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CNN Live Today

Intense Ground Operations Under Way in Southern Lebanon; Fidel Castro's Condition; New York City: The Baked Apple

Aired August 02, 2006 - 11:01   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. Ambassador John Bolton sticking to his limit. He said that was the last question.
He was answering a number of questions on efforts at the United Nations that would develop a plan to bring a cease-fire to the hostilities between Lebanon, Hezbollah and Israel at this time. More on that straight ahead.

We are just passed the top of the hour.

I want to welcome viewers to the second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY.

I'm Daryn Kagan.

We are going to start with how hot it is out there. And we are looking for relief from the heat.

How about that for the fire hydrant? Ooh, that looks pretty good right now.

There is no letup from triple-digit temperatures gripping parts of the country.

Chicago, you are under an excessive heat warning again today.

The mercury hit 93 in Boston.

The demand for air conditioners and fans is pushing electricity usage off the chart.

The six-state New England region could break another record today.

Temperatures are expected to top 100 in Dallas, Tulsa and St. Louis. In the east, Philadelphia and Baltimore will reach 100 degrees or hotter. Richmond, Raleigh and Virginia Beach are also expected to be in triple-digit territory.

Much more to talk about on the heat, but first we want to get to that rascal known as Chris now.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

KAGAN: I guess tropical storm status.

MYERS: Right. KAGAN: Here is Chad Myers with more on that -- Chad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: A milestone to tell you about in the Mideast crisis. Here is what we know at this hour.

Hezbollah bombards northern Israel with at least 190 rockets. That's the most to hit Israel in a single day. One reached the West Bank. That's the furthest south that a Hezbollah rocket has hit.

Meanwhile, Israeli troops plunge deeper into Lebanon and raid a hospital in Baalbeck. That's about 70 miles north of the Israeli border.

Israel's military says Hezbollah used the hospital as an outpost. The Israeli army says special forces killed 10 militants and captured five others.

Our Matthew Chance is in northern Israel and brings us the latest from that side of the border.

Matthew, hello.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, thanks very much.

Well, intensive ground operations under way over the course of this day with thousands of Israeli soldiers inside southern Lebanon battling with Hezbollah fighters. Some very ferocious clashes taking place between the two sides as Israel's forces attempt to seize a broad strip of land across the Israeli frontier with Lebanon.

What the intention is, we understand from Israeli officials, is for the Israeli forces to establish a buffer zone, what they call a security zone, then to hold on to it until such times as a multinational force can be agreed by the international community. It's being discussed now by Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state, and other world powers as well, and until that force is actually deployed on the ground.

In the meantime we are seeing a lot of operations elsewhere in Lebanon as well. Airstrikes across the country. Also, that unique operation that you mentioned in Baalbeck, which is an ancient city in Lebanon's northeast.

It's there that Israeli officials say a special forces unit was dispatched by helicopter to raid, among other things, a hospital there where they believed they could gather intelligence and actually locate some of the Hezbollah leaders. There was fierce fighting in and around that hospital.

At least 10 Hezbollah guerrillas, according to the Israeli military, were killed in combat there. Another five were captured by the Israelis and spirited away back to Israel. And so, there's a great deal of military activity taking place and a great deal of controversy, of course, around that particular operation, which was the deepest into Lebanon that Israel has struck and operated since the beginning of this conflict -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Right. Well, one, it's controversial because of how far north the Israelis went. But you also called it a hospital, but as I understand it the Israelis are saying this building was not operating as a hospital.

CHANCE: Well, I think there was an aspect of it that was operating as a hospital. But what they also say was, in the area was a remote Hezbollah logistics base. And I mentioned there were numerous targets in that area. That was another one of them where they are believed to have stored rockets and other materials, as they call it, that help Hezbollah in their military campaign against Israel. And so that was the primary target.

The other thing they were looking for, as I mentioned, were Hezbollah leaders as well. It's not altogether clear from the conversations I've had with the Israeli Defense Forces and the chief of staff, who gave us a briefing earlier today, whether they actually captured any of those leaders or not. They haven't disclosed to us the names of the people they have in their custody -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Matthew Chance, live from northern Israel, just across the Lebanese border.

Thank you.

