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Venezuelan President Delivers Fire-and-Brimstone Speech at United Nations; Kidnapped Newborn Returns Home; Space Shuttle Atlantis Scheduled to Return to Earth
Aired September 20, 2006 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. I'm Carol Lin at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. Kyra Phillips is on assignment.
Anti-American, anti-Bush -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez calls the U.S. president the devil in a fire-and-brimstone speech to the United Nations.
And missing newborn back in her mother's arms -- her alleged kidnapper now in custody, turned in by a family member of her own family.
And unidentified objects, otherwise known as space trash -- more debris flying by shuttle Atlantis.
We're working all these stories and more from the CNN NEWSROOM.
After speaking at the United Nations yesterday, President Bush talked with CNN today.
Our very own Wolf Blitzer sat down with the president one on one, as Mr. Bush wrapped up his three-day trip.
Now, much of his focus was on Iran and the ongoing nuclear standoff. The president defended his decision not to meet with his Iranian counterpart.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He knows the options before him. I have made that very clear.
Secondly, Wolf, in order for there to be an effective diplomacy, you can't keep changing your word. At an important moment in this -- these negotiations with the E.U.-3 and Iran, we made it clear we would come to the table, but we would come to the table only if they verifiably suspended their enrichment program.
And the reason that's important, that they verifiably suspend, is because we don't want them to have the technologies necessary to be able to build a nuclear weapon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Wolf joins us now from "THE SITUATION ROOM."
Wolf, was Iran the primary topic of discussion between the two of you?
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: It was a major part of the discussion, but we did get into other things as well.
As far as Iran is concerned, Carol, the president made it clear that he takes the Iranian leader, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, at his word, when he says he would like to destroy Israel, wipe Israel off the face of the map. He's very, very concerned about the intentions of the Iranians.
Listen to this additional clip of what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Do you think they would drop a bomb or launch a missile on Israel?
BUSH: Wolf, my judgment is, you got to take everybody's word seriously in this world.
You can't -- again, you can't just hope for the best. You have got to assume that the leader, when he says that he would like to destroy Israel, means what he says. If you take -- if you say, well, gosh, maybe he doesn't mean it, and you turn out to be wrong, you have not done your duty as a world leader.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Despite those very strong words, as far as the Iranian leadership is concerned, the president did strongly defend the Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, who, recently, he went -- recently went to Iran, met with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. They seem to be developing a close relationship between the new Shiite-led government in Baghdad, Carol, and the, of course, Shiite-led government in Tehran.
We did get into several other important issues, including the overall situation in Iraq. We discussed the hunt for Osama bin Laden. And, at one point, Carol, the president made it absolutely, positively clear that, if the United States had what's being described as actionable intelligence, where they knew where Osama bin Laden or Ayman al-Zawahiri were, even if they were inside Pakistan, on the sovereign soil of Pakistan, that would not deter the United States from going in there and trying to kill him or capture him.
And, on one additional issue, I thought the president made some news, when he said that the Senate moving forward with this legislation to support some 700 miles of the new fence along the border between the United States and Mexico. The House has already passed that legislation.
I asked the president whether he would sign it into law if it reached his deck, even though it's not part of what he earlier demanded, comprehensive immigration reform, a guest-worker program, and all sorts of other ingredients. And he did say yes. If it comes to him, just that narrow issue of building a new fence along the U.S.- Mexican border, he would sign it into law.
But he said he would continue to work down the road for other aspects of the immigration reform.
LIN: Wolf, fascinating. We look forward to seeing your interview.
Want to let folks know that you can watch more of Wolf Blitzer's interview with the president at 7:00 p.m. Eastern in "THE SITUATION ROOM."
And this additional prime-time programming note: At 9:00, former President Bill Clinton shares his vision for global change with Larry King.
And, then, at 10:00, Iran's president goes "360" with Anderson, in another CNN exclusive. See them all, CNN, tonight, beginning at 7:00 Eastern.
Well, speaking of the case against Iran, President Bush says that country is developing nuclear weapons, or at least trying to. Iran insists it only wants to generate power. So, which is it? Is there any way for the outside world to know?
CNN's Brian Todd reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An ambitious leader positioning himself as a major Middle East player -- Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government says those ambitions don't include a nuclear weapon. His American counterparts disagree.
We took Joe Cirincione, a weapons expert who has been to Iran recently, about three controversial facilities.
