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Fire Threatens Nuclear Lab; President Obama Urges Debt Deal; Afghanistan Militants Constantly Targeting an Outpost in Kunar Province; Shopping Online May Allow Personal Information to Be Sold; Terrorist Suicide Bombers Target Hotel in Kabul; Controversial "Newsweek" Cover Shows Photo-Shopped Picture of Princess Diana to Show What She Would Look Like Today

Aired June 29, 2011 - 15:00   ET

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

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: But it seems as if this FDA committee is saying that they don't think that Avastin is safe and effective for women with advanced breast cancer.

And the reason why this is important is that, if the full -- if the FDA commissioner agrees and says this doesn't work and isn't safe for women with advanced breast cancer, insurance may not pay for it. And, Randi, this drug costs about $90,000. So, clearly, very -- hardly can afford to pay for it on their own.

RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: And -- but there are those -- just very quickly -- some breast cancer survivors are aren't -- aren't very sad to hear this news.

COHEN: Right. Some breast cancer survivors say, look, this drug doesn't work, and it was put out as false hope, and so it's not a bad thing that it's been -- that insurance might not pay for it.

KAYE: Right.

COHEN: But there are a lot of women who are going to be very upset about this.

KAYE: All right, Elizabeth Cohen, appreciate the quick update. Thank you.

(CROSSTALK)

KAYE: That will do it for me.

Fredricka Whitfield takes over here now on CNN NEWSROOM.

Hi, Fred.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hell to you, Randi. Thanks so much.

Hello, everyone. I am Fredricka Whitfield, in today for Brooke Baldwin.

A very busy Wednesday this afternoon. Let's get straight to the stories that we're working on right now. Flames and nukes, they don't mix. But that's exactly what could happen in New Mexico, as a fast-moving wildfire inches dangerously close to the Los Alamos National Lab.

Plus, American troops under attack in Afghanistan, and a CNN reporter is there as it happens. We have got an amazing CNN exclusive report coming up.

But, first, President Barack Obama warns Congress the August 2 deadline to raise the debt limit is real and tough decisions will have to be made, he says. Mr. Obama says if Congress doesn't act, the federal government could soon default on its bills. His warning came at a nationally televised news conference.

He chided congressional leaders, Republicans in particular, for failing to reach a deal on cutting the federal debt. That's the deal the GOP is demanding before allowing Washington to continue to borrow money to pay bills.

The president says the time for agreement is now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: if by the end of this week, we have not seen substantial progress, then I think members of Congress need to understand, we are going to, you know, start having to cancel things and stay here until we get it done.

You know, they're -- they're in one week, they're out one week, and then they're -- they're saying, "Obama's got to step in." You need to be here. I have been here. I have been doing Afghanistan and bin Laden and the Greek crisis and...

(LAUGHTER)

OBAMA: You stay here. Let's get it done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Jill Dougherty is at the White House.

So, this president was really trying to offer some clarity, too, wasn't he, especially as it pertains to who he believes should pay more in taxes to help reduce this debt.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he's simplifying it. What he is saying is, it's millionaires and billionaires. And he even said people who have corporate jets, big oil companies, et cetera, he said, if you have a corporate jet, yes, you can fly it, but you will have to pay more.

And it's a simplification obviously, Fred, but what he's talking about is the wealthier Americans would have to pay more and he argues they can afford it. He does say that the tax breaks for middle-class Americans should continue. And that I think is one of the key issues right now, because the president is saying that you cannot do this without revenue increases. And revenue, don't forget, is a euphemism for taxes. You have got to get money in. That's the president's viewpoint, even though the Republicans and some Democrats are -- say you can't do this politically.

WHITFIELD: So, Jill, is the president planning to meet again with the Republican leadership?

DOUGHERTY: Well, he met with Mitch McConnell, the minority leader in the Senate, on Monday. Before that, he met with Mr. Boehner.

And he -- today, he's meeting with Democratic leaders. He will be meeting with Tim Geithner, in fact, the treasury secretary. We don't know of any plans specifically to meet with Republicans. But now the president is the person who is the leader of these negotiations. He's supposed to be bringing the sides together.

So obviously he will be meeting with them sooner or later. But right now, he seems to be sticking with his guns about having some type of tax increase.

