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CNN Live Today
Debate Over Troop Departure in Iraq; Girls on the Run; Tiger Woods Opens Up
Aired June 15, 2006 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Once again, news out of the U.S. Senate. The Senate sending to President Bush an emergency spending bill. It covers additional funds for the two wars, the one in Iraq and the one in Afghanistan. Also, additional money to aid the Gulf Coast hurricane victims. It was a 98-1 vote. And we're talking about $94.5 billion, a compromise between the House and Senate. So that goes to President Bush for his signature.
Speaking of the president, in the next hour, he's expected to sign a mining safety act. And when he does that, you'll see that live on CNN. And we understand that Randy McCloy, Jr., the one man who survived the Sago mining disaster in West Virginia will be in attendance. You can see that live here on CNN.
Meanwhile, we have new developments to report out of Iraq. First, the man believed to have succeeded Abu Musab al-Zarqawi as the new leader in al Qaeda in Iraq. Earlier this morning the U.S. military showed this photo of a man they described as the senior operative Abu Ayyub al-Masri. Officials say he's also known as Sheikh Abu Hamza al-Muhajer.
Also in Iraq, hundreds of raids. Officials say they've uncovered a treasure trove of documents and computer records from the terrorist group. One revelation: al Qaeda viewed sits future in Iraq as bleak and hoped to spark a new war between the U.S. and Iran.
Iraq's end game. Many Democrats want a timetable, but the Bush administration says it comes down to conditions, not a calendar.
CNN's Jamie McIntyre has a closer look at the debate. It's a story he filed for the situation room.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The number of U.S. troops in Iraq is at its lowest point in almost two years. The departure of an army brigade from the Pennsylvania National Guard, without an immediate replacement unit being sent in, accounts for the drop from 132,000 troops just a month ago to 127,000 now. But whether it's a short-term dip or a long-term trend depends on the next six months.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This policy will be driven by the people on the ground. Those are the folks who are going to ultimately make the recommendation that I'll accept. MCINTYRE: The delay in Iraq picking a permanent prime minister and getting its new government up and running put plans for possible U.S. troop cuts on hold for several months. But that planning is once again on the fast track.
DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: There will be meetings with General Casey and the minister of defense and the prime minister in the weeks ahead discussing at what pace we're going to be able to draw down our forces. It will all be done in a very orderly way.
MCINTYRE: Sources say the Pentagon would like to end up with about 100,000 U.S. troops in Iraq by year's end, a reduction of about 30,000. But critics, including many Democrats, want to bring all the troops home to send a clear message to the Iraqis they're going to have to fend for themselves.
SEN. RUSS FEINGOLD, (D) WISCONSIN: So I ask, what is wrong with having a clear timetable to bring our troops out of Iraq by the end of this year? What is wrong with that?
MCINTYRE (on camera): What's wrong with that, insists the Pentagon, is that it risks the U.S. leaving before Iraq's new government is strong enough to handle the violence. And President Bush argues that would make not just Iraq, but the world, a more dangerous place.
Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: "THE SITUATION ROOM" keeps you updated on the war in Iraq. Join Wolf Blitzer at 4:00 Eastern and again at primetime at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
The season's first named storm, all done. Parts of the South are still swamped from heavy rains and floods brought on by what was left of Alberto. A 13-year-old boy drowned near Raleigh, North Carolina, yesterday, when he chase add ball into a rain-soaked culvert. And in Virginia Beach, Virginia, cars stalled on flooded streets.
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KAGAN: Well, beyond golf. It's not about being physically fit. This run is about emotional health, and thousands of girls get it. Details ahead in our "Fit Nation" report. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
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KAGAN: Getting girls on the road to success. It's an uphill race for some youngsters. One program, though, reporting great results by linking the physical with the emotional.
Our senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains in this "Fit Nation" report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come on, Ali (ph)! Go! Go!
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Winning is not the point of this 5K. The point is for elementary age girls to support each other to finish the race.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good job!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're welcome.
BRYANA CRUZ, STUDENT, GIRL ON THE RUN: I love running. I can do running forever.
GUPTA: Bryana Cruz and her friends would rather run when some kids would rather sit on a couch playing video games. What's their secret? Meet Molly Barker. A world class triathlete, teacher and trained social worker, Barker got sick of seeing girls lose confidence in themselves as they went through adolesence.
MOLLY BARKER, FOUNDER, GIRLS ON THE RUN: If we can get girls to sort of respect themselves from the inside out, then the outcome will be a more general respect for their bodies.
GUPTA: So she started Girls on the Run. It's an after-school program for third, fourth, fifth grade girls that combines running with lessons about self-esteem and positive thinking.
BARKER: All right, so this lesson is from the first part of the curriculum, when we're helping the kids. It's about values clarification and helping them sort of understand the importance of naming what they believe and what they feel. So it's really not about weight loss or calories. It's about celebrating the gifts that each of us have.
