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Anger, Sorrow & Loss; Junk Mail From Iranian President?; Drug Benefit Deadline; Secretary Rice Speaks Out on Iran

Aired May 09, 2006 - 14:01   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And CNN has learned that a suicide bomber has blown up his car in an Iraqi police and army headquarters. That's in the northern city of Tal Afar.
President Bush calls the Iraqi city of Tal Afar an example of U.S. success against insurgents, but as we told you just a moment ago, that city was the target of a deadly attack. A suicide car bomber exploded outside the headquarters of the Iraqi army and police in the city, killing at least five people and wounding 15.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, for a second day there is an outpouring of emotion in a Rhode Island courtroom. It is to remember many of the 100 people killed by a horrific fire sparked by a pyrotechnics display at the Station Nightclub back in 2003. Here's a picture of it back then.

It's part of a three-day sentencing hearing for Daniel Biechele, the tour manager for the band Great White. Relatives of people killed in that fire are giving impact statements. Today, prosecutors read some of them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stacy (ph) did not deserve to die in this tragic way. All she wanted to do was enjoy herself at an concert. She drove all the way from Worcester, Mass., on a work night.

Michael Winchell (ph), Stacy's fiance, was upset to the point that for 14 months he could not work or enjoy himself in any way. No one could help him feel better, and he was against getting professional help. Michael ended up committing suicide. He tied weights to himself and drowned in a pond about a quarter of a mile from our house.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: So tragic.

Biechele could be sentenced to as many as 10 years in prison. We'll continue to follow that sentencing hearing.

Well, stories of pain and suffering, anger and loss all part of this sentencing hearing for the man convicted of starting a nightclub fire that killed 100 people. Dan Lothian looks at the first day of this painful process.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's unimaginable pain triggered by a devastating fire. Gripping, emotional, often graphic memories.

PAULA MCLAUGHLIN, SISTER OF VICTIM: Have you ever had to receive a plastic bag filled with what was left of your little brother's belongings? They smelled so toxic of fire and smoke that you had to soak them in bleach just so you could hold on to them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How much (INAUDIBLE) of our lives? We never had a chance to say goodbye, to kiss him one last time, or to even touch that face we loved so much.

TIMOTHY MICHELI, VICTIM'S FATHER: Sammy, what would I do without you? Today, I know. It is a pain from the very core of my heart. A victim impact statement.

LOTHIAN: One by one, relatives of the station nightclub victims pour out of their hearts at the sentencing hearing for Daniel Biechele, the van tour manager who set off the pyrotechnics display three years ago which turned deadly. As Biechele listens and waits to hear the sentence, relatives of some of the victims say they already feel locked in eternal despair.

EILEEN DIBONAVENTURE, VICTIM'S MOTHER: Our family name ended when our son perished that horrible night. We will never see our son pursue his dreams, or marry or be able to enjoy grandchildren. We have been sentenced to life without parole.

JESSICA GARVEY, VICTIM'S SISTER: No child should ever have to ask why his mother is in a casket and why we can't see her. How can you answer his questions of how and why when we didn't understand it all ourselves?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just have to spend the rest of our lives wondering what might have been.

LOTHIAN: Time may heal, but for many here, three years seems like three seconds.

TAMMY AYER, VICTIM'S TWIN SISTER: It hurts so bad. I think that's why I cannot heal or let go from all of this.

SUZANNE FOX, VICTIM'S FAMILY SPOKESMAN: But this is not about forgiveness. Make no mistake, there is not a shred of forgiveness in my heart. And I suspect there never will be.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I don't think we could have survived.

LOTHIAN: Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Well, it was an unprovoked and deadly ambush at an unlikely spot. Today, police in Fairfax County, Virginia, have identified the heavily-armed gunman who opened fire outside of one of their stations today. They say 18-year-old Michael Kennedy killed a female detective and wounded two officers during a shift change before being killed in the ensuing shootout.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CMDR. BOB CALLAHAN, FAIRFAX COUNTY POLICE DEPT.: The suspect was armed with five pistols, an AK-47-style assault rifle, and a -- pardon me -- long-barreled, high-powered hunting rifle. He had multiple ammunition pouches and bags and extensive ammunition for each of the different weapons. At this time, we believe he fired at least 70 rounds.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Just a few weeks ago, Kennedy was arrested in connection with a carjacking but released on bond. Police say he tried to carjack a pickup truck yesterday and failed. Instead, he stole a work van and drove it to the station.

