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CNN Live Saturday

Clashes Continue in Israel and Lebanon; Pakistani Man Kills One and Wounds Five at Jewish Center in Seattle; Mel Gibson Arrested for DUI; Heat Wave Breaks on West Coast

Aired July 29, 2006 - 17:00   ET

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

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Attack, counterattack -- no letup in the battle and no letup in the bloodshed. Day 18 in the Middle East crisis and another deadly one.
Plus, a crime of hate. A Muslim-American goes on a shooting spree in Seattle. The target? A Jewish Center.

And a sizzling summer -- a record roast across the nation.

Is there any relief in sight?

This is CNN LIVE SATURDAY and I'm Carol Lin.

First, let's catch you up on the headlines.

Tough talk from Hezbollah's leader now in the news.

Hassan Nasrallah says Israel's push to get his militants out of Southern Lebanon is doomed to failure. Those are his words. He blames the United States for violence in the Middle East.

And U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice right now in Jerusalem. She is trying to negotiate an end to the Middle East fighting. But she says it is important that any cease-fire be long- term.

And more American troops are heading to Iraq. Thirty-two hundred members of the 82nd Airborne will be deployed next month and several thousand members of a Striker Brigade combat team will stay in Iraq four extra months.

Now, the U.N. Security Council could vote on a draft resolution on Iran as soon as Monday. The draft gives Iran until August 31st to suspend its nuclear activities or face sanctions.

Boy, it's finally cooling off in California. After days of high heat that killed more than 100 people. The heat wave continues across the country, though, pushing temperatures into the 100s.

Bodies laid to rest in Southern Lebanon today amid efforts to silence the weapons of Israel and Hezbollah.

Here's our latest war bulletin.

Condoleezza Rice in Jerusalem right now meeting with Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister. She is said to be pursuing an eventual end to the fighting as part of a deal to end the threat posed by Hezbollah.

Now, Hezbollah's leader threatens rocket attacks against more Israeli cities. Hassan Nasrallah read a statement from an undeclared location.

And Israel mounts more air attacks in Lebanon. Today, Lebanese officials closed the country's main crossing into Syria due to damage from Israeli missile strikes.

This is the 18th day of all out fighting and the second trip to the region by the secretary of state. This time around, she's under -- she's trying to at least deal with the mounting pressure on her to find a way to end the bloodshed, as she meets with the Israeli prime minister.

Standing by for us in Jerusalem, CNN's John King -- John, has that meeting with the prime minister ended?

JOHN KING, CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Dinner tonight, Carol. No official word that is it over. We expect it is by now. One of the -- that's one of the -- actually, the question you raised is one of the interesting points about this. Both sides, the State Department and the Israeli side, are saying they're not going to talk much about these meetings because the diplomacy is at such a sensitive point that they don't want to talk about the horse trading, the give and take going on in these discussions.

In some cases, Secretary Rice is not even putting out her public schedule.

But we do know dinner with Prime Minister Olmert tonight. She will meet separately with the defense minister and the foreign minister here in Israel tomorrow. Then on to meetings and negotiations with top Lebanese officials, as well.

Secretary Rice arrived here. This is her second visit to the region in a week. She came back from Asia. On the plane in, she voiced some optimism. She said there are some signs of diplomatic progress, but she also talked about the very hard, very emotional choices Israel and Lebanon will have to make in the coming days if there is to be a cease-fire agreement.

Interesting tonight, indications from sources familiar with the conversations that there are no major sticking points in terms of the assurances, some might call them concessions, that the administration is seeking from Israel. The biggest sticking point in those conversations, we are told, is that Israel wants assurances that the Lebanese government and then any United Nations Security Council resolution will have sufficient protections, not only to disarm Hezbollah and push it back from the border, but also to prevent the resupply of Hezbollah -- rockets that Israel says come in through Syria.

So the conversations tonight, Carol, are one part of this puzzle. Then, in the Lebanese conversations, Secretary Rice wants to see is the Lebanese government serious, will it deploy its army into Southern Lebanon, will it accept an international peacekeeping force with a robust mandate, including if the United States gets its way, the permission to engage and attack Hezbollah guerrillas if they refuse to disarm as part of any cease-fire.

