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Day 2 of Anti-Taliban Offensive; U.S. Drone Fires on Pakistan Terror Leader; Michael Jackson Memorial Planned in L.A.; British Embassy Employees on Trial in Iran; Black Female Doctor Bridges Gap; California Paying Bills With IOUs; North Korea's Missile Threat; Obama Added to Disney Exhibit; Baby Float Recall

Aired July 03, 2009 - 09:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN, ANCHOR: Hello to you all. A public memorial now set for Michael Jackson. We will have the details for you on that. Plus, there might be a potential custody fight coming up.

Also, U.S. marines push forward on a new offensive against Afghan militants. Also the latest on a captured soldier there.

Also, Dad just had an affair. Let's go on a family vacation. What kind of fireworks do you expect on that fourth of July celebration for the Sanfords?

It's Friday, July the 3rd. Hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes, sitting in today for Heidi Collins, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

All right. And where are we going to start today? We have two major fronts that U.S. forces are taking on. The Taliban in Afghanistan, as well as in Pakistan.

Our Barbara Starr is at the Pentagon for us. She's going to be keeping an eye on and tell us what's happening with the U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Again a major offensive and then our Nic Robertson keeping an eye on things for us in Pakistan where the U.S. forces have launched a drone that has done pretty well with some deadly precision, I should say, in attacking the Taliban.

But we want to start with the ongoing offensive in Afghanistan. Thousands of U.S. troops, mostly Marines swarming into the Helmand Valley. They're trying to chase out Taliban fighters, but that's not the only purpose of this mission.

Again, our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, live for us in Washington. Explain to us here, first, Barbara, exactly what is the mission there.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, T.J., what the Marines are really up to here is trying to move into this area deeper into southern Afghanistan and push the Taliban out and most importantly, make the people in this region more comfortable with the presence of U.S. forces, with the presence of Afghan forces.

The goal is if they can make the Taliban leave forever, they will have achieved a significant goal here. Right now, however, the Marines tell us they have run into some resistance from the Taliban. There has been apparently by all accounts an eight-hour battle in a place called Garnsur, a major population center in the Helmand River Valley.

It was an off and on battle, the Marines tell us, but the resistance was heavy. Marines called in. Their helicopter Cobra gun ships. They used their .22 millimeter cannons. That fighting has now subsided, they say.

They've been successful in restoring some control to some small towns in the regions, some areas there, and they're going to keep pushing on. Again, the goal here is not so much combat, but basically this counter insurgency strategy of restoring local Afghan control to these towns and villages up and down the river valley -- T.J.

HOLMES: And Barbara, we're going to ask you about this missing U.S. soldier, as well. But I want to follow up with you. We know there's a new commander for the U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Is this -- we understand that this mission, is this his doing? Or is this something that had actually been planned before he took command there?

STARR: Well, let's put it this way. This is the first test, as you say, of General Stan McCrystal, top U.S. commander. The first test of his new counter-insurgency strategy. It is the most significant dedication of forces to that, about 4,000 Marines total, 75 percent of them in actual combat, but a major military presence in the south.

Moving in, very fast, with the pledge to have enough forces to actually stay on the ground and try and provide long-term help to the people there. That's what the new strategy's all about. We'll see how it goes because the Taliban, while they're doing some intermittent fighting against U.S. forces, a lot of them melting away back into these rural areas, waiting it out, staying to fight another day.

So this is going to be a very long-term proposition to see who stays the longest. The U.S. forces or the Taliban -- T.J.

HOLMES: I wanted to get that question in. But go ahead if you can now quickly, give us the update, missing U.S. soldier in eastern Afghanistan.

STARR: Still missing, still on the hunt for this soldier in eastern Afghanistan. U.S. sources tell us they are now unmanned area drones to survey the area. Every intelligence asset, every piece of equipment they possibly have to look for him. Moving up and down Paktika Province in eastern Afghanistan along the Pakistan border, trying everything they can to locate this soldier -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right. Barbara Starr, for us from the Pentagon, from Washington today. Thank you so much, Barbara.

We'll turn now to secretary of homeland security, Janet Nepolitano. She's actually in Pakistan right now meeting with government leaders there. Meanwhile, the U.S. has launched another cross-border attack into Afghanistan, or rather into Pakistan from the neighboring Afghanistan. A drone fired missiles at a suspected Taliban leader's hideout.

Our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson has more on the attack from Islamabad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pakistani intelligence sources tell us that three missiles were fired from what they say was a U.S. drone, a U.S. unmanned aircraft, flying over south Waziristan.