Too slow, that's how a new report says Duke University responded to rape allegations against members of its lacrosse team. The report ordered by the school's president says there was a major failing in communications.

A 27-year-old black woman has accused three white members of the lacrosse team of raping her during a team party in March. One problem the report found, Durham City Police told campus officers the situation would blow over because the alleged victim kept changing her story and was not credible.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUE WASIOLEK, DEAN OF STUDENTS, DUKE UNIVERSITY: It did not appear as though this case was really going to go very far because there were some real inconsistencies in some of the information that the alleged victim was providing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WADE SMITH, ATTORNEY FOR COLLIN FINNERTY: It goes straight to her credibility, which is ground zero in this case. That credibility of that woman is ground zero.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Two members of the Duke lacrosse team have been indicted in the case.

NGUYEN: OK. Junk mail, maybe too harsh, but that letter from the president of Iran to President Bush, the first direct communication written between the two heads of states in more than a quarter century, is not being warmly received.

CNN's Kathleen Koch is at the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Top Bush administration officials, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, red the Iranian letter yesterday and were unimpressed. A senior administration official saying, "There's nothing in the letter that addresses the issues on the table."

The letter has now become public, and in it, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad launches basically a long, point-by-point critique of U.S. foreign policy over the last three decades. Among other things, he condemns the Iraq war, the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, U.S. support for Israel, U.S. backing of Iraq in its war against Iran in the 1980s.

Ahmadinejad refers only very obliquely to his country's nuclear program. "Why is that any technical and scientific achievement reached in the Middle East regions is translated into and portrayed as a threat to the Zionist regime? Is not scientific research and development one of the basic rights of nations?"

The Iranian president hints that the United States and other Western countries are using scare tactics to rally support against Iran's budding nuclear program. "How long must the people of the world pay for the incorrect decisions of some rulers? How much longer will the specter for of insecurity -- raised from the stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction -- haunt the people of the world?"

Ahmadinejad continues, "My basic question is this: Is there no better way to interact with the rest of the world?"

And finally, Ahmadinejad concludes with, "Liberalism and Western style democracy have not been able to realize the ideals of humanity. Today these two concepts have failed."

So the first communication between an Iranian and U.S. leader since 1980 certainly memorable, but having little impact on the continuing standoff over Iran's nuclear program.

Kathleen Koch, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Well, millions of Americans face an important deadline, and they're getting a reminder from an important person, President Bush. He's on the road touting Medicare's prescription drug plan.

CNN's White House correspondent, Ed Henry, is traveling with him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The president is here in Sun City Center, Florida, near Tampa, home to so many senior citizens, promoting his prescription drug benefit, a symbol right now of the White House's woes. This is a prescription drug benefit that was supposed to be a financial benefit to seniors, also a political benefit to Republicans. But it's become so controversial, the president has been put on the defensive, still trying now to sell it to seniors.

Democrats charge the program is so confusing, so hard to navigate, that the May 15th deadline should be extended so more senior citizens will have a chance to sign up. The president today again rejected a call for that extension, imploring seniors to sign up by Monday, saying they will save Monday.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Every senior is going to save one half on his or her -- one half on the cost of prescription drugs. We were meeting, as I said, in south Florida earlier, and some of the stories down there for people who signed up were really strong stories, people saving money. People got a little extra money in their pocket. The system is modernized and it is cost -- it saves you money.

And that's what we want. That sounds like it's too good to be true. If you haven't looked at the program, take a look. Take a look. I think you're going to find what I said is true.

HENRY: The next stop on the president's Medicare tour is Orlando. The White House is confident the president's sales pitch will get more seniors signed up to the program, and once the savings kick in, it will be a benefit to Republicans in the midterm elections.

Ed Henry, CNN, with the president in Sun City Center, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Some of the most powerful nations in this world are meeting this hour at the U.N. to talk about the crisis in Darfur. I'll discussion the problems there with a man you may know, Nick Clooney. He just returned from Sudan.

The news keeps coming. We'll keep bringing it to you.

More LIVE FROM next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you prepared to resign as general in order to take this position, sir?