Let's head to Cuba. Dead, dying or on the road to recovery? Lots of speculation about Fidel Castro. Two days after the Cuban leader had intestinal surgery, a written statement said to be from Castro himself is upbeat.

CNN's Morgan Neill joins me live now from Havana with what's being said there about the Cuban leader.

Hello.

MORGAN NEILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Daryn.

Well, it's true. Despite all of these changes we see going on, the atmosphere here in the capital, Havana, is very calm just two days after President Fidel Castro announced that for the first time in 47 years, albeit temporarily, he was relinquishing power.

Traffic in the streets is moving normally. There doesn't seem to be any increased police presence, from what we can see.

Now, to give you an idea of what Cubans themselves are saying in the state-run media, here is the official newspaper, "Granma," which says simply, "Fidel Recuperarte" or "Fidel Get Better."

Now, as you said, Tuesday night we heard a statement read out on state TV saying that the president is in good spirits, in stable condition, and that the island is well defended. Now, it was Monday night when many Cubans received the shock hearing that President Fidel Castro would turn over power to his brother, Raul, himself 75 years old.

But since then, what we've heard from Cubans that we've talked to is very much a wait-and-see attitude. They say, "We have to go about our business normally." And while this was a very unexpected shock, there's no sense of panic. Rather, a sense of, "We'll have to see what comes next" -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Morgan, I'd actually like to look at that videotape again of when the announcement is being made. What is that? Is that like a government-run newscast? Does the announcer -- is he like the news anchor, but then they stop and they show a wide shot so you can see everybody on the set applauding the news?

NEILL: Right. This is -- this is a government show on state-run television called "Mesa Redonda," Roundtable." It is on every evening.

They often discuss political issues, et cetera. And they used, obviously, the opportunity this time to make this statement to the entire country from President Fidel Castro.

KAGAN: Fascinating. Interesting look inside of Cuban life.

Thank you.

Morgan Neill, live in Havana.

Well, was it the fog of events, or did the Pentagon deliberately lie about its response to the 9/11 attacks? Some shocking revelations coming up.

Also ahead...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's cooking. Like you have to get in the water to keep cool, or otherwise you will pass out. It's too hot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: It is too hot, indeed. Can you really pass out from the heat? Ahead, when to worry and how to cool off.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Here's your chance. If you've ever wanted to say, "I report for CNN," well, we are ready for you.

CNN is launching "I Report," where you, the viewer, are the eyes and ears of the ground -- on the ground, actually. If you capture a great picture or video on your camera or cell phone, just send it to us via computer at cnn.com or on your cell phone.

You can punch ireport@cnn.com. Your I-Report is your chance to share what you've witnessed.

So let's take a look at what I-Reporter Gary Felton sent us from the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Oh, Gary. Thank you. This pictures shows the leading edge of Tropical Storm Chris. Gary is a professional photographer. He snapped the photo from his mountain-top studio.

You know what? That doesn't stink. That is a good place to be living.

Gary has lived on the island for 16 years and was there for the last major storm that devastated the island. That was Hurricane Marilyn back in 1995.

If you have a picture like Gary Felton, you don't have to be a professional photographer. Go to cnn.com, send an I-Report, and join the world's most powerful news team.

Well, there might be some big, hot pictures coming from New York City today. The Big Apple could be the baked apple today. Thermometers sizzling around 100 degrees or even higher.

Allan Chernoff joins us live. He is one of the city's cooling centers.

Oh, Allan. How nice. We found a place for you to be indoors. I feel better about that.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Very pleasant inside here.

You might wonder, what exactly is a cooling center? Well, these are senior centers, community centers. Right now we are at the Sunnyside Senior Center, and they do have air conditioning in here, thank goodness.

A lot of smart ladies as well. You can see that some of the people here have actually put their water in aluminum foil. That keeps it nice and cool.

And this is a place where seniors, of course, can come and enjoy many activities, not just dominos. But, in fact, they had dancing lessons a few minutes ago. We missed the electric slide lesson by just a few minutes.

Let's have a look at the thermometer here. You can see it's a relatively comfortable 80 degrees. Keep in mind it's about 16, 17 degrees hotter outside. And then you can add the humidity in.

But some people have really been facing tough times. As a matter of fact, let's come over here and talk to Edna Graver (ph).

