Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

Heavy Rain Causes Flooding in El Paso, Texas; Israel Expands Ground Offensive in Southern Lebanon; Castro Turns Over Power to Brother; Review Committee Finds No Apparent Favortism to Gibson

Aired August 01, 2006 - 13:59   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: It's the top of the hour. You're watching LIVE FROM.
Let's get straight to Tony Harris with a developing story.

Hey, Tony.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Kyra.

I've got to tell you, we want to take you now to some dramatic new pictures just into us from El Paso, Texas. Let me see if I can get my router out so I can see this with you.

OK, this is a situation where you've had heavy rains over the last couple of days in El Paso on parched, sun-baked terra firma. What happens? The ground gives way. What you get here is massive flooding.

We have seen vehicles washed away. There was a reporter on the scene who was doing an interview with someone who was affected by all of this, and the cameraman pans over, and what does the photographer see? Pieces, tree limbs just floating away, just floating away. The cause of this, a string of slow-moving thunderstorms.

We're going to bring Jacqui in here in just a moment to explain the system that is causing all of this, but the situation on the ground is so bad in El Paso today that the mayor has shut city hall down, sent people home. We had a Texas DOT camera a short time ago that showed the situation on one interstate that wasn't even an interstate anymore. It was a parking lot; traffic going no where.

Jacqui is standing by.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: On the line with us now is Rick Glancey. He is the public information officer for El Paso, Texas.

Rick, thanks for your time. Appreciate it.

RICK GLANCEY, EL PASO, Texas, SHERIFF'S DEPT.: No problem. Thank you.

HARRIS: Give us a sense of what you have been seeing in your area today. And I guess it started actually over the weekend, as well.

GLANCEY: Well, we've had a number of problems in the rural areas of El Paso County. That's our area of jurisdiction. And one of the significant problems right now is the medical emergencies we're trying to respond to.

We've gotten a mountain, of course, that cuts right through El Paso both east and west, and the rushing water off the mountain into the high desert area has really turned roads into arroyos, uprooted trees, as you all have discussed already. We've got some power lines down, potential gas ruptures from gas lines that we're also concerned about.

We've got mobile homes that are losing some of their platforms and footing. And we've got a number of people that are panicking right now and have medical emergencies, whether it's shortness of breath, potential heart attack, whatever the case may be. We've got young families with mother who are having a difficult time controlling their children.

HARRIS: So, Rick...

GLANCEY: So we're doing everything we can to get to those medical emergencies first and then to the flooding victims second, and obviously traffic accidents third.

HARRIS: Sure. Well, Rick, give us a sense of your plan. You've outlined that you've got a lot of medical emergencies to get to, so what's the plan to help those people?

GLANCEY: Well, it's high-profile vehicles, obviously. We have a couple of units that have tried to make attempts to rescue people, but they, themselves, have become stuck.

We've got some of our members of our search and rescue team, which is a high mountain rescue team, which also knows how to handle emergencies and these type of flood situations that have also been activated and deployed throughout the country, especially on the west end. And they are working right now at trying to get to some of these significant medical emergencies. But you've even got fire trucks that are not high profile enough in some of these areas because of the washout of the mud and the heavy rain and all the (INAUDIBLE) that have come forward.

HARRIS: OK. Rick, we appreciate it.

Rick Glancey is the public information officer for El Paso -- El Paso County, Texas.

Kyra, a lot of flooding there. Pictures coming into us at the moment as I look at one of our routers here.

We'll continue to follow this story and bring you the latest.

PHILLIPS: All right. Appreciate it. Thanks, Tony.

HARRIS: OK. Sure thing.

PHILLIPS: Well, Israel launches a major expansion of its ground offensive in southern Lebanon. Here's what we know right now.

Israel says it's sending thousands more troops deeper into southern Lebanon in a bid to clear out Hezbollah fighters. Now, the Israeli military says it needs at least another month to accomplish its goals.

In the first figures provided on overall Hezbollah deaths, Israel says it has killed 300 of the estimated 2,000 Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon. The government also reports 51 Israelis killed, including 19 civilians. Lebanon says nearly 500 civilians have died in nearly three weeks of fighting.

