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CNN Live Today

Crisis In The Middle East; U.N. Moves Observers; Tony Blair To White House; Flooding in Ohio; Hezbollah Fires Rocket Deeper into Israel

Aired July 28, 2006 - 10:00   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We'll go ahead and get started. Lots to talk about. Let's start by looking at what we know right now.
The U.N. is moving its observers from two outposts along the Israeli-Lebanese border. An Israeli air strike this week killed four U.N. observers.

Israeli war planes pound more than 100 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. More bombs hit the city of Tyre within the past few hours.

Sources say Britain is pushing the U.S. to support a United Nations cease-fire resolution. Prime Minister Tony Blair is meeting with President Bush at the White House this morning.

From Lebanon to Israel, Syria to Cyprus, CNN has reporters all across the region, brining you the latest on the fighting and diplomatic efforts to end it. Live reports straight ahead.

We're going to check in on -- oh, there we are. We're going to check in on both sides of the border. Let's start on the north side first in southern Lebanon in Tyre and that's where we find our Karl Penhaul.

Karl.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, in the last few moments, we've just seen a battery of Hezbollah rockets flying into the air, heading off toward Israel. Unclear exactly where they've come from, but we did see the smoke trails going into the sky. We counted about four or five of those. And that was met with quick response by an Israeli bomb or an artillery shell dropping off into that position.

But a lot of news this morning. Earlier on in the day, there was a humanitarian convoy that was organized out of Tyre to go and pick up some civilians down near the border town of Remash (ph). There were about seven civilian vehicles on that convoy and a group of journalists also accompanied them. And we understand that on the way back that convoy, or part of that convoy, was hit.

Unclear whether it was hit by mortar fire or some other kind of shell. Also unclear what side that piece of ordnance came from. But what we do understand from reporters who were on that trip, we understand that at least two people have been wounded. Although we understand that those wounds are not considered to be life threatening. And, of course, the other piece of news coming out of this part of south Lebanon today is the decision by the United Nations to withdraw what we're told are eight unarmed military observers from two border posts. That partly to do with the ongoing attacks on military observers from the U.N. in this area. Although the United Nations say this decision had been in the pipeline for the last couple of days, Daryn.

KAGAN: Karl Penhaul in southern Lebanon on the north side of the border there.

Let's head south and go to Israel. That's where we find our Miles O'Brien joining us from northern Israel.

Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, take a look at the scene behind me. We've been watching all afternoon here. We've been here for four hours plus. We've been watching a battle unfold. Perhaps we can get somebody to push in and give you a sense of what's going on here.

If you take a look, everything that's green in the foreground here is Israel. And everything that's brown in the distance is Lebanon. And just over that peek, sort of just off my right shoulder, is Bint Jbeil.

Now we've been seeing an artillery pounding all day today, which has let up significantly in the past hour or so. We have seen some attack helicopters, Apache attack helicopters, that have fired off a couple of air to surface missiles. And the incessant pounding continues on this area. Bint Jbeil, of course, is known as the headquarters or the capital of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

What we're seeing here -- as we hear the distant thud of artillery. What we're seeing here apparently is what we'll be getting. Israeli troops continue this effort on the air with artillery and on the ground, focusing on these specific locations -- Bint Jbeil, Maroun al-Ras -- and in this region to try to root out Hezbollah. But so far there is no indication that the Israeli leadership would like to go the next step into a full scale invasion of southern Lebanon. Now there are many people in the rank and file in the military who will privately tell you, and sometimes publicly, that they feel this is a mistake. That the Ehud Olmert government is being timid with the way it is handling this military situation now by being so focused and so precise. I asked a government spokesman about this complaint just a little while ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIRI EISIN, ISRAELI GOVERNMENT SPOKESWOMAN: I think that the Israeli government stated clearly yesterday that we're determined to go the whole course here. But we're not walking into a trap.

Hezbollah, over the last six years, since we departed Lebanon, has built up in this area that we can see behind us not only a terrorist army, but they're sort of waiting for us to come in. They've booby-trapped the entire area. They want us to walk into those booby-traps.

