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CNN Live Saturday

Gas Prices Hit Record Highs; Israel Prepares for First Phase of Gaza Withdrawal; Nuevo Laredo, Mexico: Lawless Border Town

Aired August 13, 2005 - 16:00   ET

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

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dan Simon in Los Angeles, where fuel prices here and elsewhere have reached epic heights. We'll explore the reasons why.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A deadly arrival in the West. A twister touches down with little warning. What else is in the forecast? A national look in a moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's reaching the point where in a little narrow strip in Columbus, New Mexico, 54 miles, there is literally a chaotic situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The New Mexico governor takes a drastic step to deal with dangerous conditions along America's southern border.

Hello and welcome to CNN LIVE SATURDAY. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. All that and more, after this check of the headlines.

Now in the news, President Bush is issuing a stern warning to Iran. He says if that country refuses to comply with international demands to end its nuclear program, then, quote, "all options are on will table." Mr. Bush says force is always the last option for a president, but notes the U.S., quote, "has used force in the recent past for security reasons." We'll have a live report from Crawford, Texas, in a few minutes.

Security is tight across the Gaza Strip as Israel prepares to begin the first phase of its withdrawal from that territory. Jewish settlers have until Wednesday to leave or they'll be forcibly removed. We'll have more on this story coming up.

In Afghanistan, U.S. and Afghan troops fought Taliban insurgents in two separate incidents. Four insurgents were killed in the fire fights, and two Afghan police were wounded. Coalition forces are trying to bolster security ahead of next month's parliamentary elections.

And now to a story that's having an impact on almost every American right now, soaring fuel prices. AAA says the average gallon of self-serve gas is now a whopping $2.41, and it may get worse. Rising crude oil costs are contributing to the surge. Oil prices skyrocketed to record levels yesterday, ending the day just under $67 a barrel. That's a $10 jump in less than a month. So how are consumers coping with these sky-high gas prices?

Let's check in with CNN's Dan Simon, who's in a city that's synonymous with driving. We're talking about Los Angeles, California -- Dan?

SIMON: Well, Fredricka, I suspect this is on the front page of most newspapers today, but take a look at this. "L.A. Times" here, $2.93 for basic unleaded gas. And we are at a Shell Station back here. And you know what? If you have a medium-sized car and you want to fill up your tank, you're looking at $40 to $50. And we talked to several drivers, and they just can't believe it. They've had enough.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've never seen it this high. Personally, myself. I was shocked when I pulled in. I thought it was going to be, like, 25 cents less. And now I see a three. That's scary.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're ridiculous, man. Especially, like, I'm from Texas, and so like this, coming up here, I'm paying like $2.70 for like a regular gallon. It's ridiculous. Like, I remember when it was like 83 cents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: Well, what's the reason? You might call it a crude awakening. $67 for a barrel of oil. Epic heights. They're the highest they've been in 22 years. We talked to an official from AAA, and take a listen. He tells us why.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL GONZALES, AAA PRICE ANALYST: If you're looking at the price of oil, which is at record levels now, then you're looking at a lot of different factors. You're looking at instability in the Middle East. You're looking at worldwide oil supply. You're looking at demand for oil worldwide. It's a very complicated issue. And you're also looking at issues of insecurity within the world trading markets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: And take a look at this. Take a look at this. A poll conducted by the Associated Press and America Online says that nearly two-thirds -- they interviewed a thousand people -- two-thirds believe that the price of gas will hit them hard in the wallet.

And, you know, some folks, they just don't know what to do. I mean, it's really a -- it's really tough here. I mean, people are buying hybrid vehicles at a record pace. And you know what, the AAA, the folks at AAA tell us that SUV sales are actually going down -- Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right. Those are the big gas guzzlers. Dan Simon, thanks so much.

Well, this summer's blistering heat wave is fueling the demand for power to unprecedented levels, and that's putting tremendous pressure on a power grid that could very well give out, leaving millions in the dark. How likely is a widespread blackout? To find out, we turn to CNN's Kathleen Koch, who joins us live from Washington -- Kathleen.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, power industry officials have predicted that electricity demand would be up 6 percent this summer. What they didn't count on was the temperature soaring as well.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KOCH (voice-over): Record summer heat, from New York to California.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The heat index could exceed 100, and the National Weather Service does have a heat advisory posted.

