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CNN Live Today

New Mideast Crisis; California Wildfire; Wildfires & Climate; U.N. Crisis Team To Middle East; Gerri's Mailbag

Aired July 13, 2006 - 10:00   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: That's it. We're out of time.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Your voice got stronger. Congratulations.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, I'm better. I'm on the road to recovery.

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S. O'BRIEN: Woo-hoo.

M. O'BRIEN: Daryn Kagan in Atlanta.

Hello, Daryn.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Meant to send you a little message in the computer, Soledad. You're looking and feeling much better. That's good to see.

S. O'BRIEN: Thank you. Thanks. Yes, I'm 100 percent. I'm 92 percent.

KAGAN: Very good. We'll take it. Every single percentage of you. Thank you. You guys have a great day.

We have a lot to get to. Let's start with the ominous new developments today in the Middle East raising fears of a regional war. We are following breaking news as it develops. Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon intensifying, even as a Lebanese official calls for a cease-fire. And now we're getting word from wire service reports that Israeli airplanes and war planes have bombed a military base near the Syrian border.

Here is what we know at this hour. Rockets striking northern Israel, hitting the town of Safed. Hezbollah also vowing to attack the key Israeli port city of Haifa if Israel strikes Beirut. Israeli forces bombed Beirut's airport. Israel says its aim is to cut off weapons and supplies to Hezbollah.

Israeli forces also launch a naval blockade of Lebanese ports. This all started when Hezbollah guerillas captured two Israeli soldiers and killed eight others in attacks yesterday. Our reporters are following the crisis from throughout the region. CNN's Alessio Vinci is in Beirut. First, though, we go to Paula Hancocks in Jerusalem.

Paula.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn.

Well, we are hearing that the Israeli casualty list is growing, not as fast as the Lebanese casualty list. But we understand that one more Israeli woman has died from injuries sustained from those rocket attacks that are coming from southern Lebanon, from Hezbollah guerillas, into Israel.

Now the town of Safed. This is about 28,000 population town. It's the base, the headquarters, of the northern command for the Israeli army. That has been under attack this morning. And also one was killed a little earlier on in Natania (ph).

So we are hearing that the clashes between the two sides are intensifying. The amount of rockets coming into northern Israel have increased so much that many people are now in bomb shelters. The Israeli military has suggested to people that they do not walk around and they go into these bomb shelters because of the danger from these Katyusha rockets.

Now also hearing reaction from Israeli side to the Hezbollah threat. That it may actually try and target Haifa, a port town. One of the big three towns in Israel, population of 300,000. An Israeli chief of staff, Dan Halutz, was very clear in what he said about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN HALUTZ, ISRAELI CHIEF OF STAFF: If rockets are launched towards Israeli cities, Beirut will be included among the targets. And yesterday we strike the Beirut international air field to hint to the Lebanese government that nothing is safe once they are operating against Israel. And nothing is safe. As simple as that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: And, of course, Israel is carrying out military operations on another front as well in Gaza. We know overnight the foreign ministry was targeted. And according to Palestinian medical sources, at least 93 Palestinians have been killed in the last two and a half weeks.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Paula Hancocks in Jerusalem, thank you.

Now let's go to Beirut. Alessio Vinci standing by with the latest from there.

Alessio.

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn.

Well we're just hearing from Lebanese television that Israeli forces have concluded another attack in Lebanon and that is in a town called Reock (ph) in the eastern Decar (ph) Valley. According to Lebanese television, Israeli forces have hit an airport in that town called Reock. It is an airport used primarily for military purposes. A there was a barrack there also attached to this airport.

So clearly the Israelis are not heeding the calls by the Lebanese information minister who just a few moments ago at the end of an emergency cabinet session had called for a comprehensive cease-fire, as well as what he called an end to this open-ended aggression. So, as you can see, the fighting is also escalating within the Lebanese borders.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Alessio, give us a better sense of Lebanon right now. You have Hezbollah, the group that took these soldiers in the first place, the relationship between Hezbollah and the current Lebanese government. Who really is in charge here?

VINCI: Well, that's a good question. Obviously the Hezbollah should not be in charge, but it is definitely holding hostage the entire nation at this time because it is Hezbollah that has kidnapped those two Israeli soldiers. And the Lebanese governmental, although the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is holding the Lebanese government responsible, are saying they have nothing to do with it. And that is why they have called the attack on the airport here in Beirut an act of war because it is, obviously, crippling the infrastructure.

