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CNN Live Today

Palestinian PM Gorei Says Gaza in Chaos; Wildfires in Northern L.A. County

Aired July 19, 2004 - 10:00   ET

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

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


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning everyone. We are at CNN headquarters in Atlanta. I`m Daryn Kagan.
Now in the news. Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei says that Gaza is in chaos. And Qorei says his resignation still stands. A shake-up in Palestinian security forces set off violent protests challenging Yasser Arafat`s power. Arafat has rejected Qorei`s resignation.

Less than 10 hours ago, a car bomb racing toward a police station in Baghdad, blew up killing nine people and wounding as many as 60 others. An hour later, a mortar hit a home in central Baghdad. A local official says that attack appeared to target a fire station.

The last of the Philippine forces are pulling out of Iraq. Philippine President Gloria Arroyo agreed to the early pullout last week. Terrorists had threatened to behead a Philippine truck driver if Arroyo refused to meet their demands.

Just about several hours from now, the nation`s Amber Alert System gets a boost. It will connect to the internet, and that means information about child abduction will be transmitted to Blackberries, cell phones and pagers. Officials hope it will make the system more efficient.

We begin our news today in southern California. A wind-whipped fire is raging across northern Los Angeles County. It is going straight toward hundreds of homes.

That`s where we find Miguel Marquez. He is in Santa Clarita with the latest.

Miguel, good morning.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. About 25 miles north of Los Angeles in the foothills here, it`s called the Foothill Fire. And I can show you what is going on here right now.

This fire has been sort of cooking up in the hills here in the Placerita area in California for some time. It`s pretty much been calm tonight because that humidity has been up. But now you can see, as the sun starts to come up and the humidity goes down, the flames start to pop up again over the valleys. We have season lots of choppers sort of checking it out this morning. But they haven`t been dropping any water on this. We have some updated numbers on this fire, 5700 acres now. The evacuations, there were about 1600 homes evacuated through all of this. But they`ve just lifted the evacuations for Fair Oaks California, but Placerita and San Canyon are still evacuated at this point mandatorally. The fire is now 39 percent contained.

We have a live picture from our affiliate KTLA now. So it gives you a little better idea what the fire is doing in this area. They expect that the winds will start to blow now toward the east, as they have been for several days. And they will start backing down this canyon and make a run again toward San Canyon and some of the towns around this area. Firefighters had hoped to get into this area last night and build some fire line. They were unable to do that so the containment figure only went up 2 percent, from 37 percent to 39 percent today.

But people who live in this area say they have gotten used to the idea of the fire danger.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything is under control. It`s something we`ve planned in the family. And you know, it`s something that will happen one of these days and we`re ready.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As long as my kids and my house are -- my dogs and pets are all OK. I`m OK. You know? So we`re packing up the wedding dress and the pictures, and you know, getting their clothes and you know, laptop computers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: Seventeen hundred firefighters now on the Santa -- the Foothills Fire here near Santa Clarita, California. The cost so far is about $1.6 million say firefighters. And the cause still is under investigation -- Daryn.

KAGAN: I understand with some of the folks who were evacuated, they were told they were allowed to go home only to be turned around, and said you have got to get out, all over again.

MARQUEZ: Yes. Yesterday they had a lot of winds through here. And that will happen with the fire sometimes, where they believe they can go back into their homes and then firefighters will do the mandatory evacuation again. But today, at least, they`ve lifted the evacuation for Fair Oaks, California. So some folks will be able to get back in. But if they get those winds coming through these canyons again, things change very quickly. So they`ve kept some of those towns evacuated to this point -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Miguel Marquez in Southern California, we`ll be checking back with you in the next hour. Thank you.

Let`s check in on Nevada. Crews there say they could achieve full containment of the Carson City wildfire by tonight. It is now about 85 percent contained after burning nearly 8,000 acres and destroying some 15 homes. Residents were chased from their home only to have been allowed to return. Firefighters are snuffing out last of the embers but staying on guard against the danger of flare-ups.

Other news today, NBA star Kobe Bryant is expected in a Colorado courtroom today, but the legal focus will not be on him. Actually it will be on the woman accused of -- accusing him of him of sexual assault. At issue, her privacy, both in terms of what can be entered into court and released to the public.

Our Adrian Baschuk is in Eagle, Colorado with a preview of the day`s proceedings.