GEN. MICHAEL HAYDEN, CIA DIRECTOR NOMINEE: I'm up here talking to folks. Like I said, we understand their concerns. And I've not made any decisions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: You have probably read, heard and seen a lot of reports about General Michael Hayden, the man tapped to be the next CIA direct. Well, guess what? Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says they're off the mark.

Rumsfeld wrapped up a Pentagon briefing a short time ago. Let's get the latest from our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre.

And Jamie, all you did was mention that Secretary Rumsfeld and General Hayden may have disagreed a few years ago on something, and look what happened.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, you know, sometimes in Washington we get these so-called non-denial denials. Today from Rumsfeld we got the denial, denial, denial -- the total denial.

I mean, Rumsfeld was -- and he came out swinging. The first thing he said was, first of all, that they're not in any power grab with the CIA. He said, "The debate on this subject is pedestrian and unimpressive."

A couple other things I jotted down. He said, "There's no power play taking place in Washington." He said there's nothing -- "There nothing that the Department of Defense isn't doing that hasn't been worked out with the Department of State, the CIA, and the White House." He said it's a "collegial and open process."

But enough about me on Rumsfeld. Let's here Rumsfeld on Rumsfeld.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Yet, if you look at the debate and the articles in the newspaper, and the comments that are being made, they are about theoretical conspiracies, they're about theoretical bureaucratic turf fights. They're all off the mark.

You know, there's a saying for people who miss the mark consistently. And they say that person has an instinct for the capillaries as opposed to the more important arteries.

And this debate really reflects that reality. It should be a bit embarrassing for people to see what's going on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCINTYRE: Now, as you said, Tony, when I asked Rumsfeld about that incident in 2004 when General Hayden testified that some of the Pentagon agencies should come under the new National Intelligence director's office, Rumsfeld did essentially concede that he needed to reel him in a little bit, because General Hayden was out in front of the president, who ultimately decided, by the way, those agencies should stay under the Pentagon's purview.

But he said, "Was that a big deal?" He said, "No it wasn't a big deal then, it's not a big deal now."

And he also said something very interesting at the very end of the briefing. A reporter asked him, "How can the American people be confident about the intelligence about Iran if the prewar intelligence about Iraq was so bad?" And Rumsfeld flatly said, "You know, the intelligence..." -- he said, "It turns out it was wrong. Fair enough."

He said, "It's a tough business. Difficult to be right all the time." And he says, "Does that give one pause? You bet," he said.

Interesting comment...

HARRIS: Yes.

MCINTYRE: ... on the quality of the intelligence about what's going on in Iran today based on the performance in Iraq -- Tony.

HARRIS: You know, Jamie, I heard something, too, there. He said -- Secretary Rumsfeld said that no single entity should be in charge of intelligence. And he seemed to be suggesting with that that there still needs to be a relationship worked out with this National Intelligence Center.

Did you -- did you hear that as well?

MCINTYRE: Yes. Well, I mean, and that's basically what he was saying. He says, look, we have this new framework...

HARRIS: Yes.

MCINTYRE: ... we've got a lot of new things we're trying to do. These are all good people, collegial people that are trying to work it out. Obviously, there's going to be differences of opinion, but what he was trying to put a damper on was the suggestion that there's some kind of big, raging turf battle in which the bureaucrats are all infighting and the interests of the nation are being sacrificed. He insisted that the exact opposite is true.

HARRIS: Senior Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre.

Jamie, thank you.

NGUYEN: Tony, a father and son's seemingly impossible mission. Nick Clooney and his son, the famous actor, George Clooney, in Sudan seeking help for the refugees of Darfur. That's next on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Taking a look at the numbers on Wall Street today from Control B. Here's a question for you, though. How much would you be willing to sacrifice to save a little money on gasoline.

Susan Lisovicz joins us from the New York Stock Exchange to tell us about a new survey on car buyers.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: The United States has characterized this wanton campaign of violence as genocide. And yesterday, President Bush reaffirmed that judgment.

With the signing of the Darfur peace agreement, we are now -- we really have an opportunity to help end the long nightmare that has befallen the people of Darfur. The source of the conflict in Darfur is a political problem as old as Sudan itself. Historically, the government of Khartoum has not been able to rule all of its citizens justly. The recent civil war with rebels in southern Sudan killed millions of people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice speaking to the U.N. today about the situation, the crisis in Darfur.

