Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Bush Administration Leading Push for North Korea Sanctions in U.N.; Iraq Carnage; FBI Interviews Former Page in Mark Foley Scandal

Aired October 10, 2006 - 14:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: It was carried out deep underground, and the truth still hasn't surfaced. A day and a half later, North Korea's claim that it tested a nuke device remains just that, a claim. But that's plenty for the Bush administration, pushing for swift and severe sanctions at the U.N.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTOPHER HILL, ASST. SECRETARY OF STATE: We are going to take all actions we can, working with our partners, to make it very difficult for the North Koreans to get the equipment, get the technology, get the funding, and their ability to market these weapons around the world. So we're going to work very hard on that, and that's the main -- main purpose of this U.N. Security Council discussion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BOLTON, U.S. AMB. TO U.N.: We keep the military option on the table because North Korea needs to know that. But President Bush has been very clear for quite some time here he wants this resolved peacefully and diplomatically. That's what our objective is in the Security Council today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And if North Korea wanted to dominate the White House media briefing, well, mission accomplished.

Kathleen Koch has the highlights.

Hey, Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

It certainly did dominate today's press briefing. And what we really heard was Press Secretary Tony Snow trying to put a positive spin on what critics are certainly saying is a failed U.S. policy in North Korea. We're hearing Democrats, in particular, say that by invading Iraq, a country that turned out not to have weapons of mass destruction, that the U.S. basically took its eye off the ball of the greater threat, North Korea.

Press Secretary Tony Snow again today insisted that there is good news. He says despite North Korea's apparent test on Sunday, what it has actually done is it has solidified the unity within U.S. allies there in the region. They now are showing a united front, more committed than ever to holding North Korea to account. And Snow dismissed this latest threat by North Korea to launching a nuclear- tipped missile if the U.S. doesn't take action to resolve the current standoff.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: This does fit a pattern. And we have seen the pattern of making statements that are designed to be provocative, presumably in order to get concessions. And in the past, that sort of behavior has worked. But it appears now that the parties in the six-party talks, other than North Korea, are unwilling to go that way.

The Chinese today have called for taking actions against the North Koreans. You've had the South Koreans out with a tough statement, the Japanese out with a tough statement. The point is that this is a pattern of behavior that has worked in the past for the North Koreans, but it appears it may work no more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOCH: Snow, though, would not say whether or not the U.S. is confident that those allies in the region now are actually ready to go the distance, if some of them are actually ready to change their stand and support these tough sanctions that the United States is now proposing in the United Nations Security Council. Those sanctions really aimed at stopping Pyongyang from going further in developing its nuclear program, while at the same time not harming the already suffering citizens of North Korea -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Meanwhile, the question is still out there, was this real with regard to a nuclear test or not? That question's still out there, right?

KOCH: It's still out there, and according to Snow it's going to be a very difficult question to answer, simply by the nature of the way the test was conducted. Was it vented or not, where it was conducted, such that any radiation might escape that would be detectable, measurable?

Snow saying basically today because of that, we may never know what actually did occur there. But still, the U.S. is insisting that North Korea certainly had the intent to develop a weapon, to launch it, or test it, boast about it, and that that in and of itself is still considered very provocative and very unacceptable -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Kathleen Koch at the White House.

Thanks.

KOCH: You bet.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: No nukes for Japan. Tokyo says it has no plans to go nuclear itself, despite having North Korea for a neighbor, but changes could be in store.

Here's CNN's Atika Shubert.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): First there were North Korean missiles launched over Japan in 1998. Then in 2000, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il admitted to the abduction of several Japanese citizens. Now North Korea gleefully announces that it has successfully tested a nuclear weapon.

Japan has been living with a threatening North Korea for years, but its only response has been economic sanctions with little success. There is no military option.

Japan is constrained by a pacifist constitution that prevents its military from any action other than the self-defense of its own territory. That needs to change, says Hideshi Takesada of Japan's National Institute for Defense Studies.

"The reality is we have no means of deterrence if a country should decide to attack Japan," he says. "What Japan needs is a deterrence within its normal military powers, something that will not spark fear among our Asian neighbors."