Adrian, good morning.

ADRIAN BASCHUK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn. This round of hearings was originally scheduled to last three days. That`s been whittled down to one. It doesn`t diminish its importance now however. Every motion, won or lost is of pivotal importance.

And the judge could actually set a national precedent here today out of his ruling on text messages. He`ll have to decide whether to admit into evidence text messaging records sent between the accuser and her ex-boyfriend, just hours after the alleged rape by Kobe Bryant took place.

Also today, the media is at center stage. First a prosecution motion asking the judge stop filing court documents online. The media argued however, that is their only insight into case and to getting instantaneous information online.

Then the judge will hear arguments over cameras in the courtroom. The news media have a motion on the table supporting cameras in the courtroom. Both the prosecution and the defense have teamed up on this one to ban that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRAIG SILVERMAN, FMR. DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Kobe Bryant, the alleged victim, the prosecution, they are all objecting to a camera in the courtroom. It will be very difficult for the judge under that circumstance to allow one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASCHUK: Now, Judge Terry Ruckriegle, the judge presiding over this case has, in fact, presided over a case once during his tenure where, in fact, cameras were allowed to cover a murder trial -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right. Adrian Baschuk in Eagle, Colorado, thank you.

Other legal news today, less than two hours from now, in California testimony is due to resume in the murder trial of Scott Peterson. Defense attorney Scott Geragos -- actually, Mark Geragos will resume his blistering attack on the police investigation, in which Peterson almost immediately emerged as a focus. Prosecutors contend that Peterson murdered his pregnant wife, Laci, in their Modesto home and then dumped her body in San Francisco Bay.

Just days after Martha Stewart was sentenced to prison, the legal spotlight now turns to her broker`s assistant, Douglas Faneuil, who was also the government`s star witness. He gave that damaging testimony that he violated federal laws as ordered, by tipping off Stewart to sell her stocks before they plunged in value. He`s due top sentenced this week and receive leniency in exchange for his cooperation.

And speaking of Martha Stewart, she will join our Larry King tonight. It`s her first and only live time prime interview since being sentenced. She`ll be taking your phone calls. That is tonight 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific on CNN`s "LARRY KING LIVE."

Other news to look out this morning, the 9/11 Commission is due to release its long-awaited report later this week. We already though know some of the conclusions. The bipartisan panel says that evidence shows about eight of the hijackers passed through Iran before launching the attacks. The report also says there`s no sign of Iran`s government was officially involved.

The report says intelligence failures, before and after the attacks, also highlight the need for a new national intelligence chief. That position to be overseen -- to oversee the FBI, the CIA and other spy agencies would be created at the cabinet level.

Well, speaking of CIA, the CIA`s acting director disputes the need for a new intelligence chief. John McLaughlin says the intelligence community has changed since the attacks and that it`s much more cohesive than before 9/11. McLaughlin says that the intelligence community is now more streamlined and that the commission`s concerns have since been addressed. But his predecessor, the former CIA director James Woolsey, believes the recommendation actually has merit. Here`s what he said earlier today on CNN`s "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES WOOLSEY, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: We now have several rather large agencies: National Reconnaissance Office, Defense Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, et cetera. And I think some increased coordination, splitting the CIA job so that there`s one person who is still the head of the CIA, but someone else who is in charge of overall intelligence coordination is probably a good idea.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Woolsey says it`s also vital to a new intelligence chief to collaborate extensively with the secretary of defense.

The fight for security in Iraq amid car bombing and another assassination of a high level Iraqi official. A live report from Baghdad straight ahead.

And tackling obesity on a state level. Look at this before and after. This is Governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas. He has lost 105 pounds over the last year. We`ll find out how he did it and what his plans are for the state.

And later, in an instant, check out these pictures. Dale Earnhardt Jr. finds himself in a ball of flames. The latest on his condition coming up on CNN LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: More setbacks for coalition forces in Iraq. Earlier today, a suicide bomber dealt a deadly blow near a police station. And a senior Iraqi official has been assassinated in a drive by shooting.

Our Michael Holmes is in Baghdad with the latest -- Michael.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi to you, Daryn. Yes, another day, another bomb it seems this past week. This time the target was a police station in the southern Baghdad suburb of al Doura. It was a large bomb too on a truck. The trunk apparently driving up to the rear of the police station and the explosives were detonated. It was a large enough bomb to leave a crater about 10 feet across.