Syrian President Bashar Assad orders his forces to heighten their readiness. He says the move is needed because of what he calls regional challenges.

The Israeli army on the move and on the offensive in southern Lebanon. The fighting comes a day after Israel's security cabinet decided to expand the ground campaign against Hezbollah.

CNN's Paula Hancocks joins us now live from Jerusalem -- Paula.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the fighting has been very intense this Tuesday. We know in different pockets along the border with -- between Israel and Lebanon there has been some very fierce fighting between the Israeli military and Hezbollah fighters.

Now, we also know there has been a lot of shelling in the area of Aita Al Shaab, which is very close to the border itself and very close to the area where the two Israeli soldiers were originally kidnapped from almost three weeks ago which sparked this entire conflict. Also, eight Israeli soldiers were killed in that particular attack.

Now, that's part of the area where many of the increased troops are heading to. Now, this is where we are seeing much fiercer fighting than we have been seeing in days past. And, of course, as you say, it has come just hours after the security cabinet meeting saying that it did approve the expanded military operation, the ground operation being expanded.

Now, for the air operation itself, airstrikes were supposed to be put on hold for 48 hours by Israel so that humanitarian aid could get in, so that people could get out of southern Lebanon. That hasn't really been the case. We've seen many airstrikes, and they're increasing in number. The Israeli air force saying they're trying to cover their ground troops and they're only firing if they see a threat to Israel itself.

Now, we've also been hearing from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert this evening talking to military cadets, and he gave us the clearest indication he's ever given us, really, that this -- there will not be a cease-fire any time soon and this military operation could go on for longer than we had been thinking. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EHUD OLMERT, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We are at the beginning of a diplomatic process which, I believe, ultimately will lead to a cease-fire with totally different conditions and circumstances from those which existed on our northern border. So there will be a force which will bring about a real division and separation of our country from those forces that threatened it with the backing of Arab countries.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: So Olmert said -- Olmert said that Hezbollah had been dealt a very heavy blow. He never promised to destroy every single Hezbollah rocket, but he said they have been destroyed somewhat, but not enough yet. He wants more time.

PHILLIPS: Paula Hancocks, live from Jerusalem.

Thank you.

He's outlasted nine U.S. presidents, any number of invasion attempts, and even CIA assassination plots. He's held on long after the Berlin Wall tumbled and his Soviet pals crumbled. For 47 uninterrupted years, Fidel Castro has been the only leader that thousands of Cubans have known or imagined.

CNN producer Shasta Darlington is live in Havana, where uncertainty is an unusual emotion.

And Shasta, I just want to ask you, first of all, as we've been talking to various reporters in Miami, and also analysts, and a number of articles that we've been reading, talking about that some believe Castro may be dead, are you hearing that anywhere on the streets in Havana?

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN HAVANA PRODUCER: We're not hearing it on the streets in Havana. There's obviously really no way to know exactly what's going on. The only news we have is this letter that Fidel apparently wrote and signed last night and was read aloud by his secretary, and was read aloud again on the 1:00 news. And that's all we've seen and all we've heard.

You could interpret that in many different ways. Obviously, Cubans are concerned. They don't know what his state of health is.

This is the first time that he's relinquished power in 47 years, and yet this isn't his first health problem. So what does that mean? They're waiting for some -- anything at all, any kind of news about how he -- how he is -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Meanwhile, his brother, Raul, is the one in the slot.

DARLINGTON: That's right. This is a man who's stood by his brother almost 50 years now. He was with him when they landed the boat here in Cuba and they started the revolution. But, for the most part, he's been in the shadows up until now.

He's a pragmatic, down to earth man, but he's not the charismatic leader that his older brother is. Still, he's considered by many the kind of person who could lead a sort of soft transition.

Analysts in the United States say that he could even move towards an economic opening up, the kind of which we see in China. For the team being, this is, of course, just a temporary -- temporary transition. It's just a temporary shift of power -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Shasta Darlington, live in Havana, thanks so much.

Cuba Libre, you may think of it as a drink that you could order at a bar, but as Fidel Castro hands over power in Cuba for the first time in decades, it's a different kind of free Cuba that many Cuban exiles and their descendants are imagining.

One Miami blogger says, if you think you're seeing celebrations now, well, wait until "... the old goat is dead. Even clocks will stop in Miami that day."