So it is very complicated, a Rubik's cube is how one U.S. official put it several days ago, trying, Carol, ultimately, to make enough progress in these talks to write a U.N. Security Council resolution over the next week and then get a cease-fire. So we're still, even if things go perfectly, a week or so away from the cease- fire agreement. And remember, this it the Middle East. Things rarely go perfectly -- Carol.

LIN: Certainly so, John.

So does the United States, does the secretary of state believe that the Lebanese government has the firepower, the authority, the will to actually take Hezbollah on, disarm that organization and follow that U.N. resolution?

KING: On its own, the answer to that is no. They don't like to say that publicly, because you're criticizing, undermining the Lebanese government. But the U.S. side does not believe that the Lebanese Army would do it or nor that the prime minister has the political cover to do it, the political support and the base to do it.

But they do believe that based on his assurances to them, that he's willing and ready to do it if he gets help. And that help would be the international peacekeeping force and the commitment of billions of dollars in terms of humanitarian aid and then reconstruction aid to rebuild Lebanon.

So that is a key component of this -- will Prime Minister Siniora, if he gets what he needs out of this bargain, the aid package and an international peacekeeping force that he can accept, will he stand up to Hezbollah if Hezbollah refuses to embrace the cease-fire agreement?

That is, perhaps, the defining question, Carol, in all of this.

LIN: It certainly is.

John King, thank you very much.

Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, is ridiculing Israel's air war. He says that the IDF campaign to run-them out of Lebanon is doomed to failure.

Meanwhile, Israel is changing its strategy to capture one Hezbollah stronghold.

More now from John Roberts on the Israeli-Lebanese border.

JOHN ROBERTS, SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm on a road in northern Israel, which is only a couple of hundred yards away from the Israeli border. And behind me, you can see some of the troops who have come back from the fighting in the town of Bint Jbeil. The armored personnel carriers, the tanks covered in dust, the soldiers, as well, bone tired from all of the fighting, getting resupplied and rested so that they can go back into Southern Lebanon.

The big news from the front lines today is that the Israeli Army has pulled its forces out of the Hezbollah stronghold of Bint Jbeil. That's been the scene of such intense fighting over the last five days, as they have tried to gain control of the city amidst stiff Hezbollah resistance, reacting -- resulting, at least, in a number of Israeli casualties.

However, the Israeli Army says it has exacted a far greater toll on Hezbollah. And you can hear now the sound of artillery firing over my head, hitting some targets maybe a couple of miles away from here.

So the fighting is still very close in.

The reason that they have pulled their forces back is because they want to launch some more pinpoint attacks into Bint Jbeil and they're also bombing the city, because they believe that they have still pockets of Hezbollah resistance in there that they need to soften up in order to degrade their capabilities.

We're also today learning more about that rocket that landed in Afula yesterday. That's south of Haifa, but still north of Tel Aviv, but deep into Israeli territory. We believe that it could be a modification of an Iranian rocket called a Fajr, which is about 10 inches around, carries a 220-pound warhead on it, which is a very powerful warhead, much more powerful than these Katyusha rockets.

And it carries the name Khaybar-1, which is a very significant word here in the Arabic world. Khaybar was a Jewish oasis about 95 miles north of the holy city of Medina in Saudi Arabia. When the Islamic world rose up in the early 600s, the Jews who lived there were decimated in a large battle, in 629.

And Khaybar also is the centerpiece of a famous old Arabic saying that says, "Khaybar, Khaybar, oh, Jews, Muslim -- Mohammed's army is rising again."

So, in a place where symbolism is a very, very powerful issue, obvious they want to attach as much of that symbolism as they can to the rockets that they're sending in here to Israel. And, again, it just proves that regardless of how much fighting the Israeli Army engages in, Hezbollah is still very capable of firing those rockets into northern Israel.

John Roberts, CNN, along the border between Israel and Lebanon.

LIN: So we have talked about the weapons, the firepower and the fighting. Let's talk about the victims in this war.