Now, this road is a busy area behind the police station with a lot of civilian. So the death toll and injury toll reflected as well. We`re told by the Ministry of Health that there were nine people killed, three of them police officers, the rest civilians, 60 wounded; 20 of them in a critical condition.

Afterwards, a crowd gathering and chanting pro Saddam slogans, like "Without blood, without soul, we will sacrifice Saddam." Iraqi military, on the scene, eventually firing warning shots into the air to disburse the crowd.

Now, also, that, of course, has been a favorite tactic of the insurgents trying to hit police stations, as fewer American troops are on the streets of Iraq, as they hand over security control more and more to Iraqis. Another favorite tactic is assassination, and there were two events in the last 24 hours or so in that regard. First of all, a Ministry of Defense official was gunned down in a drive by shooting outside his Baghdad home. And also, further north in Mosul, there was an official of the Turkmen National Front, a political group, who was also gunned down in a drive by shooting -- Daryn.

KAGAN: And Michael, what about the status of the Filipino hostage whose release was negotiate bid the Philippines agreeing to pull their -- some 50 troops out of Iraq?

HOLMES: That was the deal done. Once the last Filipino soldier left Iraq the hostage takers were meant to release that hostage, the 46-year-old father of eight-truck driver, Angelo de la Cruz. Now, that has not occurred to our knowledge, the release. But we can confirm that all Filipino troops have now left Iraq. They headed off earlier from their base at Hilla, about 90 kilometers south of Baghdad. They handed over their responsibilities to Polish troops and drove out. And we`ve heard just in the last short time that they have now actually all crossed into Kuwait. Now, of course, everyone including Filipinos waiting to see what happens with the hostage takers and their end of the deal -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Michael Holmes from Baghdad, thank you.

And now to Iraq`s other developing stories. Prime Minister Allawi is in Jordan today. This is his first regional tour since last month`s appointment as head of Iraq`s government. Allawi will meet with both Jordan`s king and prime minister to talk about post war reconstruction and restore relations with his former chief trading partner.

Yesterday, Allawi reopened a newspaper that was closed by U.S. officials in March. "The American Order" sparked months of fighting between U.S. forces and fighters loyal to the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr.

Another indication of business as usual, the new Iraqi stock exchange has now 27 companies listed as of yesterday. There were only 12 when trading resumed on June 12. Officials with the exchange say they expect to have about 200 companies listed by the end of the year.

It was a ride of a lifetime that made one Maryland family swear off hot air balloon rides forever. We`ll tell you why.

And our Gerri Willis knows a lot of things can go wrong while on vacation. But there are things you can do to avoid that disaster.

Gerri, good morning.

GERRI WILLIS, CNNfn PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Hey, Daryn. Good to see you. No. 1, don`t panic. We`ve got some solutions if you have got a travel problem.

Stay with us on CNN LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Time now to check in on our "Top Five Tips." And we do that with Gerri Willis today looking at top five ways to make sure the vacation doesn`t go sour, if you know what I mean.

Good morning, Gerr.

WILLIS: Good morning Daryn. Tip No. 1 watch out for the wallet. The last thing you want to do is have your wallet stolen. How can you prevent it? Ditch the fanny pack. It`s the first thing people are going to try to steal. Instead, get a neck pouch or money belt that will fit underneath your clothing. It makes you much safer.

Don`t carry more than $100 at a time. And think about getting American Travel Funds cards. Now, this is the new age travelers` check. It`s a card that they load that you can load up with money, if it gets lost or stolen it is canceled, and you get your money back.

So, Daryn, a new way to protect yourself and your money. KAGAN: Hmm! And not fumbling with all those traveler checks and things.

What about your passport? What if you`re overseas and you lose that?

WILLIS: Yes. You would think this would be disaster scenario No. 1, right? Not so. Make a copy of your passport. Put it in your luggage. Or scan it and e-mail a copy to yourself via e-mail. You can find a lot of places to read the e-mail when you`re traveling. But make sure you have it because you`re going to have to take it to the U.S. Embassy to get a new one.

KAGAN: All right. It`s never fun to get sick, but when you get sick and you`re on road and it`s your vacation that`s just the worst.

