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CNN Live Today

Atrocity in Iraq?; Race to Rebuild in New Orleans; Interview With Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez; Rescue Takes Place After Houston Accident

Aired June 01, 2006 - 11:00   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: And we do have a full plate ahead in this next hour, including immigration reform and business -- who wins, who loses. I'll talk to the U.S. Commerce secretary, Carlos Gutierrez.
And the Dixie Chicks. Three years after a crushing controversy, the mood might just be right for a comeback.

She is awake and alert this morning and wants to know what happened to her crew. An update now on the condition of journalist Kimberly Dozier.

She is the American journalist who was seriously wounded in Iraq earlier this week. Dozier is now at a U.S. military hospital in Germany. She can't talk because she's on a ventilator, but CBS says she is writing questions.

The first thing she asked, "What happened to the crew?" CBS says that Dozier was told that two of her co-workers, a cameraman and a sound technician, were killed in the attack.

Lessons in morality prompted by allegations of an atrocity. The military orders troops in Iraq to undergo values training. It's the latest fallout from the killings of Iraqi civilians in Haditha.

Our Kathleen Koch is at the Pentagon this morning.

Kathleen, what's the latest you can tell us about the investigations into Haditha?

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, right now the two parallel investigations are still ongoing. Of course, there is the investigation into whether there was actually a crime that occurred on November 19th in Haditha when 24 Iraqi civilians were killed. And then there's the parallel -- parallel investigation, the cover-up investigation into whether or not the proper information was passed on to the proper person, true and factual information about what happened.

"The Washington Post" is reporting on that cover-up investigation. This according to an unidentified Army official, that the cover-up investigation will conclude that some officers gave false reports to their superiors, and that the superiors then failed to adequately scrutinize that information. And Daryn, what we're hearing is that at least the cover-up investigation may be concluded shortly, sometime this month. The other investigation perhaps taking a bit longer.

KAGAN: What can you tell us about this so-called sensitivity training?

KOCH: The military is calling it core values training, and they're saying it's a refresher course, really. They say that troops, before they leave the United States, before they go into combat anywhere in the world, that they get this kind of training on the rules of engagement. And what they say will happen in Iraq with every single member of the coalition forces there is they'll learn more about the importance of "adhering to legal, moral, and ethical standards on the battlefield."

And, again, they're saying it is a refresher course, but we're hearing also here at the Pentagon at the same time that there may be some special focuses, some enhancements to the original training, at least what's offered in Baghdad, and then some of that may be brought back here to kind of drum home the importance of some of the elements apparently that someone is missing.

KAGAN: Kathleen Koch with the latest from the Pentagon.

Kathleen, thank you.

KOCH: You bet.

KAGAN: It is a 24/7 race to rebuild, and it's been on ever since Katrina's waters drained from New Orleans.

CNN's Sean Callebs met the nightshift hard at work on the levees and the floodgates. This is a story you might have seen on "ANDERSON COOPER 360".

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's 9:00 at night. John Dassau is three hours into a 12-hour graveyard shift. The foreman reading his team in a race against time to finish the massive floodgates at the 17th Street canal that could mean life or death for an American city.

JOHN DASSAU, WELDING FOREMAN: This is very important to me. Without something like this, if another Katrina would happen to hit, I could kiss New Orleans goodbye. I've been out here all my life.

CALLEBS: Dassau likes to boast his Louisiana roots stretch back nearly 300 years. This student of history knows if water races down the canals again from Lake Pontchartrain ripping through levees, it could mean the end of the city he loves.

DASSAU: I got to do what I got to do to make it safer for me and to help my family rebuild, you know? CALLEBS: His crew is working seven days a week, 12 hour a day, part of the 'round the clock operation. They will admittedly miss the June 1st deadline to wrap up. Now it's a battle to finish the job before a hurricane hits.

RANDY KEEN, ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS: Since day one, we've worked as fast as we could work. Done it as fast as we could.

CALLEBS: Ninety percent of the people working here are locals. Most either lost homes or suffered heavy damage. For the time being, personal loss is pushed aside to focus on the task at hand.

TODD MCALLISTER, SITE SUPERVISOR, NIGHT SHIFT: This is where we live. OK? What we're doing is going to protect and hopefully save the places us and our families live the next time.

