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CNN Live Today

East Coast Washout; Possible Troop Reduction; Iraq Amnesty; Tensions Brewing in Mideast

Aired June 26, 2006 - 11:05   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: An animated President Bush answering some questions for reporters. You might have caught a little sight there of actor Gary Sinise. He is at the White House today, along with a number of other people who are involved in organizations that support the troops. Gary Sinise has one called Operation Iraqi Children, which helps people raise funds and supplies for children in Iraq.
It's a little bit of a belated start getting into our second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY.

Good morning. I'm Daryn Kagan.

Unfolding this hour, travel snarled, homes damaged. Heavy rains causing a flood of misery along the East Coast, and more wet weather is along the way.

Back to court. Opening statements begin this morning in Andrea Yates' trial. Can she convince jurors this time around that she was in insane when she drowned her children in the bathtub?

And even Vegas police are shocked by this video. A gunman appearing to be skipping through a casino shooting as he goes. Now police need your help in finding him.

Our top story this hour, water, water everywhere, at least if you're in Delaware that's the case. Parts of the East Coast submerged after heavy weekend rains. One town on Maryland's Eastern Shore got nearly a foot of rain in a 24-hour period.

The nation's capital has been hit hard as well. The high water shut down some of the Amtrak and commuter rail lines and caused some drivers to get stuck. People unable to get to work, some pretty important offices are shut down today, including the Justice Department building, the IRS headquarters, and the National Archives.

And with more on what is happening in Delaware, I want to bring in Ron Marvel. He's a public information officer for Seaford, Delaware, for the volunteer fire department. We're looking at what is the southwestern part of the state.

Ron, what can you tell us about what's happening in your town?

RON MARVEL, SEAFORD, DELAWARE, VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT: Well, finally, we're starting to get some things back to normal in Seaford. Yesterday we had about anywhere from 13 to 15 inches of rain. It kind of crippled the city. The fire department responded and did a good job helping these people out of life safety -- it ended up being a pretty good issue for us.

KAGAN: So, 13 to 15 inches of rain. How does that compare to what you usually would get on a summer storm?

MARVEL: A summer storm would give us -- if we get four to six, you know, that's a tremendous amount. This is -- this is -- I guess some weather people call it a super cell or whatever. So it just makes a bad issue for us and for the residents in the surrounding areas.

KAGAN: And as I said, it's a volunteer fire department. Do you have enough resources and people to meet the needs?

MARVEL: We called in enough resources from our local fire departments. You know, being all-volunteer, we called in the ones from the surrounding communities and they responded. And we all did a very good job. They responded. We had boats, and they came to us from everywhere you could think of.

KAGAN: I understand a nursing home had to be evacuated.

MARVEL: We -- we -- at 1:00 yesterday afternoon, due to the fact that a dam acted like it could be breached, we evacuated (INAUDIBLE), which is a nursing home across from the hospital. We moved all those patients through the hospital across the roadway, about 120 patients.

KAGAN: And any plans in case the rain continues to be heavy throughout the week?

MARVEL: We're keeping an -- we're keeping an eye on the rain at the current time. It doesn't seem to be very heavy right now. We do have a flashflood watch until noontime today, so we're keeping an eye to the sky, I guess.

KAGAN: All right. Well, we wish you a dry eye to a dry sky.

MARVEL: Yes, that would be nice.

KAGAN: Thanks for taking -- yes, thanks for taking time. I know it's a busy day for you there in Seaford, Delaware.

That's Ron Marvel, the information officer for the Seaford Volunteer Fire Department.

Chad, what -- will it be a dry eye to the sky? What do they have to look forward to?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No chance of any dry air there today. Now, tomorrow it actually will come in, the dry air will come in from the west and will start to break up this rain from southwest to northeast. But here is a map.

I know it looks like a radar, but in fact this is a radar presentation of what the radar has been seeing for 24 hours, and there's Seaford, where he is. And we have Georgetown right there. Under the "G" in Georgetown is where the town of Georgetown is in Delaware. They had over seven inches of rain there.

So, you look at this scale and you know anywhere in the reds, you're six inches or more of rain. And there's Seaford, you get down to about Laurel, and in between there, some spots, yes, between 10 and 13 inches of rain there yesterday alone.

Closer to Washington, D.C., some six-inch rainfall totals all the way to Manassas, where they picked up nine there. And then back toward the Eastern Shore again, east, and picking up all of that rain as well.