Israel is going to do it at our own pace, at our own time, to make sure that when we go in, we go in carefully and that we don't walk into their booby-traps. We want to stop the rocket fire, but we also want to make sure that Hezbollah will not be there afterwards.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: And just as we were in that brief excerpt of an interview, yet another rocket firing right behind us, apparently from one of those Apache helicopters. So the battle still raging on here, Daryn. Day 17. Israeli military leaders, at the outset said, oh, a two week type of mop-up scenario. It clearly is not going to be that.

Daryn.

KAGAN: All right, Miles O'Brien in northern Israel.

Let's get back to the story that Karl Penhaul was talking about, and that's the United Nations deciding to move some observers from where they are along the border. With more on that let's go to the U.N. and our senior correspondent there Richard Roth.

Richard.

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, the U.N. previewed this in a briefing for the Security Council in the wake of the attack on a U.N. base which killed four unarmed military observers. The U.N. said there may be some consolidation. A very diplomatic word for relocation which has occurred. Several unarmed U.N. military observers from two different patrol outposts being relocated back to the larger, much larger, peacekeeping force that has been in southern Lebanon since 1978. Israel insists it's going to do its own investigation into what happened the other day to the U.N. base.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN GILLERMAN, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: Israel is conducting its own investigation. Israel is a country of the rule of law. Israel's judicial system is highly respected all over the world. Israel has carried out investigations with great integrity in the past and does not need anyone to share in this investigation. However, because U.N. personnel was involved, we would, of course, welcome any input from the United Nations and would seriously take it into account.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROTH: A Security Council resolution passed yesterday tells Israel to accept help from the United Nations.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Richard Roth at the U.N. Thank you, Richard. Let's talk about some other international diplomacy. President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, allies of war. Can they get together on the Middle East cease-fire. Our Elaine Quijano previews this morning's meeting at the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): When they last met, President Bush's frank and off-color assessment to British Prime Minister Tony Blair dominated the news and showed the president's frustration with the diplomat effort.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I feel like telling Kofi to get on the phone with Assad and make something happen.

QUIJANO: But that was 11 days ago. Since then, the fighting has not stopped and the civilian death toll continues to climb. Against that backdrop, President Bush is said to welcome Blair, he staunchest ally in the war on terror, to the White House. Both the president and the prime minister are facing intense pressure from European allies to support an immediate cease-fire.

WENDY SHERMAN, FORMER STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Europe and the United States are not on the same path and we'll see if Tony Blair is going to stick with Europe or stick with the United States.

QUIJANO: So far, the Bush administration has not budged. With the president restating that peace and a cease-fire are not the same thing. At an Oval Office meeting with Romania's president, Mr. Bush laid out his Mideast goal.

BUSH: To hopefully end this as quickly as possible and, at the same time, making sure there's a lasting peace. Not a fake peace. Not a fake, you know, circumstances that make us all feel better and then sure enough the problem arises again.

QUIJANO: With the secretary of state expected to return to the Middle East this weekend, the White House is forcefully rejecting any notion her earlier trip there was a failure.

TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: You're laboring under the presumption that she was supposed to come with a magic wand to say a cease-fire. What she has said is, what on earth is the good of having another empty-handed cease-fire in the Middle East?

QUIJANO: The president engaged in some telephone diplomacy, speaking again this week to Germany's chancellor, Angela Merkel. As for the president and Prime Minister Blair, nearly two weeks after their last meeting, there are no indications either leader plans any kind of dramatic shift in strategy.

Elaine Quijano, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Thank you, Elaine. And not to Andrews Air Force Base, not that far from there, those military folks waiting for British Prime Minister Tony Blair to arrive. He'll be meeting with President Bush, talking about a possible cease-fire agreement and solution to what is happening in the Middle East.

Water on the rise. Life is no merry-go-round in Ohio this morning because of flooding. We'll have the latest from there coming up.

The opposite problem in California. Triple-digit temperatures, high humidity, a deadly mix in the west. The California heat wave coming up on CNN. You're watching the most trusted name on news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Getting word out of Spain that Tour de France winner Landis will be holding a news conference from Spain in the next hour. Floyd Landis. This in light of allegations that he tested positive on some drug tests during the Tour de France. That news conference taking place at 11:30 a.m. Eastern.