WILLIS: It is the worst. You know, here a prevention is worth a pound of cure. Make sure to carry the meds that you usually need. And particularly if you have a preexisting condition that can flare up from time to time. Being under the stress of travel can really make that crop up. So make sure that you have your meds. Carry cold and allergy medications. Just the basic things that can happen that you`re not expecting.

And then, for sure you want to check out some of the web sites, like cdc.gov to find out whether you`re going to need immunization wherever you`re going and other special dangers you might be at risk for in the country you are traveling in -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Who has not experienced this, losing the luggage?

WILLIS: Isn`t that the worst?

KAGAN: It`s pretty bad.

WILLIS: You lose your luggage, you don`t have pajamas, you don`t have a toothbrush. This is preventable though. Take a carry on bag with a change of clothing and just the essentials that you are going to need. Daryn, it`s particularly important if you are a parent and you`re traveling with children. You definitely want that kind of carry on.

Baggage tags, quick word here, Daryn. You know, have your baggage tag filled out, obviously on the outside of the bag. But then have a paper with the same information inside the bag; in case that tag gets ripped off or otherwise lost, you`ll be able to identify your stuff.

KAGAN: And final part of the plan should include a backup plan?

WILLIS: A lot of people ask me about travel insurance. It does make sense if you are spending big on a vacation. Not if you are just, you know, going to see the grandparents in Michigan or something. But if you are really making a long trip, think about insurance. A good place to go, insuremytrip.net. You can compare insurance quotes and policies. One other web site to check out here, travelguard.com has a list of travel companies and airlines in bankruptcy. Because if you do buy the insurance and one of these companies is in bankruptcy, the likelihood that you`re going to be insured a big zero -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Mm. Not a good way to wrap up the vacation.

WILLIS: That`s right.

KAGAN: Gerri Willis, thank you so much.

WILLIS: Thank you.

KAGAN: Any vacation any time soon for you?

WILLIS: Not on the horizon, Daryn. You?

KAGAN: End of this week, as a matter of fact.

WILLIS: Good for you!

KAGAN: OK. I`m taking notes. Thank you so much.

All right. Different type of journey to look in on coming up. He dropped so much weight, he looks like an entirely different person. Now the Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee personally moves to change the State of Arkansas.

And another governor making news, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Well, he resorts to name-calling. We`ll tell you who and why he called, "girly man."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired July 19, 2004 - 10:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning everyone. We are at CNN headquarters in Atlanta. I`m Daryn Kagan.
Now in the news. Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei says that Gaza is in chaos. And Qorei says his resignation still stands. A shake-up in Palestinian security forces set off violent protests challenging Yasser Arafat`s power. Arafat has rejected Qorei`s resignation.

Less than 10 hours ago, a car bomb racing toward a police station in Baghdad, blew up killing nine people and wounding as many as 60 others. An hour later, a mortar hit a home in central Baghdad. A local official says that attack appeared to target a fire station.

The last of the Philippine forces are pulling out of Iraq. Philippine President Gloria Arroyo agreed to the early pullout last week. Terrorists had threatened to behead a Philippine truck driver if Arroyo refused to meet their demands.

Just about several hours from now, the nation`s Amber Alert System gets a boost. It will connect to the internet, and that means information about child abduction will be transmitted to Blackberries, cell phones and pagers. Officials hope it will make the system more efficient.

We begin our news today in southern California. A wind-whipped fire is raging across northern Los Angeles County. It is going straight toward hundreds of homes.

That`s where we find Miguel Marquez. He is in Santa Clarita with the latest.

Miguel, good morning.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. About 25 miles north of Los Angeles in the foothills here, it`s called the Foothill Fire. And I can show you what is going on here right now.

This fire has been sort of cooking up in the hills here in the Placerita area in California for some time. It`s pretty much been calm tonight because that humidity has been up. But now you can see, as the sun starts to come up and the humidity goes down, the flames start to pop up again over the valleys. We have season lots of choppers sort of checking it out this morning. But they haven`t been dropping any water on this. We have some updated numbers on this fire, 5700 acres now. The evacuations, there were about 1600 homes evacuated through all of this. But they`ve just lifted the evacuations for Fair Oaks California, but Placerita and San Canyon are still evacuated at this point mandatorally. The fire is now 39 percent contained.