KOCH: So sweltering, the week of July 17th saw the highest nationwide electricity demand in U.S. history.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got my A.C. daily, 24/7.

KOCH: The weeks following were a close third and second.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was a power failure in northern New York.

KOCH: It has many remembering another hot day, august 14th, 2003, the blackout that left more than 50 million people in the dark. Some wonder if history could repeat itself.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm very concerned that since I've been here in New York that they have air conditioning running in every building at all times.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just hope it doesn't happen again.

KOCH: The Energy Department warns the nation could lose power again.

DAVID GARMAN, UNDERSECRETARY, DEPT. OF ENERGY: We could. The margins are thin. And fundamentally, we have the same electricity grid that we had two years ago.

KOCH: A grid that's aging, and has seen little investment in new transmission or generating capacity. There have been operational changes, more testing of the electricity system, more training for those who operate it, and better coordination.

CAROL MURPHY, NEW YORK IND. SYSTEM OPERATOR: People like the New York independent system operator. Those out in the Midwest, New England, in terms of coordination, daily, multiple conference calls to look at system conditions, share information.

LLEWELLYN KING, ENERGY DAILY: What they are doing is looking very carefully at the system to make sure that there are no cascades, that any malfunction, blackout, tree on the line, truck hits a pole, is contained in a very small region.

KOCH: And the energy bill just signed by President Bush establishes the first-ever mandatory reliability rules, that all in the power industry must follow.

JIM OWEN, EDISON ELECTRIC INSTITUTE: Unfortunately, compliance has always been voluntary. So for the first time under this new energy act that was just signed into law, those standards will indeed have teeth. There will be sanctions.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KOCH: But crafting those rules and deciding on the punishments for breaking them could take more than a year. So in the meantime, experts advise consumers to conserve power to avoid losing it altogether -- Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: Kathleen Koch in Washington, thanks so much.

Well, in the small town of Wright, Wyoming, two people killed and about a dozen others injured when a tornado flattened part of a trailer park. The twister struck with little warning yesterday afternoon. The high winds flattened about 40 to 50 mobile homes.

In another Western state, Idaho, wildfires are still on the march this weekend. Almost a dozen fires are now burning across that state. The total jumped earlier this week after lightning storms sparked a series of new blazes. One of the biggest fires in north central Idaho is burning near dozens of homes.

In Arizona, as storm clouds continue to build, fear of more flash floods this weekend. Flood waters caused serious problems in the Phoenix area earlier in the week. In the community of Camp Creek, a 7-year-old girl was swept away to her death.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Well, the discovery of a storage site in northern Iraq has piqued the interest of the U.S. military. It contains chemicals and that may sound dangerous, but could there be an innocent explanation?

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dana Bash in Crawford, Texas, where anti-war protesters led by a grieving mother were out in full force today, but they had some company. Some pro- Bush demonstrators saying that troops should stay in Iraq.

And MP3 players let you can take your music collection with you everywhere. Why that might be impairing our hearing. Some sound advice from a doctor when CNN LIVE SATURDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The U.S. military is trying to determine what it has uncovered in Iraq. They're probing 1500 gallons of various chemicals found in the Mosul area this week. The U.S. military says coalition forces were led to the site by intelligence from detainee interrogations.

The chemicals by themselves, are used for industrial purposes. They include glycerin, sodium hydroxide and ethanol sulfate. The site appears to have been abandoned six weeks ago. A statement from the military says there's not enough evidence so far to determine what the insurgents' intent or use has been.

Elsewhere in Iraq, the violence rages on: A blast near a mosque in a town west of Baghdad killed several people, including children. Wire services reported residents were blaming U.S. forces, saying they opened fire after an attack on their convoy. But the U.S. military says U.S. troops were not involved in any firing in that area.

Insurgents targeted another U.S. convoy in Baghdad. A suicide car bomb exploded as it passed by earlier today. An Iraqi civilian was killed and at least one was wounded in the attack.