FRED FUCHS, PROJECT MANAGER: We actually feel that this is where we're trying to correct what happened to us.

CALLEBS: Engineers say close to 80 percent of the flooding that devastated New Orleans came from two canals, areas where some 10,000 tons of steel are now going into place.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, I'm going to hook you up with some air.

CALLEBS: The night is a constant barrage of noise, sparks and seemingly endless work. Somewhere over the months, Dassau found what he needed to do move on.

DASSAU: I feel at peace with it. I mean, I don't know. I can't say I'm religious, but things happen for a reason.

CALLEBS: A sense of peace, maybe, but only the harsh reality of another punishing hurricane will decide if the months of work and billions of dollars have been worth it.

Sean Callebs, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Anderson Cooper and the "360" team return to New Orleans for the first day of hurricane season. A new report reveals shocking details about how prepared we are for storms to come. "AC 360," tonight, 10:00 Eastern, here on CNN.

Let's check out the weather. Chad is watching that.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: An update now on a developing story that we're following out of south Georgia. Four soldiers are reported dead after their Chinook helicopter clipped a television station tower and crashes. A military spokeswoman says that a fifth soldier on board has survived.

The chopper was headed from Savannah to Ft. Rucker, Alabama, home to the Army's helicopter training school.

Life in prison, no chance of parole, that is the sentence handed down just a short time ago for D.C. area sniper John Allen Muhammad. A Maryland judge ordered him to serve six consecutive life sentences for six killings in 2002. Muhammad is already on Virginia's death row for a murder in that state.

Rebuilding the Mississippi Gulf Coast from Oklahoma City. A verdict there could help Katrina victims fight their insurance companies.

And another burst of violence, another blast of bad news. You may be surprised at who was offering the latest grim assessment on Iraq.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Let's check out those markets. They've been opened just over an hour and a half. Moving slowly upward. You can see the Dow is up 34 points, the Nasdaq is moving well into positive territory as well. It is up 14.

On to political news, ironing out immigration reform. President Bush trying to assure business leaders. He talked to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce this morning. He says congressional negotiators will need effort and compromise to get a final bill passed, one that enforces U.S. borders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're also a nation of immigrants. And we must uphold that tradition, which has strengthened this nation in so many ways. These aren't contradictory goals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: The president urged Congress to include his guest worker program in the final legislation. The House and Senate bills are far apart on that issue. Coming up this hour I'll have a chance to talk to Carlos Gutierrez about the message the president sent to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce today

Meanwhile a cabinet meeting today. They allowed cameras in, and we'll have that tape for you in just a few minutes. The president did also take questions, a couple questions on Iran and one on the situation in Haditha, Iraq.

Let's go to the tape. President Bush meeting with his cabinet at the White House earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to thank the members of my Cabinet who came today. We had a really good discussion about a variety of important issues.

We talked about the war against terror. And I reminded our Cabinet secretaries that we all have a responsibility to help us win this war, including sending members of our administration to Iraq to help this new democracy succeed.

We talked about the hurricane season that's upon us, and the work we're doing to help local governments and state governments prepare for the hurricane season.

I talked about the immigration issue. I talked about how strongly I feel for this country to have comprehensive immigration reform.

And then we heard from Secretary Snow about the strength of this economy and what we intend to do to keep it strong.

One thing we intend to do is to continue to work with the United States Congress to make sure the tax cuts we passed are permanent. It turns out our pro-growth economic policies have worked. And the best way to make sure that the recovery we have is sustainable is to keep those taxes low.

The secretary briefed us on the fact that revenues coming into our treasury look very robust. And the best way to balance the budget is to keep pro-growth economic policies in place, and at the same time work with our Cabinet secretaries to keep spending down.

And so I'm very pleased with the progress in our economy.

And I want to again thank my Cabinet secretaries for being here.

And now I'll answer a couple of questions.

QUESTION: Do you have either China or Russia on board on Iran?

BUSH: Yesterday, Secretary Rice, at my instructions, said to the world that we want to solve the problem of the Iranian nuclear issue diplomatically. And we made it very clear publicly that we're willing to come to the table so long as the Iranians verifiably suspend their program.