They say the missiles were targeting the hideout of Baitullah Mehsud. Baitullah Mehsud is the Taliban leader in Pakistan. And he is right now the Pakistani army's most wanted person at the moment. They say -- the intelligence sources say that 15 people were killed and between 20 and 25 wounded.

We've also heard from the Taliban in the area. They say 17 people were killed and 35 wounded in this attack. They also say that those killed and wounded were Taliban fighters. They say that this was a three-building complex used by fighters loyal to Baitullah Mehsud.

They say that one building was an ammunition store, one was a communication center, and one was a command headquarters. And that's what was being targeted. The intelligence sources say that of the three missiles fired, one missed its target, but the Taliban are also telling us that right now local villages are afraid to go out and collect the bodies.

The reason being in the recent past, in the past week or so, there was another drone attack on a Baitullah Mehsud hideout. There -- later in the day when the bodies were being buried from the first attack, drones came back, there was a second attack on the funeral grouping, and out of that, about 60 people were killed.

So right now, the Taliban saying 17 killed, 35 wounded, and that they're afraid to go out and gather the bodies and begin burial services.

Nic Robertson, CNN Islamabad, Pakistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: All right. We've seen a lot this week: Afghanistan heating up, North Korea launching four missiles, the Honduran president overthrown in a coup. Also throw in what happened -- what we've been seeing in Iran the past couple of weeks. Also in Iraq with security forces there taking over.

A lot going on on the international scene. We want to know what concerns you most out there. Go to CNN.com/TJ or CNN.com/heidi. Let us know what you think.

We now know when the memorial for Michael Jackson will be. We just got that word. Just got that update yesterday and here it is. A public memorial scheduled now for Tuesday. That service will be held in Los Angeles at the Staples Center. 11,000 seats will be given out to the public. These tickets will be free.

And you can imagine a lot of folks going to be after these. You have to register in advance. All the details haven't come out just yet about how that process is going to work.

Still no word on Jackson's final resting place. His brother Jermaine has said he'd like to see him buried at Neverland Ranch. Also Jackson's ex-wife, Debbie Rowe, now has thrown a monkey wrench into some of this we've been seeing since his death. She might be mounting a custody battle for their two children. Jackson's will, however, called for his mother to raise those kids.

Well, we're going to get the latest now on the Tuesday services. Our Kara Finnstrom is in Los Angeles for us.

Kara, I cannot imagine the planning. This is going to be a logistical nightmare. You know so many people are going to show up. Thousands that can actually be inside, but thousands more, you know, are going to be showing up around the Staples Center.

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right, T.J. This city preparing for huge crowds of Michael Jackson fans. And we are, as you mentioned, starting to get some of the details of those tributes to him which will be taking place here early next week.

First of all, Jermaine Jackson saying now that there will be a private service held for family and friends early Tuesday morning. Immediately following that, though, a massive memorial service for the public being held, as you mentioned, right here at the Staples Center. 11,000 tickets, we understand, will be given away to the public.

People are going to have to register for those. And the details of how they do that are expected to be released at a press conference held here later today.

The Staples Center, you know, it's home to the Lakers, it's home to the Clippers. Most poignantly, though, in this situation, this is the last place that Michael Jackson was known to be videotaped singing and dancing. And his concert promoter AEG released some videotape of him doing so just two days before his death.

We want to let you listen to a little bit of that.

Michael Jackson here seen singing and dancing. And one of the things that a lot of folks are saying is that he looks a lot more energetic and vibrant, perhaps, than they had expected and that's fueling even more speculations about exactly what led up to his death.

But T.J., lots of fans getting excited, actually, now that some tribute details are coming out. They say they want to have a chance to kind of remember him, to remember his music, and we've heard from many that were up at Neverland now planning to make their way to the Staples Center to remember him. HOLMES: Yes, and you're right. It's something to see that video. All of this talk about how frail and bad shape and bad health he's in. That's a 50-year-old guy we are seeing bouncing around on that stage. So, it really is remarkable to see this video.

FINNSTROM: Right.

HOLMES: Also we're talking about services there in Los Angeles where you are and where it was home for him. But still his childhood home, Gary, Indiana. We're getting word about a service there, as well.

FINNSTROM: Right. In Gary, Indiana, excuse me, T.J., a service believed to be held, I think on the 20th, Friday the 20th, at the U.S. Steel Works ballpark. And I'm -- I'm sorry on the 10th at the U.S. Steel Works ballpark.