That poses a tough challenge for Japan's new prime minister, Shinzo Abe, in office for barely a month. What kind of military deterrent does the constitution allow? And will that include nuclear weapons? On this, Abe has taken a clear stand.

"We have no intention of changing our policy," he told lawmakers. "Possessing nuclear weapons is not an option for us."

But Abe rose to popularity by taking a tough line on North Korea and promising to change the constitution to build a stronger military.

(on camera): Changing the constitution is not easy. Not only does it require a two-thirds majority in parliament, it also needs a national referendum. And so far, there has not been enough public support. But will this nuclear test convince the Japanese public and lawmakers to make that change sooner rather than later?

(voice over): On the streets of Tokyo, opinion is split. This woman says, "We have a wonderful constitution. And I want Japan to abide by it. We should never change it, even when facing off with North Korea."

Others say Japan needs to change; the sooner, the better. This man says, "If we ever want to have the ability to attack an enemy, then we should not go about it in a half-baked way."

As North Korea's nuclear threat grows, Japan must decide how far it will go to keep its belligerent neighbor at bay.

Atika Shubert, CNN, Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: And we have this note for you. CNN's Wolf Blitzer sits down with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in "THE SITUATION ROOM," 7:00 p.m. Eastern.

PHILLIPS: More bombings, more killings, more bodies that were tortured before they were killed. CNN's Cal Perry in Baghdad now with the latest carnage.

Cal, it's not getting any better.

CAL PERRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's not. Good afternoon, Kyra.

During the holy month of Ramadan we're seeing something else happen here in Baghdad. That is, the U.S. military's attempt to secure the capital. Many people here are calling it the Battle of Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PERRY (voice over): This is the scene after the bodies are found. How bad is the sectarian violence in Iraq? Bodies are the barometer. And in one day, more than 60 were found in the capital. Many of them mutilated, executed, bound.

Relatives grieving outside hospitals to collect their loved ones. This, a scene that is played out in the capital more than 280 times so far this month. No end in sight to the tit-for-tat sectarian killings.

COL. JEFFREY MCCAUSLAND, U.S. ARMY (RET.): We have added that deadly mix, intersectarian violence, which is the center point of everybody's attention in Iraq. And obviously if we can't dampen down the intersectarian violence, the possibility of civil war certainly looms large.

PERRY: Besides the mounting toll of Iraqi casualties, a deadly October continues for U.S. troops. More than 30 killed in combat in the first 10 days of October. Most of them as U.S. and Iraqi forces press ahead with Operation Together Forward, aimed at flushing extremists out of Baghdad. More U.S. troops on the streets means more U.S. casualties.

MCCAUSLAND: We've seen this dramatic upsurge in killing, particularly in Baghdad, and certainly we must get control of that situation. And the next few months will be certainly critical in that effort.

PERRY: Operation Together Forward has yielded its successes, according to the U.S. military, saying that overall attacks are up, but their "effectiveness" is down.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PERRY: Now, while the U.S. military and Iraqi forces are taking the majority of their casualties in and around Baghdad, sectarian violence still a major concern here in Iraq. We understand from the Iraqi government 300,000 people nationwide have been displaced in ongoing sectarian fighting -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Cal Perry live from Baghdad.

Thanks, Cal.

LEMON: A resignation, an investigation, now anticipation. Will the Mark Foley scandal still be in voters' minds on Election Day? Our Bill Schneider has some new poll numbers coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: A story that we're following up right now. We just translated the front page of a South Korean newspaper. Evidently, it is quoting a phone interview -- or quoting a North Korean diplomat in Beijing via phone that -- this North Korean diplomat apparently telling the South Korean newspaper that a nuclear test was executed, that this test was smaller than expected, but they were still able to detonate the device.

They're calling it a success, but a success on a small scale. What's going -- so according to a South Korean newspaper that we have just been translating here in our newsroom, an interview that was done with a North Korean diplomat saying to this reporter via telephone that they were able to execute a nuclear test, calling it a success on a small scale.

We're looking into it, trying to confirm it. But just wanted to let you know what we're finding out through other newspapers and reporters overseas.

LEMON: All right. We go on now to our other big story. A former congressional page tells the FBI about Mark Foley.