Edna, we understand that you do not have air conditioning at home.

No, I have no air conditioning at home at all. I have two fans.

CHERNOFF: How is it in your apartment right now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very, very hot. Very hot.

CHERNOFF: And how are you coping?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pretty good. I'm glad to be here. I'll tell you one thing.

CHERNOFF: It looks like you're doing just fine.

As a matter of fact, Edna is 86 years old. You would never know it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. You had to tell everybody?

CHERNOFF: Maybe that is one secret to good health, not using too much air conditioning, but on a day like today you absolutely do want to have it. And so the seniors who are here are certainly glad to be spending the afternoon, the morning as well here at the Sunnyside Senior Center -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Allan, Mrs. Graver (ph) was doing OK until you announced her age on national television. Tell her she looks great.

CHERNOFF: She's proud of it she does. She does.

KAGAN: She -- and she should be. She looks beautiful, and we're glad to have her on our air.

Thank you.

Well, on a serious note on the heat, the heat wave is blamed for more than 150 deaths nationwide. How do you know if you are simply sweltering or if you're really sick?

Our Christy Feig explains the difference.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTY FEIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The mercury keeps rising, you're shedding the clothes and drinking as much water as possible...

LISA GRIFFIN, TOURIST: We are wearing white T-shirts, we drink lots of water, ball caps, everything you're supposed to do.

FEIG: ... but still it's hot. Our bodies have a built-in cooling system. When we get hot, we sweat. As that sweat evaporates, we cool off. But after days of extreme temperatures, the body's natural cooling system can get overwhelmed. And that can lead to heat exhaustion. DR. JEFF DUBIN, WASHINGTON HOSPITAL CENTER: If you start to have symptoms of heat exposure, whether you're having lots of headaches, you know, and nauseous, irritated, no energy, that's probably time to seek an area that's cooler.

FEIG: If you don't have air conditioning, try to find someplace that does. Drink water or sports drinks, or take a cold shower. Because if it isn't treated, heat exhaustion can lead to heat stroke. And that can be deadly.

Heat stroke occurs when the body is no longer able to cool itself down. The body's temperature rises rapidly. You might see red, hot, dry skin with no sweating. That's the key. The body has stopped trying to cool itself down.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Well, to get your daily dose of health news online, log on to our Web site. You will find the latest medical news, a health library and information on diet and fitness.

The address: cnn.com/health.

Here's one way to stay cool. Well, you're just going to love this picture. How adorable is this?

We love to play this video all day long. He's 2 years old and he's water skiing. What a cute guy. We'll tell you his story just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: New revelations about September 11th. Members of the commission investigating the terrorist attacks accuse the Pentagon of giving misleading information, perhaps even deliberate lies. That's according to an article in "The Washington Post."

Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr joins me live with more on that.

Barbara, good morning.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Daryn.

What we now know is that the 9/11 Commission had such a level of suspicion about what the Pentagon was telling them that they thought there might be deliberate lying, a deliberate effort to mislead them. What happened was that the commission, after it heard the Pentagon's initial testimony, then about a year later the Pentagon corrected its testimony, said it made some honest mistakes, but the commission didn't quite believe all of that.

What we now know is that they referred the entire matter to the inspectors general of both the Pentagon and the Transportation Department to see if there was deliberate lying. They even considered sending the whole matter to the Justice Department to see if there was a possible criminal activity in terms of lying to the commission.

Earlier this morning, one of the 9/11 commissioners, Tim Roemer, told CNN, "We were extremely frustrated with the false statements we were getting. We were not sure of the intent, whether it was to deceive the commission or merely part of the fumbling bureaucracy."

Now, again, the Pentagon, about a year after it testified, did go back, correct the record, said that it made a number of mistakes in its initial testimony but that none of it was deliberate. And, in fact, a Pentagon spokesman today said that the inspector general's report at the -- ordered up at the desire of the commission found "nothing in the course of their review that indicates the testimony by DOD was knowingly false."

So, still, at the end of the day, five years later almost, a lot of things still emerging about what was known, what wasn't known, and certainly difficult news for the families, Daryn, to hear about all of this yet again.