A top U.S. commander says he believes Iraqis will save Iraq. Lieutenant General David Petraeus is in charge of training Iraqi forces. He spoke exclusively with CNN's Jane Arraf just weeks before he steps down from his post. Petraeus said there's been enormous progress in the last 15 months, but he believes the situation remains dangerous for anyone of any nationality trying to keep the peace.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, MULTINATIONAL SECURITY TRANS. CMD.: First, I would say this is an extraordinary tough environment and when you have suicide vest bombers, not just suicide car bombers, this is about as difficult and about as challenging an environment as anyone can imagine for our soldiers, as well as certainly Iraqi police and soldiers. And it is really, really difficult for the strategic corporal out there; the young soldier, again, coalition or Iraqi, who has to make a decision in the blink of an eye that literally could be a life-or-death decision.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Meanwhile, work continues on Iraq's draft constitution and politicians pushing to finish the document are facing a lot of pressure: A Monday deadline looms and their work is being touted as key to the rise of democracy in Iraq.

Iraqi president Jalal Talabani is confident the draft will be completed on time. He says quote, "God willing, the document may be even be ready tomorrow." But acknowledges negotiations continue on key issues.

And we have this programming note: The U.S. ambassador to Iraq will be a guest tomorrow on "LATE EDITION, " with Wolf Blitzer. That's at noon Eastern, 9:00 Pacific right here on CNN.

Not only protesters, but supporters of the war in Iraq are rallying outside the president's ranch in Crawford, Texas today. CNN White House Correspondent Dana Bash is in Crawford, where the president has been vacationing -- Dana?

BASH: Hi, Fredricka.

Well, this is a very small town, Crawford, Texas: Population 705. But they certainly have seen a lot of visitors throughout the week, but particularly today, a Saturday, when people have the weekend off. Of course, we have been hearing about the grieving mother, Cindy Sheehan, who has taken up -- against the war -- has taken up outside the president's ranch.

Today, you're seeing some pictures of the other side of that. In fact, we saw a couple hundred demonstrators. There you see a sign, "anti-war protesters, don't support our troops." They are lining in support of the president, saying it is important for the troops to stay in Iraq, to finish the job; important to stay the course, as they were saying.

They also held a rally later. Probably about 50 people waving flags, playing Whitney Houston singing "God Bless America." Mr. Bush, of course, was not in sight today, but he did discuss Iraq in his weekly radio address where he, once again, said that withdrawing troops right now prematurely, he says, would betray the Iraqi people and cause others to question American's commitment to freedom.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Our nation grieves the death of every man and woman we lose in combat and our hearts go out to the loved ones who mourn them. Yet even in our grief, we can be confident in the future, because the darkness of tyranny is no match for the shining power of freedom.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BASH: Meanwhile, supporters of Cindy Sheehan, the mother who has been here more than a week, saying that she wants to meet with Mr. Bush. Of course, she met with him once about a year ago. Supporters of hers held a protest of their own. About 100-150 people showed up to echo her message that the war was wrong and it's time for the troops to come home.

Not just parents of troops who were there and of troops who have died, but also troops themselves: A couple of Iraq veterans were at this rally. One of whom was from the 82nd airborne who fought in Fallujah and in Baghdad, who said that he wants the president and the American people to know that he believes that some of his comrades, all of his comrades, as far as he's concerned, who are still back in Iraq are fighting for something they shouldn't be, essentially - Fredricka?

Dana Bash in Crawford, Texas. Thanks so much.

WHITFIELD: Well, what happens when drug violence takes over an entire city. You get Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. It is plagued with kidnappings, police deaths and a population silenced by fear. What can be done to fight the violence there. I'll speak with a reporter who headed to the border town in search of answers.

Plus: Why are these Israelis stocking up on supplies? They're preparing for a showdown with their own government. That story, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The mood is somber today for Jews in the Middle East. Thousands of Jews prayed at the Wailing Wall in remembrance of the destruction of the biblical temples in Jerusalem. Their thoughts are not only the past, but the future as well. The withdrawal of Jewish settlers from Gaza and parts of the West Bank begins Monday.

In all, 9,000 people will be uprooted. CNN's John Vause and Guy Raz are seeing two different reactions to the plan in Gaza. Let's begin with Guy Raz, and signs of an impending standoff.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUY RAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A frantic rush to prepare for a hold out. The hard core who remain inside the Gaza settlement stocking up on food and water.

ELI GOLDMINTZ, DISENGAGEMENT OPPONENT: Nobody can really see the future. So people are stocking up. They don't know if the water is going to be flowing. So everybody is buying water.