Agents today interviewed Jordan Edmund, who has reported receiving sexually explicit instant messages from the former congressman. His attorney spoke to reporters after the interview in Oklahoma City.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN JONES, EDMUND'S ATTORNEY: We have completed -- our client has completed -- who stands to my right -- approximately a 2.5 hour interview with special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigations who are assigned to investigate this matter. Jordan answered all of their questions, relying upon his memory as it exists. He was not served with any subpoenas to appear before any grand jury. He was not asked to return.

This morning I was contacted by the House official committee -- or the House committee on official standards known as the Ethics Committee. I will speak with them this afternoon. I do not know the extent of their interest.

And that's all I can tell you at this time. I'm not able to discuss the interview except to say that it occurred and that our client answered their questions and cooperated to the fullest.

Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And that's the page's attorney there.

No resignation, but no blanket protections for the staff. So spoke House Speaker Dennis Hastert today at home in Illinois. Hastert told reporters he's still not quitting and he still believes his office did the right thing in the Foley matter. But if someone didn't?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DENNIS HASTERT (R-IL), HOUSE SPEAKER: We have investigations going. We have the Ethics Committee doing an investigation. We have the U.S. attorney general or the -- and the FBI doing an investigation. And on Foley, we have the state of Florida doing an investigation. If anybody's found to have hidden information or covered up information, they really should be gone.

In 20/20 hindsight, probably you could do everything a little bit better. But if there is a problem, if there was a cover-up, then we should find that out through the investigation process. They'll be under oath, and we'll find out. If they did cover something up, then they should not continue to have their jobs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And there is a new CNN poll out. And it shows 52 percent of Americans think Hastert should quit.

PHILLIPS: Neither of Foley's former House colleagues is telling what he knew and when. "The Washington Post" reported Republican Congressman Jim Kolbe of Arizona confronted Foley about his behavior.

In a statement issued today, Kolbe clarifies that his intervention consisted of passing along a former page's complaint about Foley's e-mail in 2000 and 2001. He writes, "I was not shown the content of the messages and was not told that they were sexually explicit. It was my recommendation that this complaint be passed along to Representative Foley's office and the clerk who supervised the page program. This was done promptly."

"I did not have a personal conversation with Mr. Foley about the matter. I assumed e-mail contact ceased since the former page never raised the issue again with my office."

Now, a middle-aged congressman sends messages to young former gophers. Will voters send messages to GOP office seekers?

CNN Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider takes a look at our new polls.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST (voice over): President Bush's job approval is pretty bad, 39 percent. Congress' job approval is worse, 28 percent. More than 60 percent of Americans disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job.

The Mark Foley controversy has taken a toll.

HASTERT: When you talk about the page issue and what's happened in the Congress, I'm deeply sorry that this has happened.

SCHNEIDER: Three quarters of the public feel Republican leaders in Congress handled the Foley matter inappropriately. Most Republicans feel that way, too.

Most people believe the failure of Republican leaders to investigate the matter was a deliberate cover-up, not because they were unaware of the serious and inappropriate nature of Foley's behavior. And most think Dennis Hastert should resign as speaker of the House. More than a third of Republicans think Hastert should resign.

Is the controversy likely to affect the midterm vote? Among all registered voters, the impact looks small. The Democrats' lead over the Republicans nationwide has gone from 13 to 16 points, a statistically insignificant change. But there's a gap in voter motivation.

Democrats are more enthusiastic than Republicans about voting this year. That could account for the shift among likely voters.

Among those likely to vote, Democrats have an 11-point lead in the vote for Congress last week. The Democrats' lead among likely voters has now nearly doubled to 21 percent.

(on camera): The scandal seems to be hurting all incumbents. Ethics ratings for both parties in Congress have gone down since last year. But congressional Republicans are rated less ethical than Democrats.

Bill Schneider, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: As we head into the midterm elections, stay up to date with the CNN "Political Ticker". The daily service gives you an inside view of the day's political stories. See for yourself at CNN.com/ticker.

Well, he resigned and then came out of the closet.