CNN's Susan Candiotti is at the epicenter of Miami's Cuban community, the Versailles restaurant in Little Havana.

Give us a feel for what it's like, Susan.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I can tell you, Kyra, that having been here since last night, this officially does qualify as a scene outside the Versailles restaurant. If you want to see, be seen, talk about what is happening on the island, whether it be gossip or whether it be the latest news, people come here to sip some coffee and share some gossip.

Just 24 hours ago, coincidentally, President Bush was here having coffee and meeting with many of the community leaders here to talk about the prospects for freedom on the island. And just moments ago, again, coincidentally, Republican Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen appeared among the crowd here.

So, briefly, what is the latest, if anything, you are hearing from the island?

REP. ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN (R), FLORIDA: Well, we will be in Washington tomorrow to have some meetings with different officials to let us know what they think is the status of Castro's health. And one dictator is the same as the other dictator, whether it's Fidel or whether it's Raul. What we want is democracy and freedom and having the people decide for themselves what kind of future they want.

Raul is now being outfitted like the new leader and a flexible man who can deal with the United States. He's got as much blood on his hands as his older brother. There's no change there.

CANDIOTTI: Can you offer a thought, finally, as to why you think he perhaps has not yet made a public appearance on television? ROS-LEHTINEN: Well, they like to do those hide and seek games all the time. They hide from public view for a few days and have some speculation about whether they are around or not around, whether they're in ill health or not, and then they pop up.

So I'm sure that Raul will be making some kind of public appearance. And now they're spinning that Fidel Castro's health is improving, but we're hoping that those reports are untrue because any day without Fidel Castro in power is a blessed day.

So we're celebrating Fidel ceding power to his brother, but that does not mean that we think that's because his brother is going to rule over Cuba, that that's going to be a new day. What we're hoping is that there's a window of opportunity where we can increase the transmissions of radio and TV, give some more support to the opposition leaders on the island, and maybe that day of a free Cuba will come.

You can hear the outpouring of support here. It's very spontaneous support from our community.

We're hoping that day has come, but there's more to be told, because when Lenin died, communism continued. When Marx died, communism continued. When Chairman Mao died, communism continued.

So it's not just a cult of personality and the death of one individual, too. It's the whole system that needs to be changed.

CANDIOTTI: Thank you very much for joining us this afternoon.

ROS-LEHTINEN: Thank you, Susan.

CANDIOTTI: Let's show you a bit of the rest of what's going on here.

If you take a short walk -- and, of course, they're selling Cuban flags here, they're selling all kind of trinkets. You come out to the street, this is where we have been since last night, where you saw the cavalcade of cars with horns blowing. Again, now you are hearing air horns, car horns, truck horns, people yelling, "Freedom for Cuba!"

As you stand by here, holding up posters and the like, standing along Calle Ocho, Eighth Street, in the heart of Little Havana.

Perhaps across the street, finally, we can show you this large Cuban flag, and below it is an empty coffin, which I guess you can presume means this is what people would like to see happen.

Needless to say, no one knows for sure precisely where the future lies on the communist island, but many exiles here, as you just heard from the congresswoman, clearly would like to see an end to communist rule. Not sure whether with Raul Castro, President Fidel Castro's brother, in power, whether it will make much of a difference at all.

We'll continue to monitor the situation here. But, so far, no arrests. It has been quite peaceful. And traffic has continued to flow through Little Havana.

Kyra, back to you.

PHILLIPS: Well, Susan, you know, it's interesting. You've talked to a number of people there that believe Castro is dead.

CANDIOTTI: That's true. That's one of the many rumors. And, again, this is the type of thing whenever something like this happens that makes it a situation that is ripe for speculation and rumor.

One of the other questions again people are posing, he must be dead, and that's why you haven't seen Raul come out because they're trying to figure out what to do. Who's to say? But, again, that's why even the White House is being very guarded, not offering speculation, at least officially at this time.

You heard the congresswoman say that they'll be traveling to Washington tomorrow to try to get the latest information and intelligence about what is happening on the island. For here, the exile community is glued to their television sets, glued to their radios to find out precisely what is going on and, if possible, to try to reach out to family members and to dissident groups on the island for the latest information. They, too, want to know what's happening.