WHITFIELD: So the president started out about the economy, but he was asked a number of things, everything from about Libya, as well as about gay rights issues. Did he change his point of view or did he kind of underscore any other points during that press conference?

DOUGHERTY: Well, I think, on the gay rights issue, he said, look, I'm -- and to almost quote -- I'm not going to make any news on this, so don't expect it.

But, on Libya, I do think you have a shift somewhat. And that is that he's saying that getting rid of Moammar Gadhafi is the key to all of this. Remember, Fred, they have been saying that mission, the NATO mission that the U.S. is involved in, is designed to protect civilians in Libya.

And the president said today you can't do that, you can't carry out that mission unless Gadhafi goes. So he's making a direct link. Sometimes, that's not been directly linked. But I think that's a bit of a shift. It's always been there, but you hear it directly from the president today.

WHITFIELD: All right, Jill Dougherty at the White House, thanks so much.

All right, the national debt a big issue here in this country, also a big one in Greece. Take a look right now, live pictures of the protests that continue there, despite the fact that lawmakers did pass some critical budget cuts taking place there. We're going to be checking in with our Richard Quest momentarily. We know that an austerity measure was passed, at least the first step toward it.

Still, protesters continue to take to the streets, unhappy about what's taking place in the economic picture there in Greece. Momentarily, when we get our Richard Quest, we will take you there to Athens live.

All right, meantime, three days in, and firefighters back in this country still tackling that blaze inching closer to the Los Alamos National Lab. What happens if the fire reaches the 20,000 barrels of contaminated nuclear waste there? Well, that's next.

Plus, this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After days of nothing, the insurgents have finally amassed the compound and beginning an attack from all sides.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: American troops surrounded and attacked by Taliban forces in Afghanistan, and CNN was inside, as you see right there, when it happened -- more of this incredible and exclusive CNN report coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, back to Greece now, where lawmakers passed critical budget cuts in spite of the huge protests there. Even before the vote, riot police had fired tear gas.

And stone-throwing demonstrators there, they are enraged by sweeping tax hikes and budget cuts, even though economists warn those measures are needed to save Greece from bankruptcy.

Let's check in right now with our Richard Quest in Athens.

So, Richard, what more are you hearing on the streets about what's taking place? We heard loud pops of sound not far from those live pictures that were being taken and you. What was that for?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, a lot of -- excuse me -- a lot of the real noise of the day has somewhat subsided tonight.

What we have got is, I would say, several hundred core nasty protesters who are determined to cause whatever mayhem they can in the square.

And they go through running battles with the police. They will push against, the police will fire stun grenades and then tear gas, which will just envelope us all for five or 10 minutes.

The main protesters who were against the austerity plans, they have largely left. They lost the argument. They lost the battle. The Parliament voted in favor of them.

I don't think they think they have lost the war. I think that they will be back to fight another day, believing that it's one thing to have a plan. It's another thing to implement it.

And what people here in Greece are telling me tonight is that, for them, there is still a long way to go.

WHITFIELD: So, in general, Richard, are people accepting of these measures?

QUEST: No, no, no. We haven't reached a stage of acceptance.

I suppose, if you were to use the seven stages of grief or whatever, we have been through bargaining and we have probably gone through anger. There will be an element of remorse. And there will probably be quite a few of the other stages.

But acceptance to what's coming their way is still not there yet, because they know these cuts are so severe, the tax rises will hit everybody. There's nothing like the thought of IRS in terms of collecting taxes. They have a tax collection authority, but it's nothing like as vicious, if you will, in terms of making sure people pay their taxes.

So, no. There is some way to go before people here that actually they are going to have to knuckle down and get on with it.

WHITFIELD: So what's the alternative that people prefer?

QUEST: That is a brilliant question.

And it depends who you ask. Ask the hard-core hooligans, and they will say anything anti-capitalist and they will swear at you, and they will say it's all Goldman Sachs' fault. Ask them the more moderate, those against opposition, they will say there should have been a reduction in Greece's debt, probably by some orderly default, which ultimately would have meant the banks taking a hair cut.

But if you ask -- if you ask most people here, there is perhaps a realization things couldn't carry on. What they don't want is the pain that now is going to come their way for another two, three, or four years.

And, as you can hear, the stun grenades, that will mean there will be tear gas will be coming our way shortly.