GUPTA: What began as a club of 13 girls has blossomed into an international organization helping some 40,000 girls. Today Girls on the Run alum twins Sophia (ph) and Christian Weiss (ph) help train volunteers from all across the country. The volunteers will bring Girls on the Run back to their hometown.
Studies show girls exercise less as they get older. So Emory psychologist Nadine Kaslow says this program helps girls just in the nick of time, laying a good foundation before they get into the tricky age of adolescence.
DR. NADINE KASLOW, EMORY UNIV. PSYCHOLOGIST: The more that they have positive things, that they have social things that are healthy, the better off they're going to be.
GUPTA: The girls get that.
KASLOW: I think it's really important for girls to learn how to make better choices in life so they don't, like, end up like sitting at home just waiting for a miracle to happen, because oftentimes that's not the case. The case is you need to work hard to become what you want to be.
GUPTA: A valuable lesson.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALES: Girls on the run is so much fun! Whooh!
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Be sure to watch Sanjay's "FIT NATION" special Sunday evening, 7:00 Eastern, right here on CNN, the most trusted name in news.
Gone in a flash. The tables are turned on a convenience store bandit. See for yourself what she left behind. It's all ahead on CNN.
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KAGAN: Topless in Kansas. A convenience store clerk sends a robber half naked out the door. This eye-opener from Chris Kent (ph) from our affiliate KNBC.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS KENT, KNBC REPORTER (voice-over): One moment a woman is buying a can of soda. The next she's leaping over the counter and ends up topless as a result.
(on camera): How startled were you? How surprised were you?
OMAR TAKO, STORE CLERK: I was surprised. I wasn't waiting for a woman; I was waiting for a man. So that's why I think what makes me a little confused, you know.
KENT (voice-over): That's Omar Tako, who works behind the counter of this convenience store, along Caw (ph) Drive and Kansas Avenue, and they still have the surveillance pictures from last week, of an unknown woman walking into the store around 1:30 in the morning. She finds a can of soda to buy. She heads for the counter, and that's when she jumps for an open cash register. The problem is Tako he grabs her shirt, and she leaves without it.
Omar has made news before. While this isn't an everyday thing, maybe you remember these pictures from last winter, of Omar chasing another would-be rob with a gold club.
While he's not thrilled with all the publicity, he's not afraid to stand up with what is right.
TAKO: They can come inside, but they will see what they -- they will get what they deserve.
KENT (on camera): And she got what she deserved.
TAKO: Yes, she got she deserved. KENT (voice-over): She did get away with $3, but Omar got the cash back when the woman returned, to get her shirt back.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Don't mess with Omar. Not at his store.
(BUSINESS HEADLINES)
KAGAN: We're getting back in the game. Tiger Woods returning to championship golf without his biggest champion. We'll go live to the U.S. Open ahead on CNN LIVE TODAY. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.
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KAGAN: A very personal loss, a period of grief, now Tiger Woods gets back in the game. Woods is playing in his first championship since his father's death. He tees it off at the U.S. open in just a few hours.
Larry Smith of CNN Sports is in Mamaronek, New York with the details.
Good morning, Lar.
LARRY SMITH, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.
Yes, Tiger is here. And what a triumphant return he is hoping to make with culminating with a victory on Sunday, if he can get this 11th career major. He admitted this week in talking to the media that this is -- it's bittersweet his return to golf. He says on the one hand, the game does give him some refuge from his grief.
But at the same time, everything learned about the game of golf he learned from his father. Earl Woods passed away on May 3rd after a lengthy illness. Tiger, a nine-week layoff, the longest of his career, took him off after the Masters in early April, and stayed after that to be his dad, and of course the grief in the weeks since. Again, longest layoff of his career. And now, with another chance at a third U.S. Open title in his sights.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIGER WOODS, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: I took quite a bit of time off. I really had no desire to get back to the game of golf. And I think one of the hardest things for me, in all honesty, was to get back to the game of golf, because a lot of my memories, my great memories that I have with my dad, are at the golf course, and it was hard at times.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: Certainly, Sunday is Father's Day. And it's not lost on any of us what it would mean to Tiger if he could get a victory. A new ad hitting TV this weekend for Father's Day and featuring Tiger and his late father, Earl.
Now, Jack Nicklaus, the great golf legend, thinks this is week will be difficult. He says he lost his dad in early 1970 and struggled in the first two majors of that year, the Masters and the U.S. Open, before putting his game together and winning the British Open.
Now Tiger tees off at 10:25 Eastern time this afternoon here at Winged Foot. He is the reigning British champion, and they -- that person always plays with the reigning U.S. Open champion and U.S. amateur champion. Those have been respectively, Michael Campbell of New Zealand and Eduardo Molinari of Italy.
By the way, Phil Michelson, the winner of the last two majors, is already on the course now, even par through his first nine holes -- Daryn, let's go back to you.