PHILLIPS: All right. Susan Candiotti there live in Miami.

Susan, thanks so much.

Now back to the Middle East.

Thousands of people have already fled southern Lebanon, but many others are still desperate to head for safer ground as the Israeli military campaign expands.

CNN's Ben Wedemen is in the city of Tyre -- Ben.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kyra, today we took advantage of this two-day period during which Israel said it would lessen its Arab bombardment. We went down to a town called Aitaroun (ph), and there we found some people who had been there for three weeks in a bomb shelter, clearly traumatized.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WEDEMAN (voice over): The residents of Aitaroun (ph) are leaving as fast as they can. Israel's 48-hour period of relative restraint is almost over. After nearly three weeks in cramped shelters, the young, the old, the infirm are desperate to go.

"Get us out of here," says this woman. "Please, get us out of here."

The first to reach the mainly Shiite village of Aitaroun (ph), a group of journalists who do what they can to help.

(on camera): The people in this town have been under bombardment for 20 days. The Red Cross hasn't made it here, the U.N. hasn't made it here.

(voice over): Everyone is fleeing, but for one man, dazed, who stares the rubble of his village. The neighboring village of Ainata (ph) has also been pounded. An unexploded artillery round lies in the main square. The stench of decomposing bodies rises from the ruins.

Hevrid Haraf (ph) says she and her son were pinned down in their house for five days with the body of her dead sister killed in the bombing. Abez Khalil (ph) came to get his sister and found her dead under the rubble of her home.

"It was unbearable, unbearable," is all Ahmed Bassam (ph) can say. He's going straight to Beirut.

Everyone here painfully aware there's little time left.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WEDEMAN: And, Kyra, there's just a few hours left until Israel has said the time of relative quiet will expire, even though we have already heard some bombing in the distance. In just a few hours, they say, they will resume full military activities, air and ground, in south Lebanon -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Ben Wedemen in Tyre.

Thanks, Ben.

Straight ahead, horribly hot and humid, a dangerous combination for thousands of people from the Midwest to the East Coast. Just ahead, we're live from New York, where the temps are already reaching record highs.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, it's a dangerous situation in Chicago right now, where the power is out and the temperatures are soaring.

Let's get straight to CNN's Keith Oppenheim, who is on the city's south side.

Keith, what's it like?

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, this is the command center for the operations of repairing the power outage. And what happened was, last night there was an underground power cable that malfunctioned, and then an area nearly two square miles was without power. And many of the residents in this part of Chicago, south of the central part of this city, are senior citizens.

And look up to this building. This is basically a residence for senior citizens, 15 stories high. There are a number of buildings like that, and it had to be evacuated.

And as we tilt down, you'll notice that there are a bunch of buses out here. Those, Kyra, are cooling buses. They're air conditioned buses for people to take some retreat from the heat given that there wasn't any all throughout the night.

We're going to hear right now from a gentleman by the name of Henry Ramsey (ph). He's 84 years old, and he told me what it was like in the middle of the night when he realized that he needed to get back into his apartment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I had to walk 10 flights up the steps.

OPPENHEIM: At 84 years old you did that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I had to walk up the steps.

OPPENHEIM: But why did you do that? You didn't have to.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I did.

OPPENHEIM: Why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't have nothing. I didn't have no clothes, no nothing. And we was all going to stay and go to sleep, and they woke us up at 5:00 this morning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OPPENHEIM: Henry Ramsey (ph), a forceful character, told me all he got, three hours of sleep. He was taken to McCormick Place, which is the big convention center in Chicago, and he wasn't so happy about that because he had to stay on a low cot for a while.

Other senior citizens were taken to hotels in the area. But the good news to report about all this, Kyra, is that there are no deaths to talk about, no major hospitalizations or injuries as a result of this power outage.

But it's a dangerous combination, because when you have a power cable go down and you have got heat like it is today, reaching 100 degrees, then you have a lot of vulnerable, elderly people in this city. And that's essentially what the power crews, the fire department, and the police together have been trying to battle against, what can happen to all those elderly people?

Back to you.

PHILLIPS: Well, let's definitely keep tabs on Henry, Keith. I want to see what he ends up doing, god bless him.