Meanwhile, Landis is saying, don't rush to judgment. He says a blood test shows that the cycling champ had to much testosterone in his system. He denies taking performance-enhancing drugs. Today he is asking that a second sample, taken at the same time, be tested as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FLOYD LANDIS, TOUR DE FRANCE WINNER: All I'm asking for, just from me, is that I be given a chance to prove that I'm innocent. Cycling has a traditional way of trying people in the court of public opinion before they ever get a chance to do anything else and I can't stop that. But I would like to be assumed innocent until proven guilty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Landis says that medications he takes to treatment his injured hip and a thyroid condition could have spiked those test results. Once again, that news conference taking place from Spain in the next hour.

And we're watching this live from Andrews Air Force Base. The plane carrying the British prime minister, Tony Blair, has arrives in Andrews Air Force Base. He is here for meetings with President Bush. The prime minister is expected to push the United States to support a United Nations resolution for a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah. We will be monitoring that from the White House.

We're at the quarter hour now. Let's take a look at what we know about what's happening in the Middle East.

Out of the line of fire. The U.N. has moved its observers from two posts along the Israeli-Lebanese border. Four U.N. observers were killed in an Israeli air strike this week.

In the line of fire. More bombs hit the city of Tyre, Lebanon, within the past few hours. Israeli forces pounded more than 100 targets in Lebanon overnight.

Hezbollah fires more rockets into northern Israel, meanwhile. Police say at least 14 hit the area today.

Look at that. That is some kind of ride. Surrounded by water, a county east of Cleveland is asking for rescue boats to evacuate people stranded by floods. Here's Tom Meany from affiliate WJW.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM MEANY, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): We're here just east of Cleveland where the flooding has continued overnight. The rain has stopped, and that is good news. But you can see this parking lot behind me is a virtual lake.

They've been squeegeeing water out of this supermarket as quickly as they could. They're trying to get back into business because there's a lot of people who need these type of things from a grocery store.

There's also, just floating in the water here, not only things but just cars. Cars have been stuck here overnight. People tried to go through the water and, of course, as you know, they're not going to make it when the water's three, four feet deep, comes over the hood and they get stalled out.

There is one truck over there that's trying to get out. And those are about the only trucks that can get out are those big 4x4s. That is how they've been transporting some people back and forth, mainly the Wal-Mart people who have been working here. The people who have been trying to get to work because the night crew was stuck there overnight. So they've been transporting people back and forth.

There have been several evacuations out here just east of the Cleveland area. They have about 50 to 70 homes just in one city that had to be evacuated. Those people going to the nearby city hall as a temporary shelter to get things taken care of.

There's also, what we're told, is a missing boater who may have gone into the Chagrin River, which crested about nine feet above flood stage earlier this morning, and that man still missing at this point. Coast Guard helicopters in the area trying to find him.

In the meantime, the cleanup continues and hopefully the water will recede so people can try to get things back to normal.

For CNN, I'm Todd Meany in Cleveland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And, in fact, we're getting even more pictures and information about what's happening around Ohio today. Let's bring in our Chad Myers. Also Carol Lin has new pictures and information for us.

Carol.

CAROL LIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Daryn.

We want to show our audience what we're watching right now from the breaking news desk. You're looking at -- it looks pretty soggy down there, but look at that, flooded area. It may not be that impressive because you're seeing boats there in a marina, but this is what the streets of suburban Cleveland look like right now as you're looking at live pictures.

We're hearing stories of people, elderly people who are running for their lives as they looked into their basement and saw, in one case, the water rising, according to a Associated Press report, water rising up to the fifth step in someone's basement. And husband and wife ran with only their prescription medications in their hand.

There was another story, also, of 100 children who had to be evacuated from the Ridgepoint Child Care Center on Thursday as three feet of water started flooding their parking lot and the kids could see, as the water was starting to approached their building.

Daryn, as you know, these flood situations can change on a dime. They've gotten several inches of rain in that area. So let's bring in Chad Myers to talk about what may happen next for these folks.

Chad, they need a few dry days.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: A developing story coming out of the Middle East. Let's go back to Carol.

Carol.

LIN: Daryn, this just crossed on the Associated Press wire while you were talking with Chad, that Hezbollah has fired a new rocket, called the Cibar One (ph), striking near the Israeli town of Afula, which is south of Haifa.