WHITFIELD: So, when you hear blasts like that, it's likely that it's the stun grenades from the police you're seeing?

QUEST: Well -- well, what happens is, they do the stun grenades to try and force those remnants -- I will show you just down, Fredricka. We have got a second or two more.

WHITFIELD: OK. Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

QUEST: We go right down to the road just at the bottom. So you have got that group of protesters there. And they will try and force against the police.

Eventually, the police will start to charge down at them. And as they do so, they will then introduce tear gas as well, the object of the exercise, to bring -- to keep the protesters on the move and eventually, hopefully, they will disperse.

But, frankly, I have now been here for -- for 10 or 11 hours, and there is always a hard core that remains. There's about five small fires also in the square.

WHITFIELD: All right, Richard Quest, thanks so much for that update coming from Athens. Appreciate that.

All right, back to this country now. We want to bring you up to date on the big wildfire that is threatening the government's nuclear weapons plan. The town of Los Alamos, New Mexico, remains virtually empty. It is 12,000 -- its 12,000, rather, people have been ordered out and the fire is still burning near the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Yesterday, we were told it had burned to the laboratory's edge.

Reynolds Wolf is there for us right now.

We did just hear that the winds are picking up. Reynolds, set the stage for us.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, to set the stage for you, you have to know first and foremost a little bit more about this community.

It's a beautiful place. It's a wonderful tourist attraction, but one of the things that makes it so beautiful is also one of the things that puts it in harm's way in terms of these wildfires. It's built up on a beautiful mesa, three mesas in fact. And between each of these mesas or, plateaus, that the community rests upon, you have got these ravines or these canyons that are filled with all kinds of vegetation, vegetation that was untouched on a fire that took place in this area about a decade ago.

Now, if you look directly be me, we have got CNN photojournalist John Torigoe.

John, if you can show our viewers and show Fredricka that ridge in the background, you can see at the very top of it a few -- appears like toothpicks, what remains of trees. Some are those are remnants of the fire that took place a decade ago. That's also part of a ski area that you have back there.

The problem is, is, just a little bit farther to the south of that exact point is where you have some of the blaze. Even some of the smoke can be seen beyond those trees, beyond those buildings. What's very daunting about the prospect, Fredricka, is, if the wind picks up, there is a chance that some of those embers, some of those flames could actually make their way down into those canyons, into those ravines.

If that happens, they have got a lot of fuel down there, wide variety of conifer trees, wide variety of grasses, if you will, that could burn very easily, very low humidity. And as the winds pick up, of course, it accelerates that process.

As I step back, another big issue we have of course would be the people who have the nice homes here. You have got so many people that were forced to evacuate on Monday. The fire began on Sunday. And they do believe that it started because of a power line falling on private property. Because of the dry conditions, it burned some 60,000 acres in just three days, 3 percent contained, the weather again not favorable at all. They are hoping to get a handle on it later on this afternoon, possibly a better handle in the coming days -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: So, Reynolds, the fire is how far away from the actual lab?

WOLF: That's a great question.

Now, from the itself, it actually touched the very southern end of the facility. We are talking about a facility that's roughly 40 square miles. And one of the areas of deepest concern of course is the 20,000 to 30,000 barrels that we have of that radioactive material, that waste material.

Now, the great thing about it is it's actually on a giant parking lot- type slab of cement. There isn't foliage nearby. And lab officials tell us it is in a very, very safe spot. That being said, the extreme southern perimeter of this 40-square-mile facility has been touched by fire.

And of course out to the west, you do see those plumes of smoke getting fairly close, fairly close to the facility. And they are trying as hard as they can, the 340 men and women battling the blaze, doing all they can to keep those flames at bay -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Reynolds Wolf, thanks so much.

We are going to talk more about this national laboratory and exactly what exactly is at stake.

Joining us from Watertown, Massachusetts, CNN contributor James Walsh. He is an expert in nuclear policy and nuclear security.

OK, so, Jim, there is still concern about the fire, which direction it goes and whether it will indeed pose a real danger to this national lab, particularly because it has many barrels of nuclear waste, military waste. How do you protect this waste if, indeed, the fire encroaches on the laboratory space?

JAMES WALSH, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, Fredricka, I think the method of last resort is, if the fire becomes too close, there is a plan to spray essentially what is rubber foam under -- over all those barrels, fire-retardant foam, so that there is something that separates flames from the material itself.