Not a lot of details on that quite yet, but we understand that they're going to try and make this a real big tribute to Michael Jackson. There's also been some talk in Gary, Indiana about creating possibly a museum. So, we'll just have to see how all of that shapes up.

HOLMES: All right. Kara Finnstrom with the latest for us there in Los Angeles. Thank you so much. And coming up here in about half an hour, the promoter of Jackson's concert series, speaking out about why he released this video that you are seeing and also talking about his last visit with Michael Jackson which was just hours before he died.

Also last night CNN's Larry King took us inside Neverland Ranch where Jackson often sought refuge in a -- his child-like fantasy world. Also at the ranch Jackson's brother Jermaine and he says his mother is the right choice to raise Jackson's children as the will says.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KING, CNN HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Do you think it's proper that she be responsible for the kids?

JERMAINE JACKSON, MICHAEL JACKSON'S BROTHER: Yes. I think it's very proper because the way my mother raised us, the way we know how she's very, just the love, the joy, and making sure that they'll be OK. I thought it was the right choice.

KING: And what do you make of the ex-wife possibly seeking custody?

JACKSON: Well, see, Larry, the will is what it is, and the will was really written well, and it was executed by the executors and they did a great job. It's what it is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Jermaine Jackson there also said he's glad that the promoter released that video of his brother's rehearsal. It was just two days before his death. He says it actually shows, like we were mentioning here, how strong and energetic his brother was.

Now, when the details of the public memorial are released, you'll be the first to know. We will pass that along to you. We'll have live coverage of that news conference scheduled for 1:00 Eastern Time, 10:00 a.m. Pacific, so not too far away. You will see it live right here on CNN.

We'll turn to Iran now. Of course they were arrested first, now Iran reportedly wants to put them on trial. Who are we talking about here? We'll be giving you latest on the backlash in the post election protest and what the international community is now saying about it.

Also, let's say good morning to my guy, Mr. Reynolds Wolf. How are you doing, sir?

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I am your guy. Good morning to you, T.J., and good morning to everyone who's tuning in.

You know millions of Americans are going to be heading out and enjoying a great holiday weekend and for that holiday weekend you have to have picture-perfect weather. Let me show what you can expect coming up in just a few moments right here on CNN.

I'm T.J.'s guy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, T.J. Holmes.

HOLMES: Well, the backlash continues in Iran. Three weeks now after the election, and days of protests. We are now hearing employees of the British embassy could go on trial.

CNN's Reza Sayah is at our Iran desk for us. And a lot of people not taking too kindly to this news, namely the British.

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, T.J. The Iranian government really putting the bullseye on the British government. Over the past couple of weeks, the Iranian government has been on a very aggressive and public campaign to blame the post election turmoil on the British government saying they're designing a velvet revolution to topple the regime.

That campaign continued today during Friday prayers in Tehran. Let's take a look. Speaking at Friday prayers today, hard line cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati. You'll recall this week Iranian authorities arrested a number of local employees of the British embassy saying they played a significant role in the post election violence.

Today Jannati said some of those employees would be put on trial. Here's Jannati really going after the UK in a speech in Tehran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) AHMAD JANNATI, HEAD OF GUARDIAN COUNCIL (through translator): Do you expect that by staging a street riot after the election Iran would become like Ukraine and Georgia and then the government will be toppled and the government assigned by you would take over? Your idiocy and stupidity is really limitless.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAYAH: Some strong words from Ayatollah Jannati. Now it's unclear how many local employees of the British embassy are still in custody. The Iranian officials say there's only but we spoke to the foreign office in London, they say there's two in custody.

Obviously the British are not very happy. Here's their response today. "We are very concerned by these reports and are investigating allegations that our staff were involved in fomenting unrest. They're wholly without foundation. We'll be seeking an explanation from the Iranians."

Also within the past half hour, the office of Javier Solana, the foreign policy chief of the UA, spoke with CNN. And they say they plan to call on all members of the EU to call ambassadors, Iranian ambassadors and to apply pressure on them to get these local employees of the British embassy released. T.J.?

HOLMES: All right. Our Reza Sayah keeping an eye on things over at the Iran desk, thank you so much.

Well, he will stand trial for about 29,000 murders. We're talking about John Demjanjuk. Doctors today say the 89-year-old former U.S. auto worker is in good enough health to stand trial. He's accused of being a guard at a Nazi death camp in Poland during World War II.

Demjanjuk, however, denies that claim. He was deported, as you may remember, from the U.S. to Germany back in May.