We have a live picture from our affiliate KTLA now. So it gives you a little better idea what the fire is doing in this area. They expect that the winds will start to blow now toward the east, as they have been for several days. And they will start backing down this canyon and make a run again toward San Canyon and some of the towns around this area. Firefighters had hoped to get into this area last night and build some fire line. They were unable to do that so the containment figure only went up 2 percent, from 37 percent to 39 percent today.

But people who live in this area say they have gotten used to the idea of the fire danger.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything is under control. It`s something we`ve planned in the family. And you know, it`s something that will happen one of these days and we`re ready.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As long as my kids and my house are -- my dogs and pets are all OK. I`m OK. You know? So we`re packing up the wedding dress and the pictures, and you know, getting their clothes and you know, laptop computers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: Seventeen hundred firefighters now on the Santa -- the Foothills Fire here near Santa Clarita, California. The cost so far is about $1.6 million say firefighters. And the cause still is under investigation -- Daryn.

KAGAN: I understand with some of the folks who were evacuated, they were told they were allowed to go home only to be turned around, and said you have got to get out, all over again.

MARQUEZ: Yes. Yesterday they had a lot of winds through here. And that will happen with the fire sometimes, where they believe they can go back into their homes and then firefighters will do the mandatory evacuation again. But today, at least, they`ve lifted the evacuation for Fair Oaks, California. So some folks will be able to get back in. But if they get those winds coming through these canyons again, things change very quickly. So they`ve kept some of those towns evacuated to this point -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Miguel Marquez in Southern California, we`ll be checking back with you in the next hour. Thank you.

Let`s check in on Nevada. Crews there say they could achieve full containment of the Carson City wildfire by tonight. It is now about 85 percent contained after burning nearly 8,000 acres and destroying some 15 homes. Residents were chased from their home only to have been allowed to return. Firefighters are snuffing out last of the embers but staying on guard against the danger of flare-ups.

Other news today, NBA star Kobe Bryant is expected in a Colorado courtroom today, but the legal focus will not be on him. Actually it will be on the woman accused of -- accusing him of him of sexual assault. At issue, her privacy, both in terms of what can be entered into court and released to the public.

Our Adrian Baschuk is in Eagle, Colorado with a preview of the day`s proceedings.

Adrian, good morning.

ADRIAN BASCHUK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn. This round of hearings was originally scheduled to last three days. That`s been whittled down to one. It doesn`t diminish its importance now however. Every motion, won or lost is of pivotal importance.

And the judge could actually set a national precedent here today out of his ruling on text messages. He`ll have to decide whether to admit into evidence text messaging records sent between the accuser and her ex-boyfriend, just hours after the alleged rape by Kobe Bryant took place.

Also today, the media is at center stage. First a prosecution motion asking the judge stop filing court documents online. The media argued however, that is their only insight into case and to getting instantaneous information online.

Then the judge will hear arguments over cameras in the courtroom. The news media have a motion on the table supporting cameras in the courtroom. Both the prosecution and the defense have teamed up on this one to ban that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRAIG SILVERMAN, FMR. DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Kobe Bryant, the alleged victim, the prosecution, they are all objecting to a camera in the courtroom. It will be very difficult for the judge under that circumstance to allow one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASCHUK: Now, Judge Terry Ruckriegle, the judge presiding over this case has, in fact, presided over a case once during his tenure where, in fact, cameras were allowed to cover a murder trial -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right. Adrian Baschuk in Eagle, Colorado, thank you.

Other legal news today, less than two hours from now, in California testimony is due to resume in the murder trial of Scott Peterson. Defense attorney Scott Geragos -- actually, Mark Geragos will resume his blistering attack on the police investigation, in which Peterson almost immediately emerged as a focus. Prosecutors contend that Peterson murdered his pregnant wife, Laci, in their Modesto home and then dumped her body in San Francisco Bay.

Just days after Martha Stewart was sentenced to prison, the legal spotlight now turns to her broker`s assistant, Douglas Faneuil, who was also the government`s star witness. He gave that damaging testimony that he violated federal laws as ordered, by tipping off Stewart to sell her stocks before they plunged in value. He`s due top sentenced this week and receive leniency in exchange for his cooperation.

And speaking of Martha Stewart, she will join our Larry King tonight. It`s her first and only live time prime interview since being sentenced. She`ll be taking your phone calls. That is tonight 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific on CNN`s "LARRY KING LIVE."