Here is what's going on. We have a lot of tropical moisture in the air and a front, a stationary front that isn't moving, like a stationary bike. They don't move.

Stationary fronts are not moving. The front here isn't moving at all, so the rain is heading right up in the same places that we saw rain yesterday. Reagan National, almost six inches of rain in six hours. Dulles, a lot of the approach roads to Dulles were underwater, 5.94 inches of rainfall there yesterday.

Now you get into places like Georgetown. There's your 7.59. But Federalsburg, Maryland, Eastern Shore, same real vicinity of these guys, 11.50 inches. And even Bridgehampton, now that's Long Island. You're talking about the Hamptons here -- almost the Hamptons -- 6.56 inches of rainfall yesterday.

Temperatures going to be warm. Here's the front that isn't moving. Here's the tropical moisture that's feeding up into the storm.

Watch tomorrow, though. Temperatures change a little bit in the West and also pushes this front a little bit farther to the northeast. So it's going to be heavy again tomorrow but much lighter by Wednesday -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right, Chad. You'll be watching that.

A weather-related event right here in Atlanta. And our Tony Harris has that for us.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Can we get some of that rain out in Arizona? You mentioned it, Daryn. Take a look at these pictures here of a roof collapse right here in downtown Atlanta.

Daryn, you and Chad talking about just moments ago all the rain in the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast, rightly so, but I am here to tell you that there has been plenty of rain in Atlanta, particularly over the weekend, including just an incredible lightning show on Saturday night. More rain today has triggered this roof collapse. This is at the Atlanta Recovery Center, a social services provider, at Trinity and Prior Street (ph), not far from the CNN Center here in downtown Atlanta. And this came shortly after people walked into the building, took a look at the roof, realized it was leaking like crazy. Said, you know what, this is not a good situation, let's get out of here.

KAGAN: Right.

HARRIS: They did. And shortly thereafter, here comes the roof. Fortunately, as you see the firefighters work here, no one was injured -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Yes. It looks like even more than just the roof.

HARRIS: Yes.

KAGAN: It looks like the building is separated from the one right next to it, the wall.

HARRIS: Yes, and started to collapse inward, yes. So it's a bad situation, but the good news, at least right now, no firefighters, and no one who was in that building looking for services injured.

KAGAN: All right. We'll take that.

HARRIS: OK.

KAGAN: News out of Washington, D.C. They're talking, talking about possible troop reduction, but is it a game of politics? We'll see what the Democrats and Republicans have to say.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Demands from Democrats, pressure from the public. Word now of a plan to lower the number of U.S. troops in Iraq. "The New York Times" reports reductions could begin in September.

Here is White House Correspondent Ed Henry.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Military sources tell CNN General George Casey is considering pulling two combat brigades, up to 10,000 U.S. troops, out of Iraq this fall, with even deeper troop cuts on the horizon in 2007, according to a "New York Times" report of Casey's recent classified briefing at the Pentagon. Democrats charge the White House, which has repeatedly refused to set a timetable, is giving in to the political pressures of the midterm elections.

SEN. CARL LEVIN (D), MICHIGAN: I don't think there's the slightest doubt that there will be reductions in American troops before the elections. The Casey plan has a reduction prior to November. And I think it's kind of the worst kept secret around here that the administration is going to find a way, one way or the other, to reduce American troop presence in Iraq. HENRY: Senior Republicans insist General Casey does not have a formal plan to withdraw U.S. troops. And facts on the ground, not politics, will dictate any redeployment.

SEN. JOHN WARNER (R), ARMED SERVICES CHAIRMAN: We will move to reduce our troops as soon as the new government gets up and gains the full confidence of its military to direct them to put down the insurgency.

HENRY: Democrat Russ Feingold's plan to bring U.S. troops home by next July was soundly defeated in the Senate last week amid Republican charges it was "cut and run." Feingold, a potential presidential candidate, says it appears the White House has a timetable after all.

SEN. RUSS FEINGOLD (D), WISCONSIN: And I wonder what all this talk was about how a timeline is a bad idea, we can't tell the terrorists what we're going to do. Well, General Casey just told them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And Ed Henry joins us how live.

When you get behind all the politics, what's really going on here, Ed?

HENRY: Well, when you look at the substance of the two Democratic proposals last week, they're not too -- too different really from what General Casey is saying. First of all, there was a Reed-Levin plan, Jack Reed of Rhode Island and Carl Levin of Michigan. That called for the phased redeployment of troops in Iraq by the end of this year.