But the power, when do you expect it to get back on? Can you -- has anyone given you any word on that?

OPPENHEIM: Well, ComEd is the power company out here, and officials from ComEd believe that they will get this repaired by this afternoon. And from all the people I've talked to today, I sure hope so.

PHILLIPS: All right.

Keith oppenheim, thanks so much.

Well, straight ahead, Mel Gibson's fall from Hollywood grace. Will his star shine again? We expect a live news conference from Los Angeles this hour. We'll bring it to you live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, shocker in Cuba. President Fidel Castro is ill and in the hospital. Here's what we know right now.

The surprise announcement was made on Cuban television. Castro underwent intestinal surgery to stop what was said to be sustained bleeding.

In another stunning development, Castro, who turns 80 this month, temporarily handed over power to his brother and hand-picked successor, Raul Castro. Raul Castro is defense minister and turned 75 last month.

The White House is reacting cautiously, saying it is monitoring developments in Cuba. Hours before the news broke, President, Bush, in an interview with the Miami television station, called Castro's government a "tyrannical regime."

Well, prayers for their homeland. While many of Miami's Cuban exiles celebrate in the street, others turn out for mass at Our Lady of Charity Shrine, funded and built by Cuban refugees in 1966. That shrine overlooks Biscayne Bay and waters that many Cubans have crossed in a bid for freedom in the U.S.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is there.

And I guess my first question is, I want to know what exactly they're praying for.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, not to put too fine a point on it, there are thousands and tens of thousands of exiles here in Miami who will not hesitate to share that what they're essentially wishing for is the death of Fidel Castro. And perhaps a little ironic that, you know, many people here coming to this church that has been a symbol of -- the religious symbol here in Miami of the Cuban exile experience here in the United States. But when they come here to pray, what they're praying for is many family members that they have left behind in Cuba, many family members who perhaps died in the waters that run up here to the back of this church here.

So, for the last 40 years, this church has been kind of the centerpiece to the Cuban exile experience here in Miami -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Ed, we'll talk more about what is happening there, but we've got to get to Los Angeles right now. A live event happening.

The Office of Independent Review getting ready to start its press conference with regard to the Mel Gibson investigation and the allegations that the report was doctored.

MICHAEL GENNACO, OFFICE OF INDEPENDENT REVIEW: Hello, everybody. My name is Michael Gennaco, and I am the chief attorney for the Office of Independent Review. The OIR, or Office of Independent Review, is an independent group of attorneys who are responsible for ensuring that allegations of violations of policy by members of the L.A. Sheriff's Department are appropriately investigated by the department and appropriately handled.

Shortly after the arrest of Mel Gibson, I was informed of concerns about the way in which LASD personnel handled that arrest. Since that time, we have been very involved in learning about those circumstances. While -- and I must say while we're only at the formative stages of that inquiry, we are able to report the following preliminary assessment.

LASD is a law enforcement agency whose primary function is to enforce the laws of the state of California, to detain persons who may have violated those laws and to document and collect the evidence that supports that arrest. It is imperative that in doing so, the agency treats everyone equally under the law.

In this case, the information reviewed to date indicates that LASD did ensure that the arrest of Mr. Gibson was handled in accord with its policies and practices. In support of that assessment, one, the arresting deputy stopped Mr. Gibson, made observations indicating potential violations of the California vehicle code, namely, driving under the influence of alcohol.

Two, the deputy conducted the appropriate field tests and determined that there was probable cause to arrest Mr. Gibson. Three, Mr. Gibson was arrested. Four, Mr. Gibson was then transported to the station and, five, and most importantly, all information that should have been presented to the D.A. regarding this arrest and the underlying and surrounding circumstances was presented to the district attorney.

I should caution, however, that there is more to be done to this case. For example, concerns have been raised regarding whether the disclosure and documentation of information surrounding the arrest was consistent with department policies.

As we speak, interviews are taking place that will further illuminate this process. I have also been assured that LASD intends to inquire into all of the circumstances surrounding the arrest and that have been the subject of much discussion in the ensuing days since Friday.