To be clear here, yes, the nuclear waste is an issue. But there are other special nuclear materials at this lab above and beyond the nuclear waste. This is a facility that has all sorts of jobs with respect to the nuclear weapons -- nuclear weapons production. And it has some important facilities that don't use nuclear materials that would be terrible if they were lost.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: I'm sorry. But would any of these things be relocated right now at this juncture?

WALSH: Sure.

You know, at this point, no. Remember, they have evacuated all but essential personnel. And so they are at a skeleton's staffing now. And at some point, if things got really, really bad, which, by the way, both the lab and local fire department say that they do not expect to happen, but if things were to take a turn for the worse, then they will have to pull those staff as well.

So, right now, I think it's all about hunkering down trying to keep the fire away, trying to minimize the potential damage.

WHITFIELD: OK. And this is what a local fire chief had to say this morning here on CNN. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUG TUCKER, LOS ALAMOS FIRE CHIEF: Those are drums that can take some heat. They just have some waste in them. It's not high-level- rad waste. And we believe that we can protect those. We can foam them. If in fact they do catch fire, they have vents in them. They will vent and with a HEPA filter, and there will be no release of any toxic material.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK. You agree with him that it would be able to withstand the heat if it got to that point and no toxic materials would be released?

WALSH: Well, that's the plan. But we have not run this experiment before.

There was a fire 10 years ago, massive fire. It didn't engulf major facilities at the lab, but in some ways it was a good thing. It was a warning, because it forced the lab to begin to prepare for this as a possibility.

So, a lot of work has been done in this decade and also because of 9/11 to try to make this facility more secure, safer and to be able to withstand a major natural disaster like this.

But -- but we have not gone through it. We don't know if the plan will work at the end of the day. We hope we don't have to test that. But fires are highly variable. We're talking about very intense heat, a wall of heat. And so we don't know exactly how that is going to work out. There are plans, but the outcome remains unknown.

WHITFIELD: OK.

Very quickly, though, yes or no, knowing what you know, are you uneasy about this?

WALSH: I think they are going to get it under control. I think the odds are in favor of this working out.

But I don't trust fires, so I am a little concerned. I'm sure the federal government is concerned. I know the state government is concerned. They are focused on this. But Mother Nature is a big deal and, you know, you don't want to make her angry.

WHITFIELD: Jim Walsh, thanks so much. Always good to see you.

WALSH: Good to see you, Fredricka.

All right, coming up, remember this?

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I still wouldn't want anyone to know if I had (EXPLETIVE DELETED) them. I mean, it's all these (EXPLETIVE DELETED) old dudes and grannies, and there's like maybe a handful of cute chicks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, someone's got a stuck mike and telling us all about their endeavors. We don't need to hear that.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK. That was the Southwest Airlines pilot whose insulting rant was caught on an open cockpit mike. Well, now that pilot is speaking out next.

Plus, 13 Democratic senators team up to tell gay youth it gets better.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The Southwest Airlines pilot whose open-mike rant sparked global outrage is apologizing.

We first played the tirade for you last week. It was heard by several air traffic controllers and other flight crews. The pilot's homophobic, sexist, ageist comments were played over the cockpit mike, which was apparently stuck in the on position.

The airline apologized and the pilot was disciplined for this.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Eleven (EXPLETIVE DELETED) over-the-top (EXPLETIVE DELETED) homosexuals and a granny, 11.

I mean, think of the odds of that. I thought I was in Chicago, which was party land.

After that, it was just a continuous stream of gays and grannies and grandes.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The pilot has been identified as Captain James Taylor.

He wrote a rather lengthy apology to his co-workers, saying this -- quote -- "I deeply regret the derogatory remarks I made and the hurt I have caused. I would like to extend a special apology to all flight attendants, and especially those of Houston. I hope you will allow me to maintain a working relationship with all of you that will provide me the opportunity to extend an individual personal apology to each of you whenever we fly together" -- end quote.

Well, we reached out to the flight attendants union to get their take on Taylor's apology. And they have decided not to pursue a workplace discrimination lawsuit.

