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CNN Live Saturday

Space Shuttle Discovery Launch Delayed; More Disturbing Allegations Against U.S. Troops in Iraq; Second Hand Smoke; A Vet's Challenge

Aired July 01, 2006 - 16:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A quick look at the headlines right now. Launch for Shuttle Discovery aborted. It is now rescheduled for tomorrow afternoon. The weather over Kennedy Space Center was part of the problem. More on the scrubbed mission in a moment.
A new message reported to be from Osama bin Laden is posted on an Islamic website. The speaker threatens retaliation against Shiites in Iraq if attacks against Sunni Muslims continues. A live report in a moment.

Plumes of smoke over Baghdad today. A reminder of the security challenges that remain in Iraq. A car bomb killed at least 62 people in a crowded marketplace. A full report in a minute.

Tears are falling in Redmond, Oregon, as family and friends pay tribute to Private First Class Thomas Tucker. He and another soldier were killed by insurgents in Iraq. We'll have a live report from the service in five minutes.

New Jersey governor Jon Corzine signed an executive order today shutting down the state government. He's locked in a bitter budget squabble with lawmakers. The public works projects and state offices have gone dark and state parks and beaches will close down after the holiday weekend.

Vice President Dick Cheney got a clean bill of health today at his annual physical. After routine tests doctors checked his heart and repairs they've done to aneurysm behind his right knee.

Disappointment at the Kennedy Space Center today. For the first time in nearly a year, NASA hoped to launch a space shuttle but that didn't happen. Our Miles O'Brien is there with the details. So Miles, thunder clouds were too close to the landing strip, too dangerous in the event of an emergency, is that what that really means? Miles if you can hear me OK, we know that weather was a problem.

MILES O'BRIEN, SPACE CORRESPONDENT: I'm sorry, Fredricka. I wasn't able to hear you. I apologize for that. But, we are in the process of undoing a countdown that has been many days in the making as the crew of the Space Shuttle Discovery unstraps, puts the switches back where they were and begins the process of walking out of Discovery. That will take about the next 30 minutes or so as they make their way back to the crew quarters here at the Kennedy Space Center. In the final analysis, there was not a problem-free countdown.

There were some problems with a rocket thruster used to maneuver the space shuttle orbiter in orbit, but the launch team decided they would fly with it potentially not operative in space and they would use work-arounds or fly without it, do whatever they needed to do. But mother nature had another idea in all this. Through all of this was always on the edge, the weather was. Right up to the end, there was hope they could try to sneak in through that very tight ten-minute launch window in order to rendezvous with the International Space Station. The word came about ten minutes before the intended launch. Let's listen to the NASA Launch Director Mike Liback (ph).

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's scrub this attempt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, sir. I copy that. And attention all personnel, we're going to go ahead and scrub for today.

(END VIDEO CLIP

O'BRIEN: That's the wrong bite. OK. That's them announcing, what you missed just prior to that was the whole discussion about how the weather seemed, as they put it, too dynamic today and they weren't going to take any chances with it. So the hope is that they will try again a little less than 24 hours from now. There are some other issues that they do have to contend with like will they try to fix that bulky thruster, the thermostat or heater on it. There will be a meeting right now to make some final decisions as to when they'll try again, but every indication is that they'll try again tomorrow. Launch time will be 3:26 P.M. Eastern time. Fred?

WHITFIELD: Miles, are you able to hear me right now?

O'BRIEN: Yes, I can hear you now.

WHITFIELD: So if the 3:26 scheduled launch time doesn't work for tomorrow, I remember you asking Eileen Collins about what the potential is in the coming days, and there are a lot of things that would have to take place, in terms of refueling and getting that aircraft ready again. It could be some time if not tomorrow, right?

O'BRIEN: Well, They do have enough consumables, enough cryogenic fuel on board to power their fuel cells, liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen to try three attempts in a row. So they could conceivably try tomorrow and Monday. Each day it gets about 20 minutes earlier. But there are other factors to consider. They might want to stop after two attempts, top off that fuel, that liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen, then try again later in the week, depending on how the weather looks. These things are really difficult to predict. Right now we'll just wait and see what they have to say. It is, after all, rocket science.