In other words, we said to the Iranians, "The United States of America wants to work with our partners to solve the problem."

I spoke to the president of Russia and explained my position clearly to him, and that is the choice is up to the Iranians whether or not they're going to listen to the world demand, and if they do, we got something to talk to them about. And if they don't, we expect Russia to participate in the United Nations Security Council.

And we'll see whether or not they agree to do that. I got a positive response from the president. He said he understands our strategy and he agrees we want to solve this issue diplomatically.

I also spoke to President Hu Jintao this morning. I laid out to him why I've instructed Secretary Rice to do what she did.

And now it's going to be up to the Iranians to make their decision. And if they choose not to verifiably suspend, we have laid the groundwork for an effective international response.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

BUSH: Well, they understood our strategy and they understood -- the most positive thing about all the conversations I had is there's uniform agreement that the Iranians should not have a nuclear weapon. And we'll discuss tactics and strategies to make sure that the international community speaks with one clear voice if the Iranians choose not to verifiably suspend.

And so we'll see what their decision is. My decision is to be robust in trying to solve this problem diplomatically.

QUESTION: But the Iranian prime minister today is already -- while welcoming the offer of talk, has rejected the idea that they would first suspend uranium enrichment. How do you react to that? And is it...

BUSH: My reaction is the choice is theirs and we'll see whether or not that is the firm position of their government.

And if that's what they decide to do, then the next step, of course, will be to -- for our coalition partners to go to the United Nations Security Council.

And the choice is up to the Iranians.

And they've already said, by the way, that they're willing to suspend, and this gives them a second chance to make their words mean something.

I want to solve this problem diplomatically and I want to solve it peacefully.

And the best thing for the Iranians to understand is that if they choose not to suspend in a verified (ph), if they continue their obstinance, if they continue to say to the world, "We really don't care what your opinion is," then the world is going to act in concert.

And the next step of acting in concert is to go to the United Nations Security Council.

QUESTION: Why do American forces in Iraq need retraining on core values, as the military puts it?

BUSH: Our troops have been trained on core values throughout their training, but obviously there was an incident that took place in Iraq that's now being investigated, and this is just a reminder for troops either in Iraq or throughout our military that there are high standards expected of them, and that there are strong rules of engagement. The Haditha incident is under investigation. Obviously, the allegations are very troubling for me and equally troubling for our military, especially the Marine Corps.

I've spoken to General Pace about this issue quite a few times, and he's troubled by the allegations because he understands that the Marine Corps has got a proud tradition of upholding rules of engagement.

One of the things that happens in a transparent society like ours is that there will be a full and complete investigation. The world will see the full and complete investigation.

It also is a reminder to our commanders that they must constantly enforce the proud tradition of our military. And that's what they're doing.

QUESTION: (inaudible) on the situation?

BUSH: Well, I'm not involved with the investigation. And you shouldn't expect me to be. I expect this investigation to be conducted independent of the White House, with a full and thorough investigation.

And I'm confident. Listen, the Marine Corps wants to get to the bottom of this. If anybody wants to make sure that they know the facts and to correct problems if they do exist, it's the United States Marine Corps.

The Marines are run by an incredibly proud group of men and women who understand the history and tradition of the Marines. And they'll get to the bottom of this. And if there is wrongdoing, people will be held to account.

And at the same time, what you're seeing is the Marine Corps reminding our troops about what it means to be a Marine, what it means to uphold the honor of that corps, and what it means to adhere to the rules of engagement that we expect our soldiers to adhere to.

The United States of America has got a willingness to deal with issues like this in an up-front way, in an open way, and correct problems. And that's what you're going to see unfold.

Thank you all.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: President Bush answering some questions just a few minutes ago in the White House, a cabinet meeting, a meeting of his cabinet secretaries he had there. The president answering questions about immigration and the hurricane season, also talking about the diplomatic standoff with Iran. He said if Iran does not agree to halt uranium enrichment, this will -- a standoff will end up with the U.N. Security Council. Also answering questions about the investigation into what took place in Haditha, Iraq, the investigation into Marines actions there. By the way, I'll have a chance to talk with one of those cabinet secretaries in just a few minutes. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez is my guest, talking about the plans that President Bush has for immigration reform.