Here's what union president Thom McDaniel had to say -- quote -- "Southwest Airlines and the pilot involved in this incident have now apologized to our members. We are prepared to move forward working with our company to ensure that we support a culture where this type of behavior is not acceptable and, if it does happen, it is dealt with appropriately" -- end quote.

President Obama dodged the question over support for same-sex marriage today at his press conference, instead touting what his administration has done for gays and lesbians. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: This administration, under my direction, has consistently said, "We cannot discriminate as a country against people on the basis of sexual orientation." And we have done more in the two and half years that I been in here than the previous 43 presidents to uphold that principle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: While the president was speaking, 13 Democratic senators unveiled their new video for the It Gets Better Project. That's the online initiative supporting gay and lesbian youth.

The group, led by Delaware Senator Chris Coons, taped a five-minute inspirational spot telling LGBT youth that they are not broken or wrong and to never give up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know you have heard it all before. Growing up is tough.

SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D), NEW YORK: Whether you're gay, whether you're straight, whether you're not sure. SEN. RICHARD DURBIN (D-IL), MAJORITY WHIP: For one reason or another, I think most of us growing up feeling like we're different.

SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D), CALIFORNIA: As a member of the United States Senate, I'm here to tell you it gets better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All 13 senators are among the 25 co-sponsors of the Respect for Marriage Act, which calls for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act.

Throwing chairs, spitting at guards, those are the reports from inside the prison where Jared Loughner is being held. Today, we find out if drastic measures will be taken.

Plus, have you seen this? Take a look, Princess Diana alongside Princess Catherine, an aged Princess Diana. This magazine cover has a lot of people talking. It's trending -- coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, time now for a check of the top stories.

Things got heated today in the Casey Anthony murder trial when defense attorney Jose Baez questioned the defendant's father, George Anthony, about comments he made to law enforcement. George Anthony reacted angrily, accusing the defense of -- quote -- "spinning his statements."

The defense also questioned Mr. Anthony about his 2009 suicide attempt, suggesting that he had left a note that expressed some guilt.

Live pictures right now, as you look at the defendant, Casey Anthony.

The judge is expected to rule today on whether Casey Anthony's former fiance can testify in front of jurors.

Lawyers for Tucson shooting suspect Jared Lee Loughner go to court later today in an evident to keep doctors from forcibly medicating him. Loughner has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. A federal judge ruled he's not competent to stand trial for the mass shooting that left six people dead and injured several others, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Loughner's attorneys say forcing their client to take powerful drugs violates his rights. Prosecutors say the medication will keep him from hurting himself and others.

An FDA panel says Avastin is not effective against breast cancer. After two days of hearings a six-member advisory panel voted on the fate of the controversial cancer drug. They were unanimous in their decision, saying Avastin doesn't prolong the lives of women with advanced stages of breast cancer. Avastin works by restricting blood flow to cancer tumors. The panel's decision is not expected to impact Avastin's use for treating other cancers. And hackers target Arizona's police again. They gained access to the Arizona department of public safety's e-mail accounts today. The DPS says the e-mail system was not compromised but hackers say they got into personal interdepartmental accounts. On the message posted on the Web site the hackers say they leaked names, addresses, passwords, Social Security numbers, and internal police records. This is the second time the agency was hacked in less than a week.

Coming up, six horrifying hours for guests at a prominent Afghanistan hotel as several suicide bombers blow themselves up. A live report from Kabul next. Plus this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fire!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: American troops under attack by Taliban forces in Afghanistan. A CNN reporter was there as it happened. It's a CNN exclusive you don't want to miss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: New information on a story that broke on our watch yesterday, the fire and deadly attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan. The interior ministry says 21 people died in the siege that began with suicide bombers storming the hotel. The dead include two Afghan national police, ten civilians, and all nine attackers.

The Taliban claimed responsibility but the Afghan government blames a Pakistan-based warlord determined to destabilize Hamid Karzai's government. The interior minister says all nine attackers came from Pakistan.

Journalist Erin Cunningham was at the Hotel Intercontinental as the siege wore on. She's with us from Kabul. Erin, any new details about how the attackers got through the compound?

ERIN CUNNINGHAM, REPORTER, (via telephone): Right now, there has been nothing confirmed about how the attackers have entered the compound. The Taliban are claiming they were able to infiltrate through shrubbery and Bushes on one of the hills on the side of the hotel and were able to enter the east gates of the hotel because a wedding party was going on and they were able to slip in without being checked by security. That's unconfirmed now. That's what the Taliban are saying about how they were able to enter the hotel.