International aid is now moving into Lebanon. Turkey sent a shipload of supplies today and the other nations are also stepping up relief efforts to help people stranded in the combat zone. Our Brent Sadler is in Beirut -- Brent.

BRENT SADLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Carol.

First of all, the reports confirmed a few hours ago that Israeli warplanes fired a series of missiles on a target between the Lebanese and Syrian borders. This is one of the main entry points into Lebanon. The road destroyed closer to the Lebanese border post than the Syrians, but certainly another important development there, a further attempt by the Israeli military to cut off ways that Hezbollah might be able to get resupplied from outside Lebanon.

Now, in addition to that, we've seen Hezbollah's chief, Hassan Nasrallah, fire back in the war of words. He gave a televised statement earlier and he said quite categorically that as far as Hezbollah was concerned, Lebanon is at the stage of a historic opportunity to defeat Israel, to stop Israeli violations against Lebanon, to stop Israel violating its air space and to ultimately deliver a final blow against the Israeli Army.

Hassan Nasrallah also threatened to fire rockets deeper inside Israel.

Now, Carol, on the humanitarian front, efforts to achieve a 72- hour cease-fire crumbled when Israel rejected a United Nations plan. Israel says it has already established a humanitarian corridor allowing ships and airplanes to come into Beirut International Airport and Beirut's port, even though there is a continuing land and air siege against Lebanon.

We've seen Arab nations, Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates step up their efforts to get relief supplies, food and medicine into this country. But still there is tremendous concern about the increased hardship for an unknown number of civilians still caught between the fighting in Southern Lebanon -- Carol.

LIN: All right, thank you very much, Brent.

we want to hear from our viewers right now. As you know, the secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, meeting with the Israeli prime minister as we speak. This is her second trip to the Middle East.

Do you think it's going to be successful?

E-mail us at weekends@cnn.com.

We're going to read some of your responses a little later.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Coming up, a Muslim-American on a shooting spree.

This is a crime of hate and there's no place for that in the city of Seattle.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody down, all the way down to the end.

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: A Jewish Center targeted, a city in fear.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shocking, terrible that somebody would do something like that to hurt innocents.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's an act of terrorism. It's something done by one angry group.

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: Grapes wilting, livestock dying and people suffering.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The hottest year on record.

So far, for the first six months of 2006, it's the hottest ever recorded in the United States.

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: A record roast for the U.S.

Could Mel go to jail? Hollywood's big star, Mel Gibson, now in big trouble with the law.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: From the border to Tyre, it's become a free fire zone.

KING: There are significant policy divides, obstacles to a cease-fire agreement.

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The violence is only increasing, especially in the capital, Baghdad.

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This announcement this week of more troops going into Baghdad, that's not what Republicans wanted to hear.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Logging onto the most popular stories on CNN.com.

Lindsay Lohan getting taken to task for too much partying. A studio chief sent the actress a letter calling her rude for missing work on her latest film.

And an elderly man trying to park in a handicapped space at a Starbuck's in California drove onto the store's patio, hitting 10 people. Two were critically injured.

And a burst of crime in New Orleans. Police say four men were killed in one shooting. A fifth man killed in another incident several hours later.

A Muslim angry at Israel stormed into a Seattle Jewish Center Friday. He opened fire, killing one woman and wounding five others.

Katherine Barrett has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

KATHARINE BARRETT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This Sabbath will be a day of mourning for Seattle's Jewish community, stunned and shocked at the shootings that took the life of one woman here at the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle office and has left five others wounded and in the hospital.

Though, of the three most seriously injured, their condition has been upgraded at this hour to serious, an improvement over where they spent last night.

Leaders of both Jewish and Muslim communities in Seattle are struggling to come to terms with what's being called a hate crime.

A man proclaiming himself a Muslim-American angry with the situation in Israel forced his way into the building here and allegedly gunned down those six people. Then, apparently, police say called 911 himself and was on the phone with dispatchers and was then arrested with relative peace. He is now in police custody. Police say he is a 31-year-old man from Eastern Washington named Naveed Afzal Haq. He may perhaps have been living most recently closer to the Seattle area in Everett.