That is still ahead.

Also, the Dixie Chicks, they're back talking to our Larry King about what knocked them off the radio.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I heard her say it, but to me it didn't resonate as something that would get us in trouble.

LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": It did not?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.

KING: So therefore, you were surprised by the reaction?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, yes, I was surprised that it went on so long.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Ahead, why the Chicks may be more in sync with their fans these days.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Looking at pictures of President Bush at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce this morning, telling business leaders that congressional needers will need effort and compromise to get a final immigration bill passed, one that enforces U.S. borders. Of course, the hottest issue among many here, a guest worker program, immigration, and business.

For more on the president's plan and with a very personal perspective, let's bring in U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, joining me now from the north lawn of the White House.

Mr. Secretary, good morning.

CARLOS GUTIERREZ, COMMERCE SECRETARY: Good morning, Daryn. How are you?

KAGAN: I'm doing great.

You bring a different perspective to this story and this issue. You yourself came to this country as an immigrant, as a young person.

GUTIERREZ: That's correct. I came over in 1960. My family and I were refugees from Cuba, and as many -- so many other immigrants, we found a welcoming society and an opportunity to get ahead, an opportunity to work hard, an opportunity to fulfill a dream.

And the president today talked about his plan for comprehensive immigration reform, and we know that job number one is border enforcement. And that absolutely has to be the first thing we do, and the most intense priority.

But he also said that it can't stop with just the border enforcement, that it has to be comprehensive in nature. And just because it's difficult, we can't delay it. We can't procrastinate. We have to take on the whole piece of immigration.

So, it's border enforcement, it's interior enforcement, it's a temporary workers program, it's addressing and confronting what to do with 12 million people who are in our country illegally filling jobs. We have three million children who are part of those 12 million people. We can't delay that. We can't just say we'll look at that down the road.

And then also, the president talked about that we need a plan, a program, to hold employers accountable so that they can also help enforce our laws.

KAGAN: Well, and let's -- let's get to that, because the president's audience today was the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. And when you look on your Web site, it says that you represent the voice of American business. American business does not want to hear -- and business people --- that they're going to face penalties if they hire illegal immigrants.

GUTIERREZ: Well, what businesses want is reform, and they want to know what the rules are so they can help enforce. One of the problems today is that there are different documents that people use. Businesses don't know if they're getting the right documentation or not.

So the president has proposed a biometric card which cannot be forged, cannot be tampered, and then that way businesses know exactly what they're looking for. But the business community wants reform, and they recognize the need for reform.

KAGAN: Does the business community not want a pool of cheap labor to be able to turn around a cheaper product?

GUTIERREZ: Well, the business community wants, first of all, to have a legal pool of labor that they can tap into. One of the things that I hear very often -- you know, our unemployment rate is 4.7 percent. If our unemployment rate were 9 percent, we wouldn't be talking about this.

One of the realities that we have to face is that we have jobs that Americans aren't filling that need to be filled. And if we don't fill those jobs, we're going to have a problem in our economy simply being able to generate growth and being able to finish projects that have already started. So there's an economic reality here that we all need to face and that we can't simply delay or procrastinate, or just things that we can face later. KAGAN: Mr. Secretary, our time is short. You've been successful in the private sector, now you're heading up a major governmental office. Bottom line, you know what it means to get things done. Do you think immigration reform will happen with this Congress and this president?

GUTIERREZ: We have to make it happen. The American people expect results. The president wants results. He wants a comprehensive immigration package. And the key thing to keep in mind is that we can't delay the problem.

Every year that we wait before addressing...

KAGAN: But is it going to happen? There's a big difference between must and want and...

GUTIERREZ: Well, we have to work very hard to make it happen. We can't afford to let it linger. We can't push problems back to future generations, to future administrations, and we're going to do everything possible to ensure that we get comprehensive immigration reform as soon as possible.

Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, thank you for your time, sir.

KAGAN: Well, from the entertainment world, they were shunned. Their CDs were stomped. Now it's three years after the Dixie Chicks controversial comments about the Iraq, they might just get the last word.