That's pretty much what General Casey is saying, that he's going to start rotating out about two combat brigades, something in the neighborhood of 7,000 U.S. troops, by the end of this year. And that's what the Democrats were calling for in that proposal, not too much light there.

Now, the rest of that Reed-Levin plan basically said no other timetable, let facts on the ground dictate, and left it open, just as General Casey wants to. The second plan you heard about, Kerry- Feingold, a bit different, because that had a firm deadline, all U.S. troops, combat troops out of Iraq by July of 2007. That's where Republicans say they have a real problem, though the Democrats point out they're also -- they would have left behind some troops in the region just to make sure they could execute the war on terror.

But I think the bottom line really is that, when you look at least one of those proposals from the Democrats last week, Reed-Levin, it's really not much different than what General Casey is now saying and what he briefed President Bush on Friday -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Yes, but then how do you explain that neither one really got much support in the Senate? HENRY: Well, because it gets back to politics. It's a midterm election year. And while General Casey may be saying one thing behind closed doors, Republicans on the Hill don't want to necessarily go public with that kind of information.

First of all, it was supposed to be classified information. Second of all, they don't want to give Democrats an opening in the midterm election year. They want to let President Bush drive this so that come September, when it appears that General Casey will start rotating out those brigades, it will be the president, it will be the Republicans who make the big announcement two months before the election that more troops are coming home -- Daryn.

KAGAN: And then a totally non-political thing, what's with the huge claw in the background that looks like an erector set that's about to come and grab you and take you...

HENRY: I don't want to scare anyone at home, but apparently a tree something in the neighborhood of 100 years old came down in some of that severe weather you have been talking about last night here in Washington, rain, lightning and other things. It came fairly close -- not too close, but fairly close to hitting the front of the White House.

This tree was sitting right out there about 100 years old. A historic tree. It's come down, and they're right now trying to deal with it.

Some reporters jokingly asked Tony Snow earlier whether the president will come out and clear some brush like he does at the ranch down in Texas. I don't think he'll be doing it out here, though. The weather is pretty rough -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right. Ed Henry.

Try to stay dry and stay safe from the giant claw there at the White House. Thank you.

An olive branch to insurgents, but it comes with conditions, and it's not offered to everyone.

Our Nic Robertson is in Baghdad now with details on an Iraqi s reconciliation plan.

What is this possible offer of amnesty, Nic?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's part of a 24-point reconciliation plan. The prime part of this is an offer to detainees that, if they haven't been involved in crimes, and if they haven't been involved in terrorist acts, war crimes, or crimes against humanity, then they can get a quick release from jail.

The prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, when he laid this plan out to the parliament just yesterday, said that up to 2,500 people, 2,500 people could be released from jail this month. The government is due to release some people tomorrow. Who exactly is he talking about here? Well, by definition, he's almost not talking about insurgent groups, but what he's trying to do is build unity within the country. But this is being seen as a way to try and win some support from within the Sunni community for those that are perhaps sympathetic to the insurgency but actually haven't bloodied their hands -- Daryn.

KAGAN: But here in the U.S., some are reading this as a loophole that some people could be released that actually killed American servicemen.

ROBERTSON: It's very interesting. Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. ambassador here, addressed specifically that issue. His answer was quite a long answer.

He said, "I am not going to allow irreconcilables to be released." And by that he meant people who don't support the new Iraqi government, loyal to the former Ba'ath Party regime of Saddam Hussein. He said, "They're not up for release."

He also said any of these al Qaeda terrorists in Iraq are also not going to be up for release. But he has implied that perhaps a nationalist element of the insurgency here, those who are supporting and fighting an occupation, as some people see it here, would be -- would be perhaps conditional for release if, and only if, they said that they were not going to fight against the current government here. Though Zalmay Khalilzad very careful in his choice of words.

So, there does seem to be a possibility that perhaps some people who have attacked only Americans can get released, but the bottom line here is people who are attacking Americans here are also killing innocent Iraqi civilians. So, it seems hard to see exactly how the prime minister's definition of who should be released would fit them -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Nic Robertson, live from Baghdad.

Nic, thank you.

Coming up, health news you can use. Unraveling a mystery about Alzheimer's Disease. Scientists say they're making progress.

And men, the link between obesity and your recovery from prostate cancer.

Also, on the lighter side, a story of the cable guy caught sleeping on the job. He got a rude awakening. That story is coming up.