JOSEPH CIRINCIONE, CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS: Natanz is where they have the centrifuges that will turn uranium into enriched uranium. In Isfahan is where they are taking uranium from the ground and turning it into the gas that they can turn into the centrifuges. And, finally, over in Arak is where the Iranians are moving on a heavy water reactor that can be used to make plutonium, the other material for nuclear bombs.
TODD: Cirincione says the Arak facility is designed to make plutonium quickly -- no reason for that capability, he says, expect to make nuclear material for bombs. Then there are the mysterious tunnels at the sprawling Isfahan plant.
CIRINCIONE: In these tunnels near Isfahan, the Iranians say they are storing the uranium gas there, again, to protect it from possible attack. But they might also have a duplicate facility in those mountains. That's why we need intrusive inspections, to ferret that out.
TODD: Inspections that would be difficult to carry out under current rules that Iran has insisted on. But experts say all three facilities could also be used for legitimate peaceful nuclear production, which is Iran's stated intent.
As for evidence:
DAVID ALBRIGHT, INSTITUTE FOR SCIENCE & INTERNATIONAL SECURITY: There's no smoking gun. And there's no evidence that Iran has made the decision to actually build nuclear weapons.
TODD: A finding backed up by the International Atomic Energy Agency. But the IAEA also says Iran hasn't stopped enriching low- grade uranium and hasn't allowed inspectors to interview key scientists.
(on camera): An Iranian official at the United Nations tells me his government has complied with the IAEA for several years now, and will continue to. We may know more soon. Inspectors are on the ground right now.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Brian Todd is part of the best team covering the world for "THE SITUATION ROOM." Join Wolf Blitzer weekdays at 4:00 Eastern, and again in prime time at 7:00 Eastern.
Well, a U.N. speeches turns into a fiery anti-American rant. And we mean fiery. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez referred to President Bush as the devil. And he was only getting started.
Let's get more from our senior U.N. correspondent, Richard Roth.
Richard, he was not mincing words, didn't name the president by name, but we all know who he was talking about.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: That's right.
The Venezuelan leader said that President Bush is trying to own the world, very harsh denunciations from the rostrum of the General Assembly, not a place that you hear such direct, personal attacks, even if he didn't mention the United States leader by name.
The president of Venezuela has lashed out at the United States frequently recently, as the two -- the two countries duel over world affairs -- the president of Venezuela seeking a larger role on the world stage, possibly to replace, in that area, countering U.S. interests, as Fidel Castro grows older and ill.
The president of Venezuela accused George Bush himself of being the devil.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HUGO CHAVEZ, VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The devil came here yesterday. Yesterday, the devil came here, right here, right here. And it smells of sulfur still today. This table that I am now standing in front of, yesterday, ladies and gentlemen, from this rostrum, the president of the United States, the gentleman to whom I refer to as the devil, came here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROTH: The president of Afghanistan, who didn't hear the speech, said the U.N. should really be a place for unity, not disunity.
Kofi Annan had no comment. The White House said the speech is not worthy of any response. But U.S. Ambassador John Bolton, who himself usually minces no words, had this retort for the Venezuelan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BOLTON, UNITED STATES AMBASSADOR TO UNITED NATIONS: We're not going to address that sort of comic-strip approach to international affairs.
And, as I say, the real issue here is, he knows he can exercise freedom of speech on that podium. And, as I say, he could exercise it at Central Park, too. How about giving the same freedom to the people of Venezuela?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROTH: The president of Venezuela, in a later news conference, threatened that, if the devil, the president of the U.S., invaded Iran or Venezuela, the price of oil would shoot up to $200 -- Carol.
LIN: Richard, we heard people laughing and applauding when he said that the place still stank from sulfur. Who was laughing? And is there any kind of protocol at the United Nations, someone who would pull Hugo Chavez aside and say, you know, you shouldn't have done that?
ROTH: No, that's not going to happen. World leaders are free to say whatever they want.
The U.N. is supposed to represent the people, free speech. Someone would have to do something physically, probably, threatening someone. But that -- that's not going to happen. Kofi Annan is not going to pull him aside. There are 192 countries in there. It doesn't mean that 192 prime ministers or presidents or kings were present, and that they were the people laughing.
It's a mixed group of diplomats, could be some foreign ministers. And president Chavez's remarks do resound well in most of the world, where there's a large segment that disagrees strongly with Bush administration policies. Chavez represents an easy and prominent outlook for -- outlet for that -- those feelings.