Here's CNN entertainment correspondent Sibila Vargas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Those were fighting words and the Dixie Chicks came out swinging. Round one, a "Time" magazine cover story. Round two, a TV media blitz, round three, putting out their new CD at a fan friendly $10 and the winner of a public showdown between the Dixie Chicks and the country music community, according to "Billboard" magazine, it's the Chicks.

GEOFF MAYFIELD, DIRECTOR OF CHARTS, BILLBOARD MAGAZINE: As we expected Dixie Chicks album debuted at number one in the "Billboard" 200 and of course on our country album chart as well.

VARGAS: That makes the Chicks the first female group in history to notch three number one albums.

MAYFIELD: The album opens at 525,000 copies, which is smaller than the first week they had for their last studio album "Home" in 2002, but it's still the third largest sales week that we've seen this year.

VARGAS: It's a far cry from 2003 since before the U.S. invasion of Iraq, when lead singer Natalie Maines told London concert goers she was quote, embarrassed to be from the same state as George Bush. Eventually Maines issued a qualified apology.

NATALIE MAINES, LEAD SINGER: My apology was for the words that I used, but not for the motivation behind the words and for my beliefs.

VARGAS: But outcry from the conservative country community was loud and clear. There were CD smashings, picketing, even death threats. Many radio stations refused to play their music.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course she was wrong for what she said.

VARGAS: Now it may seem that radio's boycott has backfired, driving consumers to purchase the music they aren't hearing on the air waves.

VINCE GILL, RECORDING ARTIST: I have a big problem with what they did to the Dixie Chicks. I don't think that their political stance should in any way have their career taken away from them. That was just wrong.

VARGAS: Indeed, somebody is buying the record, half a million somebodies.

MAYFIELD: There could be people who either are opposed to the war in Iraq or opposed to Bush, who might feel sorry for some of the negative attention that's been accorded the Dixie Chicks and they may have run out and bought their very first country album.

VARGAS: This leaves one to ponder with President Bush's approval rating at an all-time low, maybe more folks agree more with the Dixie Chicks in 2006 than in 2003.

Sibila Vargas, CNN, Hollywood.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And as you on Sibila's report, the Dixie Chicks were on LARRY KING LIVE last night. For more provocative interviews with the world's newsmakers. Tune in weeknights 9:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.

And with some breaking news, here's Fredricka Whitfield -- Fred.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Daryn, I want to take you straight to Houston and some live pictures we're getting of I-10, just west of Houston, where rescue teams are actively trying to get to a woman who may have been crushed as a result of a tractor-trailer crashing into and toppling over another vehicle. You see them working hard to try to get to what we believe to be at least one person, a woman, trapped beneath the debris as a result of this accident. All this is taking place in Houston there, just west of Houston, on I-10. Don't know anymore about the circumstances or why in fact this tractor-trailer may have toppled over and led to this now rescue effort.

KAGAN: Dramatic live pictures taking place there, Fred. So it's unclear the status of the woman at this time? WHITFIELD: It is unclear. You can see from firefighters to rescue teams, police officers, highway patrol, all of them there on the scene. You can see now in this holdout video here, you can see part of the tractor-trailer, which we believe was carrying sand and some other debris somehow toppling over. We don't know exactly why this accident happened, and all we are getting right now from officials is that they are trying to rescue one woman. We don't know anything more about any other passengers or any other people who may have been involved in this accident.

KAGAN: And as the camera pulled out, you get a better perspective of exactly what rescuers face and what the woman underneath that pile of rubble faces as well. We're going to stay with the story and bring you the latest as it comes in.

Fred, thank you for that.

WHITFIELD: Also ahead, rebuilding the Mississippi Gulf Coast from Oklahoma City. A verdict there could help Katrina victims fight their insurance companies. CNN is the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: And let's go back live now to Houston, Texas. It looks like with these dramatic pictures they've been able to get at least one woman out of this traffic accident. Our Fredricka Whitfield has been following this for us. Fred, the bigger picture was that we saw this dump truck, I guess, had rolled over on a car. We couldn't even see the car, let alone this woman that they were able to get out.

WHITFIELD: Right. And all we could see was the debris that was unleashed from that turned over trucker, which appeared to be a lot of sand, don't know what kind of vehicle, this woman was in, but remarkably these teams of rescuers were able to pull her out from beneath all of the obstructions that we saw in the last live picture just before the break, and able to pull her out on to the stretcher. We don't know, of course, her status, and...