RAZ: Rumors are spreading fast among those who have decided to defy Israeli authority and remain. The government will cut water and electricity they whispered. Dysentery will spread. People will die of hunger. Hogwash, says the Israeli army. But it hasn't quashed the conspiratory tone that circulates among the shoppers.

OFRA MERMELSTEIN, GAZA SETTLER: We're stocking up on food because our government is closing us in.

RAZ: Elsewhere, the protests continue. But few in Israel are listening anymore. The settlers have lost the political battle for now. Few are prepared to acknowledge it.

CHAIM EISEN, DISENGAGEMENT OPPONENT: There's bottled water.

RAZ: Chaim Eisen displays his stock of provisions. His friend Rachel Saperstein refuses to pack. In her home, a Kassam rocket fired by Pakistan militants just beyond the settlement displayed like a work of art.

RACHEL SAPERSTEIN, GAZA SETTLER: You're going to have to tell the government, no, you cannot take the people out. .

RAZ: Rachel Saperstein too is preparing for siege.

SAPERSTEIN: We're going to stay here as long as possible, as long as our food supply holds out, our water supply and beyond that. RAZ (on camera): Beyond that probably won't be so long. Come Monday morning, Israeli's army will seal this road behind me. No traffic in or out except for the army vehicles moving the settlers back to Israel.

Guy Raz, CNN, Nevah Dekalim settlement, Gaza.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The small Jewish settlement of Dugit has probably how Aerial Sharon wanted the disengagement to happen. Here no one is talking about defiant last stands, resisting the soldiers or police. Just about everyone has either moved out or is about to go.

Eli Cohen built this house 14 years ago. He's now taking it apart piece by piece. He doesn't want to leave, but doesn't agree with the more radical protesters who are preparing for a fight.

ELI COHEN, DUGIT SETTLER, DUGIT SETTLER (through translator): I don't accept their ways. They get in our way, too. They want change, the government's decision.

VAUSE: Like so many other Jewish settlers in Gaza, the people of Dugit knew they were building their dream homes on occupied Palestinian land, but never thought Israel would give it up. Sonya Bozagon (ph) says her home cost close to a million U.S. dollars and when she leaves, she wants it bulldozed into the ground.

SONYA BOZAGON (ph), DUGIT SETTLER (through translator): It will hurt me less than knowing Arabs will live in my house.

VAUSE: The last four days have been frantic, packing boxes removing everything that isn't nailed down, even something some things that are.

(on camera): Most of the houses have now been almost totally stripped bare. Here even the kitchen sink is gone. Dugit is one of the more secular settlements. Many of the Israelis who came here moved not because of a belief that god promised this land to the Jews, but rather for this.

(voice-over): And few believe giving up their slice of paradise will improve security for Israel.

AVI FIROUZ, DUGIT SETTLER: It's not fair to live this place without complete peace.

VAUSE: But come Monday, Dugit will be a ghost town. Its 100 or so settlers resigned to reality, resentful they have to go, but most likely all gone nonetheless.

John Vause, CNN, Dugit Settlement, Gaza.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD; It's a city so violent that the U.S. State Department issued a travel advisory for Americans. And guess what, it's just across the Texas border. But Nuevo Laredo's not the only city causing concerns in the state. Up next, why New Mexico's governor has issued a state of emergency for his southern border.

And still to come, protecting your hearing from modern conveniences. We'll talk with the doctor about what you can do.

Plus, Phil Mickelson's march for another major. We'll tell you how he's doing in the third round of the PGA Championship.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Now in the news, airline passenger screening may become less of a hassle. The Transportation Security Administration is considering several proposals. They include lifting the ban on razor blades, small knives and scissors and perhaps allowing passengers to pass through screening points while wearing their shoes.

President Bush says when it comes to convincing Iran to give up its nuclear program, all options are on the table, and the use of force would be a final option, but possible. Mr. Bush made the comments at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, during an interview with Israeli television.

Cubans marked President Fidel Castro's 79th birthday. State-run newspapers ran front-page tributes and school children baked him a birthday cake. Castro is the world's longest serving head of government. He took control of Cuba back in 1959 and installed a Communist government.