Police say they're stepping up security in both Jewish and Islamic religious sites around this area, just in case there is any further backlash to this crime. But they do say they are confident that this was one individual acting alone.

LIN: Across America, a chilling claim in Colorado. Convicted killer Robert Charles Brown says he killed 49 people. He's already serving a life sentence. But investigators have connected him to six deaths. Now, police say if he's telling the truth, he's one of America's most prolific serial killers.

And a Miami neighborhood was evacuated after a man found two boxes of dynamite in his yard. The bomb squad detonated half the dynamite and burned the rest.

An 85-year-old Connecticut man has been charged with reckless driving. Robert Lane is accused of plowing into a crowd at a New London Sail Fest celebration earlier this month. It was breaking news right here on this network. Lane says the gas pedal got stuck in his car.

And now safe and sound in Atlanta, Georgia, hundreds of Americans arrived here today after being evacuated from Lebanon.

CNN's Melissa Long is at the Atlanta airport, where an evacuation flight touched down just a few hours ago -- Melissa, were you able to talk to anybody who was on that flight?

MELISSA LONG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we were able to talk to some people. But, to be honest, a lot of people were camera shy and just ready to get back home to their final destination.

For many, it has really been a game of hurry up and wait, for not only the evacuees, but the airport personnel, the state employees and some of the volunteers here to greet them. Hurry up and wait because there were seven flights scheduled to come in over the weekend. As of now, just two have touched down here in Atlanta, possibly another one tonight and more over the coming days.

But for those that have touched down here, that did not have connecting flights, there were volunteers, state employees here, to greet them and help them out at the repatriation center.

Let me take a moment to introduce you to the Red Cross spokesman who explained what that center can do for the evacuees.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUBEN BROWN, RED CROSS SPOKESMAN: We're offering them first aid, Internet access, television and telephone service, child care. We're also offering a baggage hold and mental health care assistance for those who need it. Also, financial assistance on a case by case, as needed basis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LONG: Now, a couple of the reasons why the Atlanta airport was chosen for the evacuees, because of that repatriation center, because of that available help and because, of course, the Atlanta airport is extremely busy and has so many connecting flights for those that need to travel on beyond the Atlanta area.

Again, about two flights have touched down. More expected not only tonight, but in the coming days. And for the airport personnel and many of the people still waiting overseas to get back home, it remains a hurry up and wait scenario. They're all kind of on standby at this point -- Carol.

LIN: Melissa, you know, we've heard so many stories from the Lebanese side of people who were in the midst of the bombing campaign, rushing to try to get on those ships and those airplanes. I can't imagine the harrowing stories that these people are going to have to tell when they finally hit the ground.

LONG: And many of the people just have their own personal experiences now to share. I spoke with one woman who was just anxious to get back to the States, to go back to work. She was a week late and she was hoping that her employer would excuse her for that.

But she was actually visiting with her fiance, who was living in Lebanon at the time. And she was most concerned about getting her baggage, because her wedding invitations were created over in Lebanon and she wanted to get them, obviously, back, sent out to those that were invited to the wedding.

A lot of personal stories like that. I talked to another gentleman who drove all the way down from Michigan to meet up with his wife, 7-year-old son and infant son. And he just -- he was so overwhelmed, he just really didn't want to talk on camera about his personal experience.

LIN: Yes, I can imagine why.

All right, and I think that woman has a pretty good excuse for missing some work this past week.

LONG: I hope so, too. She said she hopes her employer will understand. I hope so, too.

LIN: Let's hope he's watching or she's watching.

Thanks so much, Melissa.

All right, there is just no getting around it -- it is hot as you know where across the country. Record hot, in fact. And many are now asking when it's going to end.

Plus, the tie that binds -- the $100 billion tie between Israel and the United States.

And don't forget, we will have that hear from u. Do you think Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's second trip to the Middle East is going to be a success?

E-mail us at weekends@cnn.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Check out this picture from Philadelphia. That is the skyline. A hot, hazy day there. In fact, it just feels positively sweltering. An extreme heat wave is in effect until Wednesday there. Temperatures are going to stay in the 90s. But the high humidity is going to make it feel more like 105.