LIN: Yes. And his country does have oil. So, people listen.
Richard Roth, thank you. Police, tribal leaders and soldiers all under attack in the latest wave of violence in Iraq -- a suicide truck bomb exploded today at the entrance of an Iraqi police base in Baghdad, and four officers were killed.
Now, north of the capital, a suicide bomber targeted the house of a tribal leader in Samarra, and a child was among eight killed there. And, outside the northern city of Mosul, a car bomb exploded near an Iraqi army base last night. A suicide bomber then blew himself up, as a crowd gathered at the scene of the first blast. Twenty-one people were killed.
You know, it is a stunning snapshot of the toll this war is taking on ordinary Iraqis. The United Nations has concluded that almost 6,600 -- that's 6,600 -- people were violently killed over the last two months alone, July and August, most of them in Baghdad. And more than 8,000 have been wounded.
Now, the U.N. Assistance Mission in Iraq bases those numbers on data from Iraq's Ministry of Health and the Baghdad morgue.
Well, Saddam Hussein didn't make a good impression on the new chief judge in his genocide trial. He launched a tirade and refused to sit down, so, the judge threw him out of the courtroom. Hussein's lawyers stormed out to protest the firing of the former chief judge, whom the government says was too soft on the defense.
The group Human Rights Watch is also upset about the firing, saying the government showed a lack of respect for judicial independence.
Inside Afghanistan and the war on terror.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HAMID KARZAI, PRESIDENT OF AFGHANISTAN: Instability in Afghanistan will automatically mean instability in Pakistan. And it is neither in their interests, nor in our interests, nor, indeed, in the interests of the international community, because that's why you're there, to defeat terrorism.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Anderson Cooper's exclusive interview with Hamid Karzai -- straight ahead.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Straight to the newsroom.
Fredricka Whitfield has been working on a school shooting in the Northern California area -- Fred.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Actually, it's a stabbing -- yes, an update on that in the Bay area, in Alameda County.
Earlier today, two students were stabbed at John F. Kennedy High School. You're looking at aerial shots of the high school right now, because it remains on lockdown, even though, reportedly, one person has been arrested. It's unclear if the one person is being accused of carrying out both of the stabbings. But that's the only information we have right now: two students injured from the stabbing, one stabbed in the wrist, the other in the stomach -- Carol.
LIN: Fred, any word on whether parents have been able to get on campus? There was a lockdown before, and they couldn't get information on their kids.
WHITFIELD: Right. And that remains the case, as the lockdown is in effect. That means no one can enter. No one can exit.
And it's unclear as to whether they are looking for yet another person, or if they're carrying out their investigation, before they lift that lockdown. But, right now, it's a status quo on that campus, that no one is allowed to leave, no one allowed to enter the school facility.
LIN: All right, thanks very much, Fred -- those picture coming in from our affiliate, KGO.
Well, it's going to take a little more than space debris to keep Atlantis from heading home. NASA says the mysterious object seen outside the shuttle caused no damage. So, there's no reason Atlantis should not land tomorrow morning.
CNN technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg has more details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: NASA managers have determined that shuttle Atlantis is safe to land on Thursday morning. That's after some mysterious objects were spotted near the shuttle over the last couple of days. It started earlier Tuesday morning, when a dark-colored object was spotted nearby.
They're not entirely sure at this point what it is, but the likely candidate could be this small piece of plastic, or shim, that was spotted after the launch. It's used as a spacer between these protective heat shield tiles. It's possible that, when they were firing up these maneuvering jets early Tuesday, that it was shaken loose. That's the possible candidate for that object.
Several hours later, one of the astronauts on board took some photos of what they now believe could have been a plastic bag, or part of a plastic bag floating nearby. Another incident was reported early Wednesday morning.
In any case, even if that mystery of what these objects are is never solved, the point is, they have used the inspection process, an additional inspection process, to determine that that protective heat shield on the belly of the shuttle is intact, that none of this debris impacted it.
That's done, of course, after the Columbia disaster in 2003. It was a piece of foam during launch that pierced that. And they need that heat shield to be perfectly safe and intact during the reentry.
So, NASA managers are confident that this is OK. The first landing attempt would be at 6:21 a.m. Eastern time. They have another chance after that, at 7:57 a.m.
Daniel Sieberg, CNN, at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: And Fredricka has more on this story from the newsroom -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: Well, Carol, here's some trivia for you.