Well, North Korea, are they possibly preparing to test a long- range and does Hawaii need to be worried?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. Another Michael Jackson hit there for you. And of course, we have our "Man in the Mirror" and our special investigation, we will never be too far away from that story and to the mystery surrounding Michael Jackson's death.

Meanwhile, turn to another story here. Don't you just hate when people tell you you can't do something? Well, that's what young black woman was told. She was told she couldn't be a doctor. Well, our Dr. Sanjay Gupta with another doctor story now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. XAVIERA ESTES, RESIDENT PHYSICIAN, MEMORIAL HOSPITAL: Well, I'm Dr. Estes. DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Dr. Xaviera Estes is one of America's young black doctors, and it's her first day on the job at Memorial Hospital in Savannah. Already she has a patient who is expecting a baby any hour now.

ESTES: She came in for contractions, and we found that she was actually in pre-term labor.

GUPTA: As a little girl, Dr. Estes was fascinated with biology and the body.

ESTES: I decided in second grade I wanted to be a doctor.

GUPTA: Bright and passionate about medicine, she set her own path early. But growing up in predominantly black inner-city Houston, she was dreaming big.

ESTES: You can never be a doctor, why won't you settle for being a nurse or a medical assistant? No doctor has ever come out of this community. That was my drive for pushing forward, to prove people wrong.

GUPTA: This past May, success, the proof, now right in her hand, a medical degree from Morehouse School of Medicine. A historically black medical college in Atlanta.

ESTES: I can't believe I'm here. This is such a surreal moment.

GUPTA: According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, less than 5 percent of U.S. physicians and surgeons are black. That's a shortage for sure. These graduates are among some of the newest.

(on camera): But they're not nearly enough to close the gap, says Dr. John Maupin, president of Morehouse School of medicine.

DR. JOHN MAUPIN, PRESIDENT, MOREHOUSE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: It's going to take a long time to have the kind of diversity that this country needs so that students can believe that that's what they can be.

The biggest barrier right now is the graduation rates of African- American males and African-Americans from high school. We're having too many people drop out.

ESTES: I don't think we've necessarily received the type of support we needed to medical school is expensive. And so not necessarily the financial support, not the emotional support.

GUPTA (voice-over): Morehouse School of Medicine says that the majority of its alumni go on to work in rural areas and rural cities. It's the core of the school's mission, ensuring diversity in underserved communities.

ESTES: OK, thank you so much. GUPTA: Here at Memorial Hospital, it's an opportunity for Dr. Estes to work with minority patients. Eventually she wants to open up a women's center. But on this day, the emphasis was all on her patient, and the new baby she helped deliver. Little Allison.

ESTES: They always say you'll never forget the first baby you delivered. I'll never forget it's a baby girl and just new life into this world. And that's really exciting.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Yes, be sure you join Dr. Gupta's "House Call." That's every Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 a.m. Eastern Time. He's going to be taking a look at boutique medicine, a topic of renewed interest following the death of Michael Jackson.

All right. Reynolds Wolf, my guy, as I said earlier, keeping an eye on things for us weather wise but also in Mexico, doing some shaking.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOLMES: Well, you're owed money by the state. And instead of them handing you a check, they hand you a piece of paper with three letters on it. IOU. That's what California is doing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: Live in the CNN NEWSROOM, T.J. Holmes.

HOLMES: So, budget crunches are hitting a number of states and perhaps nowhere harder than California. They are actually printing IOUs to pay their bills.

Christine Romans is here from New York. If you owed me money, I would not accept an IOU from you, Christine. How does this work when state is handing these things out?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'd hope you'd take my IOU because I'm good for it eventually. And I guess that's what California is trying to say, that eventually they know they'll be good for it and they're going to pay their bills. But right now they're going to have to issue an IOU to some folks and some groups with interest I will say rather than pay them because the treasury just doesn't have enough money to pay all the bills that are coming in.

Essentially the state of California is broke and it cannot pay all of its bills.

So, what happens here next? Well, about $200 million in personal income and corporate tax payments will be delayed. And regional centers that provide services to people with developmental disabilities are going to get an IOU. Also instead of payment, the Cal works -- welfare program also will not get its money right away.

Altogether you're talking about the damage to the economy of California to the tune of millions of dollars in interest they're going to have to pay on these IOUs, it could hurt the state's bond rating -- already it has the worst credit rating in the country.

Residents will be awaiting their tax refunds, social service providers will not be able to be paid for services that they are rendering right now, including the people who are feeding the state's prison population, that's one of the services that simply don't have enough money to pay for it right now, they're giving an IOU instead and a lot of small business.