And, boy, sharing the pain -- almost everyone, the extreme heat has, at one point or another, hit every single state this summer. And in California, the impact has been deadly.

Here's CNN's Joe Johns.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Temperatures were cooling off after more than a week of death in California. More than 125 fatalities in the blistering heat. Record-breaking electricity used.

And people weren't the only ones in trouble. In Sacramento, the heat had even started killing off the bat population.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It really got to be a problem there, especially on Sunday, when it was 111.

JOHNS: In wine country, the grapes started wilting on the vine. Livestock was dying. Even the fruit flies were, well, dropping like flies.

But that may have been the only tangible benefit in what is on track to become a record-breaking summer nationwide, according to government meteorologist Dennis Feltgen.

DENNIS FELTGEN, NOAA: It is unusual. And it's been excessively hot in many states across the country. In fact, there hasn't been a single state this summer that hasn't been affected one way or another with the heat.

JOHNS (on camera): The hottest year on record?

FELTGEN: So far, for the first six months of 2006, the hottest ever recorded in the United States, with records going back to 1895.

JOHNS (voice-over): In the Midwest this week, there was double trouble. At first, a thunderstorm knocked out electricity in St. Louis. And then thousands and thousands of people waited and waited in the sweltering temperatures before power was finally restored.

There was more rain in Ohio. East of Cleveland, in Lake County, a state of emergency was declared after 10 inches of rain fell and flooding caused some evacuations.

(on camera): While people in the West Coast were sweltering in dangerously high temperatures this week, people in places like the Washington, D.C. area got a pleasant break.

(voice-over): And if you're thinking next month has to be better, don't bank on it. Government scientists say this long, hot summer is a long way from done.

Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Coming up, body bags and coffins line the streets in Tyre, Lebanon, as families there grieve for the dozens killed in recent fighting. The heartbreaking pictures next.

Plus, blogging on the front lines. CNN producer Cal Perry takes us behind-the-scenes in Tyre, Lebanon, painting a picture you don't get to see on television. His amazing tale, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Let's catch you up on what's happening now in the news.

Doomed to failure -- that is what Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah calls an Israeli push to get his militants out of Southern Lebanon.

And U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice returns to the region. She's in Israel right now, trying to negotiate an end to the fighting. Thirty-two hundred members of the 82nd Airborne are heading to Iraq next month and 3,700 coalition troops are being redeployed to Baghdad.

A United Nations Security Council draft resolution would give Iran until the end of August to suspend nuclear activities or face sanctions. There could be Security Council vote as soon as Monday.

And the heat finally breaks in California, but officials believe high temperatures have killed more than 100 people. The heat wave continues across other parts of the country.

there is a crisis in the Middle East and this is our latest "War Bulletin." Condoleezza Rice in Jerusalem for a meeting with Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister that's happening right now. She's said to be pursuing an eventual end to the fighting as part of a deal to end the threat posed by Hezbollah.

Now Hezbollah's leader threatens rocket attacks against more Israeli cities. Hassan Nasrallah read his statement from an undisclosed location.

And Israel mounts more air attacks in Lebanon. Today Lebanese officials closed the country's main crossing into Syria due to damage from Israeli missile strikes. Taking a look at the death toll now, which has been mounting in Tyre, Lebanon. Local officials are marking simple coffins and burying victims in mass graves. CNN's Karl Penhaul is in the war torn city.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There have been tit for tat cross border strikes by Hezbollah militia fighters firing rockets and the Israeli military dropping bombs and firing artillery throughout the day Saturday. Meanwhile, in the center of the city of Tyre, another mass burial for the victims of those air strikes, 34 in total today were laid in a temporary grave. Now, the mayor of the city tells me that there are possibly 400 other dead bodies in 13 outlying villages close to Tyre, but because of the security situation, it has not yet been possible to collect those bodies. He says even that dogs may be eating away at the remains meanwhile.

