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CNN Live Saturday
Israel Beefs up Aerial and Ground Assaults on Lebanon; Tour de France Champ Landis Test Positive in 2nd Doping Test; U.S., France Agree on U.N. Security Council Resolution
Aired August 05, 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: Next on CNN LIVE SATURDAY, a potential break in the United Nations efforts to end the fighting in the Middle East. We'll take you live to the U.N. headquarters.
New tests, same bad result for Tour de France champ Floyd Landis. We'll talk live with America's first tour winner Greg Lemond. And nearly a year after hurricane Katrina, the dice are rolling again in Biloxi. Hello, and welcome to CNN LIVE SATURDAY, I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Let's get started with the latest from the Middle East.
Here's what we know about the crisis in the Middle East. Washington joins the push for an immediate halt to the fighting. At this hour, the U.N. Security Council is reviewing a draft resolution from the U.S. and France. It calls for an end to attacks by Israel and Hezbollah. We'll have a live report in a moment. Israeli commandos shoot it out with Hezbollah fighters in the Lebanese city of Tyre. The Israeli military says today's raid destroyed a Hezbollah unit that fired long-range rockets into Israel.
And three Israeli women die in rocket attacks in western Galilee. At last word, more than 170 Hezbollah rockets had landed in Israel today.
Thousands of miles away from the fighting, there's a peace push this hour. It's only a piece of paper right now, but it may be a start. To tell us what's happening CNN's Richard Roth at the United Nations, where they are now meeting behind closed doors Richard?
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SR. U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fredricka and your lead-in to me does sum things up. It may be a breakthrough. The reaction is still anticipated from several of the key players who do not sit on the U.N. Security Council. The Lebanese foreign ministry representative walked by reporters moments ago and did not seem happy with the text. But that's still early and he has to also worry about national consumption. The French ambassador who worked out this deal with the U.S. ambassador after days of negotiating, told journalists the main point about that terminology they were stuck on regarding halt in the fighting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEAN-MARC DE LA SABLIERE, FRENCH AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: First, the text calls for a full cessation of hostilities. Based upon, in particular, the immediate cessation by Hezbollah of all attacks, and immediate cessation by Israel of all offensive military operation, that is to say, ground, and air.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
ROTH: But the text does not say that Israel should withdraw from the area. And that is drawing some resentment from some diplomats. The text simply leaves it vague and eventually, under this resolution there would be another resolution voted for, for a more robust U.N. peacekeeping force to be in there. And only then might there be a pullback. So we're a long way from that, Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: So then what's the timetable on the voting on these resolutions, if not one, but more than one?
ROTH: All right, well let's listen to U.S. Ambassador John Bolton, who talked about what type of negotiating took place, and what he thinks of this resolution.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BOLTON, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: This is a fusion text. We wanted to -- we have always had the same strategic objectives. We, and the French and the British and many others. There were obviously some different approaches to the resolution of the problem. But we felt that for maximizing the overall chances to do what we all fundamentally want to do, which is not return to the status quo --
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
ROTH: And that's something the United States has not wanted to do. They did not want to go toward an immediate cessation of hostilities. So they got a call for a full cessation and some think to give Israel more time. But there was a lot of hard bargaining between the U.S. and French. It will be interesting what Russia says, China, and of course, the Arab delegations, Qatar the only Arab country on the Security Council. He refused to specify what his reaction is, but he noted there may be some concern elsewhere, specifically Hezbollah. They are a member of the Lebanese parliament, Fredricka. What is their reaction going to be? What's Israel going to do? Back to you.
WHITFIELD: All right, good question. Thanks so much, Richard Roth at the U.N.