WHITFIELD: That's right, it is. Miles O'Brien, thanks so much from the Kennedy Space Center.

Meantime, another top story we're following for you, new threats from the head of al Qaeda. An Islamic website has posted another audio message reportedly from Osama bin Laden. Our senior Arab Affairs Editor, Octavia Nasr has been translating the message and joins us now by phone. Octavia, these messages are for both Iraq and Somalia, right?

OCTAVIA NASR, SENIOR EDITOR, ARAB AFFAIRS: You're right. Mainly it's for Iraq. There's a mention of Somalia, basically calling it a role model only when it was ruled by Islam. So basically an invitation to send the country back to Islamic rule. But the main message is Iraq. He's calling on Iraqis to fight on. It's an interesting message here for basically Sunnis to attack Shiites, although bin Laden doesn't come out and name the two sects by name, he never says Shia or Sunni, but there is an embedded message there for an invitation to that effect.

Basically Shia in most Islamist groups in Iraq and elsewhere are called rejectionists. Basically they're rejecting the Sunni rule. And here, there is many, many times the word rejectionist is used to infer the Shias. Also an attack on all the prime ministers that ruled Iraq, since the war in Iraq back in 2003. A personal attack, basically saying that they killed many Muslims, all these prime ministers. You know in Iraq, the prime minister is Shiite.

So a very interesting appeal here from Osama bin Laden for Muslims to stand up and basically continue the fight. Also, there is an acknowledgment for the successor of Abu Musab al Zarqawi, who was killed in a U.S. raid back on June 7th. An acknowledgment that Al Masri is the rightful successor according to bin Laden. He's also acknowledging of the Mujahadeen Shura Council (ph). This is a council that was, it is like an umbrella group that has several insurgency groups under its umbrella including al Qaeda and Iraq. So here is bin Laden for the first time ever mentioning this Shura Council, basically acknowledging their authority and also welcoming, sort of welcoming the new leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Hamza, basically wishing him good luck and telling him to go on with his Jihad, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Octavia, why wouldn't, given this is the second message from Osama bin Laden in two days, why wouldn't his messages be in one message conveyed? Why break it up like this? What's the psychology?

NASR: And that's a great question, Fredricka. As a matter of fact, people I spoke with yesterday, when this new tape was announced, I called several experts to try to pick their brains, try to understand what's the logic behind it. They told me that they believe this is only one message. So basically they're thinking that this was recorded at the same time, but it was done in this way so that the eulogy to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is aired separately or posted separately, and then this message. Basically they're saying don't be fooled and think that this was taped at a different time. This was probably sent at the same time but made in this way so that the eulogy is totally separate.

And you may remember that eulogy that we had only yesterday, the day before yesterday, we were questioning why he didn't acknowledge that Al Muhajr (ph) person as the successor of Zarqawi. Here is the answer in this tape. He wanted to leave the eulogy separate from his message to Iraq and Somalia. But all these are speculations. You know, experts have analyzed these messages all the time and up to this point for our audience, we continue to say it's a message purported to be from Osama bin Laden, because CNN cannot confirm 100 percent it is him. It does sound like him, but we always wait for the experts to confirm to us that it is indeed him.

WHITFIELD: Alright, Senior Arab Affairs Editor Octavia Nasr, thanks so much.

Insurgents on the attack in Iraq. A powerful car bomb rips through a crowded Baghdad market with an awful death toll and the violence didn't stop there. Reporting from the Iraqi capital, senior international correspondent Nic Robertson.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Carnage in what was until minutes earlier was a crowded marketplace. According to police, a car bomb, targeting one of their patrols, detonated as it passed through the densely packed outdoor shopping area in Sadr city. More than 62 killed and at least 114 wounded in the massive blast that tore apart cars, leaving burning, twisted hulks of metal.

The streets were turned to rivers of blood, he says. And referring to a government plan for national reconciliation he said, we don't want reconciliation with the terrorists. If the government is incapable of handling security, then let the Mehdi Army (ph), a Shia militia, do it. This explosion has all the hallmarks of a sectarian attack. Sadr city is a sprawling Shia suburb of Baghdad, and the police patrol almost undoubtedly Shia, too. The targets, very clearly, Shia Muslims.