Other news to look out this morning, the 9/11 Commission is due to release its long-awaited report later this week. We already though know some of the conclusions. The bipartisan panel says that evidence shows about eight of the hijackers passed through Iran before launching the attacks. The report also says there`s no sign of Iran`s government was officially involved.

The report says intelligence failures, before and after the attacks, also highlight the need for a new national intelligence chief. That position to be overseen -- to oversee the FBI, the CIA and other spy agencies would be created at the cabinet level.

Well, speaking of CIA, the CIA`s acting director disputes the need for a new intelligence chief. John McLaughlin says the intelligence community has changed since the attacks and that it`s much more cohesive than before 9/11. McLaughlin says that the intelligence community is now more streamlined and that the commission`s concerns have since been addressed. But his predecessor, the former CIA director James Woolsey, believes the recommendation actually has merit. Here`s what he said earlier today on CNN`s "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES WOOLSEY, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: We now have several rather large agencies: National Reconnaissance Office, Defense Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, et cetera. And I think some increased coordination, splitting the CIA job so that there`s one person who is still the head of the CIA, but someone else who is in charge of overall intelligence coordination is probably a good idea.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Woolsey says it`s also vital to a new intelligence chief to collaborate extensively with the secretary of defense.

The fight for security in Iraq amid car bombing and another assassination of a high level Iraqi official. A live report from Baghdad straight ahead.

And tackling obesity on a state level. Look at this before and after. This is Governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas. He has lost 105 pounds over the last year. We`ll find out how he did it and what his plans are for the state.

And later, in an instant, check out these pictures. Dale Earnhardt Jr. finds himself in a ball of flames. The latest on his condition coming up on CNN LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: More setbacks for coalition forces in Iraq. Earlier today, a suicide bomber dealt a deadly blow near a police station. And a senior Iraqi official has been assassinated in a drive by shooting.

Our Michael Holmes is in Baghdad with the latest -- Michael.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi to you, Daryn. Yes, another day, another bomb it seems this past week. This time the target was a police station in the southern Baghdad suburb of al Doura. It was a large bomb too on a truck. The trunk apparently driving up to the rear of the police station and the explosives were detonated. It was a large enough bomb to leave a crater about 10 feet across.

Now, this road is a busy area behind the police station with a lot of civilian. So the death toll and injury toll reflected as well. We`re told by the Ministry of Health that there were nine people killed, three of them police officers, the rest civilians, 60 wounded; 20 of them in a critical condition.

Afterwards, a crowd gathering and chanting pro Saddam slogans, like "Without blood, without soul, we will sacrifice Saddam." Iraqi military, on the scene, eventually firing warning shots into the air to disburse the crowd.

Now, also, that, of course, has been a favorite tactic of the insurgents trying to hit police stations, as fewer American troops are on the streets of Iraq, as they hand over security control more and more to Iraqis. Another favorite tactic is assassination, and there were two events in the last 24 hours or so in that regard. First of all, a Ministry of Defense official was gunned down in a drive by shooting outside his Baghdad home. And also, further north in Mosul, there was an official of the Turkmen National Front, a political group, who was also gunned down in a drive by shooting -- Daryn.

KAGAN: And Michael, what about the status of the Filipino hostage whose release was negotiate bid the Philippines agreeing to pull their -- some 50 troops out of Iraq?

HOLMES: That was the deal done. Once the last Filipino soldier left Iraq the hostage takers were meant to release that hostage, the 46-year-old father of eight-truck driver, Angelo de la Cruz. Now, that has not occurred to our knowledge, the release. But we can confirm that all Filipino troops have now left Iraq. They headed off earlier from their base at Hilla, about 90 kilometers south of Baghdad. They handed over their responsibilities to Polish troops and drove out. And we`ve heard just in the last short time that they have now actually all crossed into Kuwait. Now, of course, everyone including Filipinos waiting to see what happens with the hostage takers and their end of the deal -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Michael Holmes from Baghdad, thank you.

And now to Iraq`s other developing stories. Prime Minister Allawi is in Jordan today. This is his first regional tour since last month`s appointment as head of Iraq`s government. Allawi will meet with both Jordan`s king and prime minister to talk about post war reconstruction and restore relations with his former chief trading partner.

Yesterday, Allawi reopened a newspaper that was closed by U.S. officials in March. "The American Order" sparked months of fighting between U.S. forces and fighters loyal to the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr.