KAGAN: Barbara, what else is coming out of the Pentagon about the investigation into what took place in Haditha, Iraq?

STARR: A totally separate matter, of course. One of the investigations into, again, alleged criminal activity by Marines in November, 2005, in Haditha, Iraq, in which 24 Iraqi civilians were killed.

What we now know there is the naval criminal investigative review is done. The NCIS review is done. It is now going to prosecutors for further action.

All of this related to the death of 24 Iraqi civilians, allegedly at the hands of a Marine Corps unit. All of our sources saying now that that is in the hands of prosecutors it is expected that charges will be forthcoming against some of the Marines -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.

Thank you.

Some breaking news now out of Florida. A suspicious package found in Daytona Beach.

Carol Lin has more on that -- Carol.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Daryn, we want to show you the pictures because it's, as you can imagine, better what is actually going down right now in Daytona Beach. You are looking at videotape that just came into the CNN Center.

You are seeing a robot rolling backwards into front of a strip mall there, and in its clutches is some kind of package that was believed at the time to be a -- some kind of a bomb or explosive device. Essentially, a young woman approached a pharmacy in that building. She was going in to get some supplies when she was approached by a man with a knife, and he told her that he was going to strap this explosive device on her, a bomb -- he was going to strap a bomb on her, and he instructed her to go inside that pharmacy to get some pain relief medication for him, prescription painkillers.

With me on the telephone right now is Tim Jobson. He is the pharmacist there who witnessed this go down.

Tim, you and I were just talking on the telephone. So, this young woman walks in, she's got what she believes to be a bomb strapped to her, and what she believes a man outside saying that she had two minutes to get this medication.

What happened next?

TIM JOBSON, PHARMACY OWNER: Well, I approached her and I said, "Let me see the bomb." So she showed me the bomb.

And I said, "OK. Stand right here." And I immediately walked over and dialed 911. And 911 came.

And when they came in, one of the police officers indicated he wanted her to step outside. So I asked her to go back outside, and from there they basically took care of the -- you k now, control of the situation.

LIN: Tim, what made you think that it might be a bomb? What did it look like?

JOBSON: Oh, it had, like, a -- one of those small canisters that you use on a gas grill. Not the large ones, but the little small ones for the portables.

LIN: And wires coming out of it?

JOBSON: Wires and tubes.

LIN: And strapped on with some kind of cellophane tape?

JOBSON: It looked like cellophane tape.

LIN: So, the pictures that we're looking at right now, Tim, show that the robotic device had taken it from the strip mall. It appears that they took this over to a dirt lot. But at the time that you were looking into the eyes of this young woman -- and you told me that she was teary-eyed -- I can imagine she was just trying to control herself, not knowing if this thing was going to go off.

Why didn't you just give her the painkillers so that she could go back outside and make sure that this guy wasn't going to detonate this -- what you thought might be a bomb?

JOBSON: Two reasons. One reason is that he had already cut her once.

LIN: She was bleeding on her face?

JOBSON: That's correct. She had a gash on her face from what looked to be a knife cut. And I certainly didn't want her to go book out there and approach him again. Because then she'd be a witness, and you never know what would happen at that point. So I felt she would be better here, and hoped that the police would arrive in enough time to take care of the situation.

LIN: Authorities arrived, and what did they do next?

JOBSON: I walked outside and explained what was going on, and then I came in, and asked her to step outside so that she could be with the policeman and alleviate the my employees from being in any danger.

LIN: And they -- it looked to you that they were cutting the tape off and they cut this package off of her?

JOBSON: I'm assuming that, because all I could see was from the backside. And When I looked at them, they were addressing her where ti was in her midsection. So I just figured they were taking it off, because then she started walking quickly towards the bomb-disposal truck, and then another police officer came, put his arm around her shoulders, and then the evac unit showed up, and I'm assuming she got into the evac unit to look in to her injuries.

LIN: Tim, it sounded like you stayed calmed throughout this whole thing. Why didn't you run? Didn't you think that this thing could go off at any second?

JOBSON: Well, yes, there's a possibility, but I just figured that actually I thought it was another way because of the way people are getting drugs these days, they'll do a lot of things, but they don't usually result in murderous situations. If you do what they ask you to do you, then pretty much you'll be OK. And just I figured that it would take somebody to have some sort of knowledge as to how to make a bomb in the first place, and he had to have a detonator. So, you know, it wasn't going to go off on its own apparently; it had to be detonated. So I figured, you know what, I don't want her to go back out there.