Actor George Clooney is among of the Hollywood celebrities pressing for an end to this enormous humanitarian crisis in Sudan's Darfur region. Last month, Clooney and his father Nick traveled to Sudan for a first-hand look at the devastation in Darfur.

Now, they didn't make it to Darfur. They were blocked from entering the region by troops from Chad and Sudan. But they did visit refugee camps on the edge of Darfur.

Nick Clooney joins us now from Cincinnati to talk about this trip and the crisis at hand.

We appreciate you being with us here today. Thank you.

NICK CLOONEY, TRAVELED TO DARFUR WITH SON GEORGE CLOONEY: Betty, thank you very much for letting me talk about this.

********

NGUYEN: Sure. It's an enormous problem. At least 180,000 killed, some two million displaced. First of all, tell me why you decided to get involved in this, a situation that the president has called genocide?

CLOONEY: Yes. And incidentally, the president was out front on this before most of us. He called it genocide early on, and we must give him points for that and certainly for that great speech he gave just Monday. I would like to tell you that we got this because I couldn't find this getting traction anymore. This story, as great and as deeply troubling as it was, wasn't getting any attraction. You know that, Betty. We all...

NGUYEN: It's been going on since 2003.

CLOONEY: We have been wondering about this. I'm an old news guy. You've been in news for quite some time yourself, and you know that there's an alchemy to news story and we're not sure what causes one to get on the radar screen and another not. So George said that he had a credit card that fame gave him, so he said to me on the phone, why don't we just go there, Pop? We'll see if we can -- we probably won't break any news over there, but we may be able to raise the profile of this story. And so off we went.

NGUYEN: So what did you see when you got there? Because you didn't actually get to get inside of Darfur, you were stopped, but you did visit some of the refugee camps. Tell me what you saw on the ground.

CLOONEY: Yes, and we saw -- we were standing not just in camps. We also stood in South Sudan, right next to Darfur, and watched the people coming in, coming over, leaving Darfur and coming to South Sudan, sleeping under trees, telling these horrible stories that you've heard over and over again. But they do not diminish with the telling. They are absolutely remarkable.

Here are men who are unable to protect their wives and children. Here are mothers unable to protect their children. This is a slaughter that's been going on all of these years. We cannot allow it to continue. This is one genocide we can stop. I'm an old guy, Betty. I've seen and been around a lot of these. We always came to them late. This time it's more of a slow motion genocide. We can intervene. And I'm really pleased that the president has determined that we're going to do all we can to do that.

NGUYEN: Now, you say this is one genocide that we can stop. Yesterday, our own Nic Robertson, who is in the area with the U.N. undersecretary-general, they faced a mob that was looking for an interpreter that was eventually killed. This is a dangerous area. Aside from the danger, what can be done to stop this? There are a lot of issues at hand here.

CLOONEY: Yes, there are. The first thing that we have to do is protect the people. You're -- I can hear it in my IFV here, I can hear the noise and the -- and that, of course -- we saw the anger. We saw the anger, mostly in young men and adolescent boys. They certainly are frustrated. They had just heard that their ration was going to be cut from 2,000 to 1,000 calories per day for these people.

They are very angry at the Sudanese government. One man I talked to, I said why are you here? What happened? And he said it's racism. He said and I'll prove it to you. He said I am Muslim and the man in Khartoum is Muslim. I am Sudanese. The man in Khartoum is Sudanese. But I am African and he is Arab. He said they have contempt for me, they have hatred for me. And he felt it was racism.

NGUYEN: Let's talk about the danger, as well. As we mentioned, there's so many issues here. But in regards to the danger, what needs to be done? Because there are some U.N. peacekeepers on the ground, but the president is calling for more. How dire is that need to put more boots on the ground?

CLOONEY: Absolutely. It has to be done. We saw that. These folks, they're the heroes. In addition to the Darfuri people themselves, who are the real heroes, the next on my list of the hall of fame would be, in fact, the people of these humanitarian organizations, the ones we've been given money to, Betty, for all of our lives, CARE and Save the Children and all of these others. These folks are in there at risk of life and limb to make sure that these folks are getting fed, that they have minimal medical treatment, at least.

The International Rescue Committee is doing heroic work administering many of these camps, including the one we saw, Orda Kusoni (ph), with 29,000 people. We walked through that one, we saw what was being done for them at risk. And I must salute all of them.