And I am confident that as we scope this investigation from the moment of Mr. Gibson's arrest through the time the information that documented and supported his arrest was presented to the district attorney, that all of that information will be carefully scrutinized, not only by the department, but by us as the independent oversight group responsible for undertaking that level of scrutiny.

I will answer questions, of course. Because we're only three or four days into this inquiry, I, unfortunately, may not have all the answers that you all have. I can only speak right now, Mr. Chapman (ph) -- the question is, whether or not there were policies -- there was a clear violation of policy.

And the answer is, I don't know the answer to that. I can tell you, Mr. Chapman, that with regard to the way in which this was handled through the criminal justice process that at least the information provided to date indicates there was no violation of department policy, with regard to that aspect.

QUESTION: What about allegations there was an intended cover-up that information in the original report might have been left out and pressure had not been placed on the sheriff's department?

GENNACO: The question is whether there was an original intent or discussion about leaving out important information from the report. And the answer is based on the information we have collected to date and after, after spending all day or a large part of the day yesterday at the station, my information to date indicates that was not going to happen.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) Is it department policy to have a deputy, or is it legal to have a deputy rewrite a report to put inflammatory material into a supplemental simply to keep it out of the eyes of the media or out of the public?

GENNACO: The question is whether or not it is department policy or in accord with department policy to modify a report in which apparently from the information collected to date this information was modified in this case. And the answer to that question is, one, reports are modified all the time. It's a sergeant's responsibility to ensure in reviewing a report that all of the essential elements are included in the report.

There's a second question to the question that I cannot answer today, which is, was the modification of this report done in a way so that the disclosure of information to the public would somehow be altered? I don't have the answer to that question.

QUESTION: Telling us that there was a modification, is that correct? They know that there was a modification for sure now. Can you confirm that for us, because we've heard all the rumors.

GENNACO: I can confirm that the report was modified, as far as a format. The substantive information in the report that was in the original report and that you probably have all viewed, it is out in the public realm. And by the way, the department is looking into that unauthorized disclosure. But I can confirm that that substantive information is the same information that was being prepared for review of the district attorney.

QUESTION: My question was, was there a -- can you confirm whether there was a modification, in other words, a secondary or supplemental report that, although it contains the basic fact of, yes, the drunk driving aspect did not contain what some call the inflammatory comments? GENNACO: I can confirm that the report that was submitted to the D.A. has a face sheet that covers the initial information that supports the evidence supports the -- the evidence supports the drunk driving arrest. I can also confirm that there was a supplemental report that includes the information that you all have seen on the Web site, yes.

QUESTION: What about the allegation that he was not handcuffed at the time?

GENNACO: The concern, the question is, what about the allegations that Mr. Gibson was not handcuffed out in the field or at least originally was not handcuffed during the field encounter with the arresting deputy.

And I can report to you that based on the information collected to date, there's no reason to doubt the accuracy of that and it's largely based on the information from the arresting deputy himself.

What I can also say is, the question will probably be, is that a violation of policy? And what I can say is that while the department prefers, prefers that when deputies arrest individuals that they are handcuffed, for officer safety reasons, obviously, that was not done this in this case, but there is not a prohibition in not doing that. There is some discretion given to the deputies on that.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)

GENNACO: The question is whether in the second or supplemental report that was somehow less inflammatory than the report that you all have discovered out in the public realm and the answer is no.

The same inflammatory information was in the supplemental report and has been presented to the district attorney and my information is that that information was going to be presented to the district attorney. I have no reason to doubt that.

QUESTION: Who suggested the report and why? If both reports are the same, then why amend it?

GENNACO: The question is, why was the report formatted in a way so that there was a face sheet or a preliminary report and then a supplemental report? And the answer to that question is, it has to do with the issue that I said still remains out there, sir.

And that issue is whether or not the department was considering how this report might end up getting out into the media and was maybe perhaps looking for a way to shield some of that report, not from the D.A., but from the public realm. That question, I don't have an answer to. That is how the best way I can frame that issue.

QUESTION: Are you going to be looking into other times that the media or the public has been told that an arrest was placed without incident and what that has been implied in the previous and then this time without incident because, to be honest with you, most of us when we hear something was done, we don't suspect that someone is accused of resisting or attempting to resist arrest. It sounds to us like there was an incident.