Daryn, there have been some questions about Hezbollah's capability as Hezbollah has been threatening to strike all across Israel. Its weapons primarily coming from Iran and support from Syria.

Daryn, let me quickly turn to the international desk to see if I can get the attention of one of our Arab affairs editors to see what the significance of this is.

Said (ph), this is for air. Something just crossed on the AP news alert about new weapons capability by Hezbollah. A Cibar One striking south of Haifa?

SAID: We're checking that right now, actually. All what I know that all the media have reported that Hezbollah used a new weapon, (INAUDIBLE) Cibar One, that can reach, you know, with a range that goes beyond Haifa (INAUDIBLE).

LIN: All right because one of the potential threats by Hezbollah is that they would strike Tel Aviv.

SAID: Yes. Well, they're saying Afula is about 50 kilometers away from (INAUDIBLE) Lebanon. Another report was 50 kilometers away from Haifa. I'm not really sure.

LIN: OK. Well, we're checking on it.

SAID: (INAUDIBLE) check exactly how -- what is the range of the missile (INAUDIBLE) where it's hitting.

LIN: OK. Said, thank you.

All right, so, Daryn, the latest that we have from the international desk is they're checking what the significance of this new weapon may be. But we're seeing evidence of Hezbollah's military capability as it continues to strike deeper into Israel.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Moving farther south. A good job going right to the source there. Turning around and going to the desk.

LIN: That's why we're here.

KAGAN: Absolutely. Thank you. Thank you, Carol.

We're going to have much more on that story as it develops out of the Middle East. Of course, we won't get far from it.

Also getting to some business news and answering your questions. Gerri Willis will be along with your e-mail.

Gerri.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, get out your pencils and paper. We have some great websites if you're looking to get your MBA or raising money for the charity, next on my "Top Tips."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: We're showing you live pictures from Andrews Air Force Base. That is British Prime Minister Tony Blair as he steps off his plane. The British press has dubbed it Blair Force One. A little British humor for you there.

The British prime minister coming to the White House for a meeting with the president. He is expected to push the U.S. to support a United Nations resolution for a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah. That might be a more difficult sell given the developments we've just learned within the last few minutes, and that is that Hezbollah says it's fired a new kind of rocket called the Cibar One, that has struck an Israeli town of Afula, that is south of Haifa. So that would be the farthest south that Hezbollah has been able to fire into Israel. We will be monitoring and listening and bring you the latest on Blair's meetings with President Bush from the White House.

Let's go to the markets and see what they're doing. They've been open almost an hour. They are on the move. How about this for a summer Friday. The Dow is up 61 points. The Nasdaq is moving up nicely as well. It is up 11 points.

The power and pitfalls of the Internet, some of the viewer questions coming in to Gerri's "Top Tips" have to do with that. Here to answer those, our personal finance editor, Gerri Willis.

Gerri, good morning.

WILLIS: Hey, good morning. Good to see you, Daryn.

Let's fire them up.

KAGAN: Let's go to the mail bag. OK. The first one comes from Vivian. She wants to know, she says "I'm interested in getting my MBA. Is there a good website that would list all grad schools? Do you have any advice for getting in to those schools or the school of your choice?"

WILLIS: You bet. Now to get a list of grad schools, go to peters.com/gradchannel. You can also check out the Department of Education's website at nces.ed.gov/cool.

Now to get into the school you want, make sure you brush up on your study skills for the GMAT. And it's a toughy. The Graduate Management Admissions Test. Check out gmac.com to get the lowdown on the exam.

KAGAN: No matter what kind of website you're looking at, how can you tell it's authentic. That's what Smita in New Jersey wants to know.

WILLIS: This is a great question because, let me tell you, there are websites out there that are not legit. The bad news is, that it can be difficult to make absolutely sure you're on a legitimate site. But here's some red flags to look for. Make sure the suffix makes sense. That's the suffix of the URL. If you're dealing with a U.S. company, it should end in dot-com or dot-org, for example. And watch out for spelling errors on websites. That can tell you that it's not legitimate. Experts we talked to said the longer the more complex the web address, the greater chances it's a bogus site.