Now, whilst the attention focused on the burial here in Tyre, humanitarian aid is beginning to filter in to some of the outlying provinces, but it's very, very slow, according to a spokesman for the international committee of the Red Cross. Each day the Red Cross has to submit a list of the villages it wishes to visit, and then arrange safe passage both with the Israeli military and also Hezbollah. But the Red Cross spokesman says the situation in the countryside in those villages is dire, people are running out of food fast and they're also running out of drinking water. Karl Penhaul, CNN, Tyre, Lebanon.

LIN: Cal Perry is a CNN producer who works with Karl Penhaul in Tyre. Now Cal has also been writing a blog that offers insights into the human side of this crisis. I'm going to share one quote with you. Here quoting now, "Standing in front of this 8-year-old boy lying in a hospital bed, the conflict in the Middle East and the cost of war seem endless and suffocating. His pain cannot possibly be imagined as he shakes uncontrollably in and out of shock. He has blood coming from his eyes." I'm still quoting here, "His name is Mahmood Monsoor and he is horribly burned. In the hospital bed next to him is his 8- month-old sister Maria, also burned. Screaming at the top of her lungs is the children's mother, Nuhader Monsoor. She is standing over her baby looking at her son and probably thinking of her dead husband. The smell of burned flesh is overwhelming." Now, I spoke with Cal just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Cal, the Monsoor family, was it difficult for you to be in the room? Because I had no idea that you were the one who actually took those photos.

CAL PERRY, CNN PRODUCER: It was a little bit uncomfortable. I'll tell you the worst moment I think for both Karl Penhaul and I was when the doctors came in and told her that her husband had died. This family of six was driving north as thousands of refugees are, when their car was hit by some kind of Israeli ordnance. In the photo you see her obviously she's standing over her baby, she's weeping uncontrollably. She's just found out that her husband is dead. And in the bed next to the baby is her son who was burned from head to toe. So it was a very difficult day, to be sure.

LIN: You know, because you're there at such an intensely intimate and tragic moment. How do you deal with that?

PERRY: It's hard to deal with, certainly, I think weeks after it's even harder. But you put it out of your mind because you want to tell their story. As hard as it is for me to stand in the room, its incomparable for the people whose lives are really being affected. For the woman who's just lost her husband, who now has these four kids to take care of, their lives are going to be completely different from the wounds they've received.

LIN: You report for television, you produce for television, you write in your blog. Reading your blog, they're so graphic and they're so personal, what do you like about blogging? How do you compare the two experiences?

PERRY: Well that's part of the reason I do it. We do sort of fall under some constraints of what we can show on television. And what we see out here is oftentimes exceptionally graphic stuff. We don't necessarily want to show the viewer those images, but if I can explain them, if I can write about them and present the picture that way, I feel like that's a good platform to do it with.

LIN: The mass funeral, the mass burial that you had described in Tyre in one of your latest blogs, you describe the blood coming out of the body bag, the maggots at the scene, the stench. What did you want to convey in that blog about that situation?

PERRY: The stench of a decaying body is something that no journalist and no human being who has ever smelled that will ever forget. And in one of the photos I took today of a mass burial, this was the second mass burial we had been to in less than a week. There's a photo of onlookers and they're standing there and they've all got sort of things over their faces and mint leaves, and they're trying to keep that smell out of their nose. And it's just a really horrifying scene. When these horrible events happen, these violent events happen, kids will come to the scene and they'll see this. And that's why you see generation after generation of real hatred.

LIN: I was sitting at a dinner table with an Israeli family who was talking about media bias. And they were saying, what is the value of these pictures? Why don't you show the fear that Israelis are living in from these Hezbollah rockets? That Israel didn't start this fight? What would you say to that family?

PERRY: Well, I think first I'd say that we try to do our best to do exactly that. It's really getting out and talking to people and letting people say things for you. I mean, as reporters, we don't want to be saying anything opinionated at all. What we want to do is put the camera on a family, on a child, whether it's in Haifa or in Tyre. We can let those people tell their story and we say nothing at all. I think that's the best we can do.

LIN: You know and I really appreciated your candor in your blog report about that mass burial because you also made the point of saying it was a media event, an organized media event where they wanted reporters, they wanted cameras taking pictures of the bodies and the burial. I appreciate that candor.