Well, meantime, no letup today in the rocket attacks on northern Israel. Our reports from the Middle East now begin with CNN's Fionnuala Sweeney in the Israeli city of Haifa.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Israeli tourism minister and member of the inner security cabinet Isaac Herzog saying tonight that Israel now had a limited amount of time in which to achieve its objectives in southern Lebanon. This following the news that a draft Security Council resolution is being discussed at the United Nations in New York this Saturday. Isaac Herzog saying that what Israel wants to do is clear a secure zone, not so much a security zone, clear that of Hezbollah, and then hold it until a multinational force would arrive. This, however, as the rockets continue to fly into northern Israel, more than 170 rockets hitting the northern one- third of this country during the day. Three women, all members of one family were killed in an Arab village, several others were injured. It has to be said that over the last three days Hezbollah on each and every day has fired about 200 rockets into Israel. That is the most amount of rockets that have been coming into this country since this conflict began. Fionnuala Sweeney, CNN, Haifa, Israel.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Now CNN's John Roberts is embedded with Israeli troops in south Lebanon, he's in a dangerous area with fighting on the ground and Hezbollah rockets flying overhead. Earlier today he told me what some Israelis are saying about that U.N. draft resolution that calls for the end of the fighting.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On the news of this United Nations resolution, at least the framework (INAUDIBLE) with the United States and France agreeing to it. There is a sense of skepticism and a new sense of urgency for the unit that I'm traveling with here. The sense of skepticism is how is this going to work? When an end to hostilities are called, if Hezbollah fires a rocket into Israel, is Israel allowed to go after that position? Don't forget, the key words here as Richard Roth highlighted were, offensive operations. It's not to say that Israel can't stay in southern Lebanon and hold that ground, prevent Hezbollah from coming back into the towns and villages that they have spent so long cleaning out and trying to reconstitute itself. Israel would probably hold on to that ground until a U.N. force can come in and probably slowly withdraw or even remain in the territory until that larger international stabilization force comes in.
As far as the unit that I'm with right now, it's called a tank hunting unit, but there are no tanks to hunt on the Lebanese side of the border. So what they do is they turn their expertise, their fire power, their American-made sophisticated missiles against Hezbollah positions, searching out bunkers. They set up an observation post. They looked for a Hezbollah bunker, they try to engage the enemy. What they have now, is they believe, an increasingly narrow opportunity of time to attack those Hezbollah positions while the diplomatic gears grind forward. They believe that maybe there's 48 to 72 more hours before a cease-fire is called, if the track continues at the United Nations at the pace that it is. And therefore they have a very, very short time now after this ramp up in offensive operations, a ramp up in the ground forces to try to degrade Hezbollah's capability to the greatest extent possible Fred.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: John Roberts reporting in south Lebanon. Meantime, that lukewarm response from Beirut today being spelled out a little bit. That part of the story now coming from CNN's Jim Clancy in the Lebanese capital. JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, we had Israeli jets in the sky, but no sound of any explosions. In other words, no bombs dropped. I think that what we're looking at right now is really an assessment by both sides of what's on the table. We got an initial indication right after the cabinet met in the parliament building behind me. CNN's Beirut bureau chief Brent Sadler talked to Fouad Siniora, the Lebanese prime minister, who only gave this draft resolution at best a lukewarm reception. Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FOUAD SINIORA, LEBANESE PRIME MINISTER: That's why we are telling them that it's not adequate. That it does not really achieve the objective that they have set for themselves. And I don't deny that there are good intentions. But it really requires that we have to be very frank with them, so that to tell them that this is not really adequate one and does not really achieve the objective that they have set for themselves.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
CLANCY: Well really the objective that the U.N. Security Council was trying to reach here was to make a very public call for both sides to halt the rockets that have been flying across the border into Israel, halt the air strikes that have cost the Lebanese dearly in terms of infrastructure, and as well as civilian casualties. Now, with all of the casualties that have occurred here, certainly the economy has to be counted as one of them. 2.5 billion in infrastructure damage, that's one of the estimates that's out there. A tourism industry that is lying in tatters. We talk to people today that said the economics of all of this conflict really mean that thousands of people are going to be put out of work as a result.