Did you know that NASA tracks space debris? The Orbital Debris Program is located at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. And NASA says some 11,000 objects larger than 10 centimeters are in orbit. You're looking at a view right now. All those white dots, that's the space junk.
This is the artist rendition of all that junk floating around. Smaller items are said to be numbered in the millions. Whenever a space shuttle is in orbit, scientists are looking at trajectories. But things have hit in the past. A NASA photo shows orbital debris that hit the window of the space shuttle in 1983. NASA says the Hubble space telescope was completely penetrated. Astronauts had to repair the antenna dish.
A lot of the space junk burns up as it reenters Earth's atmosphere. But, as you can see, some pretty big items did make it to the ground, like that. This is a fuel tank from a Delta rocket...
LIN: Geez.
WHITFIELD: ... that came down in Texas in 1997. And this is a pressure tank from that same launch. And that was found further downrange.
Well, NASA says no serious injury or significant property damage has been confirmed by reentering debris, thank goodness. Most of the items that have fallen have fallen into water or into sparsely populated areas -- really, the luck of the draw, Carol.
LIN: Yes. I wouldn't want that coming out...
WHITFIELD: Can you imagine?
LIN: ... in my backyard.
No.
WHITFIELD: Yes. But, you know, with so much of that debris, you know, surrounding the Earth's atmosphere, it's remarkable that perhaps more isn't reported to fall, and maybe in residential areas, or at least habitated areas.
LIN: How would you like to be the person at NASA...
(LAUGHTER)
LIN: ... tracking space trash?
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: Well...
LIN: There you go.
WHITFIELD: ... it is a fascinating science, in and of itself, no doubt.
(LAUGHTER)
LIN: Fred, that's giving them a lot of credit.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: Yes.
LIN: All right. Well, obviously an important job.
WHITFIELD: Somebody's got to check that out.
(LAUGHTER)
LIN: Yes. There you go. There you go.
All right, thanks, Fred.
LIN: Well, no doubt about it, the big three are getting smaller by the minute -- GM and Ford downsizing. Chrysler is cutting back production. So, can Detroit reverse its freefall?
Ali Velshi is going to try to find out in the NEWSROOM, right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Our Ali Velshi is starting something new today. He's going to be popping in from time to time with special reports on business trends. And, in honor of Ali's sartorial splendor, we're calling the series "Vested Interest."
It doesn't have much to do with his wardrobe, though it might remind you, but Ali's first "Vested Interest" report is on the troubled U.S. auto industry. Once the envy of the world, Detroit appears to be stuck in reverse, Ali. And, by the way, nice vest.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, thank you, Carol. Good to see you...
LIN: Mmm-hmm.
VELSHI: ... again today.
You know, it's no secret. We kind of know what the problems are in Detroit. We know that there have been jobs cut over and over again. And Detroit seems to know what it has to do to get back on track. And, in fact, it may just involve going back to where they came from.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI (voice-over): When Ford redesigned the iconic Mustang for the 2005 model year, it wasn't prepared for the reception it got. The company doubled its planned production and sold every last car. Classic American designs sells.
So, why doesn't Ford and GM, for that matter, just make everything they build feel like this? Well, one view is that U.S. automakers got too caught up chasing the success of smaller Asian cars. It's a fashion that didn't suit them.
REBECCA LINDLAND, SENIOR MARKET ANALYST, GLOBAL INSIGHT: Not everybody looks good in a miniskirt...
(LAUGHTER)
LINDLAND: ... and they shouldn't wear them. And it's the same kind of thing, where, you know, GM shouldn't be out there, necessarily, producing four cylinder, four door, bland-looking vehicles.
VELSHI: Auto analyst Rebecca Lindland says, when Detroit downsized its cars in the '80s, they lost their classic American styling.
LINDLAND: All the sharp, head-turning edges were sort of smoothed out. And you really -- you know, you sort of went from rocky road to vanilla.
VELSHI: While passenger car sales were dropping, Detroit continued to succeed with trucks. But those reliable truck and SUV sales have dropped, you might say, like a rock.
American carmakers are saddled with so-called legacy costs that their foreign competitors don't have: financing benefits for hundreds of thousands of retirees. Back in 1962, GM had about one retiree for every 11 active workers. But, after years of downsizing, GM today has 33 retirees for those same 11 workers.