New Mexico's governor has declared a state of emergency in counties bordering Mexico. Governor Bill Richardson says that action will free up money to combat border crimes. The executive order focuses on a 54-mile stretch much of the Mexican/New Mexico border. Richardson says he toured the region in a helicopter and met with Mexican governors to discuss border security. He says he had to do something to improve the situation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. BILL RICHARDSON, (D) NEW MEXICO: It has practical benefits. We have 180 miles of border with Chihuahua, Mexico; New Mexico does. And the situation is out of hand. I declared a state of emergency, basically to free up close to $1.5 million that will be used for law enforcement, overtime pay, equipment, mainly because the federal government and the Congress are doing nothing. And in New Mexico, we've got border smuggling of people. We've got smuggling of drugs. We've got kidnappings, murders. We've got cattle destruction. And there's very little response from the border patrol. They're doing a good job, but they don't have the resources.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Now, here's Mexico's reaction to the state of emergency declaration. The foreign minister says it is important to point out that the government of Mexico has been working consistently along the entire border, together with the governments of the federal border entities, in dealing with various problems linked to criminal activities.

Now, it's a deadly dilemma across another border, that with Texas and Mexico. Dozens of Americans have been killed or kidnapped over the last year in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.

Kevin Gray with "Detail" magazine -- "Details," rather, magazine -- visited the town and its new police chief to explore what life is like there. For this article, he joins me now from New York. Good to see you, Kevin.

KEVIN GRAY, "DETAILS": Hi, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well, you rather courageously and very cautiously accompanied the new police chief to get a sense as to what life was like. In your very in-your-face article, it opens up talking about how close to violence you came just 30 seconds within coming into contact, perhaps, or witnessing a shootout involving some police there in that city at City Hall? What happened?

GRAY: Right. Well, we had gone down there to find out what was going on, and we had heard Nuevo Laredo had become this sort of lawless town, right across the Rio Grande from Laredo, Texas. And there's a very violent drug war going on down there right now, and it's basically between warring cartels, looking to control the drug traffic that's coming through the border there.

And the new -- actually, the last police chief in June, who was appointed in June, was killed after six hours in office. And it took them a while to find somebody else to sort of step in and who was willing to do this. And we went down to talk to this guy -- he's a 37-year-old former pharmacy owner -- and find out why he would take a job like this. And while we were down there, as we were in City Hall -- there's a picture of Omar Pimentel, the police chief, on the right, and the mayor on the left.

During the interview, some cartel gunmen drive outside the building and start shooting up the building. We're stuck in there about 15 minutes, worried that they're going to storm the place and shoot the new -- the current chief.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And you witnessed this police chief, really, you know, kind of walking on eggshells, walking with a certain level of paranoia, understandably, his hand almost always, you know, on his weapon. You had to fear for your life, too, didn't you, just accompanying him?

GRAY: Oh, I mean, I definitely did. I went down there with, you know, some body armor. I went down in there with a Kevlar vest and ridiculously, I wore it the first day. But it was too hot that I didn't wear it the second day when I interviewed the chief.

He wore this huge fanny pack, this enormous fanny pack. I didn't know what was in it at first until the gunmen started shooting at the building and he reached in it for his 9-millimeter beretta. He's definitely walking on eggshells. But the interesting thing about him is that he's not afraid. He says he's not afraid. And like a lot of people down there, they say, if I'm not corrupt, if I'm not dirty, I'm not mixed up with the cartels, I've got nothing to worry about. Which seems so bizarrely naive to me.

WHITFIELD: Yes, did you believe him, that he's not afraid? A former pharmacy owner, and now he's stepped up to the plate after hardly anybody else seems to be able to survive that job. You asked him the question, why take the job. What was his answer?

GRAY: He had this sort of -- he had this sort of like Western, almost like Western earnestness to him. Like an old Western movie, sort of Jimmy Stewart earnestness, like I want to do this for my town. I want to save the people, I want to stop this. But the police force down there, they can't stop it.

As a matter of fact, the problem is that the cops themselves were corrupt. They're a 724-member police force. And when the President Vincente Fox said them federal forces to secure the town in June, some of the local cops started firing on the feds. And after that, they confined the local police to the barracks, took away their badges, took away their guns and made them undergo drug tests. Eighty-nine of them failed the drug test, 311 of them simply up and quit for fear of being found out that they're working for the cartels.

WHITFIELD: And so you -- and you write that 30 percent of the cops are working for the cartel. That's a huge number.

GRAY: It was.