The Israelis on the other hand have things to weigh for themselves. For the first time their civilians are really facing sustained rocket attacks as longer-range missiles are being used by Hezbollah. Hezbollah is being very firm, very calm, saying they want every soldier out of every square inch of Lebanese territory. And Fouad Siniora we should note, echoed what Hezbollah was saying that Sheba Farms, that disputed region that the U.N. says is part of Syria but the Lebanese and Hezbollah insist is still part of Lebanon, also has to be evacuated. That's a serious call. Whether both sides though decide to turn down the temperature, Fredricka, that is to halt the air strikes at least temporarily. To halt the missile attacks into Israel, at least temporarily, could give this resolution breathing space. Back to you.
WHITFIELD: All right, Jim Clancy, thanks so much for that update out of Beirut. Expect updates on the crisis in the Middle East throughout the hour and all weekend long. Plus, the results are in and they don't look good for Tour de France winner Floyd Landis. Coming up, one of America's greatest cyclists reflects on the drug scandal. We talk live with former Tour de France champ Greg Lemond.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And I'm meteorologist Jacqui Jeras in the CNN Weather Center. What happened to tropical storm Chris? We'll let you know what happened to this system, whether or not it could come back and what else is happening across the country. Your nation's forecast is coming right up.
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WHITFIELD: And meeting behind closed doors, members of the U.N. Security Council going over a draft resolution, it was agreed upon by the French and the U.S. We've heard from the U.S. ambassador, John Bolton, as well as the French ambassador to the U.N. Both talking about the compromise, the measures of portions of the text that would ask for an immediate cessation of hostilities on both sides. But of course, the full Security Council has yet to vote on it, let alone go over all the details, which is what they're doing behind closed doors. And then as early as next week it's expected they could be voting on that resolution. You're looking at live pictures right now of the members of the Security Council as they pore over the details, the text of the draft resolution.
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WHITFIELD: Well in news across America right now, a former White House aide pleads guilty to theft? Yesterday former Bush adviser -- national security adviser Claude Allen was sentenced to two years probation for making phony returns to department stores. He was also ordered to pay a $500 fine. Former Ohio Senator John Glenn is recovering from a minor car accident last night. Glenn's car was hit by another vehicle as Glenn and his wife were turning onto a highway entrance ramp. The former astronaut was taken to the hospital as a precaution. Both he and his wife Ann are said to be fine today.
Controversial U.S. congresswoman Cynthia McKinney is in a fight for her political life. McKinney facing a Tuesday runoff had a second debate this afternoon with challenger Hank Johnson for Georgia's fourth district House seat. It's her first re-election bid since slapping a Capitol Hill police officer five months ago.
A push of a button, and plenty of dynamite took down Atlanta's old air traffic tower this morning. There it goes. A new 44 million dollar tower replaces the antiquated one that was just right next to it right there, still standing. The implosion could be seen and heard for miles away.
And a minor league baseball team capitalizes on a big celebrity faux pas. The Newark New Jersey Bears hosted a Britney Spears baby safety night. The event last night to highlight how to keep children safe while traveling was an obvious jab to the singer and her well documented drive with son Preston on her lap.
New information about the health of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. Coming up, the U.S. is accused of planning an overthrow of the country? But first, the Tour de France doping scandal. We'll talk live with America's first tour champion Greg Lemond.
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WHITFIELD: CNN is the best place to learn the latest developments in the Middle East crisis. Today Israel conducted more air strikes on Lebanon, including strikes on the port city of Tyre. Some 170 Hezbollah rockets hit northern Israel today. Three deaths are being reported.
And now to another major story. This one a dramatic development in the doping case against Tour de France champion Floyd Landis. A second doping sample collected from Landis during last month's race has tested positive for high levels of testosterone. Landis has now been fired from his cycling team, but he will hold onto his title until a thorough review and appeals process is complete. Landis issued this statement saying, "I have never taken any banned substance, including testosterone. I was the strongest man in the Tour de France, and that is why I am the champion. I will fight these charges with the same determination and intensity that I bring to my training and racing. It is now my goal to clear my name and restore what I worked so hard to achieve." That statement coming from Floyd Landis.