(on camera): This Chevy Impala is the best-selling American brand passenger car in the United States. It costs about the same money as this Toyota Camry, which is the best-selling passenger car overall in the United States. But GM's legacy costs add about $1,500 to the price of making this car and every other car that they make. That $1,500 could have gone toward upgrades, a few options, bells and whistles that might make this car more attractive to buyers.
(voice-over): Ford and GM are struggling to trim those legacy costs. But none of that matters to the folks who aren't buying American cars.
Carlos Ghosn should know. After turning both France's Renault and Japan's Nissan around, the boy wonder of the auto industry thinks he can fix GM too.
(on camera): Why is it the Japanese automakers can make more money in the United States, and -- and American-based automakers can't?
CARLOS GHOSN, CEO, NISSAN-RENAULT: Well, it's a good question. I can tell you why we are making money in the United States. The U.S. is still a very profitable market, for a very simple reason. It's the largest market based on one country. In the United States, you have 16.9 million cars following the same country, same regulation, same everything.
VELSHI (voice-over): Easy money. All Detroit has to do is return to its roots.
LINDLAND: There's still -- you know, there's 75 million baby boomers. And there are certainly people that will never, ever buy a GM or a Ford. But there's plenty of people out there who never wanted to leave.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: Now, Carol, GM and Ford both know this, obviously. And they have done some good work at trying to come up with these car models that hearken back to their heyday.
But there's a lot of work ahead of them. And they're going to have to try and get that market back -- Carol.
LIN: Oh, you bet.
All right, Ali, thank you so much.
VELSHI: I will see you in half-an-hour.
LIN: You bet, for the closing bell. All right.
In the meantime, we have got a story about a quiet community and a horrific crime: a woman dragged more than a mile behind a vehicle.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She has a family. And they can't even identify her? That is sad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: The investigation -- straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: More than four days of agony for a Missouri family and now four felony charges for the woman suspected of causing their ordeal.
CNN's Ed Lavandera has more on one family's happy ending but another's unfolding story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Charges have officially been filed against Shannon Torrez Beck. They include four felony counts, one kidnapping of a child count, one assault charge and two charges of felony armed criminal action.
Torrez Beck is being held here at the sheriff's office in Union, Missouri. We have not heard from her or anyone from her family but authorities say that shortly after having a miscarriage last Friday, late into her pregnancy, that she then allegedly went into the home of baby Abby, slashed her mother's throat and then took the baby.
Of course, the entire story unraveled Monday afternoon when Beck's, Torrez Beck's sister-in-law saw the baby and remembered that authorities had been looking for a baby who had a birth mark on her forehead. She noticed makeup on the baby's forehead, rubbed it away and then saw that birthmark there, confronted her sister-in-law, Torrez-Beck, about it. That is when the sister-in-law says she called authorities. After that, the baby was turned over back to the family. Torrez-Beck is expected to make her first court appearance either Thursday or Monday.
It's not exactly clear when that will happen. But authorities right now are searching her home here near Union, Missouri, where they're looking for more clues, trying to piece together exactly what was the true motive behind this situation. So authorities say they're continuing to work the case but the charges have officially been filed and, of course, the important news here, baby Abby doing very well. We saw her briefly here this morning, crying, with a healthy set of lungs.
Ed Lavandera, CNN, Union, Missouri.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Well the former suspect in the JonBenet Ramsey murder case could soon be out of jail and on probation. A California prosecutor is offering John Mark Karr a deal on old child pornography charges. Now if Karr pleads guilty to two charges of possessing child porn, the D.A.'s office will drop three other charges, credit Karr with time served and give him three years probation. Karr also would have to register as a sex offender. No word on whether Karr will accept. He remains in jail and is considered a flight risk until then.
A trail of blood a mile long outside Denver. A woman dies a horrible death, dragged behind a vehicle and now an arrest. The suspect is a man pictured in a photo found near the victim's body. Police from the neighborhood have set up a small memorial to the woman at the spot where her body was found. The coroner's office says she died of strangulation and head injuries, her face completely disfigured.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIM CASTELLANO, DOUGLAS COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPT.: We'll use finger prints, dental records, composites of her, photographs, markings, scars, tattoos.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Tips from the public helped lead to the arrest. Stay with CNN for more developments on this story.
Now he may be a liar, but he is not a quitter. Hungary's prime minister refuses to resign, despite damning comments that sent thousands into the streets. The latest from Budapest straight ahead.