And the entire Lebanese population as a whole is paying the price for this and not just those who are responsible for those kidnappings. And that is the Hezbollah group, which has been considered by the U.S. and Israel a terrorist organization. But in this country it is not only a political party, but it is also a group, a militia group, that holds a great deal of power, as we're seeing in the few days.

The Lebanese government really clearly indicating it has no power over Hezbollah. There's been recent weeks a lot of discussions on whether or not Hezbollah should disarm as been called by the United Nations Security Council resolutions. That is not happening. And certainly this crisis right now is postponing, if anything, that attempt by the Lebanese government to convince Hezbollah to disarm.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Alessio Vinci live from Beirut, thank you.

You heard Alessio mention the United Nations. This just in to CNN. We're learning from the U.N. that they are sending a delegation to the Middle East, trying to encourage all parties to exercise restraint in what is a situation where tensions continue to rise.

Let's get back to Hezbollah, give you a fact check about this group which is at the center of the crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Hezbollah, or party of God, emerged in Lebanon in the early 1980s in response to Israel's invasion of Lebanon. Hezbollah was formed by Shiite clerics primarily to try and drive the Israeli troupes out. It is supported by Syria and Iran. Israel and the U.S. consider Hezbollah a terrorist organization.

As the group became synonymous with suicide bombings and kidnappings targeting Israeli and western terrorists. It's been linked to many high-profile attacks, including the 1983 bombing of Marine barracks in Beirut that left 241 American troops dead. Over the years Hezbollah also evolved into a civilian movement with members of the Lebanese parliament and a welfare program that provides schools, hospitals and other services to the Lebanese. Although Israeli troops withdrew from Lebanon in 2000, Hezbollah continues to control the south of the country.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: President Bush wasting little time and few words in confronting the crisis in the Middle East. It's a distraction from the diplomatic mission that he is currently on. Mr. Bush is in Germany today nurturing his growing friendship with the chancellor there. Then he travels on to Russia for a group of eight summit. That's considered very important because -- but the Mid East violence is nothing short of urgent. So here is what the president had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a sad situation when there is a very good chance for there to be a two state solution enacted. That is two states living side by side in peace. It's really sad where people are willing to take innocent life in order to stop that progress. As a matter of fact, it's pathetic. And having said that, Israel has a right to defend herself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: As the Mid East crisis intensifies, we'll update breaking developments in the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. And the former ambassador to the region shares his insight as well.

The U.S. military making a move in light of what is happening there. A live report from the Pentagon just ahead.

This is CNN, the most trusted name in news.

And wildfires in the west. There are more of them and they're getting bigger. Could climate change be the cause? We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: We're going to stay with the story of the tension rising in the Middle East. We have some pictures to show you as this story moves forward. First, this is Safed, a town in northern Israel. A command center for the military. Hezbollah has fired rockets into this town and you're looking at damage from that. Now on the northern side of that border, in Lebanon, the Israelis have bombed all three runways at the Beirut airport. That is located in the city's southern suburbs. That has made all of these runways unusable. And the airport was closed, flights diverted to nearby Cyprus. So almost impossible to get in and out of Beirut by air at this hour.

We will stay with that story and bring you developments. It is a quickly developing and changing story. You'll constantly have the latest here on CNN.

Also, though, some other news to get to right here in the U.S., including California. Wildfires a big problem. Look at these pictures. Firefighters have been tested by triple digit temperatures and rugged terrain in the Yucca Valley area. That's about 100 miles east of L.A. Our Kyung Lah is there to give us more pictures and more information about what is happening there.

Hello.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Daryn.

What you were talking about, the rugged terrain. I'm actually standing in it. I'm going to first give you a look at some of this terrain back here. This is an area that the fire actually went through. And you can see how tough it is. There's a lot of this area -- and we're actually in Pioneertown, one of the residential areas -- how hard it is for firefighters to get up into this area and fight the fire. Well you can also see is that the fire moved through here very quickly driven by wind.

This is an area that, as I said, went through and got burned. You can see the burn here and then right here this is a part that actually didn't burn. So the fire is skipping along being carried by 15, 20 mile per hour winds. Firefighters today hoping to get more of a break.

And that wind, when it comes right up to houses, it's hard to fight. This one is fortunate. They have a little clearing. Firefighters parked all along this little area, this clearing that you see here, and they were able to actually stop the fire from burning down this house. This is a scene repeated all over this area. Firefighters say doing this, saving these houses, makes them feel awfully good.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You just have to do it. I mean there's no other choice. You can't back down. You can't let down and, you know, you just have to do it. You just have to get -- tell your mind that, you know, you're capable of doing it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: So the latest that we have for you on the fire, we're expecting an update shortly from the fire department. It's about 37,000 acres. The fire went through this area. It's burning north. They do worry that it's going to hit the San Bernardino National Forest. If it hits that point, Daryn, then it's really going to have a lot of fuel. A lot of dead trees that were killed by the beetle infestation in this southern California area. If it does hit that area, it will have a lot of fuel and the fire could really pick up at that point.