So imagine, T.J., if you had employees and you do all this government work, this government business, this is your customer and you can't get paid by your customer, how do you pay your own employees?

So this is a very difficult situation here. Some people say that in the very near term they're going to be able to tolerate it, but if this drags on for a number of weeks or months, it's going to be very difficult and some small businesses will have to start laying people off.

HOLMES: Ok, well, how in the world is anyone who gets an IOU is supposed to feel confident that California is good for it? I mean, they are hurting and it doesn't seem like any help is coming. I know they appealed to the federal government at one point for a bailout, essentially. So is anything coming from the federal government fund?

ROMANS: Well, they did -- they've appealed for a bailout under the TARP, the bank bailout in the auto industry got some of that TARP money, the Troubled Asset Relief money the federal bailout; those $700 billion was passed by Congress late last year, but they didn't get that.

Robert Gibbs, the White House press spokesman, said Wednesday that there wouldn't be any special funding coming right now. That it's the stimulus money, the stimulus is going to work, it's working in the economy and it will be stimulus dollars that will be going -- federal stimulus dollars that will be going to help the state.

Look, it's a very difficult situation. If it were easy to fix it, it would have been fixed you'd think by now.

This also happened I will point out about 17 years ago when they had a budget crisis, frankly, they had to pay their employees with IOUs and they were sued for doing that. At this point, they're not paying their employees, the state employees have been asked to take a third day-off unpaid every month. Unpaid for local state employees so, a lot of pain from top to bottom there.

HOLMES: All right, and you've got a digit for us today. I call it digit I should call it by proper name Romans' Numerals, what do you have for us.

ROMANS: I've got a digit for you and my digit is eight. And I'll tell you what this is.

HOLMES: Eight, yes.

ROMANS: You hear this a lot, it's California's rank in the world economy. If California were its own economy, it would be the eighth largest in the world. T.J. you think of that, it is bigger than Spain, Canada, Brazil, India, Russia, just California...

HOLMES: Wow.

ROMANS: ... that's why it's so important. It's important to the taxpayers, it's important to the people who live there, it's important to the companies that do business there and it's important to the world economy too. It's the largest economy in the world and it's broke.

HOLMES: All right, we do need them to do well. We are pulling for California.

ROMANS: Yes, we are.

HOLMES: Christine, thank you so much.

ROMANS: Sure.

HOLMES: Thank you as always. And you can get more information on bank closures the rest of the day's financial news of course as always at CNNmoney.com.

Well, South Korea says it's keeping a close eye on North Korea for anymore possible missile tests. The North fired four short-range missiles off at east coast yesterday. The launches have highlighted concerns of North Korea's broader missile intentions.

The speculation has centered on whether the North may try to fire a long-range missile toward Hawaii possibly -- this month, perhaps the Fourth of July weekend. The U.S. has beefed-up missile defenses on the island.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JERRY KAULEI, KANAWA RESIDENT: As long as they're aiming it, to me it's a declaration of war.

CLIFFORD FLORIVAL, VACATIONING IN HAWAII: I'm hoping it won't happen. But in this world, I mean, I live in New York City and I saw 9/11. Anything can happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, State Department officials say there's no indication North Korea poses any immediate threat to the U.S.; some would argue that.

Let's bring in now John Park, he's with the U.S. Institute of Peace. And they do essentially what the name says, promoting peace within that group. John, we appreciate you being here. Does Hawaii have anything to worry about?

JOHN PARK, U.S. INSTITUTE OF PEACE: Well, right now, it looks like the preparations are in place. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced that they would move missile defense capabilities to Hawaii. So folks in Hawaii should feel rest assured. But there are concerns that North Korea may try to do a missile test.

HOLMES: What in the world would be the point here?

PARK: You know, traditionally North Korea use these types of tactics, these acts of brinkmanship (ph) to raise the stakes, bring the parties to the table and ask for more concessions.

But right now that playbook doesn't seem to be used. It seems like a new type of playbook, one about provocations leading up to enhancement of capabilities and most -- like declarations basically. There is no bargaining going on with the North Koreans at the moment.

HOLMES: Ok, and put this in perspective for folks, some of our viewers are used to hearing, ok, North Korea, they're at it again, it's another test, another nuclear test.

PARK: Right.

HOLMES: But is this one -- does this feel or sound any different? Is this a different escalation here when we're talking about North Korea and firing missiles and then you bring into the phrase that people will hear Hawaii and that there may be a threat to Hawaii.

So is this different from what we are used to seeing?