Plus, a fond farewell to the Crocodile Hunter led by one who will miss him most of all.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BINDI IRWIN, DAUGHTER OF STEVE IRWIN: I had the best daddy in the whole world. And I will miss him every day. When I see a crocodile, I will always think of him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Will just break your hard. Family and fans turned out by the thousands down under. A full report, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: In Hungary, another night of violent protests over a shocking admission. Riot police hit protesters with tear gas and water canyons and dozens are hurt on both sides. All this after Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany was caught on tape admitting that he and his colleagues lied about Hungary's economy, and I'm quoting here, morning, evening and night. Through it all, Gyurcsany refuses to step down.
Well it was a busy day for I-report. Fredricka Whitfield back with new video and pictures Fred?
WHITFIELD: And we like that. Earlier in the newscast we showed you about the coup in Thailand and picture from there. Now we have a new I-report from another country, that one that you were just talking about, Hungary. Check out these picture from Budapest, shot early in the morning. It's a smoky scene outside the Hungarian state television building. It comes to us from Sara. She asks that we not use her last name. Sara tells us hundreds of protesters broke down the front door of the building and set fire to several cars.
She also describes a chaotic scene, crowds running through the streets with a group of tourists standing by watching it all happen. Sara tell us she has seen police out in force throughout the city. And she sent us this poignant photo of a hole in the Hungarian flag. there it is, flying outside the parliament building. You can see more video and photos like these on our website or send in your own I- report. Just log on to CNN.com to find out how, Carol.
LIN: Pretty cool.
WHITFIELD: Quite the contrast, huh, from the earlier, kind of, you know, submissive photos out of Thailand to this, very aggressive images coming out of Budapest.
LIN: Really compelling and amateur photographers just sending their stuff in, really appreciate that from our viewers. We've got, really, a sad story out of Australia. Australians said good-bye to Steve Irwin today in the very way Irwin lived, energetically, passionately and with humor. It was the public ceremony for the man affectionately called the best friend the animals ever had.
CNN's Hugh Riminton was there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HUGH RIMINTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Croc Hunter's memorial service featured tributes from Hollywood names like Cameron Diaz, Kevin Costner and Russell Crowe. But for the fans, streaming in from before dawn, only one celebrity mattered.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He taught the kids a lot about animals, didn't he, and sea creatures and how to wrestle crocodiles, eh? Yes.
RIMINTON: He's a hero?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is a hero. Indeed, he's Australia's hero, isn't he?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
RIMINTON: Australia's prime minister began by addressing Steve Irwin's American-born widow Terry and their two young children.
JOHN HOWARD, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: There are 20 million pairs of Australian arms reaching out to embrace you this morning.
RIMINTON: Steve Irwin was sent off with Australian folk song...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: True blue...
RIMINTON: The focus of the service, like Irwin's life, was on family and the plight of wild animals. (on camera): A month ago, alive, Steve Irwin was a great Australian character, a man not always universally admired for his methods or his style. But with his death, he's become what his fans always thought he was, a mythic figure, the great Australian bush hero.
(voice-over): Just as heroic, his 8-year-old daughter's effort in eulogizing her father.
BINDI IRWIN, STEVE IRWIN'S DAUGHTER: I had the best daddy in the whole world, and I will miss him every day. When I see a crocodile, I will always think of him.
RIMINTON: Then, his expedition truck was loaded up one last time, traveling through a khakied guard of honor, while flowers spelled out the croc hunter's lifelong catch phrase.
Hugh Riminton, CNN, Beerwah, Australia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Well, Australia's crocodile hunter Steve Irwin, he died September 4th. He was only 44 years old.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf held a news conference earlier this hour at the United Nations, and he talked about the war on terror. And he also addressed his differences with Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai, over efforts to rid their common border of Taliban fighters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRES. PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, PAKISTAN: The problem is that they don't know the environment. What President Karzai has said is not the correct thing. It is not the correct environment. Now, what is the environment? is that the terrorism issue has shifted focus from al Qaeda to Taliban.
Now, who are the Taliban? Who is leading the Taliban? Taliban are the same people who came about in 1995. They took over the 90 percent of Afghanistan by '97, and they were in Afghanistan until 9/11 for four years. Who were they?
Were they from Pakistan? I would like to ask you. Certainly, they were the people of Afghanistan who took over Afghanistan under Mullah Omar. Now, where is Mullah Omar, is the question. Mullah Omar is in his own area, which is Kandahar, and the southern provinces of Afghanistan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: All right, but he forgets that the Pakistani army supported the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan. So Presidents Musharraf and Karzai will get a chance to air their differences next Wednesday in Washington. They're going to meet together with President Bush at the White House.