WHITFIELD: What's interesting about the hotel, Erin, it's one that's often freaked by dignitaries, sometimes journalists as well. There is security around the compound but there are a lot of areas because it sits in isolation. Isn't that correct?

CUNNINGHAM: Right. Yes, there is security around the compound, however there are open areas. What I saw when I arrived closer to the hotel this morning is that there was just a very rudimentary fence around the front part of the hotel and where the Taliban said they were able to infiltrate.

WHITFIELD: So now what? What about the concentrated security measures that might be placed at the hotel from this point forward?

CUNNINGHAM: I think that's a good question, because the more that some of these hotels and other areas that are frequented by foreigners and Afghan officials fortify, then I think it becomes more difficult to actually understand the underlying causes of the conflict and how we should move forward in addressing these root causes.

However, I do think there will be an increase in security. Whether or not that's a positive development is another matter.

WHITFIELD: OK. I have stayed at the hotel or been at the hotel when covering stories in Afghanistan. Were you staying at the hotel at the time when all of this was unfolding?

CUNNINGHAM: No. I was in Kabul. I was about five minutes from the hotel and was able to arrive quickly. However, Afghan security forces would not allow us within 100 meters of the hotel because of the attack.

WHITFIELD: Erin, thank you very much for the update from Kabul. Appreciate that.

So the deadly hotel attack in Kabul comes on the heels of president Obama announcing the plan to start pulling U.S. troops out of Afghanistan next month. And it highlights the challenge facing Afghanistan after American troops leave, a challenge that starts far from the nation's capital. Watch this exclusive report from Nick Paton Walsh. He is embedded with U.S. troops in a Taliban stronghold in Kunar province on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Everywhere you look here in Kunar on Afghanistan's eastern border the choices aren't good. This outpost is caught between hills full of Taliban. If the Americans leave militants from Pakistan will flow through the valley. If they stay then every few days this happens.

(GUNFIRE)

Mortars hit the base. The last attack was long enough ago there is panic. They are worried the Taliban have been preparing a big one. After days of nothing the insurgents finally amassed around the compound and they are being attacked from all sides.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, hustle up. Grab it, get ready.

WALSH: First they use mortars aiming for Taliban dug into the hills. But the incoming fire is very accurate here. They arrange cover from heavy machine guns.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Grab the round. As soon as they go cyclic, drop it.

(GUNFIRE)

WALSH: But the bullets are too close. Locals scatter just before huge American firepower has the last word.

(EXPLOSION)

Four massive air strikes across the hills and then the Taliban fall silent.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Say hi to Usama for me.

WALSH: America knew why it came here but isn't hour why it's staying.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can we get a police call?

(LAUGHTER)

WALSH: Ten minutes later jets swoop in to hit the hills. A show of force but the Taliban are either gone or dead. At least five killed by the soldiers count. The next morning it starts again. Mortars and rocket-filled grenades pound the base, much heavier this time. It appears they have taken casualties.

More airstrikes. This valley is vital strategically, but doesn't want to be conquered. The medics fly in to collect one soldier. His injuries are not life-threatening. There is no real victory to be had here though. Just the question of how long they will stay growing louder.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Kunar, Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And if you are one of millions of Americans who shops online, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EVAN RATCLIFF, ATAVISTIC.ORG/WIRED MAGAZINE: Any time you're shopping online your information is probably going into a database and probably a database they can sell.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Every time you buy off the web someone is taking notes. In fact, nearly every digital move you make is being tracked whether you like it or not. Up next, one man tries to wipe his digital footprint off the map. Find out if he's at all successful.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, this week CNN is going in depth on the end of privacy. Every day each of us leaves a digital footprint, a trail of personal information we may not realize is being collected. CNN's Michael Holmes examines what it would take to live a day off the grid to avoid leaving any digital trace.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Every time we use online technology we are exposing some kind of personal information, countless digital footprints left behind lasting sometimes forever -- our location, our interests, information about our friends and families.

What would it take to live life just one day without a digital trace? I set out to find out with the help of "Wired" magazine writer Evan Ratcliff. In 2009 he tried to disappear and leave no digital trace behind and dared his readers to find him.