NGUYEN: It's good work being done. President Bush has recognized the crisis in Darfur. In fact, he spoke about it yesterday. I want you to take another listen to what he said about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

G. BUSH: America will not turn away from this tragedy. We will call genocide by its rightful name, and we will stand up for the innocent until the peace of Darfur is secured.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: In fact, Condoleezza Rice is speaking at the U.N. as we speak right now about this very condition in Darfur. Do you feel that the U.S. is doing enough?

CLOONEY: I tell you what, the president's speech I thought was the best speech he made since that one a few days after 9/11 when he talked to the joint session of Congress. He talked to all of us. He unified us. He says what it is; he called it what it was, genocide.

Of course, none of us did enough. I didn't do enough. I'm sure, Betty, you feel you didn't do enough to try to get this story out there. And the president probably feels that same way. But he's on board now and he's got $225 million worth of food going there, five shiploads. This is all great news. We're a long ways from his goal and our goal and America's goal for these folks, but we're on the way.

NGUYEN: Yes, we are. And we're talking about it today. So, quickly, for those watching, those who want to do something about it, what can Americans do?

CLOONEY: First thing to do is support the efforts of the U.N. to get 15,000 boots on the ground. Even if you have to rehat the African Union, that's fine. Whatever you do, get them there to protect the people. First thing, you've got to save them. We can't do them any good if they're dead. Second thing, those people that I was talking about, humanitarian workers...

NGUYEN: Right.

CLOONEY: ... find out if that humanitarian group is in Darfur. If they are, support them. And call your congressman. The thing you'll never do, the thing you always say you'll do, do it.

NGUYEN: It's time for action. Nick Clooney, journalist and activist, we appreciate your time today. Thank you so much.

CLOONEY: Betty, I appreciate being here. Thank you.

NGUYEN: Sure. Tony.

HARRIS: They're young, they're in love and they're married, so why can't this couple live together? Star-crossed lovers, Middle East style. Meet them later on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras joins us now with a look at the forecast outside. Jacqui, I can tell you one thing. Florida needs some rain.

(WEATHER REPORT)

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We're just 23 days away, and today's "Hurricane 101" tip has to do with warnings and how things have changed over the years. I want to show you some video from the Galveston hurricane back in 1900 before we really had warning systems in place.

This was the deadliest weather-related disaster in United States history, and we don't even know exactly what the death toll was. It was estimated between six and 12,000 people.

Now we have satellite technology. We also have computer model forecasts, as well as buoys in place to help us detect these hurricanes as they're developing. So our warning systems have greatly improved.

Hurricane watches are issued 36 hours before hurricane conditions are expected, and warnings are issued 24 hours before those conditions are expected within your area. So it's pretty unbelievable how far we have come just in the last even 50 years.

Of course, CNN is your hurricane headquarters, and we want you to stay tuned to us all throughout hurricane season for the latest on tropical weather. And you can go to CNN.com/weather for more information -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Good information.

Right now, folks in Florida are dealing with a lot of brush fires. In fact, the president ...

HARRIS: What's happening in Hillsborough?

NGUYEN: ... near Tampa. Yes, fire broke out yesterday. We talked about this, Jacqui, near the Tampa area. They didn't even have a number on it. They knew it was hundreds of acres. It was slowing down traffic, causing some of the freeways to shut down. But my question to you as the president is going to speak just momentarily from Florida, the rain there, is it getting to the areas where the fires are?

JERAS: It did go through the Hillsborough area through the overnight hours, so they got a little bit of wet weather, but we're talking, Betty, about deficits, you know, a half of a foot to a foot since January, which is very significant, so one little round of rain isn't really going to put much of a dent in that. The vegetation is just completely dried out.

Now, the good news is, you know, short term today with that front which has pushed on through, it really has increased the humidity levels and the winds are a little bit calmer here today as well. So short term today is looking a little better.

NGUYEN: All right, Jacqui. Thank you.

HARRIS: And new pictures into CNN now of President Bush and his brother, Florida's governor, Jeb Bush, in front of a Hillsborough County fire rescue truck. Let's listen in.

G. BUSH: Yesterday we were briefed by the firefighters here about the dry conditions that are creating hazards for the people. And Kelly (ph), I appreciate the briefing. He was in charge of putting out that fire yesterday that singed 450 acres, caused by a spark out of one of the utility lines.