Well it is shaking up the world of competitive cycling. And joining us now by phone to talk more about it, three-time Tour de France champion Greg Lemond. Greg is the first American to win the prestigious race, and someone who has been very vocal about the doping issue. And Greg, before I talk to you about the doping, let me ask you specifically about Landis, and how disappointing this is for you, personally, as a professional athlete, and to the entire field of professional cycling?
GREG LEMOND, FORMER TOUR DE FRANCE WINNER: Well, Fredricka, I mean it is very disappointing to have an American be the first athlete to actually lose the title of the Tour de France is -- it's pretty -- very devastating. And I know him personally. I think he's a really -- not a bad guy. But, has gotten himself into and made -- I think made some very bad choices. And you know, I just hope this is an event that will be a positive thing for cycling, in a sense that I think the problem has been there, but few people actually want to really look at it honestly and transparently. So I hope this is kind of a -- will be a big change and bring back the credibility of the Tour de France.
WHITFIELD: Well certainly doping, and the allegations of doping among some of the cyclists at Tour de France has always kind of been a dark cloud hanging over that competition. So in what way do you see this kind of positive test result? Even though Floyd Landis is appealing and he says he will in the end be exonerated, how do you see this in any way maybe helping to clean up the sport, if indeed it is a significant problem?
LEMOND: I think the only way they're going to do it is to try to get experts and people with -- I think the system needs to change. And I think that -- I believe that we need to hold not only Floyd Landis accountable but this team has had nine infractions over the last two years. Tyler Hamilton being one of them, another American. They should not even have been in the business. And so, I hope this -- I would like to see a kind of a plea bargain deal where an athlete can get his sentenced reduced, still lose his title, still receive ample punishment, but right now Floyd is looking at a four-year basically ban from the sport. Two years from racing, and an additional two years from the pro circuit, which would include the Tour de France.
WHITFIELD: Well somewhere in your heart do you kind of want to give Floyd Landis the benefit of the doubt and say maybe something went wrong here? Maybe his test results, whether his test was -- his urine sample may have been tampered with, or perhaps any kind of medication he was taking for his hip, or maybe even alcohol he drank the night before, and somehow, somehow may have influenced his testosterone level?
LEMOND: No. Because it's synthetic testosterone. Big difference than just an epitestosterone/testosterone ratio. Unfortunately for Floyd it is synthetic testosterone. He's going to have a very difficult time beating this. And I hate to say it, I mean I think that the previous Tyler Hamilton has really destroyed my faith in athletes' confessions, and -- you know he has now been implicated in an operation in Puerto with actual bills, doping schedule. And I think, I think the cycling world and the federation is going to look not so easily on explanations for how synthetic testosterone got into his urine and blood samples.
WHITFIELD: And what, if anything, does it say about the sport overall? We've heard it about other sports, particularly some track and field sports where there's great pressure, some of the athletes feel, to compete, and so the only way to get that edge is to play around with, you know performance enhancing drugs.
LEMOND: Oh, there's tremendous pressure. That's why I say I don't believe the athlete is the only one who should be held responsible. And it needs to go all the way, it's no different than a drug addict, I mean to punish the drug addict would be one thing. But, you need to go after the supplier, the supply chain, and the people who are giving a nod and wink to allow this to go on. But, it is -- the only one thing I have to say about cycling, it is the most strict, most aggressive, and most sophisticated drug testing in sports, period. Part of the positive things about that, you will have drug scandals. Negative it hurts the sport. So, but what the most important thing is, the truth is you need to make it clean so it protects the people who are not willing to take drugs. That's the essence of sports.
WHITFIELD: All right. Unfortunately we're seeing it in too many sports, in track and field, baseball, swimming, biking too now. All right Greg Lemond, three-time Tour de France champion. Thanks so much for your insight on this latest investigation now involving Floyd Landis.
Straight ahead, a live interview with a medical expert on this type of drug testing. Dr. David Johnson joins us coming up on CNN, the most trusted name in news.