EVAN RATCLIFF, ATAVISTIC.ORG/WIRED MAGAZINE: What surprised me most was how quickly people were able to uncover facts about me. People conducting their own investigations, finding information about me online, deed to my apartment, those things they could find really within hours.

HOLMES (on camera): If I'm to leave no digital trace, the first thing I have to leave behind is this -- my smartphone.

RATCLIFF: It's basically a device that says where you are within a few feet at any given time all the time. If you look at the history, the geographic history of a phone it's basically the geographic history of your life.

HOLMES (voice-over): Even without a smartphone tracking my movements I have to be careful online. Even with simple things like internet searches since many search engines keep records of everything I type into that little box.

HOLMES (on camera): The same goes for online shopping. That's where you leave a lot of digital fingerprints. If you don't want to do that you have to go to brick and mortar shops and do it the old- fashioned way. Many aren't selling you just a product. They are selling your information.

RATCLIFF: Any time you're shopping online your information is going into a database and that's a database they can probably sell. If you look at privacy policies, sites, they will tell you that they are able to sell the information to select marketers, or marketing databases. That's the reality of online shopping.

HOLMES: It's not just online either. Even when you're away from the computer, technologies like that guy there, that's a toll booth transponder, it keeps records of where I have been and when I was there.

HOLMES (voice-over): The big challenge may be social media. The tweets, photos, and status updates leave a trail that can be hard to erase.

RATCLIFF: You have to realize that's information you're putting out that you can't pull back in. You can't later get the information off the web.

HOLMES: Despite our best efforts leaving no digital footprint may be all but impossible, as Evan learned when readers tracked him down by following an online trail he tried his hardest to hide.

Michael Holmes, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Prosecutors say Jared Lee Loughner's erratic behavior at a prison hospital is putting him and other inmates in danger. Prison officials want to medicate him, but attorneys for Loughner say it violates his rights. A federal judge is set to decide this afternoon. Coming up at the top of the hour we'll go outside the courthouse.

But up next, Jim Acosta has your CNN Political Ticker. We'll be right back.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Time now for CNN = Politics update. Jim Acosta joins us now from the political desk for the latest on the Political Ticker. What's going on? You have breaking news for one on Mitt Romney?

ACOSTA: That's right. You know, this has been a pretty interesting issue on the Republican side. Basically on Capitol Hill, one of the Tea Party favorites, Jim DeMint said if you don't sign what he calls the cut, cap, and balanced pledge he's not going to get behind you.

And he brings a whole lot of tea party support behind him. Well, Mitt Romney, who is right now really the front-runner in the GOP nomination battle, he's up on Capitol Hill trying to line up his Republican support behind his campaign. And he has said and his campaign has said this afternoon that Romney will sign the cut, cap, and balance pledge.

You may be asking what that's all about? It's basically a pledge to not only reduce the deficit by a large amount in order to approve a debt ceiling hike, but also bring with that a cap on spending over a number of years in advance after a debt ceiling is reached and then also a balanced budget amendment.

It's really a threefold approach the Republicans would like to see to bring the deficit under control. And it's not exactly cut, cap, and balance. It may be more body slam and pile driver. But over on the -- also on the Republican side, we should mention there's some wrestling talk out on the campaign trail these days. Michele Bachmann down in South Carolina, she's been campaigning in the crucial early voting state. She told a Republican voter at one of her events earlier today what the media really wants to see is a mud wrestling match between she and Sarah Palin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELE BACHMANN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Its seems to be they're sidelined right now. They want to see two girls come together and have a mud wrestling fight.

(LAUGHTER)

And I'm not going to give it to them, because I have great respect and admiration for the governor. I appreciate her and I wish her well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: So that has been a question everywhere Michele Bachmann goes. What will it be like if you and Sarah Palin get in the race? What they both say is there's basically enough room for everybody in this GOP nomination fight. It doesn't have to be one or the other at this point.

WHITFIELD: Got it. All right. Thank you so much from the political desk in Washington.

Straight ahead, the magazine cover that has a whole lot of folks outraged. Have you seen this? It's a photo shopped Princess Diana alongside Princess Katherine. If you look at it closer, you'll see what "Newsweek" has done to Diana's face. All the controversy, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

All right, an imaginary story right now that is trending and has certainly caught our attention. It involves a photo shopped image of the late Princess Diana. This is the July 4 cover of "Newsweek." To help mark what would have been her 50th birthday, this age progressed picture of Princess Diana if she was still alive. She was killed in a car accident more than a decade ago.