PERRY: Well and it was exactly that. They brought the first body that came out of the back of the truck was the 1-day-old baby that had died that had never been named by his mother. And they brought this baby out and they paraded it literally right in front of the press. And most of the press just sort of took their cameras down and realized that, you know what? We're not going to show that. I mean that's far too graphic and quite frankly, people were able to read through the lines. I think there's a fine line between covering the news as it's naturally happening. Three days ago they hit a building, it was probably 700 meters from here.

CNN's Karl Penhaul ran to the scene, Ben Wedeman was live from the rooftop. When Karl came back he had sweat all over him. We put them both on TV together and it was this very sort of natural event about news that was happening on the ground as it was happening. That's very different from sort of what we saw today when they tell us at noon we're going to have this mass burial. Both I think are news, but at the same time, they're two very different stories and they're set up very differently. And they need to be told very differently. I think we need to be honest to our viewers and let them know, you know, there was more media there today than there were bodies going into the ground. I think people should know that.

LIN: And that's exactly what you told your readers. Cal, thank you very much. Good luck to you. One of the nicest people you'll ever meet.

Now you can read Cal Perry's Middle East blog at cnn.com. Let us know what you think.

Coming up, you know they're allies, but do you know just how close the relationship is between the U.S. and Israel? That's next.

And still to come, a big Hollywood star in big trouble. Why Mel Gibson could be headed to jail.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: From the beginning of the Middle East crisis, the United States has shown unwavering support for Israel. Washington says Israel has the right to defend itself against Hezbollah attacks and as CNN's Candy Crowley reports the alliance between the two nations is backed by decades of financial and military support.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Israel gets more U.S. foreign aid than any other country.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The United States is strongly committed, and I am strongly committed to the security of Israel as a vibrant Jewish state.

CROWLEY: The bottom line is close to $100 billion loaned or given to Israel since its creation.

DAVID MAKOVSKY, WASHINGTON INST. FOR NEAR EAST POLICY: This relationship really goes back to the 11 minutes after Israel was founded when Harry Truman, against the advice of some of his advisers, recognized Israel and it's gone on for the last 58 years.

CROWLEY: And through the decades there have been weapons and military equipment from Washington to Tel Aviv. The best and the latest.

ED KOCH, FORMER NEW YORK MAYOR: We're democracies, that we're willing to stand together against those who want to destroy democratic values, liberties.

CROWLEY: Helicopters and missiles and so many f-16s, Israel has the largest fleet outside the U.S.

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The United States will always stand with Israel. Always remember that only a strong Israel can make peace.

CROWLEY: Lots of guns, lots of butter, but defenders of this closest of relationships, presidents and U.S. lawmakers through the decades, say the cement is the kindred souls of two comparatively young countries, borne religious persecution, sharing democratic ideals.

BUSH: These ties have made us natural allies and these ties will never be broken.

CROWLEY: But these ties put distance between main street and the Arab street where U.S. flags are burned to protest American support for Israel. AHMED YOUNIS, MUSLIM PUBLIC AFFAIRS COUNCIL: Much of why we are hated throughout that part of the world is because of a perception of an uneven handed relationship with Israel that has really existed at the expense of the Palestinian people.

CROWLEY: And these ties become talking points in the world court of public opinion.

BASHAR JA'AFARI, SYRIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE U .N.: The problem is the American backing of the Israeli aggression against all the areas since 1967.

CROWLEY: But if the U.S. cannot broker a deal in the Middle East, who can? The answer, many observers say, is no one. Even if the U.S. is biased toward Israel, it is also seen as the only one who can reach Israel.

MAKOVSKY: Israel believes that America cares about its best interests and therefore if Israel has to take risks for peace, the United States work to minimize those risks.

CROWLEY: The question, it seems, is not so much whether the U.S. could broker an agreement, but whether it will.

REP. DARRELL ISSA, (R) CALIFORNIA: We're going to have to give Israel some very tough love. Israel's not going to want to have this international force deal with the Golan Heights. They're going to want to have a little separation of somebody else's land as a buffer zone. We're going to have to say no.