LIN: Tim, you know, it's great that common sense took over in your situation. You had a gut feeling that this actually wasn't going to explode, that maybe it was a fake. Do you have any idea what happened to the young woman?

JOBSON: What happened to her?

LIN: Yes. Was she taken to the hospital?

JOBSON: She got into the evac, and I would assume they felt she need transport to the hospital, and I assume probably the nearest hospital from us would be Halifax (ph) Hospital.

LIN: Did she describe the man to you, the man who strapped this what he said was a bomb to her body.

JOBSON: No.

LIN: So have they made an arrest? Do you have any idea?

JOBSON: I have no idea, because I wasn't going to be silly enough to go around back to say, are you the man that has the detonator?

LIN: No, I understand that. But you're an eyewitness to the police activity. When we were watching the video coming into the CNN center, I did not see authorities circling the building, or anybody else standing around for that matter.

JOBSON: OK, maybe -- they did -- there was a unit that did go back behind the building at one point in time. It may have been before the news media was here.

LIN: OK.

JOBSON: And after that, I can't tell you, because I was on the phone with the sheriff's department, and had to keep talking to them. They had questions for me. So I can say that they did -- I saw one unit, yes, go around the side of the building. But I'm sure that was long before the news media got here. And after that everything pretty much, from what I saw, was taken out front.

LIN: All right. Tim Jobson, thank you very much for describing that scene to us. I hope that your patient, your client is OK, and you know, what a story that she has to tell now.

Tim Jobson, thank you very much.

So, Daryn, we're looking at video right now of where the robot took that package into the vacant lot. It looks like a sandlot that's actually behind the pharmacy, where all of this went down. We will try to find out from authorities whether they found the guy and whether this package, in fact, if they'll ever know, that it was some kind of explosive device, because typically the robot takes it to an area, and then they just detonate it and try to see what happens.

KAGAN: That's a really odd story.

LIN: yes.

KAGAN: A lot of weird stuff, but that was...

LIN: Well, pharmacists are on the front lines now when it comes to desperate people trying to get prescription drugs.

KAGAN: I guess so. I guess so. Thank you, Carol.

(NEWSBREAK)

KAGAN: The Israeli leader also looked ahead in an interview with the Associated Press. The outcome of the fighting, he says, may create new momentum for Israel's plan to withdraw from much of the West Bank.

Our Ben Wedeman is with us now. He is in southern Lebanon, in Tyre, where there has been some action -- Ben.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, more than some action, Daryn. Quite a lot actually this is probably one of the more intense days of bombardment that we've seen in the last few weeks. In fact, you can't see them, but there are two Israeli jets flying overhead right now. And what we've seen basically is throughout the day aerial bombardment of the east and south of Tyre, in one instance hitting fairly close, just about a kilometer away from here. At the same time we've seen barrages of outgoing Katyusha rockets as well.

So it has certainly been a day when there's a lot of action. And just to sort of clarify a point we've heard, reference to Katyusha rocket positions. There are really no positions here. There are small mobile groups of a few men who will fire their missiles, rockets from the banana groves, or out in this outlying areas, and that's really been the challenge for the Israelis is trying to find these units, which are, by the time they get here, are long gone in many instances -- Daryn.

KAGAN: And any idea where they go once they're long gone?

WEDEMAN: Good question. They probably just melt into the local population, into the local countryside. Many of these people are from Southern Lebanon. They have family here, and so we don't have a clear idea of how Hezbollah moves its forces around. It's a very secretive organization that doesn't really share much information at all, but some of these people, obviously, are from the area find a good deal of support from the local population that's still left here -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Ben Wedeman, live in Southern Lebanon, thank you.

Picking up the pieces...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fifteen-year-old Israel Silverberg (ph) and his two sisters, 11-year-old Miriam (ph) and 17- year-old Ali Sheva (ph), have a new hobby. They collect the Katyusha rockets that now terrorize their town.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: CNN's Anderson Cooper reports from northern Israel, ahead on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Katyusha rockets rain down, Israel's children pick up the pieces. Our Anderson Cooper reports now from the northern town of Kiryat Shemona.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Fifteen year-old Israel Silverberg and his two sisters, 11-year-old Miriam (ph) and 17- year-old Elisheva, have a new hobby. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh my god.