KAGAN: Well, and speaking of fuel, if you look behind you, I think some people across the country might be surprised because they're thinking desert, they're thinking scrub. What is just so flammable in that area where the fight is racing through right now?

LAH: Well, let's take a look this way. If you walk with me, what you're looking at here is -- see this brush here. This is a tree. And then on the very edge of this is dried out plant. And so when the fire runs through here, it actually picks all this stuff, it just literally burns all this away. This is extremely flammable. All this stuff here, it's known in southern California as chaparelle (ph). It's extremely flammable. If you'd light a match next to it, it just goes up like that.

KAGAN: And that's what's causing all the big problems.

Kyung Lah there in southern California, thank you.

Let's check on some of the other fires burning across the west.

If you think that there are more of them, scientists say you're right. And the changing weather conditions may be to blame. Our Rob Marciano filed this report for "AC 360."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): It's become a familiar story, big fires early in the season. A trend that may be the result of a warming climate.

THOMAS SWETNAM, UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA FIRE ECOLOGIST: We see that this increase in fire frequency is well correlated with warming temperatures.

MARCIANO: It's not just more fires more often, but fires are getting bigger.

SWETNAM: Increased in occurrence of large fires is pretty striking. And the length of time that it's taking to put out fires has also increased. So the typical fire would take about a week from 1970 till the mid 1980s to put out. About a week to extinguish. Now it's taking almost a month.

MARCIANO: Not good news if you're on the front lines of a wildfire. And if that's not enough, there are other factors making things even worse in southern California.

ROGER LAMONI, NOAA FIRE WEATHER EXPERT: That portion of California has a fairly large amount of what we call fine fuels. And those are grasses and small shrubs from a wet winter last year and a wet spring this year. And that fire area is located close to where Palm Springs is. Any time you get a sea breeze, the funneling of the mountains will increase the wind through the fire areas.

MARCIANO: Which means that fire could burn for a long time. And the National Weather Service is predicting more hot weather this summer.

LAMONI: Well, you know, we're forecasting above normal temperatures for much of the upcoming summer season here in the west.

MARCIANO: Throw in some lightning for ignition and there'll be more headaches in what's turning out to be a painful fire season.

Rob Marciano, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Anderson Cooper is following the fires in the west. You can watch "AC 360" weeknights at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

Back now to developments of what is happening in the Middle East. Getting word that the United Nations sending a crisis team into the area to try to talk to all sides. Richard Roth at the U.N. with more on that.

Richard.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, Kofi Annan has decided to send a three-person team to the Middle East to tour the region, to try to defuse tensions. Leading the effort is special political advisor VJ Nambiar (ph), along with two other United Nations Middle East experts. One who's really based in the region.

Secretary General Annan wants all parties to exercise restraint and do whatever possible to help contain the conflict. An U.N. statement says he's reiterating through his aides the secretary general's message to respect international humanitarian law and protect civilian infrastructure.

Of course, the United Nations words of calm, including those from the secretary general are not often heeded. I can tell you that he's probably issued 2,000 statements in the last 10 years, printed statements calling on whether it's Israel, the Palestinians, terrorists, all groups to cool it. They're not always heeded. But this team is going to go around the region first to Cairo to an emergency Arab league foreign ministers meeting, then to the Palestinian territories, Lebanon and Syria. The statement says other stops will be added as needed.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Well, it's need. We'll just see how much affect they can have once they get to that region.

Richard, thank you. Let's move on to some financial news. Gerri Willis turning the tables today.

Gerri.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey. Good to see you, Daryn.

You know, we're dipping into our mailbag. Some of you have questions about love and money. We're going to answer those and a whole lot more coming up on "Five Tips."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: All right. These are live pictures coming to us courtesy of our affiliate KTLA. This is Morongo Valley, California. Trying to get your bearings here. We're just north of Palm Springs. Between Palm Springs and 29 Palms. This is part of that huge wildfire. Over 37,000 acres that has been burning out of control, destroying 42 homes and 55 other structures. Many people have had to evacuate their homes. We continue to keep an eye on the story as it develops in southern California.