Another indication of business as usual, the new Iraqi stock exchange has now 27 companies listed as of yesterday. There were only 12 when trading resumed on June 12. Officials with the exchange say they expect to have about 200 companies listed by the end of the year.

It was a ride of a lifetime that made one Maryland family swear off hot air balloon rides forever. We`ll tell you why.

And our Gerri Willis knows a lot of things can go wrong while on vacation. But there are things you can do to avoid that disaster.

Gerri, good morning.

GERRI WILLIS, CNNfn PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Hey, Daryn. Good to see you. No. 1, don`t panic. We`ve got some solutions if you have got a travel problem.

Stay with us on CNN LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Time now to check in on our "Top Five Tips." And we do that with Gerri Willis today looking at top five ways to make sure the vacation doesn`t go sour, if you know what I mean.

Good morning, Gerr.

WILLIS: Good morning Daryn. Tip No. 1 watch out for the wallet. The last thing you want to do is have your wallet stolen. How can you prevent it? Ditch the fanny pack. It`s the first thing people are going to try to steal. Instead, get a neck pouch or money belt that will fit underneath your clothing. It makes you much safer.

Don`t carry more than $100 at a time. And think about getting American Travel Funds cards. Now, this is the new age travelers` check. It`s a card that they load that you can load up with money, if it gets lost or stolen it is canceled, and you get your money back.

So, Daryn, a new way to protect yourself and your money. KAGAN: Hmm! And not fumbling with all those traveler checks and things.

What about your passport? What if you`re overseas and you lose that?

WILLIS: Yes. You would think this would be disaster scenario No. 1, right? Not so. Make a copy of your passport. Put it in your luggage. Or scan it and e-mail a copy to yourself via e-mail. You can find a lot of places to read the e-mail when you`re traveling. But make sure you have it because you`re going to have to take it to the U.S. Embassy to get a new one.

KAGAN: All right. It`s never fun to get sick, but when you get sick and you`re on road and it`s your vacation that`s just the worst.

WILLIS: It is the worst. You know, here a prevention is worth a pound of cure. Make sure to carry the meds that you usually need. And particularly if you have a preexisting condition that can flare up from time to time. Being under the stress of travel can really make that crop up. So make sure that you have your meds. Carry cold and allergy medications. Just the basic things that can happen that you`re not expecting.

And then, for sure you want to check out some of the web sites, like cdc.gov to find out whether you`re going to need immunization wherever you`re going and other special dangers you might be at risk for in the country you are traveling in -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Who has not experienced this, losing the luggage?

WILLIS: Isn`t that the worst?

KAGAN: It`s pretty bad.

WILLIS: You lose your luggage, you don`t have pajamas, you don`t have a toothbrush. This is preventable though. Take a carry on bag with a change of clothing and just the essentials that you are going to need. Daryn, it`s particularly important if you are a parent and you`re traveling with children. You definitely want that kind of carry on.

Baggage tags, quick word here, Daryn. You know, have your baggage tag filled out, obviously on the outside of the bag. But then have a paper with the same information inside the bag; in case that tag gets ripped off or otherwise lost, you`ll be able to identify your stuff.

KAGAN: And final part of the plan should include a backup plan?

WILLIS: A lot of people ask me about travel insurance. It does make sense if you are spending big on a vacation. Not if you are just, you know, going to see the grandparents in Michigan or something. But if you are really making a long trip, think about insurance. A good place to go, insuremytrip.net. You can compare insurance quotes and policies. One other web site to check out here, travelguard.com has a list of travel companies and airlines in bankruptcy. Because if you do buy the insurance and one of these companies is in bankruptcy, the likelihood that you`re going to be insured a big zero -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Mm. Not a good way to wrap up the vacation.

WILLIS: That`s right.

KAGAN: Gerri Willis, thank you so much.

WILLIS: Thank you.

KAGAN: Any vacation any time soon for you?

WILLIS: Not on the horizon, Daryn. You?

KAGAN: End of this week, as a matter of fact.

WILLIS: Good for you!

KAGAN: OK. I`m taking notes. Thank you so much.

All right. Different type of journey to look in on coming up. He dropped so much weight, he looks like an entirely different person. Now the Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee personally moves to change the State of Arkansas.

And another governor making news, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Well, he resorts to name-calling. We`ll tell you who and why he called, "girly man."

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