PARK: Well, you know, the reports basically right now saying that this may be aimed at Hawaii are certainly alarming. But given the previous test that North Korea has conducted with their long-range missiles, they haven't reached the range anywhere close to approaching the shores of Hawaii.

But the concern in the more medium-term is the -- and I would say short-term, as well, is the risk of proliferation. North Korea being able to sell these missile parts to other countries, particularly in the Middle East.

HOLMES: And also, why the Fourth of July? A lot of people are talking about that date and tomorrow might be a time they try something? Why tomorrow?

PARK: The North Koreans like to make people feel special. And calibrating this missile test to an American holiday is one way to do it. And certainly we've seen instances in the past where North Korea has done this.

In October of 2006, we saw the nuclear test, the first one, but just before that, on July 4th, as well, in 2006 North Korea conducted several missile tests then. HOLMES: OK, what else can you do to North Korea? We hear sanction after sanction after sanction and then we hear this sanction's tougher than that sanction, but what else are you supposed to do with these guys?

PARK: The sanction wording and the structure of the sanctions are very specific. The challenge for a long while now has been on enforcement. The recent appointment of Ambassador Phillip Goldberg who recently went to Beijing to meet with his Chinese counterparts focused very much on this question of sanctions enforcement.

So again, we've heard a lot about sanctions and sanctions having teeth, but this is the first time an interagency task force has been put together looking very specifically at that point of enforcing sanctions.

HOLMES: All right. John Park again, with the U.S. Institute of Peace. And boy, that name we could use a little peace right now over in -- with what's going on with North Korea.

John, we appreciate you being here. And you enjoy your Fourth of July weekend.

PARK: Thank you. You too, T.J.

HOLMES: All right, we're turning to the U.S. Marines now. As we were talking about earlier, they're moving deeper into southern Afghanistan. They're continuing the offensive against Taliban strongholds.

The U.S. military says one Marine was killed, several others wounded in the opening day of the operation.

CNN's Atia Abawi is in Kabul, Afghanistan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATIA ABAWI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Khanjar (ph) Strike of the Sword began in the dark hours of Thursday morning, the biggest single offensive since the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. 4,000 U.S. marines recently arrived in Afghanistan supported by 650 Afghan forces.

Here the Marines prepare for the mission ahead. And to the bad lands of Helmand province, an area long under the influence of the Taliban.

CAPT. DREW SCHOENMAKER, MARINE CORPS BRAVO COMPANY: The aim of the air assault was to put Marine Corps forces back expeditionary-wise out behind enemy lines. We dropped into a few places that nobody had been.

ABAWI: Helmand is one of the most volatile areas in the country. Several offensive spy coalition forces in recent years have failed to expel the Taliban. Sharing a porous (ph) border with Pakistan, Helmand is reputed to be the top opium-producing region in the world; opium that is known to fund the militants.

The marines say that so far they've exchanged only light and sporadic fire with the enemy. But that's no surprise, the Taliban is known to melt into the mountains and choose its moments.

The Taliban claims to have killed more than 30 coalition troops. The U.S. military says that is a fabrication.

This operation comes a week after British troops went on the offensive in another part of Helmand trying to secure and hold areas previously out of reach without reinforcements. Helmand is seen as critical to President Obama's influx of troops to Afghanistan; until recently there were some 7,000 coalition troops in Helmand, mainly British. Now that's more than doubled.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: All right, Atia joins us now live from Kabul. Atia, give us just the latest on this offensive. What is happening there?

ABAWI: Well, we are hearing that the Marines did engage with the enemy for several hours in one portion of the province and that's in the southeast sector of Garmsir district bordering Pakistan.

We were actually in Garmsir district a few months ago and we were only able to go to the city center. We heard that down south the coalition troops did not have a recheck (ph). And basically the villages were under Taliban rule.

So this is new territory for the Marines and although they did engage with the enemy for several hours, we have been told that that engagement has been abated and it's still back to light and sporadic battles with the Taliban -- T.J.

HOLMES: All right, Atia Abawi for us in Kabul. Atia, thank you so much.

Meanwhile, it may be easier soon for the U.S. to rearm forces in Afghanistan.

An aide to the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will agree next week to allow the U.S. to send weapons through Russia, before the U.S. could only send non-lethal supplies through Russia. President Obama heads to Moscow next week for his first meetings with the Russian president.

Now, just this week, North Korea launched four missiles. Afghanistan heated up, as we said, a lot is going on and a lot of international stories happening. We want to know what you think about them. And which one do you think is most interesting to you, maybe and also most significant and also most threatening.