KAGAN: No, but, Fred, such a small thing -- I don't know if you're able to see this -- but she moved her arms and her hands.

WHITFIELD: That's what I was just going to say. We at least saw that her limbs were moving, and you know, that's certainly possibly a sign of her being very responsive. We don't really know exactly, but of course, all we know at this point, too, is this has taken place just west of Houston on I-10.

We're still trying to find out exactly near what intersection this might be, because, as you know, I-10 an incredibly busy thoroughfare there throughout Houston, and we saw earlier in the picture, the wider shot of that picture, Daryn, that traffic has been reduced to just one lane, so people are moving very slowly by, and we imagine the backup must be pretty enormous, but good news here, that this one person, we hope that this is the only victim that they had to pull out, is now on the stretcher, and I'm sure very soon to getting some medical attention. KAGAN: Yes, they appear to be completely focused on her. And one hand, it was good to see her arms and hands moving, and they very quickly kind of taped her down, because they don't want a lot of movement, of course, until doctors can get a better assessment of what her injuries are. But you know, hats off to these rescuers. When we first went to these live pictures, it looked like a bunch of ants on top of an anthill just working furiously there to get at what we couldn't even see, this woman underneath this pile of basically dirt.

WHITFIELD: Yes, yes, it's really phenomenal, and we're glad that we're able to bring these pictures just as they're happening with what appears right now to be a successful rescue effort there in Houston.

Anybody who has driven on the highway or the freeways next to any of those big trucks, and you get that terrible, intimidating a feeling that it's going to just topple on top of you, you can only imagine what it was for this women to end up underneath what was dragged in this dump truck.

But as you were saying, it appears -- we don't know the complete happy ending here, but that they're able to get this woman out from underneath this rubble from the dump truck, just outside of Houston, Texas, a better ending there than we might have anticipated.

Fred, thank you.

WHITFIELD: No problem.

KAGAN: And also a thanks to our affiliate KPRC in Houston, Texas for bringing us those live pictures of that rescue, a woman finding herself underneath a load of dirt that was being carried by a toppled- over dump truck. More on her condition as it becomes available.

Remember those doping charges for Lance Armstrong? Well, now they're saying bogus. Cycling great Lance Armstrong on the road to redemption. We'll have that story ahead.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Nuclear weapons and the power of diplomacy both in power at this hour. In Vienna, Austria, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is meeting with European allies. They're finalizing an offer to Iran in hopes it will shelve its disputed nuclear program. But earlier today, Tehran dismissed Washington's offer to talk. Rice seemed ready for that with some very tough talk on "THE SITUATION ROOM."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECY. OF STATE: This isn't some sort of grand bargain. This isn't an offer of normalization of relations. This isn't an offer of let's let bygones be bygones and we'll try to establish a new relationship. This is a very specific choice that is being given to Iran: Abandon your nuclear weapons ambitions or face isolation, and we need it, and we need now to sharpen that contradiction and make it possible to know whether Iran intends to negotiate seriously or not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful and well within win its rights as a sovereign nation. Washington has voiced the most concern over Iran's uranium enrichment. That's the step needed to develop nuclear weapons.

OK, ladies. "Daily Dose" for you. You know those extra pounds that you're lugging around, they now carry a new risk. Acid reflux. That's right. In "The New England Journal of Medicine," just a little extra weight increases the chance that you'll develop acid reflux. The study involves women, but its author says the same is probably true for men as well.

Well, Lance Armstrong is riding high this morning. The seven- time Tour de France winner has been cleared of doping. He insisted it wasn't true all along.

Our Carol Costello has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Despite a record seven straight Tour de France titles, Lance Armstrong could never shake rumors of performance-enhancing drug use. Last August, a French newspaper accused Armstrong of using the banned endurance-boosting substance EPO. During his first tour victory in 1999, the paper claimed new tests on Armstrong's urine samples tested positive.

LANCE ARMSTRONG, CYCLIST: I have never doped.

COSTELLO: Armstrong appeared on "LARRY KING LIVE" in August to deny the allegations.