WHITFIELD: All right, so you had to be frank with this new police chief, Omar Pimentel. How long does he expect to be alive with this job?

GRAY: Wow. That's -- you know, that's a tough question. I asked him that, and again, he said if I -- if I just keep my hands clean, and I'm decent and honest, I won't have any trouble. Which, again, just seems horribly, tragically naive in a way.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Well, you've got to hand it to him for being as courageous as he is.

GRAY: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: He's trying to do something or want to do something for his folks there in the town. And by the way, his wife is pregnant, right?

GRAY: That's correct. He has two small children, a pregnant wife, and all his friends are begging him -- begged him not to take the job, and not to play the role of a courageous... WHITFIELD: Well, he has to a remarkable individual.

GRAY: Absolutely is.

WHITFIELD: His name is Omar Pimentel, just to -- again, folks need to remember his name in Nuevo Laredo. And we'll remember yours as well. Kevin Gray of "Details" magazine. And the magazine is out, the September issue. It's a fascinating article.

One weapon in the arsenal to secure U.S. borders is rather furry. CNN's Homeland Security correspondent Jeanne Meserve looks at canine enforcement training.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILLY ROSS, U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION: Come on. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go.

JEANNE MESERVE, HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Kyra (ph), a Belgian Malinois, searching for drugs is a game of hide-and-seek, with play and praise as a prize.

ROSS: Stay. Oh, good girl! That's my baby!

Play with this towel, play a big -- good game with her. And that makes her want to work some more. This here -- I mean, we could do this all day. She would never get tired, you know? Never get tried.

MESERVE: Kyra (ph) has learned to search out concealed humans, as well as drugs, during a 13-week course at the Customs and Border Protection Canine Enforcement Training Center in Front Royal, Virginia.

ROSS: Stay.

MESERVE: Soon, she and her handler, Billy Ross, will be helping guard the nation's southern border.

ROSS: I would rather have this one than another human for a teammate. I mean, we work so good together. And I don't have to worry about him calling in sick.

You know, he's always there. He's always with me. Whenever I need something, he's there.

MESERVE: Not every dog is cut out for this work. Sometimes good candidates are found in animal shelters, with the help of a tennis ball.

KENT WAGER, CANINE TRAINING ENFORCEMENT CENTER: I'm just looking for that dog in that animal shelter that's strictly looking at that tennis ball. Could care less about me, could care less about -- they want to come out and play. They want to retrieve.

MESERVE: Fetch with a simple rolled towel is the foundation for training. When a small bag of marijuana is attached, a dog associates the smell with play and wants more.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

MESERVE: After only seven days, dogs are sniffing out marijuana in packages. Over time, their repertoire will expand.

The dogs learn to distinguish a driver or passenger in a vehicle from someone hiding inside by getting a towel reward for ferreting out the stowaway.

(on camera): Since 9/11, the demand for dogs appropriate for training has become so great that Customs and Border Protection has begun breeding its own.

(voice-over): So far, the program has produced more than 21 litters, each one so precious that a closed-circuit camera monitors an expectant mom 24 hours a day.

WAGER: I would say there's never enough dogs ever -- ever.

MESERVE: Never enough because of what they produce on the job. Last year alone, seizures of more than a million pounds of narcotics, and more than 40,000 concealed humans.

ROSS: Good girl.

MESERVE: Billy Ross will tell you a dog is better than any detection machine.

ROSS: These guys don't break down. We have machines on base, and they break down. And, you know, if it rains or if it's lightning, sometimes the machines don't pick up stuff. These guys (INAUDIBLE) always welcome -- always welcome.

MESERVE: And what a bargain. All they need is training, food, and a whole lot of love.

ROSS: Good girl. Let's go home. Let's go.

MESERVE: For CNN's America Bureau, Jeanne Meserve, Front Royal, Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD; And CNN is committed to providing the most reliable coverage of news that affects your security. Stay tuned to CNN for the latest information day and night.

Well, with them, you listen to your music all day long and help block out the world. But will America's iPod addictions today lead to a dependence on hearing aids in the future? What you need to know about possible hearing loss, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, not long from now, more of CNN's Saturday -- LIVE SATURDAY with Carol Lin.