What worries you most? Check out the blog, as you see there cnn.com/T.J. and also cnn.com/Heidi. Let us know what you think.

Well, Michael Jackson, his final days. There are a lot of looming questions. We will have the latest for you. Don't you go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, a public memorial now scheduled for Michael Jackson. We'll tell you now what we know. The memorial service will be held on Tuesday in Los Angeles at the Staples Center' 11,000 seats will be available to the public. The tickets will be free.

However, fans will have to register in advance to get those tickets. We're expecting more details about that to come out here in the next few hours.

Still no word on Michael Jackson's final resting place, his brother Jermaine says the Neverland ranch would be the best choice. Also Jackson's ex-wife Debbie Rowe may now soon launch a custody battle for their two children. Jackson's will, however, called for his mother to raise the kids.

Now, we do have some video we want to show with you here; the last video of Michael Jackson's rehearsal. He was getting ready for that big tour, he was going to do 50 days over in London. Well, he was rehearsing in Los Angeles, we just got the video. Take a look.

(VIDEO CLIP -- MICHAEL JACKSON'S REHEARSAL FOR "THIS IS IT" TOUR)

HOLMES: Well, as you see there, that is what appears to be an energetic and vibrant Michael Jackson. That's a 50-year-old guy there, folks, and he is dancing and singing like we are used to him dancing and singing over the years. But this was just two days before his death.

The promoter of those concerts he was going to do says the video shows yes, he seemed healthy, he was energetic and he was geared up for that series of 50 concerts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "AC360": As part of the business proposition, Michael had to undergo a medical exam to get insurance.

RANDY PHILLIPS, PRESIDENT, AEG LIVE: Correct.

COOPER: Do you have the results of that exam? Was there a drug test for that exam?

PHILLIPS: Well, what happened is the insurance carrier -- and I know this is important for people to realize -- the insurance carrier sent the doctor out from New York, Dr. David Slavitz, I believe, independent of us. We had nothing to do with it. He examined Michael for about five hours at his house, and I think they went somewhere for some other tests, and I'm sure there was a blood test.

We're obviously not privy to the patient-doctor relationship with that information, but the insurance broker told us that he passed with flying colors, ok, and that the only issue was there was some slight hay fever. COOPER: So, if you've been -- as you have been watching over the last several days, allegations come out about drug use, what do you think?

PHILLIPS: Well, I don't know, because I wasn't with him 24/7. I've spent a lot of time with him. All I know is the Michael Jackson that hugged me and said good night was a healthy, vibrant human being about to undertake the greatest undertaking of his life, ok. And something happened between 12:30 when he left us and the morning when I had to rush to the hospital when I got the first call.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Phillips also coordinating Tuesday's public memorial for Jackson. His company plans a briefing today to explain how tickets will be made available to the public. And you know folks are going to be after those tickets. About 11,000 we're being told.

When the details of that public memorial are released, you will hear it and you will see it right here, live. We will have live coverage of that news conference scheduled for 1:00 Eastern time 10:00 a.m. Pacific. Again, we will cover it here for you live on CNN.

Well, you have seen a lot of coverage of Michael Jackson over the past week now since his death. You can expect to see a lot more.

When the new magazines come out, you're going to see his face on the cover of a lot of them. "People" magazine, doing a special tribute to the "King of Pop" with three cover shots showing his life in pictures. You see that one there as he was a child. And this one -- remember in the Jackson 5, then he moved on to super stardom as a young man and then also highlights his extraordinary talent and also his tragic death in the last there.

WOLF: Wow.

HOLMES: People are going to really be after those, Reynolds, but, of course, a lot of people love that first one of the cute kid.

WOLF: Absolutely.

HOLMES: We haven't seen in a long time, you know, throughout his life. But he started out as that cute little kid that the whole country and world really fell in love with.

WOLF: And amazing talent. Personally, I kind of like the second one because I was a teenager when that -- in that era. And again, there's something about that great picture, I absolutely love it.

T.J., do you find it amazing that just the name Michael itself, how many great performers that have that first name Michael; your absolute favorite Michael Bolton, for example, that Michael name. Weird that it works out that way.

HOLMES: Yes, he is in heavy rotation on my iPod, but I think he's a great talent, as well. WOLF: Your favorite and mine. I have his entire collection.

One thing that people in Texas aren't celebrating is the intense heat, it's just been brutal there the last couple of days. One place where it's been impressively hot, Austin, Texas, 104 yesterday; it could happen again today. A hazy sky that you have there; this complements of KXAN News 36 in Austin. You see just barely the capital right there in the center of the screen.