KAGAN: We can't open up your tip bag and not get to gasoline with today's prices. So let's go . . .

WILLIS: I'm telling you.

KAGAN: Jim in D.C. says, "with gas prices being as high as they are, I only drive my truck when necessary. I have put only 3,000 miles on it since 2005." You go, Jim. "Does not driving the car hurt it in any way though?" WILLIS: Isn't that a great question, Daryn.

KAGAN: I like it.

WILLIS: I'll tell you, a lot of people out there have this issue. Maybe they're retired. They don't drive a lot. I've got to tell you, though. The short answer is that having your car sit around for a long time doing nothing can hurt it. Your car could have a mechanical breakdown if you leave it outside for weeks at a time. That's because moisture can get into the engine parts and your oil. So you want to make sure you take your vehicle out at least once every two weeks and change that oil once every six months.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Let's hear it for Jarvis. Jarvis is out there doing his extra bit for society. He says or he asks, he tells us, "how about tips on charity fundraising for the busy worker?" "He's running a marathon in October for charity and needs some more ideas."

WILLIS: Go, Jarvis, you know.

KAGAN: Yes, Jarvis.

WILLIS: I love that. So to find some creative ideas on how to rise money for fundraising, check out this website, fundraiserhelp.com. Now here you'll be able to find tips on how to be more effective and organized in your fundraising efforts. The website justgive.org can also give you some great ideas.

And, Daryn, I just want to remind your viewers, you know, hey, if you have a question out there, send us your question to toptips@cnn.com. We love answering it right on this show. We'll read your question, we'll read your name and we'll do our best to come up with the very best answer for you.

KAGAN: Gerri, thank you. You have a great weekend.

WILLIS: You, too.

KAGAN: And let's get to what we know what's happening in the Middle East.

The U.N. is pulling its observers from two posts along the Israeli-Lebanese border. Four members of the observer mission were killed in Israeli air strikes this week.

Israeli war planes bombed more than 100 sites in Lebanon in the past 24-hours. The targets included Hezbollah rocket launchers and buildings.

And at least 14 Katyusha rockets hit northern Israel today. A few injuries are reported.

We've been getting news of a new type of missile used by Hezbollah. On more on that, let's go to Carol Lin. Carol.

LIN: Daryn, just in case people are tuning in. The Associated Press is now reporting that Hezbollah has fired a new rocked called the Cibar One, striking near the Israeli town of Afula, south of Haifa. This is something that our international desk and our bureau in Jerusalem is working on right now to confirm, as well as our sources up there in Lebanon.

But the significance of this, Daryn, is really what Hezbollah's capabilities are. You know, there have been threats to hit -- that they have missile systems, weapon systems, that can strike throughout Israel. So we're trying to confirm this, as well as the significance of this particular weapons system.

KAGAN: All right, Carol, thank you.

LIN: Sure.

KAGAN: We'll have a lot more news ahead, including getting away from it all. But not vacationers, evacuees running away from war. It's a different type of running there.

And the trip home will have to wait. Thousands of American troops dig in for extended duty in Iraq. Details on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Quite a few developing stories we're watching here at CNN, including this out of Middle East. Hezbollah saying it has fired a new type of rocket, called the Khaibar-1, striking the Israeli town of Afula. This would be the farthest -- the southernmost so far. Israeli security officials do confirm that there has been rockets fired in that area.

Also, out of Spain, Tour de France winner Floyd Landis will hold a news conference in about an hour in Madrid. This in light of the positive doping result that threatens to wipe out his victory in the Tour de France. He is asking that a second sample that was taken the same time be tested as well. CNN's Al Goodman will be at that news conference.

New developments in the fight for Iraq. Thousands of American troops ready to call it a day in Iraq, and now they find out they're staying for extended tour of duty.

Our Jamie McIntyre joins us from the Pentagon with more on that -- Jamie.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Daryn, this extension of the 172nd Stryker combat brigade team will bring the number of brigades -- and that's how U.S. commanders really measure the troop levels in Iraq -- to 16. So instead of the hope for reduction of one or two brigades -- and again that's how they phase these reductions -- what we're going to see, at least for the next couple of months, is a temporary increase of the number of troops in Iraq, roughly 127,000.