GENNACO: The question is whether or not the Office of Independent Review will be looking at this in a more systemic way to see whether or not there have been occasions in which allegedly or perhaps there has been miscommunication about the nature or circumstances surrounding an arrest in the past.

And I can say to that that one of the responsibilities of the Office of Independent Review is to investigate the systemic practices of the department and to see whether or not there needs to be some consistency or better ways of communicating to the public. That's one of the reasons I'm out here.

The Office of Independent Review is very interested in providing transparency with regard to what goes on in the sheriff's department. I will be working with other people in the sheriff's department to do a better job, if a better job is necessary with regard to that kind of responsibility.

QUESTION: You read all the reports, you're a federal prosecutor, would you have said that is without incident?

GENNACO: The question is, would I have characterized the incident surrounding the arrest of Mr. Gibson without incident? And the question also indicated or suggests I was a federal prosecutor. Well I was a federal prosecutor, I'm not anymore.

And secondly, as a federal prosecutor, I never handled drunk driving arrests. With that being said, I think it's a question of -- let me put it to you this way. If I were describing what I now know about the arrest, I'm not sure I would have used those words.

QUESTION: Mr. Gennaco, on a policy question here, there are reports and allegations that once Mel Gibson was put in that holding cell, deputies were coming in, they were talking, and that was against policy. There's a camera in there. Will you be reviewing that video? Will you be making that video public?

GENNACO: The question was whether -- there are some allegations that after Mr. Gibson was put into his holding cell, that personnel that didn't need to be there were actually going into the cell and checking him out and gawking at him. The answer is ...

PHILLIPS: All right. I'm going to try and wrap this the best that I can, because Michael Gennaco is definitely a very good lawyer. He speaks in lawyer speak. He's sort of answering the questions but not really answering the questions. I'm trying to read between the lines.

But what it sounds like with regard to this Mel Gibson investigation is that this independent review board, the Office of Independent Review, OIR, is a group with all these -- it's a group with a number of attorneys and Michael Gennaco, the attorney speaking now is the chief attorney.

And he's saying, basically, in a nutshell, that they have looked at the arrest of Mel Gibson and, at this point, it looks like the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department handled the drunken driving arrest and I'm going to quote here, "in accordance with its policies and practices." But it is still looking into whether the deputy's report on the incident was in some way modified.

The attorney said, well, yes, these reports are always modified at some point, but that the drunk driving arrest report and the supplemental report with the inflammatory remarks, the attorney says, are both there. The information is in there. What the media has been talking about is right on the mark.

But what it does sound like is that there is still an investigation into how much that report was modified and if, indeed, it was sanitized in some way, just so it wouldn't look possibly even worse than it may appear right now.

So, we're following that, we're following the investigation. We'll stay on top of it. We'll bring you the latest as these attorneys speak and the investigation continues. Three to four days into the inquiry, the attorney there is saying this could take awhile.

Also, the deputy that arrested Mel Gibson did come forward and he gave a statement -- James Mee, the arresting deputy -- and this is what he had to say: "I don't take pride in hurting Mr. Gibson. What I had hoped out of this is that he would think twice before he gets behind the wheel of a car and was drinking. That would be my hope that this would accomplish that. I don't want to ruin his career. I don't want to defame him in any way or hurt him." That's the arresting deputy.

All right, straight ahead, is this the beginning of the end for Castro's regime? Political insight on Cuba and late developments. We're expecting a White House briefing as well. We'll bring that to you live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: And we are waiting for Tony Snow and the White House briefing, hoping to get some background on what they know there at the White House with regard to Fidel Castro, his health conditions, and the fact that he ceded power to his brother, Raul. It's the top story that we've been following all throughout the day, and we're looking forward to hearing from the White House if they have got any more information.

Now, some background on Fidel Castro. He was born to wealthy parents in 1926. He'll be 80 years old in just about two weeks, and Castro was an athlete as a young man. He claims that he once tried out with the Washington Senators baseball team.

Castro took control of Cuba in 1959 when his guerrillas ousted the president. Cuba has been under a U.S. financial embargo since 1961 and Fidel Castro is famous for wearing military fatigues and delivering those long, fiery speeches.