Within an hour and barely a couple of miles away, helicopters were searching for a Sunni parliamentarian kidnapped while driving to a meeting. Tashia Mashandani (ph), A young woman from the moderate Iraqi Islamic party, was with eight guards when, according to colleagues, just after passing through a police checkpoint, was surrounded by gunmen and abducted.

(on camera): The bombing in Sadr City appears to be the most barbaric rebuff for the prime minister's week-old reconciliation proposal so far. But it's not the only buffetting the 24-point plan has been getting. The hard line Sunni Muslim Scholars Association says it objects to term of the proposals that reject amnesty for insurgents who have attacked U.S. troops, something they consider a legitimate act of resistance. Nic Robertson, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And these are prisoners considered worthy of amnesty. Four hundred and seventy Iraqi detainees were freed today as part of that reconciliation program that Nic was talking about. Some 3,000 prisoners have been released over the past several weeks. The Iraqi government says none attacked coalition troops, Iraqi forces or civilians.

Later today on CNN, can Iraq come together in peace? We'll get analysis from Baghdad, Washington and around the world. Join John Roberts for "A Week at War" at 7:00 P.M. Eastern, 4:00 P.M. Pacific.

Days of rain, a week of floods. We'll show you how the east coast is doing today. Plus, check out how this Pennsylvania man saved his home from the floodwaters. His story is coming up next.

And, kicking your nicotine habit in exchange for weight gain? That wouldn't be fair. Our Dr. Bill Malloy tells you which is worse for your health.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Mud and muck, that's life today for many along the east coast, cleaning up from some of the worst flooding in decades. The floods forced tens of thousands from their homes and killed at least 20 people in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York and Virginia. Buildings along the Delaware and Susquehanna rivers received some of the worst damages. CNN's Jason Carroll has more on the cleanup from Trenton, New Jersey.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Delaware water levels are dropping and the water has receded. So now residents are wondering when they can return to their flooded-out homes. Jeffrey McKeen hasn't slept for days.

JEFFREY MCKEEN, TRENTON RESIDENT: I'm exhausted. I was up until 12:00 last night trying to stay ahead of it. Just kept coming up in the basement.

CARROLL: This is your pump here, right?

MCKEEN: The water was all the way up to the wall on the back.

CARROLL: For the past 30 years McKeen has lived in a section of Trenton, New Jersey called Glen Afton (ph). A section where dozens of homes are still waterlogged from the swollen Delaware River. More than 1,000 people were told to evacuate. McKeen stayed.

MCKEEN: I've been pumping steady for about three hours.

CARROLL: This isn't the first flood McKeen has been through, so, this time he knew where the water would go and what it would do.

MCKEEN: It was up to the top step. See where the gray step is right here?

CARROLL: Yes.

MCKEEN: Then all the way up to the ceiling. I'm a teacher, and I'm moving into a new school. And I had to put, you know, all my stuff, these are all my tools from my basement. It's devastating. It's emotionally wrenching. I collapsed twice yesterday. I couldn't go any further, I had to lay down and breathe.

CARROLL: McKeen is one of a handful of people who didn't leave. Emergency crews say those who did evacuate are now anxious for any word on how their homes fared.

STEVEN BARYLA, CEDAR BRIDGE MILITARY ACADEMY: I guess the toughest part about this is when you get out of the area and the residents want to know from you what does my home look like? And they're giving you house numbers, are my cats alive? And you have to be compassionate.

CARROLL: Steven Baryla took us on a tour of the neighborhood. He's an instructor at a military academy, who volunteer when the floodwaters started rising.

(on camera): How high is the water at this point?

BARYLA: We're probably at about 3 1/2 feet.

CARROLL: Baryla helped emergency crews by offering the use of his military vehicle, an M-35-A-2. It can be driven submerged in water.

BARYLA: Every 15 minute or so we're bringing officers in with the officials to see how the water's going down. We're measuring levels on the vehicle.