It was going to go up anyway, as some troops rotated in and they were temporarily there at the same time. But now we're essentially seeing a plus-up of two brigades. This Stryker brigade from the 172nd, they're being kept to move to Baghdad for the increased effort to restore security there. Their Stryker vehicles, those wheeled vehicles, top of the line armored vehicles, would give them the kind of mobility in an urban setting that commanders believe they need.

In addition, the -- what was called the so-called call forward force, a reserve standby force that was in Kuwait, has over the last several months been gradually also moved into Iraq. So that's the two extra brigades that are there. So instead of the hope for troop reductions that General Casey was talking about based on conditions in Iraq, the conditions are such that they have to have more troops at least in the short term -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Jamie, I understand 200 members of this brigade, about 3,700, have already gone home. Do they get to stay home or do they have to come back?

MCINTYRE: Well, probably, although they're going to be looked at in a case-by-case basis. Also, some of them had already gotten to Kuwait on their way home. And most of the ones who are either home or on their way home will probably get to stay home, but included in that were some key personnel, including some of the commanders, some of the officers. And obviously, if you're going to keep the brigade in Kuwait, you're going to need the officers. So the officers are going to have to go back. And sometimes rank doesn't have its privileges.

KAGAN: Yes, there is that. Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon. Jamie, thank you.

Well, she is "Mama" to members of her platoon. Army Private First Class Cindra Smith is training for war duty in Iraq. She was inspired by her daughter's courage there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PFC. CINDRA SMITH, U.S. ARMY: It's been a struggle, but I really -- I really want to understand what happened to my daughter, as far as the IEDs go. And I have an associates degree in electronic, so I thought that this would be a good opportunity for me to understand what we're fighting for and why, and to help other parents not get the same phone call I got.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: That phone call that received was about her daughter's convoy being hit by a roadside bomb. Her daughter is now 70 percent disabled. Mom signed up for service, becoming one of the oldest to enlist at the age of 39.

One lost in Afghanistan, a second fallen in Iraq. Two sons killed in action, and a father's grief is unbearable. Reporter Emily Leonard of our affiliate KLBK has that story. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EMILY LEONARD, KLBK REPORTER (voice-over): Tears of tragedy stream down the eyes of Roy Velez. Around 12:30 Tuesday afternoon, Roy received that unwanted knock on the door.

ROY VELEZ, FATHER: It's about Andrew. And he said yes, sir. He said let's go inside and I said I don't want to go inside. I don't want to go inside. Tell me here what's happened to Andrew? And it just immediately came to my mind, Andrew is dead.

LEONARD: After hearing that his son, 22-year-old Army Specialist Andrew Velez, was shot in Afghanistan, Roy says he dropped to his knees.

VELEZ: I fell to the floor and I dragged myself. I couldn't stand in the hallway. My baby boy. My last son.

LEONARD: In November 2004, Roy's other son, 23-year-old Freddy Velez, was killed while fighting in Fallujah. Roy says he never imagined he would lose both his sons to war.

VELEZ: Felt like somebody has just raked the inside of me with some claw nails and torn everything out. There's nothing there, nothing. Nothing. It's just so hard and there's nothing on the inside of me.

LEONARD: Roy says losing both Freddy and Andrew has left him beaten and broken and the pain is unbearable.

VELEZ: I know I am not the only parent, but I have lost both my boys. I can't call out to them any more. I can't. I can't call out to Andrew and I can't call out to Fred. They can't come running to be with dad and be beside my side.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: No words for a father's grief.

There's also a family that's hurting quite a bit here in Atlanta. Three Americans are among 16 people killed in the helicopter crash in Afghanistan. The victims include the wife and two daughters of an American contract worker. The three were flying to Afghanistan to meet the contractor, Stewart Molder (ph), before leaving on a family vacation. The chopper went down Wednesday in bad weather in southeast Afghanistan. The bodies of 12 of the crash victims have been found. Authorities are still looking for four others.

Man on a mission: British Prime Minister Tony Blair is pushing a cease-fire plan and will President Bush climb on board? We're live from the White House. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS HEADLINES) (NEWSBREAK)

KAGAN: And this out of Beirut, word from Hezbollah claiming to use a new type of rocket, a Khaibar-1, and it says it has used it to strike Israel the farthest south that it has so far, hitting the town of Afula. The Israeli military says that the strike had been the southernmost so far.