We're seeing today highs going up to 100, 102 for Dallas, 98 in Houston. Your holiday forecast is coming up; we're going to talk about that later on this morning.

T.J., let's send it back to you.

HOLMES: All right. Appreciate you. We'll see you shortly.

A lot of folks this holiday weekend going to be at the pool or the lake; the last thing parents want to hear is something their child might be playing on has been recalled.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, you know our Rob Marciano has covered all kinds of stories here at CNN. Yes, he's a meteorologist, but he's not just limited to stories about the weather. But now he can add a story about covering presidents. Rob, hello to you, sir; from Disney World of all places.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's not the lawn of the White House but it's as close as I'm going to get at least for the time being.

Good morning T.J. Good morning everybody. We're in the Magic Kingdom of Disney World where there's a lot of exciting things happening on this 4th of July weekend. Behind me is the Hall of Presidents -- more on that in a second -- but more importantly, during "American Morning" in the 8:00 hour a very special ceremony happened right in front of Cinderella's castle where a thousand immigrants were sworn in and became naturalized citizens.

That was certainly an emotional event, not only for those folks, but for the people watching, as well. Keynote speaker Andy Garcia was on hand to share his thoughts being a naturalized citizen himself. We chatted with him briefly and here's what he had to say about today's ceremony and being a citizen in general.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY GARCIA, ACTOR: Some things you take for granted the fact of the rights and the privileges that we have here in America. But if you grow up in a place like Cuba or other countries that kind of society doesn't exist and then you really realize, you know, how valuable it really is. That's the reality and that's why I think people who have come to America from that kind of background really appreciate -- like I said -- that warm embrace and then the opportunities that we're afforded here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: A lot of proud people this morning taking that oath, having to learn the language, having to answer the questions that you and I learned in American History, T.J. So what better way to celebrate the Fourth of July than to have folks naturalized as citizens?

Behind me the Hall of President; brand-new exhibit, we've got Barack Obama added to the Hall of Presidents, of course. We'll have more on that in the next hour.

Back to you.

HOLMES: That's interesting. I know we're going to be hearing more about that. Rob, we appreciate you. We'll talk to you again here shortly.

We're also talking about the world hot spots today. Busy morning on our blog; also talking about Independence Day, sacrifice, as well. You tell us about someone you know who had sacrifice for the country. You can go to cnn.com/t.j. or cnn.com/heidi. We do appreciate you participating as always.

A whole lot going on today and coming up in the next hour of the NEWSROOM with our CNN crew in place breaking it all down; we want to start with Barbara Starr in Washington. Hello, Barb.

STARR: Good morning to you, T.J. On this July Fourth weekend, U.S. Marines in combat in southern Afghanistan; we'll have more in the next hour.

FINNSTROM: I'm Kara Finnstrom at the staples center where a huge memorial tribute to Michael Jacson is being planned. We'll have the latest information on tickets for the public in the next hour.

WOLF: For those millions of Americans who are going to be heading out to start their holiday weekend; got to know what kind of weather to expect. We're going to answer those questions coming up next hour.

HOLMES: Barbara, Kara, Reynolds, we appreciate you all. We'll talk to you again here shortly.

It is the one place that his brother Jermaine said Michael Jackson was most at peace -- Neverland ranch. We're taking you inside, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Fourth of July holiday weekend; a lot of people are going to be at the pool, a lot of people are going to be at the lake. So the last thing you want to hear on July 3rd is about a recall and a safety warning involving inflatable floats for babies.

CNN's Gerri Willis with the details.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: About 4 million baby floats, 14 models manufactured by Aqua-Leisure Industries, are getting voluntarily recalled. The problem? The leg straps in the seat of the float can tear and this can cause kids to unexpectedly fall in the water, an obvious drowning risk.

There have been 31 reports of float seats tearing causing children to fall into or even under the water. Fortunately, no injuries have been reported, that according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The floats come in a range of styles and colors, and some include Baby and Me Combo, Deluxe Toddler Racer, Sun Shade Buggy, Quacker Float. For specific model numbers, please go to the CPSC's Web site at cpsc.gov.

Now, these products were sold at retailers nationwide including Target, Toys R Us, Wal-Mart, $ General, K-Mart, Walgreen's, Ace Hardware and Bed, Bath & Beyond between December 2002 and June of this year. Look for the names and model numbers, it should be on the back of the float and if you have one of these floats at your home, stop using them immediately.

You can call Aqua-Leisure for a full refund -- here's the number 866-807-3998 or go to their Web site at aqualeisure.com.

Back to you.