Well, hours before we learned of Cuban President Fidel Castro's surgery, President Bush was interviewed by a Miami TV station. He had this to say about the communist leader.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We had to balance the combination of, you know, family and Fidel Castro using migration as a way to earn hard currency to keep his tyrannical regime in place and, you know, our objective is to free the Cuban people. That's our objective. Fidel Castro was the one that caused families to be separated.

He the one that makes it difficult for people to come from Cuba to the United States to visit relatives. And so the U.S. government has got a -- what I think is a balanced program. On the one hand, we let people go over, as you said, once every three years. But on the other hand, people have got to understand that he uses travel and visa policy to earn currency.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: As Fidel Castro hands Cuba's reins to his younger brother, it is hard not to think of that old saying, "better the devil you know than the devil you don't," but Raul Castro isn't exactly an unknown quantity.

CNN's Tim Lister has more on Cuba's president and perhaps future leader.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TIM LISTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For more than four decades, he has stood in his brother's shadow. Less of an ideologue and less charismatic than Fidel, Raul Castro has, nonetheless, known for years of his destiny should his older brother die or become incapacitated.

As first vice president according to the Cuban Constitution, he is in line to take over in case of Fidel's absence, illness, or death. He has even talked about a post-Fidel Cuba under his leadership.

RAUL CASTRO, FIDEL CASTRO'S BROTHER (through translator): Is there going to be a transition here towards something? Yes, towards a better form of socialism. And here's something you'll like: towards a more Democratic society.

LISTER: Just what he means by more Democratic is unclear. Raul rarely gives interviews. The two brothers were born in Biran, Cuba, sons of a Spanish immigrant who was a wealthy landowner and the Cuban housemaid he eventually married.

Castro has always been by his brother's side as a commander of the guerrilla army that fought in the Cuban mountains in the 1950s, and as part of the revolutionary leadership that toppled the Batista regime in January 1959. Weeks later, Fidel Castro named Raul as his successor and his minister of defense.

During the early years of the revolution, Raul Castro earned a reputation for being ruthless with his enemies, a reputation which many Cubans say makes them apprehensive about the sort of president he might be.

Ideologically compatible, the two brothers have very different personalities. Fidel is divorced and has children by several mistresses. Raul has been married to Vilma Espin for nearly 50 years. She is also a senior party official and they have four children.

While Fidel Castro has always been rather formal and awkward, Raul is more down to earth, enjoying parties and always joking, according to those that know him well.

Politically, he's not been afraid to break with communist orthodoxy. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, which left Cuba on the brink of bankruptcy and starvation, it was Raul Castro who insisted on allowing free enterprise farmers' markets. He declared beans were more important than bullets for the survival of the revolution.

Under his direction, the military also played a major role in developing tourism in Cuba. Raul Castro has often acknowledged that taking over from Fidel would be a hard act to follow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No one will ever again have as much authority as Fidel Castro has had. Because of who he is, because he made a true revolution.

LISTER: At 75, Raul is only five years younger than Fidel, and there are rumors about his own health. But, for now, as his brother recuperates, he is the helm of the revolution.

Tim Lister, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Refugee from a revolution and now he's making policy in Washington. I'm going to talk with a Florida lawmaker who's keeping a close eye on what happens next in Cuba. LIVE FROM covering all the angles on this developing story.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well if you ever said "I want to report for CNN," now's your chance. CNN is launching I-Report, where you, the viewer, are the eyes and ears on the ground. If you capture a great picture or video on your camera or cell phone, just send it to us via computer at CNN.com, or your cell phone punch ireport@cnncom.

Your I-Report is your chance to share what you have witnessed. So lets take a look at what I-reporter Casey Barton send us from Toronto. We spoke to Casey about 30 minutes ago on the phone. He told us he attends the University of Toronto and studies theology and religion. He was in his room on Saturday when he heard a protest outside and he saw a Hezbollah flag. Well, he grabbed his cell phone -- let me see if I figured out how this works -- he grabbed his cell phone camera and he ran outside and took the picture. Casey says that the crowd chanted "Long Live Hezbollah." Our Toronto affiliate says that about 800 people attended that rally. And if you got a picture like Casey, well, you can go to CNN.com, send in an I-report and join the world's most powerful news team.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

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