From that same region, people trying to get away from it all, but not for a vacation. The people you're looking at are evacuees running from war. You'll see their story on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: We've been following the story of British Prime Minister Tony Blair coming here to Washington, D.C. to visit with President Bush. With more on that, here is Carol Lin -- Carol.

LIN: Daryn, he has arrived. And this is a really important meeting between the two world leaders. There's going to be joint press conference at 12:30, and we're watching as moments ago the British prime minister arrived at the White House.

The conversation is expected to focus on the Middle East crisis, as well as Iraq. But Prime Minister Blair, according to press reports, having a lot to prove to his own constituents that he is not President Bush's poodle, as he is being called in the British media; that he can stand up to the president and demand a resolution to the Mideast crisis and U.S. involvement there, trying to get a cease-fire in place between Hezbollah and Israel, Daryn.

So we'll be watching these events. 12:30 news conference. CNN's going to carry it live.

KAGAN: All right, thank you.

Let's talk some weather news. Well, there is water everywhere in Ohio. Take a look at these pictures. It looks like houses are sprouting from a lake. This is northeast Ohio. Up to nine inches of rain have fallen in Lake County, appropriately named. Rising water forced people out of homes and a day care center. One county is asking the state to send in rescue boats for stranded residents, and it might not be over yet. Chad Meyers will be with us in just a moment to tell us how much more rain is ahead for Ohio.

Take a look at these pictures. This looks like a resort, but don't be fooled by the setting. This is a refugee camp. Our Paula Hancocks has the story.

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PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's approaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit on the Mediterranean coast. The only way to cool off is to take a dip. This beach is filled with what appear to be vacationers. But instead, they're people from northern Israel who fled south to escape the constant Hezbollah rocket attacks.

Victor Sharon and his family left home with just one bag after a rocket hit the house next door, shattering their windows. He says they were lucky they were in the bomb shelter at the time.

VICTOR SHARON, CARMIEL RESIDENT: Every day we'd been getting hit by the Katyusha rockets. Every day. Every single day. And, you know, the girls, they had never gone through this before. They'd never been through the situation before. It's the first time that they've ever heard any bombs go off. And, you know, they were scared.

HANCOCKS: There are 6,000 people in this tent city. Hundreds more are on the waiting list. There's little privacy, but there is food and entertainment; and most importantly, no rockets. You could call it a refugee camp, at a cost of half a million dollars a day.

Controversial Israeli/Russian billionaire Akadi Gadarmac (ph) foots the bill to promote what he calls Jewish solidarity. The makeshift city was built in 48 hours. It has its own police force, synagogue and medical facilities.

DAVID NITZANI, ORGANIZER, TENT CITY: The state of mind when they came here was already extremely stressed to begin with. So the whole idea is just to help them relax and keep them busy as much as we can, and avoid -- this way to avoid, you know, all kind of stress-related outcome.

HANCOCKS: Lives in this tent city is like living in a different world for many of these residents of northern Israel. But the one reminder, that they're not on holiday, and they are actually at war is the sound of fighter jets overhead every now and then. And also, in the evening, they can hear the helicopters coming back from military operations in Gaza, which is just about 15 miles down the coast.

While the sun and the sea would seem a desirable distraction, everyone we spoke to said they just want to go home.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Mitzhanin (ph), Israel.

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KAGAN: Images of anger as Muslims around the world protest Israel's military action against Hezbollah.

In Iraq, Shiites take to the streets. Some of the protesters hold up posters of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Pakistani Shiites chant and displace photos of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the streets of Islamabad today.

And in Jakarta, Indonesia, men and women protest together at the U.S. embassy there.

And more angry faces in Bangladesh, where hundreds are marching, some of them actually marching on large American and Israeli flags placed on the streets. Closer to the conflict, in the West Bank town of Nablus, more U.S. and Israeli flags are trampled outside of a mosque.

His claims are right out of a horror movie. A convicted killer confessing to killing dozens of people all over the country. The frightening story just ahead on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

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