And more on the ever-changing situation in the Middle East coming up. Plus, he's been holding on to a special bottle of champagne for more than two decades.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If the old man with the beard passes away, we will certainly open it and enjoy it.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: This Cuban exile is ready to toast the demise of Fidel Castro. The latest on the condition of the Cuban dictator next. Also, call it a working vacation. We're headed live to Crawford, Texas, where the president ponders the U.N. draft resolution, and the crisis in the Middle East.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: It is 4:30 p.m. on the east coast. Here in the U.S., just before midnight in Beirut and Jerusalem. Here's what we know right now. Israel and Hezbollah's military conflict is in its 25th day with both sides trading fire with one another. Casualty totals now stand at 686, in terms of Lebanese killed, compared to Israel's 78 dead. The U.N. Security Council meets today on the heels of a U.S. and France drafted peace plan for the Middle East. More on that straight ahead.
President Bush has plenty to do during his working vacation in Crawford, Texas. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arriving in Crawford just this afternoon, amongst the top items demanding attention, Cuba and Fidel Castro's health, not to mention a possible cease-fire deal for the Middle East, compliments of the U.N. Our Suzanne Malveaux is live in Crawford, Texas, with the very latest.
And the U.N. plan calls for an immediate end to fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, and it lays the groundwork for long-term peace and stability in the region. Joining me to talk about the draft resolution is Israeli cabinet member Isaac Herzog. We will talk to Suzanne in a moment.
All right, looks like we're going to talk to Mr. Herzog in a moment, as well. All right. On now to talks about Cuba. Fidel Castro is on the mend from intestinal surgery, so says Cuba's health minister, that word as the island beefs up security against any U.S. invasion, something the White House flatly denies is in the works. At in Miami's Little Havana a group of Cuban-Americans calling for Castro's overthrow is expected to rally later on today.
Meanwhile U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is offering words of encouragement to the Cuban people. In a recorded message Friday, Rice reiterated America's commitment to a Cuba free of communist rule. It's not clear how many Cubans heard the broadcast. It was on U.S.-backed media, heavily scrambled by Havana.
For Cuban exile's Castro's health problems have set off a wave of speculation. If communism fell, would they go back? As our John Zarrella explains, that depends on who you ask.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From a cabinet shelf, Fernando Sanchez pulls out a dusty bottle of champagne. For Sanchez, no matter how it tastes, when he finally opens it, it will taste good.
FERNANDO SANCHEZ, CUBAN EXILE: If the old man with the beard passes away, we will certainly open it and enjoy it.
ZARRELLA: Since 1960, when they fled into exile, Sanchez and his wife Anuka have waited for Castro to go, have waited to see democracy return to their homeland, have waited to see their homeland again. But while their roots here in Cuba, their branches are in the U.S.
F. SANCHEZ: All my family's here, established.
ZARRELLA: Neither Fernando or his wife have any desire to live out their final years in Cuba.
F. SANCHEZ: I would go on the first plane to visit. I would never go to live.
ANUKA SANCHEZ, CUBAN EXILE: Because it's not the Cuba that I left and that I love. It's a completely different place. And to see the ruins of something that I love I don't know if I have the courage.
ZARRELLA: Those ruins are the reasons Salvador Lew, a Spanish language radio host, wants to go back for good. He believes that if a free Cuba emerges after Castro, that he has a duty, a responsibility to help.
SALVADOR LEW, CUBAN EXILE: The buildings are deteriorated. Everything is falling apart. We have to give the Cubans there that are exactly human beings like the Cubans here in the United States, have to give them a bit of life and rebuild the houses.
ZARRELLA: For decades here in Miami, Domino Park was the place to come to hear stories of Cuba before Castro, to listen to the longings of aging men waiting to go home. But for many, as years passed, there became less reason to go back and more reason to stay. The Sanchezes have children and grandchildren all here and very little there.
Three ranches were taken by the Castro government along with homes in Havana and Verridero.