CAROL LIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're asking you to remember 6:00 and 10:00, 6:00 and 10:00 Eastern time. At 6:00, I'm going to be talking with Dennis Tito (ph). Remember the space traveler who spent the week up at the International Space Station? Paid $20 million? Going to talk to him the new price tag to go around the moon...

WHITFIELD: $100 million?

LIN: $100 million.

WHITFIELD: Insane.

LIN: Yes, and they're actually getting some takers.

WHITFIELD: You're kidding.

LIN: Yep. And I'm going to talk to the head of the travel service. So if you want to sign up, Fred...

WHITFIELD: You're not going to count it on for me.

LIN: Save your paycheck.

WHITFIELD: No.

LIN: 10:00 tonight, we're going to be talking about the regret by two Michael Jackson jurors. They have book deals, but they're now saying, we regret the not guilty decision, and if we had to do it over again, we would convict him. And they're saying that there is a pedophile walking around out there. Obviously, defense attorneys are pooh-poohing that. But we're going to be talking more about that at 10:00 tonight.

WHITFIELD: Yes. We talked to some other attorneys earlier today who say the objective here is just to sell the books.

LIN: Could very well be.

WHITFIELD: So you'll be getting to the bottom of that.

LIN: Very well could be.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks a lot, Carol.

LIN: Well, if you're working in your yard, perhaps, this weekend or planning on going on a run while listening to music, be warned. IPods, lawnmowers and other products that you use all the time can actually damage your hearing. But it doesn't have to be that way.

With more on that, we turn to Dr. Bill Lloyd, who joins us live from California. Good to see you.

DR. BILL LLOYD, SURGEON: Hi, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, how does it happen? People have their volume of perhaps their iPods just too loud? Or is it just simply the fact you've got something just, you know, nestled too closely into your ears?

LLOYD: Young people are surrounding themselves with noise. Sometimes it's to enjoy whatever they're listening to, sometimes they do it to block off other stuff. These music devices can close off your world. Have you stood in the elevator next to somebody wearing one of those music devices with the headphones and you can actually hear the music?

WHITFIELD: Yes. That's when you know it's too loud.

LLOYD: We used to be complain about being at -- we used to complain about being at red light and then hearing the music thumping in the car next to us. But now these personal audio devices are really, really, pumping up the volume.

WHITFIELD: So the studies are certainly showing that a lot of these young people are likely to suffer, if they haven't already, from some sort of hearing loss. You don't necessarily have to wait until, you know, later on in life anymore about hearing aids.

LLOYD: Most people do lose some hearing when they get older, Fredricka, around 50 or 60 or so. But this is noise-induced hearing loss, and this moves the timeline up by 20 or 30 years.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

LLOYD: There are young adults now with hearing problems we typically don't see until somebody passes their 55th birthday. They need to get that volume down. And again, not to use that musical device or the car stereo simply to drown out other noises, but to make intelligent choices on how they enjoy their music.

WHITFIELD: And not to place all the blame on iPods and mp3s, but there are other things we use, whether it's the lawnmower or the leaf blowers. All of those things can also potentially damage our hearing. What do we do to protect it?

LLOYD: Sure, Fredricka. We're bombarded by sound all day, of course. You know, a simple whisper is just 30 decibels. An alarm clock is 80 decibels. And you ought to remember that one, because that's the threshold between healthy and unhealthy noise. As that spectrum goes up and things get louder and louder, there is a risk to damage to the cells deep inside the ear.

A lot of people think that after dangerous noise exposure -- you know, like a sunburn the next day you'll be OK, you'll get over it. But chronic noise exposure can lead to permanent hearing loss, and perhaps 30 million Americans already suffer from too much noise in their life.

WHITFIELD: So you can't reverse the damage?

LLOYD: Oh, absolutely not. The damage caused by noise-induced chronic noise exposure, is irreversible. So you have to take some smart steps to reduce that exposure...

WHITFIELD: And what are they?

LLOYD: ... that occurs throughout the day.

WHITFIELD: What are some of those smart steps would be?

LLOYD: Well, of course, making intelligent choices. If you're going to go to an indoor rock concert, get away from the speakers and go to the back of the room. Think about buying a quality pair of ear plugs. Whenever I fly on a plane, I always bring a cotton ball with me and pack my ears with cotton, because that airplane generates a lot of noise, as well.