CARROLL (voice-over): Baryla helped not only emergency cruise but wary homeowners like Jeffrey McKeen. For McKeen, staying well could be challenging. He's only been working on the cleanup for a few days but says it will easily take months to get the job done.

(on camera): This morning, most of the water in the Glen Afton area had finally receded. The residents who were evacuated there should be able to return to their homes by the July 4th holiday. Jason Carroll, CNN, Trenton, New Jersey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Once burned, twice shy. That's the motto of a Pennsylvania man. His house received extensive damage from flooding last year. But not this time. As we hear from reporter Brittany Westbrook of CNN affiliate WFMZ.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRUCE COUILLARD, FLOOD VICTIM: We had to put $90,000 back into it, to reconstruct it. All the walls had to be taken down, put back up again or cut so that they could be cleaned out.

BRITTANY WESTBROOK, WFMZ PENNSYLVANIA: That's what Bruce Couillard had to do to put his house back together after floodwaters took over in 2005. But he refused to do it all over again this year. It amounted to $90,000 in repairs. The simple solution this time would cost just a few hundred.

COUILLARD: We had an idea that it would work and it did.

WESTBROOK: An idea that included plastic, a heap of sand and about twenty friends. First they took everything out of the house's first floor. Then it was time to give the plastic a purpose.

COUILLARD: Wrap the house and seal it off with plastic, much similar to what you use on a boat.

WESTBROOK: They used sandbags to hold the plastic down. Seven hours later it was time to sit back and wait.

COUILLARD: The water at its highest level reached right at the lip here.

WESTBROOK: But it didn't get into the first floor. And more importantly ...

COUILLARD: Our all new floors from being done have not been touched.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just tried it, you know, and it worked. Unfortunately, everyone else is, depending on where they are on the level, they're filled.

WESTBROOK: Filled and frustrated. While the Couillards are free to use their energy for other pursuits.

COUILLARD: We're talking about ways we can do it faster and better and with less people next time. Because unfortunately it seems like this will happen again.

WESTBROOK: Brittany Westbrook, 69 News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The crisis over a kidnapped soldier, we'll tell you Israel's reaction to the Palestinians' latest demands.

He lost his leg in the Iraq war, and then found a new mission on the track. His story and his dream when CNN continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: No deal, that's the word from Israel's prime minister to demands by Palestinian militant groups holding an Israeli soldier hostage. They're demanding the pre-release of 1,000 Arab prisoners from Israeli jails. CNN's Paula Hancocks has the latest from Gaza city. She's on the phone with us. Paula, this negotiation is dead in the water?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, this is what we have been hearing from forces all this Saturday, but we've also now heard from President Mahmoud Abbas. He had an off-camera talk saying that there wasn't a deadlock in negotiations, negating the fact that all is lost and just realized on the Israelis to now carry out a threatened attack in northern Gaza. He says there is hope that a solution is going to be agreed by all sides. We know that further negotiations from the U.N. and also from Egypt are going to be arriving over the next couple of days. And at this point, it does appear as well that the air strikes and the shelling has calmed down somewhat.

There's still being shelling in northern and southern Gaza, but it's certainly a lot quieter than it has been in the past few days, giving some hope that there is going to be a diplomatic avenue that has not yet been gone down and maybe there will be a resolution to this. Obviously, still looking for that 19-year-old corporal who was arrested on Sunday. And also this Saturday we had the first exchange of gunfire between Israeli forces and Hamas government down in southern Gaza, but as yet, we don't believe that this were any casualties.

WHITFIELD: Paula, while we've heard in the past 24 hours that this young corporal had been treated by a doctor and the doctor says that he's alive and well. Have we heard anything more about how this young man's doing?

HANCOCKS: Well, we did hear from one deputy minister in the Hamas government saying that the Shalit (ph) was in fact stable, he was treated for wounds, three shrapnel wounds, but since that point this morning we have many more reports from the Israeli media specifically suggesting that that might not be valid. So it's really quite difficult to pinpoint whether or not this doctor did, in fact, go and see him. There's been a lot of differing reports.