COOPER: They collect the Katyusha rockets that now terrorize their towns.

ISRAEL SILVERBERG, COLLECTS KATYUSHAS: These are the wings.

COOPER: So how does this piece rate for your collection?

I. SILVERBERG: Pretty good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is now our best one.

SILVERBERG: Because you can really see the Katyusha.

COOPER: The Silverbergs started picking up Katyusha shrapnel two weeks ago. They already have quite the collection.

ELISHEVA SILVERBERG, COLLECTS KATYUSHAS: It's kind of cool that you have all these remainings of Katyushas. It's like evidence to what's happening.

COOPER: Their father, Barry a teacher, thinks his kids' collection is a way for them to cope with their fears.

BARRY SILVERBERG, FATHER: In collecting the rocket fragments, it gives them a bit of a feeling of control over something that was trying to kill them.

COOPER: Control over something trying to kill them.

There is much to be afraid of in Kiryat Shemona. Here, the sound of rockets and shelling.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I came back from...

COOPER: Has become routine.

E. SILVERBERG: First, if it's outgoing, you first hear this big boom, explosion. And then you can hear a sound like zzz -- you can hear it going over -- you can hear it going overhead.

And then when it's a Katyusha, sometimes you can hear it for three seconds, whistling before it falls down. Sometimes. But then it like just -- a big explosion without anything after it.

COOPER: On Sunday, nearly 100 rockets and mortars fell in and around this border town. At one blast site the Silverbergs are still finding pieces of shrapnel.

E. SILVERBERG: It hit the cars, the houses over there, the windows broke. You can find screwdrivers and...

I. SILVERBERG: Things like this.

E. SILVERBERG: Yes. COOPER: So this would be something that's inside?

E. SILVERBERG: Yes.

COOPER: It may seem a strange hobby to some, but these are strange times in Kiryat Shemona.

E. SILVERBERG: I think it's interesting. And it's like -- there's not -- there's not much to do now because I mean everything is closed. The town is not -- because there's hardly people here. And all the stores and stuff, everything is closed. So I think it's something to do.

COOPER: Something to do, some way to cope. A way for kids to play in this time of war.

Anderson Cooper, CNN, Kiryat Shemona.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Our Anderson Cooper, live from northern Israel tonight. "360" begins at 10:00 p.m.

Optimism from Iraq's president today. Jalal Talabani saying, God willing, Iraqi forces will take over security in all 18 provinces by the end of the year. He told reporters that come January, multinational troops will play only a supporting role. Right now, U.S. and other international troops police all but one province. Iraqi leaders had been indicating that they wanted to take over security this year, but this is the most direct statement so far.

A bomb in a trash bin. It killed three day laborers in Baghdad today. Several other people were hurt. The blast was part of scattered violence that left as many as nine people dead across Iraq today. A dramatic surge in attacks took more than 70 lives yesterday.

Let's go back to Carol Lin. An interesting lawsuit being filed against an outspoken congressman.

Here's Carol.

LIN: That's right, and the lawsuit being filed by the attorneys of a U.S. marine that is under investigation in the Haditha massacre, where 24 Iraqi civilians, including women and children, were killed. You're watching a heated press conference there by the attorneys for Staff Sergeant Frank Wuterich.

Apparently, they're filing this lawsuit in federal court, claiming that Congressman John Murtha falsely accused Wuterich of murder and war crimes. Now, the suit goes on to maintain that Pentagon officials, quote, "who have briefed or leaked information to Murtha deliberately provided him with inaccurate and false information."

Well, we've have been waiting to hear from Congressman John Murtha, and in fact he released this statement. He says that, quote, "I don't blame the staff sergeant for lashing out when I spoke about Haditha. My intention was to draw attention to the horrendous pressure put on our troops in Iraq, and to the cover-up of the incident." He goes on to say that our troops are caught in the middle of a tragic dilemma.