LEMON: Now Mark Foley's sexuality is opening up a whole new debate about the scandal and Congress. We'll talk about it with the editor of "The Advocate" coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: Winter is coming. And you heard Jacqui Jeras say a little while ago it's going to be a cold one. And that means heating bills could go up. But as our Susan Lisovicz tells us from the New York Stock Exchange, those bills may be less of a burden for many families this winter?

Susan, that's good news.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that is great news. That's right.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Well, he's known for the art of the deal, but Donald Trump isn't above -- isn't above dishing about other celebrities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": What do you make of all this Paris Hilton stuff?

DONALD TRUMP: I've known Paris for many years. She is smart like a fox.

KING: You recently applauded Brad Pitt's stance on not marrying Angelina Jolie. I believe you said that you consider everyone -- when he said everyone should be married or don't bug him.

TRUMP: He made that statement, right? And he made it like he's doing this wonderful thing for humanity. I think he probably made it just because he doesn't want to get married.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Wait a minute. Let's go back to Paris Hilton.

LEMON: Right.

PHILLIPS: Smart as a fox? I'm going to have ask him about that. Hello?

The Donald is getting ready to step into the NEWSROOM. He's got a new book with the author of "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" series. Both of them are going to join us live in the 3:00 Eastern hour. You won't want to miss it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We want to update you on a story we told you about last half hour, a story that was on the front cover, on the front page of a South Korean newspaper. We did a transcript of it. We transcribed it, and it shows that a South Korean reporter who did an interview with a North Korean diplomat says the test, North Korea's nuclear test, was smaller than they thought it would be, and they're calling this a success on a smaller scale. Again, a day and a half after that North Korea -- North Korea launch, what was thought to be a nuclear test, apparently a South Korean reporter who did an interview with a North Korean diplomat says the test was smaller than they thought, but they're still calling it a success, but just success on a smaller scale.

For some expertise on this, why don't we go to Jamie McIntyre? Jamie McIntyre's at the Pentagon. He can tell us what folks in Washington are saying about this -- Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, U.S. government officials are still trying to puzzle out exactly what North Korea has done, but let me tell you the thinking today.

A U.S. government official does confirm to CNN that North Korea informed China before the test that they would be conducting a test in the four kiloton range. But the U.S. intelligence community stands by its estimate that the actual yield from the test was far less, about a half a kiliton, or perhaps even less, according to one government official.

What does that tell you? Well, as one official told CNN, the prevailing belief in the U.S. government is that they attempted a larger test, but something went wrong.

Now, that said, the U.S. has still not officially confirmed that this was in fact a nuclear event. They have not ruled out the possibility that North Korea could have exploded a large amount of conventional explosives. But that is not the prevailing view.

Of course, a key indicator would be the release of any radioactivity from the test site. That's something that has not yet been detected, but again, officials have cautioned, it may take a day or two or even three to analyze that data and be able to put the pieces together.

Right now, the working assumption is that North Korea did attempt a nuclear test, although a not very successful one, attempting to set something off in the four kiloton range and resulting in a very much smaller explosion.

But again, it's going to take a couple days for the U.S. government to come to a complete position on this -- Don.

LEMON: Jamie McIntyre, thanks for helping us make sense of all this. Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon.

PHILLIPS: Inappropriate messages to teenage boys. It's the main revelation in the Mark Foley scandal. The former Congressman's sexuality was a revelation to some, less so to many others. Now the very proximity between that announcement and the scandal is concerning a number of people in the gay community.

My next guest is the executive editor of "The Advocate," a gay and lesbian news magazine. Its current cover story focuses on another gay politician, former New Jersey Governor James McGreevey.

Anne Stockwell joins me now live from Los Angeles. Anne, appreciate you being with us.

ANNE STOCKWELL, EXEC. EDITOR, "THE ADVOCATE": Good to be here. Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Let me start off by just saying, how is "The Advocate" handling the Foley scandal? What's the discussion in your editorial meetings on how you should go forward and cover this?

STOCKWELL: Well, the first thing that we -- that we're talking about is that we reported on this story ten years ago. In fact, if you go to advocate.com, our Web site, you can see the actual story. Lots and lots of people knew about Mark Foley, and one of the things that we've discovered is that they perhaps were more worried to have it revealed that he was gay than to have it revealed that he was preying on teenagers.