KAGAN: It will be interesting to see. A lot of people trying to make a lot of that rivalry between Phil Michelson and Tiger Woods. Personally I'm taking the field. You can have Phil and Tiger. How about that?
SMITH: Fair enough. I'll take those odds.
KAGAN: OK. Dollar. Thank you, Lar.
SMITH: OK.
KAGAN: Still ahead...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lots of it mile high. The homeowner digging, hoping to strike it rich.
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KAGAN: Well, that was the idea, anyway, but things got way out of hand in this latest version of the California gold rush. Where you see where this one takes it.
And next in line in the throne of terror, the U.S. military says that Abyu Ayyub al-Masri is al-Zarqawi's successor. Who is this guy? A live report from the Pentagon at the top of the hour.
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KAGAN: Ever see people combing the beach with the metal detectors looking for coins and jewelry? Well, a California man says he got a hit on his gold detector in his own yard, so he started digging and digging and digging. He says he thought he'd maybe go down three or four feet, but then, yes he got a little carried away.
Jane Yamamoto of our affiliate KTTV has the dirt.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JANE YAMAMOTO, KTTV REPORTER (voice-over): The digging began ten days ago after the homeowner's metal detector went off in his front yard. Apparently he got a big carried away, hiring day laborers to help. And this is how far they got: a hole 60 feet deep. That's equivalent to a six-story building. And it was a sophisticated operation.
CHIEF TROY AMENT, MONTCLAIR FIRE DEPARTMENT: A 24-foot extension ladder that went down to a ledge that they created when they dug. The workers would climb to that ledge, where they would hook onto a rope and then they were lowered from that point down and then buckets were lowered to them with a makeshift pulley system.
YAMAMOTO: And that's not all. They put a garden hose in the hole to give them air.
AMENT: Yes, there was a big concern that this would collapse. Our concern was for the life safety that was in the hole. We stopped them from allowing people to go in the hole.
YAMAMOTO: A chain-link fence was put up around it and now it will be up to the homeowner to fill in the hole.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: My goodness. Well, no pay-off yet, but after all the digging, you'd think at least they might have found a speck of fool's gold. But no.
Daryl Hannah is out of the tree. The squatters have been evicted and the urban farm in L.A.'s South Central Community is set to become home to a warehouse. The land is privately owned, but protesters, including the actress Daryl Hannah, are trying to stop that development.
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DARYL HANNAH, ACTRESS: We haven't given up. I think that there's a strong feeling amongst the community and amongst the wide range of supporters that the farm has, at this point reach -- at this point it's reached a sort of global stage, that we are still standing strong and not giving up the call to stand and protect this 14 acres as a model for sustainable urban agriculture.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: The owner of the property says the gardeners have had free use of the land for the past 14 years. And now he says it's his turn.
You can watch "LARRY KING LIVE" right here on CNN, tonight at 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific.
British supermodel Kate Moss off the hook and back on the runway. Britain's crown prosecution service says that Moss will not be charged with using illegal drugs. She was questioned after a British tabloid published photos of her allegedly snorting cocaine in London last year. British authorities say they have no forensic evidence to back that up. Moss reportedly checked into a U.S. drug rehab clinic after the pictures appeared.
Buoyed by a week of good political news, a lighthearted President Bush joked with reporters at a Rose Garden news conference, yesterday. Now, though, he says he's sorry for one bit of teasing. Here's what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning, Mr. President. You seem quite energized by this moment of opportunity.
BUSH: I'm just fighting off fatigue. Gregory, fine looking scarf. Not scarf -- what do you call that thing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much.
BUSH: That's strong, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
BUSH: Yes, sir? Roger.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, sir.
BUSH: Roger, Roger.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, sir.
BUSH: Let's see here. Jake Tapper (ph), yes, filling in, huh? I'm doing all right. A little jet lag, as I'm sure you can imagine. Nearly 60.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are your feelings about discussions in the new Iraqi government of amnesty for insurgents?
BUSH: Yes, that's a -- not a bad question for a substitute guy.
BUSH: Peter, are you going to ask that question with those shades on?
PETER WALLSTEN, "LOS ANGELES TIMES" REPORTER: I can take them off.
BUSH: No, I'm interested in the shade look, seriously here.
WALLSTEN: All right. I'll keep it then.
BUSH: For the viewers, there's no sun.
WALLSTEN: I guess that depends on your perspective.
BUSH: OK. Touche.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: Well here's the problem. Mr. Bush later found out that the sunglasses that the reporter was wearing, he was doing that because the reporter is legally blind. His name is Peter Wallsten with "The L.A. Times." He says he never shared his condition with the president, and even though the president did call him and apologize, Wallsten says there's no need for an apology.
The war on terror and the battle in Afghanistan. A major combat operation underway at this hour. The latest from inside the offensive in the second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY, which begins right now.
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