ARMSTRONG: When I peed in that bottle, there wasn't EPO in it. No way.

COSTELLO: On Wednesday, an independent Dutch investigation cleared the legendary cyclist of doping in the 1999 Tour de France. And investigators went farther than that, saying those who made the allegation should be sanctioned for behaving in ways completely inconsistent with testing regulations.

Armstrong issued a statement slamming what he termed a witch-hunt against him. And said his accusers -- quote -- "Have been out to discredit and target me without any basis and falsely accused me of taking performance-enhancing drugs in 1999. I have now retired. But for the sake of all athletes still competing who deserve a level playing field and a fair system of drug testing, the time has come to take action against these kinds of attacks before they destroy the credibility of the World Anti-Doping Agency and, in turn, the international anti-doping system."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Get your daily dose of health news online. Log on to our Web site. You'll find the latest medical news, a health library and information on diet and fitness. The address is CNN.com/health.

(NEWSBREAK)

Well, those dramatic pictures in that rescue from Houston we saw just a couple minutes ago. We're going to talk to the fire department there and get the scoop on how this woman is doing and how rescuers were able to get her from underneath the pile of dirt.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Just a couple of minutes ago, we showed you dramatic live pictures out of Houston, Texas, of a rescue of a woman who had been toppled over by a dump truck. On the phone me right now is District Chief Tommy Dowdy of the Houston Fire Department to tell us more about the status of woman and exactly what was entailed in this rescue.

Chief, hello.

DIST. CHIEF TOMMY DOWDY, HOUSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT: Hello, good morning.

KAGAN: Good morning. It does appear to be a good morning. How is the woman doing right now?

DOWDY: While the woman was in the vehicle, she was complaining of some loss of feeling below the waist. She had a small bump on her head. Our big issue is basically that she had a couple of tons of gravel on top of the car and some of it in there with her.

The good news finally was she -- this accident happened about less than a mile from one of our fire stations that has rescue capabilities. And so they had crews on the scene very quickly with the capability. They stabilized the truck and immediately started shoveling gravel off and cutting the top off. And then they eventually got enough air bags under the truck and were able to lift it enough to scoot her out from under. Basically, it mashed the steering wheel down on her leg so that she wasn't really hurt by that, but we couldn't get her out.

So they raised the truck, cut everything off, pulled the steering wheel back, used all our jaws of life, all the stuff we use, and got her out. She's currently en route to Herman (ph). She was alert and conscious when she was loaded into the ambulance. She was, I think, in her early 30s, late 20s. No really visible injuries other than a bump on the head. So, all in all, looking at this thing, it's about a 40-foot gravel hauler, and it was laying physically on half of her car.

KAGAN: Absolutely amazing. Was she the only one in the car?

DOWDY: She was the only one in the vehicle, yes ma'am.

KAGAN: And as far as you know, do you know what happened as this accident unfolded?

DOWDY: We have not. HPD's truck enforcement division is on scene, and they will be going through their investigation as far as looking at the truck, did the truck have issues, and they will be doing their investigation, but I currently have no details on exactly what happened.

KAGAN: So the truck driver wasn't hurt?

DOWDY: The truck driver was not injured. It was a tractor trailer, his truck is upright, only the trailer, the 40 foot gravel hauler had turned over.

KAGAN: What was the biggest challenge in conducting this rescue for your people?

DOWDY: Well, in an injury like this, when you don't know if it's a crushing injury, for us it's that golden hour. We've got an hour from the time this thing happens really to get this person out and get them to a medical facility and get them evaluated, because that is the critical thing. We weren't sure if it was going to be, we call it the compartment syndrome, where they're held, they're crushed by the weight, and then once you remove the weight, then they start, the blood loss starts and they start having some serious issues. It did not appear that that was the case once they got the weight off her, so that was good news.

KAGAN: Well, congratulations to your department and your people for what looks like was a very successful rescue. It was dramatic to watch it unfold here on CNN.

DOWDY: Thank you very much.

KAGAN: Thank you, District Chief Tommy Dowdy with the Houston Fire Department. A good way to end our hour. I'm Daryn Kagan, international news is up next. Stay tuned for "YOUR WORLD TODAY," and I'll be back with the latest headlines from the U.S. in about 20 minutes.

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