PHILLIPS: You say you broke that story ten years ago? The fact that he was preying on teenagers or that you broke the story that he was gay?

STOCKWELL: Well, we did not break the story, we reported on the story. It was known at that time that he was voting in -- against gay people, but he was gay. Along with several other members of Congress. Jim Kolbe was included in that story, too, and he has since come out.

PHILLIPS: Interesting. So what happened after your story ran? Did anything -- was there any sort of discussion or feedback or did any other members of the media pick up on your story?

STOCKWELL: No, they really didn't. We think that that has to do with the closet, the long-standing feeling among the press that it's shameful just to say that someone's gay. Of course, it's not shameful to be gay. It's shameful to behave shamefully.

PHILLIPS: Which is -- I mean, we've been wanting to make that point from the beginning, Anne.

STOCKWELL: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: And I know that just because you're gay doesn't mean you're preying on innocent children...

STOCKWELL: Well, the difficulty is that we have a leadership that has made a lot of success on fear of gay people. So, in answer to your question, it's particularly important to us to report that Mark Foley is a predator, and it's not the fact that he is gay that really should have been an issue here.

PHILLIPS: Let me ask you, do you think that gay politicians, specifically gay Republicans, will ever be able to be out on the Hill?

STOCKWELL: I sure hope so.

PHILLIPS: Do you think that will ever happen, or do you think they will have to continue, in many ways, living a double life? STOCKWELL: I think it has to happen. I think that the old argument that gay people are immoral somehow or that they're ill somehow is simply fading away. Most people know someone who's gay, and most people love someone who's gay these days, whether it's a family member or a friend or a financial adviser or a representative in Congress. And we all know from our personal experience that the kind of old thinking that says we're somehow monstrous is just -- it's out of date.

PHILLIPS: Do you think somehow that this scandal could change the party, the Republican party?

STOCKWELL: I'd like to think so. After all, several gay Congress -- gay people on the Hill tried to get some action about Mark Foley. I think Jim Kolbe said just today that he let someone know. So the question is, why didn't the presumably heterosexual people higher up in the leadership feel that they needed to take action?

PHILLIPS: Are there other political leaders on the Hill that your publication, maybe reporters that work this beat, know that either he or she is gay and there are conversations going on about, well, maybe we should come out, maybe this is it, maybe this is the time that we should start shaking things up?

STOCKWELL: Well, I hope those conversations are going on. It would be wonderful if something good could come out of this.

PHILLIPS: Final question. Do you think there will be any political fallout from this? Do you think it will change the way the votes take place come midterm elections?

STOCKWELL: I don't know. I do know that this episode of covering up something that was wrong seems to add to a pattern with the leadership that has been less than candid about a lot of things with the public.

PHILLIPS: Anne Stockwell, executive editor of "The Advocate." Appreciate your time, Anne.

STOCKWELL: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, the Foley scandal has shaken Washington, but Republicans may be much more worried about how it's playing outside the nation's capital. Christian conservatives are a crucial voting bloc for the GOP.

For insight into their reaction, we go to Colorado Springs and Tom Minnery. He is the vice president of public policy for the group Focus on the Family.

And I guess I want to ask you, Tom, your first reaction to my interview with Anne. Did anything -- anything you want to respond to?

TOM MINNERY, FOCUS ON THE FAMILY: Well, I think Anne has it wrong when she says that homosexuality is something that is regarded as shameful in Washington. I think that, more and more, homosexuality is something that liberal politicians and the Hollywood set prizes. And I suspect that may be why the Republican leadership did not act faster to clamp down on Mark Foley. They didn't want to be subjected to the complaints that they're homophobic, they're bigoted, such as a lot of us are every day. That hurts after a while, and I suspect that plays into this.

PHILLIPS: Do Evangelicals care if there are gay Republican leaders on the Hill?

MINNERY: Well, I think Evangelicals care about moral standards that are much higher than that. I mean, our organization and Christian teaching says that sex ought to be reserved for marriage -- married couples. So heterosexual sex or homosexual sex out of marriage is something that we think is improper.