Now, CNN's Anderson Cooper sat down in New York this week with Afghan President Karzai, and here's a bit of that exclusive interview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Why have the Taliban and their allies been able to have a resurgence come back?
PRES. HAMID KARZAI, AFGHANISTAN: Resurgence?
COOPER: Do you think they've had a resurgence?
KARZAI: No. I don't think they've had a resurgence. There has been increase in terrorist activity in Afghanistan, no doubt. That's not a return of the Taliban or their allies.
COOPER: But the government of Pakistan has now signed a cease- fire deal with Taliban militants in north Waziristan. When you first heard that, what did you think?
KARZAI: I was taken aback. Who are these Taliban that a deal has been signed with? Why can't we find them? Who are their leaders?
COOPER: Because they're now saying no cross-border activity, no militant activity, no training, no foreign fighters.
KARZAI: Right.
COOPER: Do you believe them?
KARZAI: Why can't we find them? Where is there organization? Where is there structure? They have people who speak for them. They have spokesmen, but we never see them, we can't find them. A body, an element, that has a political presence, must be known, must be present.
Now the government of Pakistan signed a deal with them in Pakistan. President Musharraf told me that. Within days of signing that document, we saw the increase in terrorist activity in Afghanistan, so we wonder whether the deal is good for us or dangerous for us and Pakistan. And when I see President Musharraf in a few days time, I will discuss this question.
COOPER: Already the trends are not good.
KARZAI: Already, the trend is terrible.
COOPER: Without being able to pursue militants in Pakistan, without being able to deny them a base of operations, can you defeat those Taliban elements that are still out there?
KARZAI: No.
COOPER: The key is Pakistan? KARZAI: The key is destroying the sources of training, equipping, financing, motivating and directing toward us in Afghanistan. And this will dry that source, which we should have done a long time back, which I kept talking to the world community about from the very beginning. We will not see peace in Afghanistan. You will not see an end to the killing of your soldiers in Afghanistan.
COOPER: U.S. officials I've talked to, military officials, intelligence officials, and Afghan officials who say privately -- many won't say publicly -- that they believe the Pakistan government wants a vibrant, alive Taliban as a trump card for what may happen down the road in Afghanistan, that they want a destabilized Afghanistan.
KARZAI: Well, that -- if they want that, then it's a serious mistake. Because instability in Afghanistan will automatically mean instability in Pakistan. And it is neither in their interests nor in our interests nor, indeed, in the interest of the international community, because that's why they're there to defeat terrorism.
COOPER: U.S. military officials, or intelligence officials, have told me Mullah Omar is in Queta (ph) or in the surrounding areas. No doubt about it, guaranteed. And other Taliban leaders are clearly in that area, as well.
KARZAI: Yes, they are there.
COOPER: And Pakistan says they're in Kandahar.
KARZAI: We are very sure about it.
COOPER: No doubt in your mind?
KARZAI: Absolutely no doubt.
COOPER: Mullah Omar is alive and well and living in Pakistan?
KARZAI: No doubt about it. And we have informed the government of Pakistan about their addresses, their places. They say it's old. It meant that it was true some time back. So it can be true today again.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Well, Anderson Cooper is keeping a close eye on the war on terror, and he's got another exclusive interview tonight. Anderson, one on one with Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Watch "A.C. 360" tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.
Now from the war in Vietnam to shock and awe in Iraq, the U.S. Navy's F-14 strike fighter, even going Hollywood in the movie "Top Gun."
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I'm good on the hand salute. And we're just about to go. And here it comes. KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, gets kind of addicting, doesn't it?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Do you recognize that young lady? That's's CNN's Kyra Phillips. She got a chance to fly an F-14 at the beginning of the war in Iraq. And tomorrow, she's going to do it again, but for the last time. The Navy is set to retire the legendary Tomcat.
Kyra is going to have the honor of being part of those last flights. And she's taking all of us with her. We're going to have live coverage of the final flights, beginning at 1:00 p.m. tomorrow, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Tiger Woods, getting a taste of the tabloids as he leads a team of U.S. golfers into battle against Europe. Woods used a Ryder Cup news conference to blast "The Dubliner" magazine for falsely linking his wife to pornographic Web sites. The magazine also published a photo from a porn site of a woman who looks like Woods' wife, but isn't.