(on camera): And you lost all of that? Everything was taken from you.
F. SANCHEZ: Oh yes, completely. We only came out luckily with one suitcase in 1960.
ZARRELLA (voice-over): Less than a year later, he returned as part of a U.S.-backed invasion force, fighting to topple the Castro government. Part of the infamous Bay of Pigs invasion, the fight was short lived. Fernando's last memories of Cuba are from inside a prison. He was jailed for two years after his capture. F. SANCHEZ: I lasted four days eating live crabs and we'd rip off the crab and drink what was inside.
ZARRELLA: Back at the radio station, Lew and his guests debate whether Castro has met his end. At the Sanchez residence, the bottle of champagne goes back on the shelf until there is confirmation that he has. John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And new tests say he did it. That's the story for Tour de France winner Floyd Landis who was accused of using drugs to claim the crown. A medical expert tells me what it all means next on CNN LIVE SATURDAY. Plus the sound of slot machines, and excited gamblers once silenced by Hurricane Katrina is now back in Biloxi. Now all they need are casino employees to keep it going.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Well remember the case of the stolen Veteran Administration lap tops that were recovered earlier this summer? Well now a new development. Gary Nuremberg is in Rockville, Maryland with the latest, Gary.
GARY NUREMBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well police have just announced the arrest of three persons in the theft of that lap top from the home of a Veterans Affairs employee in May of this year. Two 19-year-old men and a juvenile have been arrested and charged in the case. The bottom line here is that police are now convinced, in their words, with certainty that the private information of 26 million veterans and active duty personnel was not accessed by these burglars, whom they say were not targeting a specific laptop when they broke into the home by removing a window in daylight hours on May 3rd.
It wasn't until the case received publicity that the burglars knew what they had and police say no effort was made at that time to break into the information and access it or to peddle it, trying to sell the identities of those listed. As you know, the administration authorized the expenditure of millions of dollars to provide at least a year of credit counseling and reporting for those on the list. That was withdrawn when in June the laptop itself was recovered. But the new information, two men were arrested at a Mcdonalds restaurant in suburban Washington last night and police now say this case is solved.
WHITFIELD: Wow and a strange case, too, Gary, because while the laptops were actually recovered in June, it was a strange set of circumstances in which they were recovered, right? No where near what we now believe to be the arrest location of these three persons, the two adults and juvenile?
NUREMBERG: There is a confidential informant involved here and police are still being very sparse with the details that they're releasing about the investigation itself. One of the things they want to do as that part of the investigation continues is determine whether anyone will be eligible for $50,000 reward. They have conflicting information about how this laptop came to be in control of the person who eventually got it to police and that's one of the unanswered questions here.
WHITFIELD: All right Gary Nuremberg thanks so much for that update. Strange set of circumstances involving those laptops stolen and now arrests involved, involving VA, veterans and active duty members.
Now, it is 4:40 p.m. on the east coast. Just before midnight in Beirut and Jerusalem. And here's what we know. Israel and Hezbollah's military conflict is in its 25th day with both sides trading fire with the other. Casualty totals now stand at 686 involving Lebanese, mostly civilians, compared to Israel's 78 dead, about half of them civilians.
The U.N. Security Council is meeting on the heels of a U.S. and France drafted peace plan for the Middle East. More on that straight ahead.
Meantime to talk more about the draft resolution, the point of view from the Israeli cabinet, one of the cabinet members Isaac Herzog is joining us now. What are your thoughts about this draft resolution? Do you think this is one in which your country would sign off on?
ISAAC HERZOG, MEMBER OF ISRAELI SECURITY CABINET: First time we need to remember that it's a draft that hasn't been officially published and we need to learn its details. Of course, the idea that there is a draft that's being worked out, and placed on the table of the Security Council is a very important one. But we must see the details. We must learn them and we must see what will ensue. And the details of the relating to the international force that would take over the areas in order to make sure that the Hezbollah will not be able to repeat its activity, and will not be able to launch missiles or attack Israel from the border.