PHILLIPS: Do you think it's sad -- and just let me ask you straight out. Do you think it's sad that people have to cover up who they really are when it comes to their sexuality? I mean, let's just put the Mark Foley scandal aside and look at some of the other politicians who are sort of talking about their sexuality now. And some of them are being forced to come forward.

And now there's this discussion about, well, should political leaders be able to come out, whether they're Republican or Democrat and say, hey, I'm gay, I'm proud, I'm living a healthy lifestyle, and I don't want to be judged for it?

MINNERY: Well, of course, people have sexual proclivities that they ought to hide. We call it moral standards. There is a set of standards by which we expect people to behave in public, regardless of what they think about in private or what they would like to do in private. So certainly, people should not just go with the -- if it feels good, do it. I mean, that's what got Mark Foley into the situation he's in, which you are condemning. So you evidently believe, as I do, that people should hide these things.

PHILLIPS: Well, I don't think it's fair to say if you're gay you're a pedophile. I don't think that's fair at all. I mean, there are plenty of gay men and women who have healthy relationships and they're not molesting young children. I don't think that's very fair to put those two together, do you?

MINNERY: Well, I don't know anybody who compared gay to pedophile in this interview. I don't know that Mark Foley is a pedophile. As far as I know, he never actually had sex with any of the pages. He just sent lurid e-mails to them. That's a long way from being a pedophile. So I think that's wrong for you to suggest that, Anne (sic).

PHILLIPS: But is that OK to do that, to send those -- are you saying that's all right to send those type of e-mails or instant messages to men that are under 18? I mean, they're very explicit sexual e-mails. That's not.

MINNERY: Come on. No, those are abhorrent. That's not proper for anyone to do, heterosexual or homosexual. PHILLIPS: So we've seen the resignation of Mark Foley. Do you think anybody else needs to resign over this?

MINNERY: Well, let's wait to see what the investigation produces. I'm so happy there's a bipartisan investigation that's now been impaneled. I have to tell you the truth, Anne, I don't think this would be on CNN or on the front pages if we were not a month before an election day. This is the only reason why this is such a hot story, I'm afraid to say.

PHILLIPS: Tom, you'll have to forgive me, Anne Stockwell, the executive editor of "The Advocate," is no longer with us. This is just you and me. This is Kyra Phillips.

MINNERY: I'm sorry, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: That's OK. That's all right. It's easy to -- we obviously wanted the two of you to come on together, and we had to do it this way, I am told, so it wouldn't get into an uncomfortable position for either one of you. So this is your chance to respond. Obviously, we let Anne talk as well.

Let me ask you what kind of impact you think this will have on the November elections. And do you think it will affect the way social conservatives vote?

MINNERY: Well, Kyra, it's hard to say. There are so many factors involved in election day. Obviously, the war continues to be a worry to many people. On the other hand, in some key states, we have marriage amendments on the ballot again, and that, as in 2004, will undoubtedly bring out social conservative voters. And the idea of the top-down views that Bill Schneider was giving about how people view Congress, I think is only half the equation.

The other half is the bottom-up view, how people view their own congressmen or their own congresswomen is very significant. And so a lot of these individual races will bear out on local issues that really have nothing to do with the Mark Foley scandal and may not have all that much to do with the war situation.

PHILLIPS: Final question. This was a quote that we came across in one of the blogs, as you can imagine. There's so many people blogging about the Mark Foley situation. And this blogger says that Washington creates within the minds of elected officials a mentality that says laws, morality and normal bounds of decency don't apply to me, because I'm an elected official.

Rest assured that the only true solution is to get our officials out of office before they become infected by the Washington disease, pride-induced blindness. What's your response to that?

MINNERY: Well, that's a harsh statement. I think I would say we wish that all people would abide by the historic moral standards of Western civilization, which come to us from the Bible. That would be better for a whole lot of people regardless of whether they buy into the teachings of Jesus Christ or not. Western morality has served us well, and I hope it will continue to do so.

PHILLIPS: Tom Minnery, VP of public policy, Focus on the Family, we appreciate your side of the story.