You're watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Wait until you see the picture, the shooting rampage in a Las Vegas casino caught on videotape. Police are asking for your help to catch the killer. The story comes to us from Rob McMillan with our affiliate KVBC.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROB MCMILLAN, REPORTER, KVBC (voice over): What started off as a normal night at the Silver Nugget casino turned deadly in a matter of seconds. Check out this surveillance video.

At 4:23 in the morning, this group starts to walk out of the bar, but then it appears that for some reason people start arguing. All of a sudden, a man in a white shirt throws a punch, and that's what starts this confrontation heading towards its deadly conclusion.

A black man in his late teens or early 20s pulls out a gun and begins to fire. A few minutes later, police discovered the carnage this suspect left behind.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was a riot. They found two victim of gunshots wound. One was deceased at the scene. The other received a non-life-threatening gunshot wound.

MCMILLAN: Police say it's amazing that people are so quick to commit these kinds of crimes in casinos where the ceilings are often lined with surveillance cameras, but what concerns police the most is how this man seems to be enjoying himself as he's firing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's troubling even to us. I mean, you can see, and really I guess it would go without saying, if you're going to pull out a gun and start shooting off rounds inside a casino, you don't really have any concern for human beings.

MCMILLAN: However, police hope that by releasing this video, someone out there can get a good look at the suspect and call detectives with that information, so hopefully this will be the last time this man will do anything like this again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And that story out of Las Vegas.

Now on to the actor and the president. President Bush hosting "Forrest Gump's" Gary Sinise at the White House this morning. Sinise is co-founder of Operation Iraqi Children, a program designed to provide Americans with an avenue to help Iraq's children of war. And Sinise joins me now from the White House.

Gary, good morning.

GARY SINISE, ACTOR: Thank you. Good morning.

KAGAN: So usually we turn -- when we go to tape from the White House, we see the president sitting next to a cabinet secretary, maybe the vice president. Today we look up, there you were. Was that kind of a "Forrest Gump" moment for you?

SINISE: Ah, yes, it was unusual. We were in there for about an hour. I was with a group of people that all have organizations like mine, my Operation Iraqi Children. They're all people that have come together in support of the troops in various ways and started programs just -- just kind of grassroots programs.

And we came together under the umbrella of an organization called America Supports You. And, you know, it's all designed, all -- everybody involved in America Supports You is there to help support the troops in some way and do something positive.

KAGAN: Let's talk a little bit about your organization in particular. You toured the region back in 2003 and you were inspired. What does your organization aim to do?

SINISE: Well, I went to Iraq first in June of '03 and then I went back in November of '03, and on that particular trip I was able to go out and visit schools. And I saw the troops interacting with schools and with the -- with the people at the schools, the children and the headmaster, the teachers. And they had rebuilt these particular schools that I saw, and there was a lot of good feeling.

It was heartwarming to be there. And I wanted to do something to help support that good feeling when I got home, so I teamed up with "Seabiscuit" author Laura Hillenbrand, and we were able to start Operation Iraqi Children, start a Web site, operationiraqichildren.org, and then partner with an organization, a great humanitarian organization called People to People International.

It's run by Mary Eisenhower. It was started 50 years ago by General Eisenhower. And they provide us with a warehouse, staff in Kansas City.

People can go to our Web site, operationiraqichildren.org, and they can see how they can support the troops by sending basic school supplies. And we get them over to the troops and the troops give them to the kids all over.

KAGAN: How is that feeling when you do that kind of work compare to the glitz and glamour of Hollywood?

SINISE: Well, you know, they're two completely different things. One is my job. I love it. I'm an actor. I have been an actor for a long time.

I'm fortunate enough to be successful, to a degree, and, you know, able to work in Hollywood on a regular basis. And it also allows me, you know, being on "CSI New York" right now, it allows me, you know, room to be able to do these humanitarian efforts that are important.

Right now our troops are at war. They're in harm's way. They need to know that they're supported.

I don't think enough of them know about the America Supports You Web site. Anyone who's interested in supporting the troops or finding out how you can go to americasupportsyou.mil, and you can see dozens and dozens of ways that you can support the troops by sending school supplies, helping the wounded, donating phone cards, mileage, so the troops can fly home. There's numerous ways that you can support the troops. It's all there at americasupportsyou.mil.

KAGAN: How does this kind of talk and this kind of action fly in Hollywood, and showing up at the White House and sitting next to President Bush.