Obviously, the people that are holding Gilad Shalit are not speaking in public. They're speaking through mediators. They're speaking to other people who are speaking to Egyptians who are speaking, not to Israelis certainly, but to other mediators. So it's a very complex way that this ...

WHITFIELD: All right, Paula Hancocks reporting from Gaza there.

President Bush says the key to ending the crisis is the release of that Israeli soldier. Mr. Bush discussed the standoff in a telephone call with Turkey's prime minister earlier today. Turkey has played a key role in mediating disputes in the region in the past. The two leaders agreed to remain in close contact on this matter.

And a programming note. Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres and Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat (ph) talk about the standoff on "LATE EDITION" with Wolf Blitzer. That's tomorrow at 11:00 Eastern.

Weather worries scrubbed the planned takeoff of the space shuttle. Ahead, what NASA plans to do next.

Don't let the fear of weight gain stop you from kicking your cigarette addiction. We'll tell you what you need to do to keep those pounds off while stopping yourself from lighting up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: "Now in the News," today's scheduled launch of the space shuttle Discovery has been postponed until tomorrow. You're looking at pictures of the hatch, which eventually these members here, NASA team members, will open the hatch and the seven crew members on board the shuttle will emerge eventually. NASA aborted the launch just an hour ago over weather concerns.

Another message purportedly from Osama bin Laden today. The audiotape posted online calls for Iraq's Sunni Muslim minority to resist the U.S.-backed government. It also warns against international troops being sent into Somalia.

In Iraq, another deadly message from insurgents. Sixty-two people were killed, another 114 hurt in this explosion at a Baghdad marketplace.

New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine takes drastic measures in a budget battle with Garden State lawmakers. The governor shut down the state government today after the deadline for a balanced budget came and went with no settlement.

And good news for Vice President Dick Cheney today. Doctors gave the 65-year-old heart patient a clean bill of health at his annual checkup.

ANNOUNCER: This is a CNN special report.

WHITFIELD: And a bit of disappointment there at NASA at the Kennedy Space Center, where you're looking at some employees from NASA right now who are preparing to open the hatch of the space shuttle Discovery. On the other side of that hatch, the seven crew members. They will emerge because today's scheduled launch this afternoon has been scrubbed because of weather. And now it has been postponed and rescheduled for tomorrow at about 3:26 p.m., weather permitting.

Our meteorologist, Bonnie Schneider, is in the weather center. And we've been saying all day that certainly it was dicey because these clouds were moving in, they were rolling out, but in this case, there were a certain type of clouds that NASA really doesn't want to see.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: More disturbing allegations against U.S. troops in Iraq. The military is investigating claims that at least two soldiers raped an Iraqi woman, then killed her and her family.

Senior Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre filed this report for "THE SITUATION ROOM."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE McIntyre, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Army sources say the allegations came up two weeks ago during combat stress debriefing sessions that followed the murders of privates Kristian Menchaca and Thomas Tucker. According to a senior Army official, two soldiers from Menchaca and Tucker's unit the 502nd Infantry Regiment, told military counselors they heard about an incident that happened on March 12th in which two other soldiers supposedly raped an Iraqi woman and then one of the soldiers allegedly killed her and three family members, including a child. The second-hand account was enough to prompt Major General James Thurman to order a criminal probe.

A brief statement issued by the military in Iraq says, "A preliminary inquiry found sufficient information existed to recommend a criminal investigation into the incident."

An Army official says one of the suspects is confined to base in Mahmoudiya, south of Baghdad, the same area where it's alleged the four Iraqi civilians were killed in their home.

The investigation is the latest in a string of incidents in which it's alleged U.S. troops killed Iraqi civilians. In Haditha, where 24 Iraqis were killed last November, an investigations is still under way. In Hamdaniya, seven U.S. troops are charged with killing an Iraqi man in April. At Thar Thar Lake, four soldiers are charged with killing three detainees in May. And in Ramadi, two soldiers have been charged in connection with the shooting of an unarmed man in February.

(on camera): Army sources say in this latest incident, a second suspect was discharged from the service for reasons the Army won't disclose. He is believed to be in the United States and is wanted for questioning. No charges have been filed against either soldier as the investigation continues.

Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And you can catch "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer weekdays at 4:00 p.m. Eastern, 1:00 Pacific.

So, you're terrified of gaining excess weight if you quit smoking? Up next, what you can do to keep that scale down while fighting nicotine cravings.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The bottom line of the surgeon general's latest warning on the dangers of second hand smoke, its ill effects are worse than previously thought. And children may be the most at risk.

CNN Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen clears the air on second hand smoke and its potential consequences.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Susan Richardson has inoperable lung cancer, but she never smoked. So how did she get it? She thinks she might know. Her dad smoked while she was growing up. SUSAN RICHARDSON, LUNG CANCER PATIENT: I just remember taking family trips in the car, and my brother and I saying please, roll down the window, or my dad coming to help me with my homework and kind of having that smoker smell.

COHEN: And now a new report from the surgeon general says you don't even have to be exposed to smoke day after day like Susan was to get sick. It says that being in a smoky place for just a few minutes increases your chances of getting not just lung cancer, but a long list of illnesses, from asthma to heart disease.

DR. RICHARD CARMONA, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: Science has proven that there is no, I repeat no, risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke.

Let me say that again. There is no safe level exposure to secondhand smoke. Breathing secondhand smoke for even a short time can damage cells and set the cancer process in motion.

COHEN: And if you think you're OK in an area like this, the surgeon general says you're wrong. The new report says the concentrations of nicotine in nonsmoking sections of restaurants persists at high levels.

And it is not just in public places. Unbelievably, nearly one out of four children has been exposed to secondhand smoke in their own homes.

Anti-smoking advocates are hoping this new report makes a difference.

MATTHEW MYERS, CAMPAIGN FOR TOBACCO-FREE KIDS: This report leads to only one conclusion, and that is it is literally legislative malpractice not to enact comprehensive smoke-free laws quickly.

COHEN: He and others want the rest of the country to be like California, where there is no smoking in any public places. Arkansas has gone even further. Starting next month, it will be illegal for parents to smoke with children under age 6 in the car.

Of course, back in the '60s and '70s, when Susan Richardson was growing up, the dangers of secondhand smoke were not yet known. Now, public health authorities say there is no excuse, no reason for anyone to expose themselves or their children to secondhand smoke.

Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And smokers have plenty of reasons to stop. But ask anyone who lights up, and they usually have a lot of excuses for continuing. Often at the top of their list, "I don't want to put on the extra weight."

So how do you lose the cigs while not getting bigger around the middle? Dr. Bill Lloyd joins us live from New York City today.

And Doctor, what's the correlation between quitting smoking and gaining weight?

DR. BILL LLOYD, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-DAVIS MEDICAL CENTER: Well, Fredricka, today is July 1st, the year is halfway over. Many people made a pledge on January 1st to stop smoking this year. There's still plenty of time. And you're right, people are worried about that weight gain, and there's several important reasons why people put on those added pounds.

The first has to deal with your appetite. You know, there's chemical changes that take place in your body when you smoke and when you stop smoking.

So, when you stop smoking, your appetite is going to jump up. You're going to substitute for a cigarette. Maybe you'll substitute with junk food, or maybe more alcohol.

Your metabolism slows down when you stop with all that nicotine. The less nicotine in your body, the slower your metabolism, the more prone you are to gain weight.

Everybody knows that people who quit smoking have a terrible mood. And some people turn that mood on the dinner table. And, of course, stopping smoking is always a stressful time. And again, people tend to relieve their stress by surrounding themselves with other people and plenty of food.

WHITFIELD: So it almost sounds hike no matter what your metabolism, if you become a cigarette quitter, then there's a pretty good chance you're likely to put on some weight.

LLOYD: There is a chance, but it's not an inevitability. Now, there's a new study out from University of California Berkeley that went back and looked at a large series of 6,000 people who stopped smoking. They recalculated the data, Fredricka, and guess what they found out? Instead of the usual five or 10-pound weight gain that we hear people talking about, in those studies the weight gain was almost 20 pounds.

So it's important that everybody who is going to think about stopping smoking also think about ways in which they can protect themselves from that weight gain that does not have to be inevitable.