CROWLEY: And because in the Middle East every answer is followed by a question, if the U.S. says no to Israel, will Israel say OK? Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.

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LIN: This just in to the CNN Center, Palestinian sources have now confirmed and told CNN that an Israeli missile hit a house in Gaza early Sunday morning. It's already Sunday there. The target apparently was a family whose son is a member of Hamas. Two people were slightly injured and the house damaged. The IDF, the Israeli Defense Forces confirms as well to CNN that it did target a structure used by Hamas in Gaza City.

All right much more still ahead on CNN LIVE SATURDAY, including the heat wave which has killed people across the country. And actor Mel Gibson under arrest.

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LIN: Tour de France winner Floyd Landis has another tough challenge. Clearing his reputation after a red flag drug test. Now, he says he did not cheat to win the prestigious cycling tournament and he wants to keep competing. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FLOYD LANDIS, TOUR DE FRANCE WINNER: I'd love to continue this sport, it has been my passion and my dream and it's a beautiful sport. And I think the people who are watching even if they're not cyclists themselves were caught in the moment, and I think it was something special to watch. It certainly was something special to be part of. I would love to keep racing. And I'm going to do my best to defend my dignity and my innocence.

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LIN: Floyd Landis is awaiting the results of a new round of tests which he says will prove he didn't use performance enhancing drugs.

All right now to Hollywood, in a statement released to the "Associated Press," Mel Gibson apologizes for what he calls the despicable things he said to deputies who arrested him Friday. The actor was picked up on DUI charges near Los Angeles. Brooke Anderson has more.

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BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He's got a stellar record in Hollywood. A beloved actor known for his roles in the "Mad Max" and "Lethal Weapon" films. He won a best director Oscar for "Braveheart" and broke cinematic ground with 2004's controversial "The Passion of the Christ," but Mel Gibson also has a record of a different kind. Gibson was arrested early Friday morning in Malibu, California for suspicion of driving under the influence. The 50-year-old actor/director was pulled over while driving on the scenic pacific coast highway. Officers on patrol say Gibson was traveling at an excessively fast speed. The L.A. Sheriff's Department tells CNN Gibson's blood alcohol level was 0.12, the legal limit in California is 0.08. In 1984, Gibson was charged with DUI in Toronto and paid a $400 fine. In recent years, Gibson has credited his religion and belief in Jesus Christ with helping him get his life back on track. Gibson recently wrapped filming on the action adventure "Apocalypto". But the filmmaker now finds himself in the harsh glare of the spotlight not for a movie but for his own personal battle with the law. Brooke Anderson, CNN, Los Angeles.

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LIN: All right, we've been asking our viewers whether Condoleezza Rice is likely to be successful on her trip to the Middle East, this is the second one. Last week frankly things didn't go so well so she went back. Here's what a few of you had to tell us. We heard from Tom here saying, "Secretary of State Rice does not possess the expertise necessary to defuse the current situation in the Mideast. Her presence may even exacerbate the situation by indicating a desire on the part of the U.S. to manipulate sides --," those are Tom's words, "For a favorable outcome beneficial only to America."

Also heard from Mark out of Charlotte, North Carolina. He writes, "No anti-terror initiative in the Middle East will bear fruit unless and until the primary terror sponsors Syria and Iran are made to pay a price they cannot afford. In the west we tend to favor solutions based on ration, reason and negotiation in the Middle East overwhelmingly brute force is respected. Our standard western entreaties are regarded as weak and foolish. Keeping terrorists in check is a long-term maintenance task much like controlling the fire ant population in my backyard". Good thing Mark is not the Secretary of State. All right hearing from Peter. Peter writes to us, "Since she will not meet with the terrorists themselves, how can she? For Israel to stop now rather than going in with full force would be exactly as the U.S. pulling out now of Iraq. Any pullback will be a big encouragement and sign of victory for the terrorists. They simply just need to be dealt with at whatever cost of life."

And a big price indeed so far in both Lebanon and Israel. There's still much more ahead on CNN. In fact at the top of the hour, Wolf Blitzer is going to join me live from Jerusalem. We'll be right back.

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