Think about using noise absorbers in your home. These are rubber mats that can fit underneath the dishwasher, for example. Dishwashers generate a lot of noise inside of a house. And when you're buying new appliances, look on the label. How much noise will this instrument, this new appliance, make?

And then control your environment. Turn down other devices when you're enjoying the TV, like the dishwasher, like the dryer. And don't use -- again, don't use sound, whether it's music, a DVD or video game, to drown out other noise in the house. If too many people are talking, get up and go someplace else to enjoy your movie.

WHITFIELD: Bring it down a couple decibels.

LLOYD: Certainly.

WHITFIELD: Dr. Bill Lloyd, thanks so much.

LLOYD: We'll talk -- we'll talk again soon.

WHITFIELD: All righty.

LARRY SMITH, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: I'm Larry Smith at the PGA Championship. Coming up, Tiger Woods has been off the course for almost five hours, but his day just keeps getting better. That story when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: News across America now.

Former president Jimmy Carter went cruising on the Navy's most heavily armed nuclear submarines. The vessel is named for the former commander in chief. It's the USS Jimmy Carter. Carter served on a sub during his time in the Navy.

There's a frog invasion in the Montana town that goes by the name Big Sandy. Recent rains have turned the town green. Watch your step, in more ways than one. Some of the locals consider the invaders a nuisance. Some of them just think they're plain old fun.

And speaking of green, a kid who found a wallet stuffed with thousands of dollars in cash was honored this week in Hermosa Beach, California. Twelve-year-old Jeffrey Little received a commendation for turning in the wallet to police. The wallet was lost by a man on his way to Las Vegas, and guess what? It had $19,900 inside.

WHITFIELD: Phil Mickelson stumbled on his march toward a second major victory in PGA Tournament, underway right now in Springfield, New Jersey.

CNN's Larry Smith is there, trying to keep his cool in the sweltering heat. Larry?

SMITH: Well, Fredricka, that's right. Temperatures, 98, close to 100 degrees here in New Jersey in Baltusrol. Round three of the PGA Championship. Now, the good news for Phil Mickelson is that the back nine is much easier to score on. But the bad news is he really is having trouble on the front nine. Three bogeys in his first seven holes. He has come back to the field at 5 under par now, and he is now tied for the lead. Davis (ph) on the third, still on the course at 4 under par. And a host of others, including defending champion, Vijay Singh, is at 3 under par. And all of them still on the course.

As for Tiger Woods, well, his round was earlier this morning. He teed off just after 8:00 here Eastern time. He caught fire on the back nine. His fifth birdie of the day on 15 put him at even par, but Woods then had birdied putts on the final three holes and he missed them all. Three pars to finish a round of 66, a day that left Tiger less than happy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIGER WOODS, PRO GOLFER: For Christ's sakes, the last hole, -- that's just inexcusable right there. Yes, a perfect drive, just an unbelievable second shot in there to leave myself that putt, and to blast it past the hole like that then block the second one. So I'm a little pissed right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Yes, but the good news for Tiger, when he left the course, he was eight shots off the pace. Now he is only five. He wanted to shoot a 63, could have. That's a score shot by Denmark's Thomas Bjorn, who tied a record for the lowest round ever in major, 7 under 63. He is in the clubhouse at 5 under par, currently tied with Phil Mickelson, who, once again, is still on the course -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Man, Larry, Tiger sure is hard on himself. Well, what about the heat? Because the heat is being tough on all the golfers, and the fans out there. What are they doing to cool down?

SMITH: Well, drinking a lot of water, of course, trying to find shade wherever they can. That tree has been removed, by the way, on the fourth green, that made so much news yesterday with the fallen limb. Some mission stations have been set up for spectators. Now, I can tell you right now that the clouds have come in. Still warm, but there is a breeze that's kind of given some problems to the golfers as they try to make some shots. So it's a little -- not quite as humid as what it has been all day long and the past couple of days. And certainly, the good news for golfers and spectators alike.

WHITFIELD: All right. Larry Smith in Springfield, New Jersey. Thanks so much.

Still much more ahead on CNN straight ahead. "People in the News" profiles actress Angelina Jolie.

Then at 6:00 Eastern, Carol Lin tells you how you can travel to the moon.

And at 7:00 Eastern, it's ON THE STORY. CNN's front line correspondents take you inside the stories of the week.

And I'll be back in a few moments with this hour's headlines.

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