Also big story in the Middle East as tensions rising between Israel and Lebanon. With more on that, here's Carol Lin.

Carol.

CAROL LIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, I'm getting updates right now because I'm sitting right next to the international desk. I want to bring the audience up to speed on what's happening in Lebanon right now as Israel steps up its air strikes.

The latest situation is, you are looking at the Beirut International Airport. That airport, the three runways, are now closed after an air strike by Israel.

And in addition to that, Daryn, just a few moments ago we heard about additional air strikes that have knocked out two additional airports. They're not civilian airports. They are military airports. Quite small. There are several airports through the country, but Israel targeting these in particular because they are closer to Syria, which is a big supporter of Hezbollah, now under attack in Lebanon.

Just moments ago we heard also from the United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan. The United Nations is also sending a team to the Middle East to urge both sides in this Lebanese-Israeli conflict to use restraint as the attacks are escalating. Lebanon saying that if Israel continues its attacks, it will then attack the port city of Haifa, which is actually just outside of what may be the rocket ability by the Hezbollah guerillas, but their technology has improved over the years. So we are finding out what their capabilities are as two Israeli soldiers still being held captive somewhere they believe inside Lebanon.

Daryn. KAGAN: All right, Carol, thank you.

Let's take a look at what all this news is doing to the markets. It is having a profound effect. You can see the markets haven't even been open an hour. The Dow, there you see, down more than 100 points.

What we're seeing with everything that's happening in the region, oil, the price of that is soaring. It is $76 a barrel. Inventory declining. You've got the tension in the Mid East and pipeline attacks rattling that market.

So the Mid East affecting the oil markets. The oil market affecting stocks. The Dow down 103 points. Nasdaq also headed south. It is down 23 points to start the day.

Other business news. This is kind of more of a personal side as we look at your personal business issues. Marriage and divorce and moving just some of the financial topics raised by our viewers. And here to answer your e-mail questions our personal finance editor Gerri Willis.

Gerri, good morning.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. Good to see you.

KAGAN: Let's get to some of these questions. First from Sarah in Florida. She wants to know "what are some tools to help me keep my monthly budget in working order?"

WILLIS: Well, congrats there. A good move to try to get your budget in order.

One thing to start with is a monthly spreadsheet. You can download one at the financial information website of CCH at finance.cch.com. Type in the words family budget. And, of course, there are great software programs out there. Quicken, Microsoft Money, both of them can help you create that budget you need.

KAGAN: Congratulations also in order for Jamie in Texas who says that he and his wife just got married and they both want to purchase a home in the near future. Any suggestions on the type of account that they should open?

WILLIS: Hey, perfect timing. You know, congratulations to you, but really good news here. Retail money market funds are on the verge of cracking 5 percent returns. This is very, very good. According to some experts, 6 percent may not be far behind. So even your tried and true savings accounts are hitting rates of 5 percent right now. It's going to be easy to sock away some money and really save and buy that house you want.

KAGAN: Lisa not having as good of luck in the love department. She says she's married but divorce could be on the horizon. She wants to know, is her husband entitled to any of the money that she's been contributing to her 401(k) account through her job? WILLIS: Well, Lisa, a sober warning here. While it depends on the state you live in, usually in a divorce your 401(k) is considered an asset and you'll have to split it with your spouse. So your husband will be entitled to half of your 401(k) and you are entitled to half of his 401(k). But you may be able to hold on to your entire fund if you haven't been married for a long time or if you can prove you had a substantial balance before you got married.

KAGAN: Something tells me Lisa's 401(k) is a lot bigger than her husbands.

WILLIS: You know, women do better. Women are better savers.

KAGAN: A point for us.

WILLIS: Yes.

KAGAN: Chris in Modesto is on the move. Modesto, California. Tips on how to find the right movers. Looks like Chris is going to Missouri.

WILLIS: That's right. Now, Chris, you've really got to do some homework here. Check out the American Moving and Storage Association for a list of professional movers. That website is moving.org. And this is an area ripe for scams. So check out the license of any mover at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. That's protectyourmove.gov. Make sure they have insurance and check for any complaints at the Better Business Bureau, bbb.org.

And quickly here, I just want to remind your viewers, Daryn, we want to hear from you. We'll answer your questions right on this show at 5tips@cnn.com. If you missed anything at all, go to our website at cnnmoney.com/5tips.

KAGAN: All right, Gerri, thank you for that.

WILLIS: You're welcome.

KAGAN: Attacks and threats and retaliation. The crisis intensifying between Israel and Hezbollah. Militants in Lebanon. An update on our breaking news just ahead. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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