I've always been impressed by those who are willing to get out and fight the fires and save lives and save property, and by people who make a career out of that. And I want to thank them for their dedication and service. I want to thank them for their briefing about the threat that Florida finds itself under now because of these dry and windy conditions.

The good news for the people of Florida is they've got people who are willing to serve and willing to put their lives at risk and willing to fight fires. There's one going on right now as we speak. There's equipment and manpower in place fighting the fire, but this is one of these difficult periods for the state of Florida in dealing with the -- coming (ph) out with conditions as they are.

Obviously, the people need to be real careful, be careful about starting fires and be careful about throwing used cigarettes out and need to be mindful. These are dangerous conditions. They ought to be thoughtful about how they conduct their lives so they don't put others in the position where a fire could destroy them or their property.

G. Do you want to say something, Jeb?

GOV. JEB BUSH, FLORIDA: Well, other than the fact that what the president says is absolutely right, that if someone throws a cigarette out on the interstate, it could create, first of all, loss of life and property and it puts a lot of people at risk, so it's a felony in our state. So we want to make sure that no fires are started because of human error or negligence or malfeasance. BUSH: We all thank you all for joining us.

HARRIS: And there you have it. The president and his brother, Florida Governor Jeb Bush, in front of the Hillsborough County fire rescue truck there. They were actually in front of the Sun City Fire Station Number 28.

Those firefighters that are on that scene there have really put in some heavy work lately. In fact, just before the president spoke, we understand that one of those fire trucks was actually dispatched to work another fire in the area.

We showed you those wildfires from yesterday in Hillsborough County, and what a scene that was. The president and Governor Bush talked about the need for people to be careful and cautious this time of year. Wildfires doing real damage in Florida over the last month really.

Rain in the Florida area today, as Jacqui Jeras mentioned just a moment ago, but with those storms come fears of lightning strikes that could cause more fires. And the wildfires continue, in fact, today.

Large stretches of 95 closed yesterday and again this morning, accidents have been blamed on a mix of the smoke and the fog. Four people have died so far in accidents. The fires have burned 9,000 acres in all. It really is.

The news keeps coming. We'll keep bringing it to you. More LIVE FROM right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: There is plenty of hate in the Middle East, but this is a story of love. A man and a woman coming together against all odds and hoping for a happy ending -- hoping. CNN's John Vause reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Yasmine Avishar and Osama Zaatar are a modern-day Romeo and Juliet. Only it's not family keeping them apart, it's Israeli law. Yasmine's an Israeli, Osama a Palestinian. They met three years ago working at an animal shelter in Arab-east Jerusalem.

YASMINE AVISHAR, ISRAELI: We became very, very good friends and then we slowly fell in love.

VAUSE: A year later as Israel pushed on with construction of its West Bank barrier, the couple decided to elope, marrying in Cyprus. Only as man and wife they thought would they be able to stay together.

"You will always have problems," Osama says. "There is nothing in life without problems. But what's important is how you deal with those problems."

But since then, they've been trapped in a legal pincer.

(on camera): Because Osama comes from the West Bank, he's banned by Israeli law from applying for a permit to live with his wife in Israel. While another separate Israeli law bans Yasmine from living with Osama here in his village because Israeli citizens are not allowed into areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority.

MICHAEL SFARD, LAWYER: They love each other, they want to live together. That's the most basic human desire and they couldn't do it.

VAUSE (voice-over): Their lawyer, Michael Sfard, has taken their case to Israel's supreme court. A final ruling is yet to be handed down. So far he's managed to win a temporary three-month permit for Yasmine to enter the West Bank. The Israeli military responsible for the Palestinian-occupied territories says it fears for Yasmine's safety.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Over a dozen Israelis were killed while going to grab a bite to eat or shop in the marketplace in Palestinian cities.

VAUSE: In Osama's village, the green flags of Hamas fly from rooftops, the militant group committed to Israel's destruction and now running the Palestinian Authority. And that has Yasmine's mother worried.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm afraid, because there's always some crazy people that can do crazy things. Not the majority, but the minority and I'm afraid. I hope it will be OK.

VAUSE: Both families say they've now happily accepted their new in-laws and hope one day to meet. The Israeli government and the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority though seem to be in the midst of a bitter divorce, both refusing to talk to the other.

Separated by physical and legal barriers like never before, but Osama and Yasmine have vowed to live together for better, for worse. John Vause, CNN in the West Bank.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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