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TIGER WOODS, U.S. RYDER CUP MEMBER: For me personally and for my wife, the things that have occurred over here, we -- I'm very disappointed and -- I mean, not the fans, not the people here, not the Irish people, but very disappointed in how the article that was written, my wife -- yes, she has been a model prior. And she did do some bikini photos. But to link her to porn Web sites and such is unacceptable.
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LIN: The magazine tells CNN the article and photo were part of a regular satirical column written under a pseudonym. Well, a short time ago, the magazine issued an apology to Woods, his wife and to the other Ryder Cup players.
The "Closing Bell" and wrap of the action on Wall Street straight ahead.
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LIN: For Venezuela's president, the devil is not in the details but in the White House. Hugo Chavez turned his speech at the United Nations today into a fiery anti-American rant, referring to President Bush as the devil and warning the American people they're in danger.
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HUGO CHAVEZ, PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA (through translator): ... because their threat is in their own house. The devil is right at home, the devil himself is right in the house. And the devil came here yesterday. Yesterday, the devil came here. Right here. Right here. And it smells of sulfur still today.
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LIN: And Chavez was only getting started. He said President Bush acts like he owns the world. But he says the world won't stand for it much longer. Now Chavez wasn't kind to his hosts either. He says that the current United Nations system is worthless.
Well, President Bush is getting some support from his predecessor. Speaking today with CNN's Larry King, Former President Clinton said Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez was wrong to criticize Mr. Bush at the United Nations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, CNN ANCHOR: Do you have a comment on what President Chavez said today at the U.N., calling President Bush -- likening him to the devil?
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think, you know, obviously, I think he made a mistake to do it. I wish he hadn't done it. You know, he -- he's not hurting us. He's just hurting himself and his country.
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LIN: Also in that interview, Clinton talked about his wife, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and her presidential prospects.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: I will say -- I'll say what I've said until I'm blue in the face. I think it would be an error for her to think about this now, until she is re-elected and has a chance to get a sense of the lay of the land and what her options are for service in the Senate and what -- and what the presidential options are. That's what I believe. So I wouldn't even discuss it with her now.
And the second thing I want to say is, if she did decide to run, I have no idea she would win. You know, she'd the be immediate favorite but there's a million things that can happen.
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LIN: You can see that interview on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE" at 9:00 p.m. eastern tonight.
Time to check in now with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, he's standing by in "THE SITUATION ROOM" to tell us what's coming up at the top of the hour, in addition to your interview with the president tonight at 7:00 p.m.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks very much, Carol.
Lots coming up, including that exclusive interview I had with President Bush. I asked him some of the tough questions on Iraq, Iran, what he is trying to do to find Osama bin Laden. I also pressed him hard on immigration, securing our border, and I asked him if he's playing politics with terrorism. In the process, the president makes some news.
Also, as we just learned, another president making news. The Venezuelan leader, Hugo Chavez, standing before the United Nations General Assembly and calling President Bush the devil. We have an exclusive interview, by the way, with President Chavez, thanks to our friends at CNN Espanol.
And President Clinton, as you just saw, is in New York as well. Larry King sat down with him. We'll have more of that interview. We have a very impressive lineup of presidents on CNN today.
Carol, it's all starting right at the top of the hour here in "THE SITUATION ROOM."
LIN: Sounds good, Wolf. We'll be watching.
In the meantime, the closing bell about to ring. Ali Velshi has also got some reactions. Standing by in New York.
ALI VELSHI, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR: You got time for little old me, we got every president going.
LIN: Let's give it a shot.
VELSHI: All right. You know, we talked earlier, Carol, about the Fed. It was Fed decision day. For the second time, they haven't raised interest rates. I think we have a chart of this. We are now at 5.25 percent. That's the Fed funds rate. Now you can see it was raised 17 times. That's not your mortgage rate.
The Fed funds rate is tied to prime. So if it's five and a quarter, that means prime is eight and a quarter. The bank's best customers, usually commercial customers, get prime rate. The rest of us, who have variable rate loans, we have loans that are often tied to prime, sometimes to prime plus one, sometimes it's plus ten if you have some kind of credit card that does that. So prime rate is important to people.
What this means, the fact the Fed didn't move, Carol, it means that the Fed is concerned that the economy is slowing down a little bit. And they're more concerned about that than inflation. They think inflation is in check, and that's why they didn't move.
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