Well, some call this "Newsweek" cover ghoulish, not just because of the ageing effect, but showing her walking alongside Princess Katherine. Diana, of course, never met her son's wife. A fictional story accompanies the cover, speculating on what Diana's life would have been like, what kind of choices she might have made.

Let's bring in CNN contributor Mark Saunders. So Mark, you've been watching the British royals for some 25 years now. What do you think about this "Newsweek" cover?

MARK SAUNDERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think the "Newsweek" cover is tasteless and I think the article that accompanies it is tasteless. In fact it's an exercise in tackiness. The pictures are pictures we have already seen that have been tweeted. The problem is they don't look anything like what Diana would look like today. I think she would have looked far, far better than she looks in those photographs.

The article can't be taken seriously and it's not funny enough to be taken as parody. So it's not very funny and in bad taste, to be honest.

WHITFIELD: How do you suppose the royals even feel about this?

SAUNDERS: Well, one thing about -- well, I mean, William and Harry are obviously our main concern. The only thing William has really said about this is that when he reads about his mother, it's very rarely the person he actually knew.

Certainly the person who wrote this article is Tina Brown, who has made something of a career making a career out of claiming to be one of Diana's closest friends. Reading the article, I don't think Tina Brown knew Diana at all. There's a hell of a lot about it that's just wrong. The kind of political aspects of it where Diana would be politically, completely wrong. It's somebody I don't think knew Diana at all.

WHITFIELD: That closeness that Tina Brown speaks of, maybe that's why she felt like she could take it a little bit further and say she even expected Diana would choose an iPhone over a blackberry, that she would friend Camilla Parker Bowles on Facebook if she were still alive today. Why would the editor do this? Why would she take it this far?

SAUNDERS: I think just for effect. As I say, it's not a particularly good article. You can't anticipate what somebody else would have done, you know, had they lived 14 years later. And that's pretty impossible. And the idea of Princess Diana using twitter, I think is quite -- is just silly.

Having said that, Diana probably would have suffered greatly with the amount of mobile phones today and the amount of photographs that would have been taken. She would have used iPhone and all of that, but only to her friends in the same way she used her own phone when she was alive.

WHITFIELD: So Mark, apparently, one of the staffers reportedly had said that the powers with "Newsweek," quote, "couldn't be happier with the buzz." They're happy that people are talking about it and they're happy they're getting this kind of attention.

We have reached out to Tina Brown many times to join us on this program. Still nothing. Is this the kind of publicity you think "Newsweek" with the new, you know, woman in charge was looking for?

SAUNDERS: It's -- it's a strange direction for "Newsweek" to take.

I mean, in this country, when -- when you talk of "Newsweek," you think of serious journalism. I certainly wouldn't call this serious journalism.

But there might be a buzz on your side of the pond, but it's been pretty much disregarded here. There's no great interest, because what the royal wedding just recently showed us is that the world has moved on.

We're not going to forget Diana, but William and Catherine are holding the torch now and they're -- the whole thing is moving on. And Diana has got her place in history, and it's not the front page of "Newsweek." And I just find the whole thing tacky, to be honest.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Mark Saunders from London, thanks so much. Appreciate it. SAUNDERS: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, now, watch this:

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: President Obama calls a news conference on short notice explaining why big oil, millionaires and billionaires should no longer enjoy tax breaks. The news is now.

(voice-over): Doctors say Jared Loughner is doing some disturbing things behind bars, but can the accused madman be forced to take medication? Minutes from now, the fight goes to court.

As the night fell, terrorists attacked.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: None of thought we were going to make it.

A fancy hotel in Afghanistan under siege for hours as militants went floor to floor, pulling triggers and blowing themselves up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My room started to shake.

WHITFIELD: We will take you behind their carefully orchestrated plan, a plan to unleash terror.

Plus, Michele Bachmann hits a sour note. Tom Petty sends a cease-and- desist letter to the Republican over this song.

(MUSIC)

WHITFIELD: Find out why he's just the latest singer to challenge a politician.

(END VIDEOTAPE)