flushing Meadows was his only grand slam success, but plenty of fellow pros and the ATP tour have paid tribute to one of the game's most charismatic players.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDY RODDICK, TENNIS PLAYER: Walking off at Wimbledon, I felt like I knew. Playing here, I don't know what it was, I couldn't imagine myself being there in another year. You know, I've always for whatever my faults have been I've always felt like I've never done anything half way. And probably the first time in my career that I consider and say I'm not sure that I can put everything into it physically and emotionally and I don't know that I want to disrespect the game by coasting home, that's not something -- I had plans to play a smaller schedule next year, but the more I thought about it I think you've got to either be all in or not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
THOMAS: We'll have more on the tennis, the Paralympics, and we look ahead to the resumption of the Formula One season in World Sport in just over three hours time. For now, Anna, back to you in Hong Kong.
COREN: Thank you, Alex.
Well, speaking of the Paralympics. Today is the second full day of events. More than 4,000 athletes are competing. So how do the games make sure that competitors are on a level playing field? Well, our Don Riddell explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DON RIDDELL, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: The basis for any sporting competition is that there has to be a level playing field, but how does it work with the Paralympics? With so many different kinds of disabilities, how are the athletes able to compete fairly against each other. Well, the Paralympic games classify athletes based on their specific disability, this is to minimize the impact of their disability on their performance and to make sure that each is judged solely on skill, fitness, power, endurance, tactical ability, and mental focus.
The International Paralympic Committee classifies athletes into 10 impairment types. Eight of those are various physical impairments, the other two types are visual and intellectual impairments.
Some Paralympic sports to allow athletes with all 10 impairment types to compete, but others do not. For example, an athlete can compete in archery if he or she is visually or intellectually impaired.
The classification is then further broken down into sport class to determine how severe an athlete's impairment is in order for every athlete to compete with others in the same class. Each sports has its own classification system to measure how an athlete's impairment impacts his or her performance.
The classification is coded based on level of impairment. For example, archers are divided into three classes: ARW 1 are those in a wheelchair with little arm strength or little range of movement, ARW 2 are those in a wheelchair but have normal arm function, and ARST, those athletes who compete while standing, but have limb impairments.
Sports such as athletics, have more than 50 classifications based on different events and impairments.
So there you have a brief description of how athletes in the Paralympics are classified. For more on the Paralympic games go to CNN.com/WorldSport.
I'm Don Riddell, back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: They truly are all amazing athletes.
Well, coming up after the break, Condoleeza Rice had a bit of an embarrassing moment at the Republican National Convention. It wasn't her words that had social media buzzing. We'll have details next on News Stream.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COREN: She has been branded a shining star of the Republican Party, former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, one of many in the audience at the Republican National Convention in Florida this week.
But some people watching from home were paying more attention to her make-up then her message as Jeanne Moos explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's the scourge of lipstick wearing women.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, god.
MOOS: Instead of just sticking to your lips, it transfers to your teeth and proceeds to stick in the mind of whoever is looking at you. So in the midst of Condoleeza Rice's wildly popular speech to the Republican convention with its big ideas...
CONDOLEEZA RICE, FRM. SECRETARY OF STATE: And what an idea it is.
MOOS: A little nagging idea crept in.
RICE: And everyone asks...
MOOS: Is it me? Or does Condi have red lipstick on her teeth.
Superficial? No question. Cosmetic by definition. But the tweets flew.
Oh Condi, the lipstick, the lipstick, it's on your teeth.
I love you, Condi, but somebody should have told you there's lipstick on your teeth.
I don't know how people are seeing lipstick on her teeth. Do you see any lipstick on her teeth?
The only lipstick I see was what I left behind on the TV screen. After all, Condoleeza Rice is not Courtney Love. You expect lipstick to come unstuck on Courtney.
Still, lipstick seems to be a recurring theme at Republican conventions.
SARAH PALIN, FRM. VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, they say the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull, lipstick.
MOOS: Do not try any of these on a pit bull. But there are various tips for preventing lipstick on the teeth. Make-up mavins suggest your coat your teeth.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With the tiniest bit.
MOOS: With certain ointments or Vaseline.
And then there's the finger trick.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't think of this (inaudible), but yeah, this is how you do it.
MOOS: Excess lipstick sticks to your finger, not your teeth.
(MUSIC)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, it's kind of dirty, but it works.
MOOS: Kind of like politics, not that politics work these days. It seemed to be mostly Republican critics mouthing off about Condi's ever so minor make-up malfunction.
Feel guilty, said one, about noticing Condi's lipstick on her teeth, because she is being less bat crazy than everyone else that has been on tonight.
Why can't the press cover substance over style, cover something you can sink your teeth into?
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: Ladies, my hot tip, use lip gloss.
Well, that is it for News Stream, but the news continues here at CNN. World Business Today is coming up next.
END