WHITFIELD: So how do you prepare yourself for that journey?

LLOYD: Well, in addition to just simple awareness of knowing that the threat is out there, get yourself involved in some physical activity. If you're going to find a partner to help you quit smoking, try to convince that partner to getting involved in physical activity.

You know, a two-mile walk every night will cause you to lose one pound every two weeks. Over a full year, that's 26 pounds. Be sure you drink an increased amount of water, plenty of water throughout the day.

Think about a nicotine patch that will help you during the time while you're trying to get away from tobacco. Using the nicotine patch will help keep the weight down. Or ask your doctor about a prescription to help you stop smoking, because the studies have also shown this is another way to keep the weight down while you're breaking the cigarette habit.

And finally, give yourself a break and allow yourself a little bit more acceptance. If you successfully stop smoking, you're going to feel better, you're going to look better, your lungs and heart are going to perform better. So even if you do pack on a little more weight, Fredricka...

WHITFIELD: Right.

LLOYD: ... you'll be better prepared to burn it off once you successfully quit cigarettes.

WHITFIELD: Good idea.

And folks, don't be so hard on yourself out there.

All right. Dr. Bill Lloyd, thanks so much.

LLOYD: We'll talk again soon.

WHITFIELD: Other news "Across America" right now.

Police think two techs at a camera repair shop in the U.S. are behind a new celebrity scandal. Police say the men lifted photographs of Angelina Jolie's baby shower in Africa and may have tried to sell them. The digital pictures were on a camera that Jolie's brother sent in for repairs. So far no arrests.

A Florida fishermen reels in a record Hammerhead. The shark weighed 1,300 pounds, with good reason. She was carrying 55 pups. The catch has angered environmentalists. They say Hammerheads are being killed off by over-fishing.

And dog gone no more. Ariel (ph) the Great Dane was finally corralled after three years on the run in the Colorado back country. The big dog bolted one day. Her owner couldn't coax her back and later moved to another city. The Great Dane and owner reunite today thanks to an implanted microchip.

And in Las Vegas, Nevada, Sir Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono show up for last night's premiere of "Love," the latest from Cirque du Soleil. It features music from the Beatles. The show takes over the theater once used by Siegfried and Roy.

The Iraqi battlefield took his legs but not his will to live. Why this war veteran now has his sights set on Beijing 2008.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Susan Roesgen is here from New Orleans, giving us a little taste of New Orleans here in Atlanta.

And what's ahead?

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN GULF COAST CORRESPONDENT: You bet.

Well, you know, we've been watching the flooding in the Northeast. And certainly as a reporter from New Orleans, I can relate to the mess that those people have to clean up.

Back in New Orleans, meanwhile, there's a strange problem. We had all the water, of course, after Hurricane Katrina. Now we have millions of gallons of water flooding the city underground...

WHITFIELD: Whoa.

ROESGEN: ... 85 million gallons a day is being lost. So we'll have that story, a really strange story, coming up at 5:00.

Then at 6:00, there's this new push in Washington to test everybody for AIDS. The nation's capital has the highest AIDS case rate in the nation. But when they say they're testing everybody, does it mean President Bush, does it mean the Supreme Court, does it mean members of Congress?

So we're going to interview the city's health director at 6:00 to find out what really is going on about this new test.

WHITFIELD: Right. Who makes the selection, or will it be a volunteer basis? Lots of questions.

ROESGEN: Apparently not. It's going to be ages 14 to 84. They're sending out 80,000 of these AIDS test kits.

So, you're right, we do need to find out whether it's voluntary or not. But they want everybody to be tested.

WHITFIELD: All right. Susan Roesgen, good to see you.

ROESGEN: Thanks -- you bet.

WHITFIELD: Well, time now to go global with headlines from around the world.

Mexican voters decide tomorrow whether to stay with President Vicente Fox's conservative party or swing back to the left, which dominated the country's political past. Mr. Fox cannot run for re- election due to term limits.

The Vatican has announced four planned canonizations. The chosen will be elevated to sainthood this fall by Pope Benedict XVI.