SINISE: Well, I don't know. I just got out of there.

KAGAN: Right.

SINISE: I have no idea.

The important thing to know and understand is that my organization, Operation Iraqi Children, this is not a political organization at all. There are people from both sides of the political spectrum that have donated supplies, donated money, helped out.

I think, you know, obviously folks that work in the industry are divided on the issue, but I've never run into anyone who doesn't want to support the troops and want to, you know, act, you know, maybe actively or just verbally say that they do. Here is a way you can actively do it, by going to americasupportyou.mil and pitching in and helping out. That's all I'm trying to do. Our folks are at war. I have Vietnam veterans in my family. We never want our veterans to come home from war feeling that they should be ashamed of what they did or that they weren't supported. Here's a way that you can just let the troops know. It helps their morale. It keeps them strong, and until they get home.

KAGAN: Operationiraqichildren.org.

Gary Sinise, thank you for your time and for your good work.

SINISE: Thank you very much.

KAGAN: Good to have a chance to visit with you.

SINISE: Thank you.

KAGAN: Well, Gary Sinise, a good chance he's going to see some nasty rainy weather in the nation's capital today. There's water, water everywhere. Parts of the East Coast submerged after heavy weekend rains. One town on Maryland Eastern's Shore got nearly a foot of rain in a 24-hour period. The nation's capital has also been hit hard. The high water shut down some Amtrak and commuter rail lines and caused some drivers to get stuck, people unable to get to work. Some pretty important offices are shut down today including the Justice Department, the IRS headquarters, and the National Archives.

And just a little bit ago we saw a report from Holly Morris from our affiliate WTTG. Let's take a look at that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLLY MORRIS, WTTG REPORTER (on camera): Take a look at this. I mean, I'm standing here in the water. And this doesn't give you an idea of the depth. I want you to kind of look down near the end there. You can see the little red light on the far end. If you come just in front of that, there are two cars there where you can only see the rooftops. I mean those cars are totally submerged. I hadn't seen though before until we actually came this far into the parking garage.

So at this point, if you count -- two, four, six, eight, 10, 12, 14, 15 -- at least 15 cars in this area alone in the parking garage, just this area, that are a total loss. A lot of these cars were for Boston Coach, which is sedan, luxury sedan limousine service. As you can see, their cars are written off at this point. Nothing they can do.

Look at this right here. This is a huge tree on top of this car right here. Obviously this looks to be someone's personal car. It's a Nissan, and it's got even like a driving permit in it, but a full tree on top of it. I'm not even sure how a full tree got in here, but it's just another visual of the damage that you're seeing here, what's left behind.

Because just on the outside is the beltway. That was the big story this morning, of course. That was shut down. Well, it's all back to normal. Everything is fine. Everything far from fine and far from normal for the businesses along here, and while I was showing you the depth of the water there, I just want to show you here this is what the businesses along this area are finding on their floors when they came to work this morning and what they're having to start to clean up, all the muck and mud that was left behind from this very timid creek bank right now. If you look at the creek bank now, it's hard to imagine that was a raging river that left all of this behind and wreaked so much havoc from the record rainfall, but it did. And I tell you, people in a state of disbelief, adds you can imagine.

Back to you guys.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Thank you. That was a good look there.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: We'll let's take a look at some of those fires, and the latest on the two big Western wildfires. Crews say that they're making progress against the big one. That's near Sedona, Arizona, about 90 miles north of Phoenix.

Already burned about 4,200 acres. Crews expect to have it fully contained by Wednesday evening. No word, though, on when hundreds of evacuated residents can go back to their homes.

Evacuees in northern New Mexico were able to go home briefly to pick up the four p's. That would be pets, papers, pills and pictures, in the words of one fire information officer. I like that. No structures lost so far in the 2,300 acre blaze near Gallina. A huge wildfire is burning in the state's south as well. Hands full.

Let's head to Houston, Texas. Live pictures coming in. Andrea Yates going on retrial here. This is for the 2002 verdict that was overturned on appeal in the death of her five children. More on that just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Second trial for Andrea Yates gets underway in Houston, Texas.

Tony Harris has a look at that -- Tony.

HARRIS: And Daryn, let's take you right to those pictures in Houston, Texas. As you mentioned, Andrea Yates back in court today in Houston. Her retrial is underway. The question today, as it was four years ago, her sanity. Was she insane when she drowned her children in a bathtub?