LEMON: Reading, writing, panic buttons and security sweeps. Schools search for ways to be safer after a series of attacks. Victims, first responders, educators and parents are meeting today in Maryland. The details straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: It's often been said good fences make good neighbors? Well, that depends on the fence. The one that's planned for a 700- mile stretch of the U.S./Mexican border isn't doing much for neighborly relations. In fact, Mexico's foreign secretary says his country may complain to the U.S. Mexico's president has made his feelings plain and public about the billion-dollar project meant to keep illegal immigrants and terrorists out of the U.S.

Flash floods, villages swamped. It's happening across northern Greece. Two days of downpours have left hundreds of homes under water and roads and bridges washed away. Government has declared an emergency and sent in a military to airlift stranded villagers.

There is a chill in the air in some parts of the country, and fall has only just begun. What can we expect? Jacqui Jeras, take it away.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LEMON: Forget the justice of the peace. The runaway bride wants justice.

PHILLIPS: Or at least a half million bucks from her former fiancee. The guy she faked her own kidnapping to avoid marrying? The latest on the bizarre twist ahead from the NEWSROOM.

LEMON: Yep, the highest paid team in baseball makes another early exit from the playoffs. Will Joe Torre exit the New York Yankees? Answers ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The case of the runaway bride now running after her former fiance. Jennifer Wilbanks is suing John Mason for half a million dollars. They broke up in May. She wants half the proceeds from selling their story plus punitive damages. You may remember these pictures of Wilbanks under wraps just days after disappearing right before her wedding. She claimed she'd been kidnapped, but later recanted and she got community service and probation for leading authorities on a wild goose chase.

LEMON: Well, apparently four World Series rings still buy the guy some job security, even with the New York Yankees. That's the highest paid team in baseball. It fell short in the first round of the playoffs for the second straight year. Many fans assumed Joe Torre wouldn't get a 12th year as manager, but Torre showed up at Yankee Stadium today, and he says he's still got a job.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE TORRE, N.Y. YANKEES MANAGER: I just got off the phone with George Steinbrenner a few minutes ago, and he has informed me that I will be here as his manager next year, which I am very excited about because this has been, you know, the best job of my life. And you know, unfortunately, this year ended all too abruptly, but the season itself was very gratifying for me. And you know, I'm glad I get a chance to do it again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: As Kyra says, I still got a job.

PHILLIPS: Giving me away.

LEMON: I know, I've still got a job.

The Yankees' payroll tops 200 million bucks. And the team last year made it to the World Series -- the last time they made it to the World Series was back in 2003.

PHILLIPS: I tell you, how many other coaches lose their jobs when they don't -- OK. Anyway.

Well, you've heard all sorts of reaction to Mark Foley's scandal, and this may trump the rest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: If I were gay, which is perhaps a well-known story that I'm not, I would admit that I'm gay. But he would come in with magnificent looking women. It was like torture to me watching this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: We're going to ask Donald Trump about Mark Foley and a lot more when he joins us in the next hour, live from the NEWSROOM.

LEMON: And also ahead in the NEWSROOM, North Korea's nuclear threat is the talk of the town.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The real argument about why we can have it and they can't.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't have any. Do you have any?

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, not on me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because I always have to go next door to my neighbor's when I need one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: But North Korea's dear leader hasn't endeared himself to all the media. Our Jeanne Moos takes a look straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: North Korea claiming to test its very first nuclear weapon this week. Well, this is not out of the blue completely. But the question is how do we get to this point? Turn to CNN.com to find out.

Look at the timeline that begins in 1993, when many first suspected North Korea was trying to develop nuclear weapons. That's also the year it threatened to bail out of a Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Well, then you can trace the timeline to July of this year, when North Korea successfully test fired short-range missiles.

Whether or not North Korea actually has nukes, that's still a question. But who does? The U.S., the U.K., France, China, India, Pakistan, and Russia are all in the so-called nuclear club. North Korea would be the eighth nation to be a member. Well, nine if you count Israel, which most experts do, which is why so many eyes in the sky are zooming in on North Korea.

This is a satellite picture of Yong Dion (ph) nuclear facilities, just one example, there are many more. Well, as the story changes, keep up with key facts and learn about key players involved. It's all at CNN.com/North Korea.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com