So, this lawsuit being filed by a marine who is under investigation. Daryn, so far no charges have been filed against any of those marines who were present that day after a roadside bomb went off, killing a fellow marine.

Now, our Jamie McIntyre has been looking into the possibility of, well, would there be a conviction? Does -- do these prosecutors -- would these prosecutors have a case? Jamie's sources say it's going to be pretty complicated.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Defense attorneys say that killings of 24 civilians at Haditha, including unarmed women and children, may have been justified under military law. The marines who are now under investigation for the deaths claim, according to their lawyers, they were in hot pursuit of insurgents. And those attorneys argue that just because innocent may have died doesn't automatically mean that the marines did anything unlawful.

GARY MEYERS, ATTORNEY FOR HADITHA MARINE: To use an old Vietnam expression, "To save the village, we had to destroy it." And that's the problem.

MCINTYRE: As harsh as it seems, the killing of unarmed civilians in warfare can be considered justified, but according to experts in the law of war, only if the deaths were unavoidable and the military objective important enough.

LT. COL. GARY SOLIS (RET.), FORMER MILITARY JUDGE: Proportionality says that the death and wounding of civilians, the destruction of civilian property, may not be disproportional to the concrete military advantage to be gained.

MCINTYRE: Gary Solis is a former marine trainer and retired military judge. He says the marines at Haditha had a right to protect themselves if they honestly believed armed insurgents were among the civilians.

SOLIS: Well, the law of war is not a suicide pact. At some point you have to make the decision to fire or not fire.

MCINTYRE: The investigation is not over, but should any of the marines be charged, defense attorneys say they will argue that the military objective -- hunting down insurgents who detonated a deadly roadside bomb -- was worth the risk to civilians who were in the houses for which the marines say they were taking fire.

If the case goes to court, prosecutors would likely counter that the use of indiscriminate gunfire and grenades to clear houses was a disproportionate application of force, given the uncertainty about who was inside. It's a much less clear-cut case, experts say, than the June 8th precision air strike that killed al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi, who was in a house with several civilians, including two women and a child.

SOLIS: Is Zarqawi worth five non-combatants? Well, the decision was made yes, he is. And I don't have any problem with that decision, although one has to regret the death of non-combatants, particularly women and children. Is Zarqawi worth 10, 20, 50? How many is he worth? Someone has to make that hard call.

MCINTYRE (on camera): The contention that the civilians killed at Haditha were an inadvertent tragedy of war and not victims of murder hinges on a second argument, as well -- that the marines were under the honest belief that they faced a deadly threat from the houses they attacked and had to make quick decisions under the stress of combat.

Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Daryn, we are going to continue to monitor events around the Haditha investigation. And as soon as we have more new developments, we'll let you know.

KAGAN: All right, Carol, thank you.

Electricity demand is soaring with the thermometer. A dangerous heat wave keeps its grip on the eastern U.S. Find out whether there's any relief in sight.

That and the latest on Tropical Storm Chris, straight ahead on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

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KAGAN: In the last hour, we're watching this house explosion just about 60 miles south of St. Louis. Carol has more information on that -- Carol.

LIN: That's right, Daryn. We're learning more about happened at this scene of devastation in a neighborhood in Carlanville (ph), Illinois. That's in the southern part of the state. About 7:30 this morning, residents in that town heard a loud explosion. Apparently this is a house that was behind a restaurant. Some kind of an explosion. There were four people were inside, Daryn. Two people are dead, a woman and a teenage boy. A grown man, about 27 years of age, had 30 percent of his body burned, and a 15-year-old boy also severely burned. Both were airlifted to a memorial hospital.

About 15 homes in this neighborhood have been damaged. And there are people who are going to be displaced. Authorities are trying to get food, water and provide some transportation to those people. But still no confirmed cause as to what happened at that scene.

KAGAN: Thank you, Carol.

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KAGAN: Before we go, a quick live picture of Miami, Florida. A cloudy day there. But this is not Tropical Storm Chris yet. We're still trying to wait and see what those computer models say, which direction Chris will be headed. So good morning, and about to be good afternoon, to Miami.

That's going to wrap it up for me. I'm Daryn Kagan. Keep watching CNN. YOUR WORLD TODAY is up next with news happening around the globe and also here at home.

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