And you recall four years ago, she was convicted of capital murder, and that verdict was overturned. Opening statements under way at this hour. Once again, Andrea Yates in court. The retrial underway. Opening statements underway in Houston, Texas this morning -- Daryn.

KAGAN: All right, Tony, thank you.

Now talking about a possible plan to pull troops out of Iraq. That's the talk, at least, in Washington, D.C. Any decision to pull U.S. troops would be based on ground conditions. That's what President Bush told reporters in the last hour.

The "New York Times" says American troop reductions could begin in September and by the end of next year, 14 U.S. brigades currently serving in Iraq could be reduced to five or six. That plan was drafted by the top U.S. commander in Iraq, General George Casey. You see him there up on your screen.

Democrats have demanded American troops start coming home. They say that this shows that they are in sync with the general. Republicans had accused the Democrats of wanting to cut and run.

General Casey discussed his troop reduction plan with CNN military analyst retired General -- Major General Don Shepperd.

So many fabulous names in your fabulous title, General. I always kind of get tripped up there. But he does join me live from Tucson, Arizona, this morning. General, good morning. Good to see you.

MAJ. GEN. DON SHEPPERD, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Good to see you, Daryn.

KAGAN: So this was a meeting that you were in where General Casey talked about this, among many other things.

SHEPPERD: Yes. There were ten of us, Daryn, and basically what he talked about -- he didn't talk about numbers. He talked about the conditions that had to be set before we could start coming home. This has long been a measure of discussion in Iraq. And basically what he said when the Iraqis are ready, we want to leave. They want us to leave, and we want to leave.

The numbers that are being discussed, a couple of brigades this year, maybe down to four or five next year. That -- those numbers were not discussed at the meeting that I attended. On the other hand, he made it clear that we could go up or we could go down, just depending on the conditions in Iraq.

KAGAN: And so what was your impression, as you were listening to this update?

SHEPPERD: Yes, my impression was that there is nothing new in the article that was presented by "New York Times." Basically what the general is saying is when the Iraqi security forces get strong enough -- and he's very confident that they're coming up to speed very quickly. He made the point that they are -- that we have three times as many divisions, brigades and battalions that are trained as this time last year, and about 80 percent of those are capable of taking up -- taking the lead in operations.

Additionally, one of the provinces, Muthanna in the south, the governor has certified that he is ready to assume security responsibilities. General Casey said that basically what that will mean is, as the governors certify, then the minister of the interior and the minister of defense and the prime minister will agree with that, and they will assume responsibility for that province, and we will withdraw, still maintaining the right of passage, the right to conduct counterterrorism operations with coordination and then maintaining quick reaction capabilities to support them if they get in trouble.

KAGAN: Because two things here. One -- and you just addressed this -- the readiness of Iraqi troops. But also, if you draw down too quickly, giving into political pressure, then what about the safety of U.S. troops that remain behind?

SHEPPERD: Well, I think we're going to be able to protect the U.S. troops that remain behind. That will be a major planning and responsibility for U.S. commanders over there. There's going to be given a lot of attention to that as we draw down in numbers, to make sure the people left are safe.

But we are going to be involved over there for an extended period of time from everything I see. We're going to have advisers. And as they come up to speed, conducting operations, we're going to supply medevac air transportation, logistics, intelligence, that type of thing. So we're going to be involved over there for quite a while with a significant number of people. But the combat troops will be coming down in numbers -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Major General Don Shepperd. General, always great to have you on.

SHEPPERD: My pleasure, Daryn.

KAGAN: Thank you for your insight.

Coming up at the top of the hour, more international news. Jim Clancy will be along for YOUR WORLD TODAY. Jim, what are you working on?

JIM CLANCY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we'll be looking at Iraq, as well, but really, the biggest international news this hour has to be the hostage drama that has some people saying it could lead to a war in Gaza between Palestinians and Israelis. As we know, suspected Hamas militants have taken an Israeli soldier hostage. They're demanding the release of Palestinian women and children under the age of 18. One Israeli lawmaker has a different plan. He says they ought to kidnap a member of Hamas; namely, the Palestinian prime minister.

More big news for the world, maybe the biggest gift to charity in history. Multibillionaire -- I should say multi multibillionaire Warren Buffett has offered to hand over 85 percent of his lifetime earnings, has people wondering just who is going to benefit.

And Daryn, here is something that you don't see. Let's go over to London, England. The queen has a tea party for 2,000 schoolchildren. We need to get some perspective on this, and we'll be getting it from none other than Richard Quest.