WHITFIELD: As we understand the U.N. Security Council is meeting behind closed doors, going over all the details of this draft resolution. You were quoted as saying earlier, upon learning that there was a draft resolution agreed upon by the U.S. and France, that this was an important development. We've since heard from the French ambassador to the U.N. who spelled out some of the details of this draft resolution, including there has to be a full cessation of hostilities on both sides, Israel and Hezbollah. There would be a deployment of multinational or U.N. mandate forces and there would also be a blue line, an area of southern Lebanon, up to the Litani River where only Lebanese army and security forces would be able to occupy. Are you in agreement with any of those details given that those are just a few of the details we're learning about?
HERZOG: I think that some of the details that you've outlined are part of the original G-8 resolution of 2 1/2 weeks ago which were, of course (INAUDIBLE) to any exit from this conflict. And of course they would serve as a basis for the arrangement following the implementation by the Security Council. Now this week will be a very important week. It will be a week whereby the major resolutions pertaining to the exit out of the conflict must be the decided upon. And they must include various elements, for example number one, of course, to make sure that Hezbollah will not be able to repeat its pattern of behavior. Will not be able to derail Lebanon again, to sink the region into the abyss of bloodshed and conflict.
Secondly, of course, we must make sure that Lebanon will be able to implement its full sovereignty and must be forceful about it. So basically the resolution, whether to adopt it is at their doorstep as well.
And thirdly and most importantly we must understand that there is a whole big theater behind me. There is Iran behind the situation, which is maneuvering everybody, and we must make sure that this conflict, we get out a solid arrangement, that will not permit them to repeat what they've done so far.
WHITFIELD: All right. Isaac Herzog, Israeli security cabinet member. Thanks so much for your time. We're about to lose our satellite signal but we appreciate your time.
HERZOG: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: Well is the crisis in the Middle East providing a fertile breeding ground for the next Osama bin Laden? In the next hour we'll talk to an international security analyst about the current fighting, and its possible impact on future terrorist activity.
The minimum wage debate is a hot topic this weekend.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody should work under ten dollars an hour. To me that's slavery, that's colonialism.
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WHITFIELD: The minimum wage debate is a hot topic this weekend. Carol Lin here to give us an idea of what you all are exhausting throughout the evening.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we've been so busy with the Middle East coverage that we realized that one story just fell right under the radar. Thursday night's vote on the minimum wage or lack of votes, they declined to raise the minimum wage. So we're going to focus on what this means and what is it like to live on minimum wage? And should Congress be giving itself pay increases while folks who haven't had a minimum wage increase in something like 14 years?
So we're going to talk about the impact of that, what people can do about it. All coming up. Also really interesting segment with a terrorism expert, Jim Walsh, on whether the conflict in the Middle East is creating new Osama bin Ladens. And now we're hearing that there's going to be a message air by al Jazeera, al Zawahiri is going to be giving a message about new recruits to al Qaeda. So I'll be asking Jim about that and what the implications are in the Middle East conflict right now.
WHITFIELD: All right. We'll be watching. Thanks so much, Carol.
A second positive test result spelled bad news for American cyclist Floyd Landis. The Tour de France winner again showed signs of elevated levels of testosterone. Landis denies doping allegations and vows to clear his name. He has not been stripped of the Tour title as of yet but the U.S. Cycling Federation is now expected to investigate the allegations.
Let's take a closer look at Landis' latest test results. Dr. David Johnson is a sports medicine expert in Washington. Good to see you, doctor.
DR DAVID JOHNSON, SPORTS MEDICINE EXPERT: Nice to be here.
WHITFIELD: So break it down for us, these tests. There's an A test and a B test. And the B test only comes if you test positive for some sort of enhancers in the A test?
JOHNSON: That's exactly right. What happens is that after you compete, after the athlete competes, two specimens of urine are taken, sealed and sent to the laboratory. They test the first specimen, the A specimen and if it comes back normal then the second specimen is discarded. In this case it tested for extra steroid in the urine. The T.E. ratio, the testosterone/epitestosterone ratio was more than the 4.1 that is allowed for competition.