Portuguese soccer fans are ecstatic as their team advances to the World Cup semifinals for the first time in 40 years. Portugal bested England after 120 minutes of scoreless play. The Portuguese won on penalty kicks. The annual Tour de France is under way, though with a smaller field. Thirteen cyclists were barred yesterday after being implicated in a wider blood doping probe.

This is the first tour in recent years without Lance Armstrong. The American cyclist champ retired after winning seven consecutive Tour de France titles.

Big names like Armstrong and Beckham aren't the only athletes providing inspiration to others. Our Larry Smith introduces us to one young runner who has overcome some amazing hurdles both on and off the field.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY SMITH, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In 2005, Sergeant Kortney Clemons was a medic stationed in Iraq when he came across a Humvee that was tipped over. He stopped to help a soldier who had been seriously injured.

SGT. KORTNEY CLEMONS, U.S. ARMY: I remember just getting ready to lift the guy up, you know, to take him and put him into the Black Hawk. And at the time, an IED went off. And it was like, you knew -- it's like, I knew something was wrong.

I remember just crawling, like trying to crawl to, like, some of my friends. And at the time they just covered me up and told me, like, everything's going to be all right.

When I woke up, I had already had the amputation, everything. I was in Germany. And at the time, you know, you're just so glad to be alive.

SMITH: Clemons was alive, but his right leg was amputated from above the knee.

LOIS CLEMONS, KORTNEY'S MOTHER: At first he hadn't looked at his leg or anything. And he didn't want to look at it. So, I said, "No, it's something you need to do."

K. CLEMONS: I was really, likely, totally exhausted. I didn't know how far I'd be, like, living a productive life ever again. So I sort of figured I'd be in a wheelchair, but that's not the case.

SMITH: While recovering at a military facility in San Antonio, Texas, Clemons saw other veterans who were wounded far worse than he was, doing incredibly athletic things.

L. CLEMONS: Back in San Antonio, you know, there was a guy there running around. And he said, "Oh, mom, one day I'm going to run like that." You know, he was still in the wheelchair and everything.

So I said, "All you have to do is make up in your mind. You know, this is a mind thing. If you get your mind set to do anything, you'll be able to do anything." K. CLEMONS: And it was, like, poof, right before my face. I couldn't say that I can't do it because I got this guy that went through it so many years ago, you know, and he's doing fine.

SMITH: So Clemons started running and competing in the 100 meters.

K. CLEMONS: After you get finished running those 100 meters a couple of times, you feel like you can pretty much handle everything else in the world, you know.

SMITH: His ultimate goal is to represent the United States as a sprinter in the 2008 paralympic games in Beijing, China.

K. CLEMONS: To make it there would be, like, a big accomplishment. You know, just to continue to represent your country.

L. CLEMONS: He called me about a month ago. And he said, "Mom, you know, I thought losing that leg was going to slow me down," but he seems like it, you know, it's helping him a lot in his life. He's done more with that than he did with both legs.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: A nice story of inspiration.

Well, Susan Roesgen is coming up with the day's top stories, including a car bombing in Iraq. Sixty-two people are reported dead.

And then, it's probably not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of dangers on the road, but a half-ton moose could be wandering your way. See what a close encounter can do to your car and you.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Susan Roesgen is up next with more of CNN LIVE SATURDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROESGEN: Well, it's been an afternoon of tough decisions for NASA. The latest on what's ahead for the shuttle Discovery.

Family and friends of an Oregon soldier gather to remember his life. We'll have a live report.

And walking in Memphis. The Japanese prime minister, a longtime Elvis fan, follows in his idol's footsteps.

Hello and welcome to CNN LIVE SATURDAY. I'm Susan Roesgen, filling in for Carol Lin.

We'll have all that and more after this check of the headlines.

The crew of the space shuttle Discovery will try for liftoff again tomorrow. NASA scrubbed today's launch because of concerns over thunder in the area around Kennedy Space Center. A new message apparently from Osama bin Laden wishes good luck to the new leader of al Qaeda in Iraq. Bin Laden urges this new leader to focus on fighting Americans and fighting everyone who supports the war there.

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