KAGAN: Oh, no. Richard didn't make it to that party, did he?

CLANCY: I think, as a matter of fact, he did. Now, I don't know whether he wore his short pants or not, but we'll find out.

KAGAN: That's crazier than having the Mad Hatter there. Looking forward to that. Jim, thank you.

CLANCY: All right.

KAGAN: All right, and that's coming up in about 15 minutes. We have a lot more to get to, though. First, you're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

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KAGAN: Tensions are rising. Israel's army has been ordered to get ready for a broad military operation in Gaza. The order coming after Palestinian militants attacked an Israeli military post, killing two Israeli soldiers and kidnapping another.

Live now to our John Vause in Gaza -- John.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Daryn.

More than 36 hours after the attack on that Israeli station, we are now receiving the first demands coming from the three Palestinian militant groups believed to be holding the 19-year-old Israeli soldier. It came in the form of a leaflet. This is it here. It is a very carefully worded document. According to these demands, Israel will receive no information about the missing soldier until it releases all Palestinian women and children currently being held in Israeli jails.

It's important to point out that this document says that the soldier missing, not a hostage, and that these three groups only have information, that they're not holding him. Today Palestinian families held demonstrations outside the Gaza parliament and throughout Gaza City, demanding that the Israeli soldier be used as some kind of ransom in a exchange for Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails. About 9,000 Palestinians are currently being held by the Israelis.

But the Israeli government says there will be no direct negotiations with the hostage takers. Instead, forces are massing on the border with Gaza. Tanks, armored personnel carriers and hundreds of troops are awaiting orders from the Israeli prime minister of what could be a major operation if 19-year-old Gilad Shalit is not released. However, there are negotiations ongoing, mostly led by a delegation from Egypt -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Right, well, because these two governments don't talk to each other.

VAUSE: That's exactly right. There's been no contact between the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government ever since the Hamas group took power back in January 25. But there has always been back channel negotiations between the Palestinians and between the Israelis. And while the Israelis are saying publicly they will not negotiate for the release of this soldier, they will be taking these demands seriously, and there will be some kind of communications between the Palestinians and the Israelis, but certainly nothing being said publicly -- Daryn.

KAGAN: John Vause in Gaza City. John, thank you.

Here, ahead on CNN, health news you can use. Unraveling a mystery about Alzheimer's disease. Scientists say they're making progress on that.

And then, the link between obesity and your recovery from prostate cancer. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

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KAGAN: Now to our Daily Dose of health new. A new test may help answer a puzzling question about Alzheimer's Disease. Brain deposits of one protein have long been associated with Alzheimer's. Scientists don't know whether the body producing too much of that protein or loses the ability to clear it away. Now researchers at Washington University are using a test that for the first time can monitor that protein. Their findings may help with earlier diagnosis, or even treatment of Alzheimer's Disease.

All right, men, you need to listen up to this one. Researchers say smaller is better when it comes to prostrate cancer treatment. Obese men run a much higher risk that their cancer will return after radiation than thinner men. That finding from a University of Texas study. It's being called the first to examine the link between obesity and prostate cancer progression after radiation treatment. To 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.

Well, there is nothing like baseball to bring out the battiness. Coming up, the minor league manager who pitches a major league fit. You're watching CNN LIVE TODAY.

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KAGAN: Let's talk anger management, OK? The guy wearing number 20, he's a manager of the Tourists, a minor league team in Asheville, North Carolina. Keep watching. It just gets weirder and weirder. He gets tossed from the game with the Louisville Legends after arguing a call, and then proceeds to put on a really, really big show, tosses a base, buries a base, pours water on the base, kicks the base, kicks dirt on the ump. Finally gets the message that he is out of here. Adding insult to injury, the tourists lost the game, 5-2.

Please hold for the next available operator. It's enough to tick anyone off, but in the case of one Comcast cable tech, it made him doze off, and that got him laid off. The cable guy was on hold with the home office for over an hour. So long that he fell asleep on a customer's couch. Quick thinking here, the customer shot video of the tired tech and posted it online. It's a very popular download, generating lots of laughs. Comcast isn't laughing though. Cable guy, he's been fired.

And on that note, I'm Daryn Kagan. Keep watching CNN. "YOUR WORLD TODAY" is up next, and I'll have headlines from here in the U.S. in about 20 minutes. See you then.

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