WHITFIELD: So what's the margin of error? Can they ever get it wrong sometimes? Is there a possibility, slim chance perhaps that they got it wrong on the tests?
JOHNSON: Well, there's always a possibility that lab error exists. That's why you have two tests that do it. And then there's a backup test, a carbon isotope test that tells whether the extra steroid is from the athlete or from a bottle.
WHITFIELD: And at the same time, these tests are meeting some skepticism, not necessarily because of that scenario, I was giving out, but also because of the French lab that was involved here. Is that fair?
JOHNSON: No, I don't think so at all. There are only 33 labs that have been certified to do testing of athletes for doping in the world. And there's only two of them here in the United States. These labs have to undergo a tremendous evaluation, and reevaluation to make sure that they are expert and that they have unimpeachable integrity and in this case, the French lab is very good.
WHITFIELD: All right. Dr. David Johnson, thanks so much for spelling it all out for us. So you know unfortunately a lot of us are going to be real disappointed. Just looks like we're not going to have the American hero that we thought we had in Floyd Landis.
JOHNSON: Maybe next year.
WHITFIELD: Maybe next year. All right. Thanks so much for your time. JOHNSON: My pleasure.
WHITFIELD: Now the casino industry was Mississippi's largest employer. At least until Hurricane Katrina roared through. Finally all bets are on again along the Gulf Coast and the help wanted signs are out. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
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WHITFIELD: Nearly a year after Katrina some familiar sounds returning to Mississippi's Gulf Coast, the whirl of the roulette wheel, the shuffle of cards, and the teasing music of the One Armed Bandits. Casinos are re-opening their doors. Now that we're coming upon the Hurricane Katrina anniversary, we have that report. And Susan Roesgen has that report.
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SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ten months out of practice, Deborah Brady says her hands haven't quite gotten the rhythm of dealing Black Jack again. But after Hurricane Katrina forced her out of work, she couldn't wait to get back to Boomtown Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi.
DEBORAH BRADY, BLACKJACK DEALER: It's really sad to, you know, to be able to go out there, and drive down the beach and see emptiness, but you can come inside of here and it's like there's life again.
ROESGEN: The artificially cheerful atmosphere of a casino isn't just therapy for employees like Deborah. It's big business for the state of Mississippi. Before Katrina the casino industry was the state's biggest employer, boosting Mississippi's tax revenue by half a million dollars a day. That was until the state's luck ran out August 29th.
The hurricane pushed a wall of water on the Gulf coast casinos, damaging some, wiping out others completely. The biggest, Beau Rivage, lost just one window, but the ground floor casino flooded, putting 3,000 people out of work. Today Beau Rivage is trying to hire new and former employees and helping them find housing, transportation, and child care.
ROGENA BARNES, BEAU RIVAGE HR DIRECTOR: Over 50 percent of the child care centers were destroyed as a result of the storm. So those are the kinds of issues that we've had to deal with.
ROESGEN: Beau Rivage is planning to re-open August 29th, the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. And Boomtown Casino is planning an expansion. More room to accommodate more gamblers today than it had before Katrina. But Deborah Brady says if a hurricane heads this way again, she'll start dealing cards in Atlantic City.
BRADY: I'm going to have to go up north to one of their casinos. I don't ever want to stay for another one. ROESGEN: Mississippi casinos are betting that they won't get hit again. Gambling on life on the Gulf Coast. Susan Roesgen, CNN, Biloxi, Mississippi.
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WHITFIELD: The other big story we continue to follow for you all day and into the evening, you can expect the latest on the Middle East crisis at the top of the hour. Plus the world watches and waits for word on the health of Fidel Castro. In just a few minutes we take you live to Miami's Little Havana where a group of anti-Castro protesters are about to stage a rally there. Stay with CNN, the most trusted name in news.
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