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CNN Live Today

Israeli Warplanes and Artillery Guns Pound Suspected Hezbollah Positions South of Tyre; Crews Trying to Free Trapped Worker in Phoenix, Arizona; Katrina Anniversary Controversy

Aired August 08, 2006 - 11:00   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We are at the top of the hour. I'm Daryn Kagan. Let's check what we know -- what is happening in the Mideast crisis right now.
A search for a diplomatic solution. The U.N. Security Council holds an open session today with an Arab League delegation. Arab allies want an immediate Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon as part of a cease-fire resolution.

Israel is considering expanding its offensive in Lebanon. Leaflets dropped over the city of Tyre warned drivers they are to stay off the streets after dark.

And more fighting in southern Lebanon and more rocket attacks on northern Israel.

The Israeli military is warning residents in Tyre, southern Lebanon, to stay off those roads or they risk being a target for airstrikes. Let's get the latest from Tyre from our Karl Penhaul.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Smoke rises as Israeli warplanes and artillery guns pound suspected Hezbollah positions south of Tyre. Airplane gun camera video released by the Israeli military shows explosions hitting targets. But that's not enough to stop Hezbollah firing more Katyusha rockets off to Israel.

Humanitarian aid workers say they fear a two-day Israeli bombardment six miles south of Tyre may be the prelude to a ground attack on the port city.

(on camera): A Lebanese military intelligence officer has told me that Israeli ground troops did reach the outskirts of a Lebanese village on high ground just south of here, but he says they were repelled by Hezbollah fighters.

(voice over): And to the north, bridges along the highway to Beirut have been bombed, destroying the only route in for humanitarian supplies.

ROLAND HUGUENIN, RED CROSS: The roads from Tyre to Saidar (ph) has been damaged by bombing last night. So Tyre is beginning to look like a city under siege.

PENHAUL: No way out either for aide workers to help the thousands of civilians thought to be stranded in outlying villages.

HUGUENIN: And now for two or three days we are just getting red lights on our security clearances. We aren't able to move out of Tyre.

PENHAUL: In the Old Quarter, the Doctors Without Borders aid group is preparing in case there is an all-out attack on central Tyre. "What we fear over the next few days is that Tyre is a high-stake target and this could be the theater of a larger military operation," he says.

The deck (ph) and his team are rushing to refit this operating theater in Bashur (ph) hospital. It has not been used for the last year.

He says a potential Israeli assault could split Tyre in two, cutting off this hospital in the west of the city from three others in the east. "We're preparing for the worst in the event the fighting spreads into downtown Tyre, so we can tend to the wounded from street battles," he says.

In one in one of the narrow alleys nearby, fisherman Abdul Hussein Nashraf (ph) mends his net. He, too, believes Israeli troops may be getting ready to occupy the city. "If the Israelis come to these streets I will fight with Hezbollah. I will give my life and blood for Hezbollah," he says. By late Monday there was still no sign of a lull in the Israeli shelling, but no sign either of Israeli ground troops at Tyre's gates.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And let's check in with our Karl Penhaul, who is live there in Tyre.

What does the violence look like at this hour?

PENHAUL: Well, we have seen in the course of this morning and through much of the afternoon a continuation of that 48-hour bombardment. Israeli warplanes, artillery guns and also naval warships have also been bombarding an area -- just again right on cue there we've heard the explosion of an artillery shell going in there. That's a position about three miles south of where we are.

Yesterday, they were actually bombing parts of the city, but today we haven't seen any repeat of that. But certainly explosions going on throughout much of the day -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Karl Penhaul, live in Tyre.

Let's check the situation on the other side of the border in northern Israel. Our senior international correspondent, Matthew Chance, is there -- Matthew.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, thanks very much. And Israel has made it clear that if the diplomatic process fails to try and get a resolution to this crisis as the diplomats talk about at the United Nations, as far as it's concerned it has a military option that it is very prepared to use to intensify the military campaign in southern Lebanon to deploy more forces there, in addition to the 10,000 to 12,000 Israeli soldiers that are already currently battling Hezbollah fighters just behind me in southern Lebanon. Throughout the course of the past several days and weeks there have been artillery poundings, airstrikes, of course, across what Israel says are Hezbollah positions. That could intensify significantly if the decision is taken to go in more fully to southern Lebanon.

Now, there's been fierce resistance, though, as well from Hezbollah, it has to be said. Throughout the course of the day, already two Israeli soldiers have been killed, adding to another four yesterday.

And so, significant ability, the Hezbollah seem to have been able to retain, to resist this massive force of Israel that has poured into southern Lebanon. They've also been able to fire their rockets, still, continually, as Karl was reporting there, from their positions in southern Lebanon to hit towns and cities across Israel as well.

Israel has also reacted to the proposal by the Lebanese government to deploy 15,000 of its troops in southern Lebanon were Israeli forces to leave under any cease-fire agreement. They say they welcome that in principle. It's what they wanted all along, they say, the Lebanese army there instead of Hezbollah. But they're looking for guarantees and mechanisms by which the Lebanese army would be robust enough to actually do what Israel wants it to do, which is to Hezbollah. They don't want to use any cease-fire -- see any cease- fire being used by Hezbollah to rearm, to potentially fight Israel once again.

Back to you, Daryn.

KAGAN: Got it. Matthew Chance, in northern Israel, thank you for that.

Let's go ahead and take a look at this cease-fire resolution that is going before the U.N. Security Council. The measure was written by the U.S. and France. It calls for both Israel and Hezbollah to cease all hostilities.

It does not, however, demand a withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon. That has stirred a lot of grumbling in the Arab world. Lebanon and their Arab allies want withdrawal language added.

All right. Let's go ahead and take a closer look at the U.N. measure that already is in place and its role in the crisis.

Security Council Resolution 1559, you might have heard about it, passed back in 2004. The catch is, it was never fully implemented.

It calls for the Lebanese government to have control over the entire country and for Hezbollah to be disarmed. The Bush administration wants an international peacekeeping force to help the Lebanese army achieve those goals.

Let's check out your wallet. Some of the gas at your neighborhood pump may well start as crude in this Alaskan oilfield. Unfortunately, it also is stopping here. The shutdown could last weeks, even months.

BP America says it has to replace 16 miles of badly-clogged pipeline. That is nearly three-fourths of their Prudhoe Bay pipeline. And the field is the nation's single biggest source of domestic crude.

From the pipeline to your bottom line, where do gas prices stand right now? AAA says that the average price for regular was nearly $3.04 a gallon across the country. That was yesterday. That's unchanged from the day before and still a sliver under the record high. Prices hit nearly $3.06 last September in the days after Hurricane Katrina disrupted Gulf oil production.

So, peddling the promise. Who wouldn't want to save a few bucks on gasoline?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was like a magic pill. And...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, to them it was. To whoever made the money off it, sure it was.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: As gas prices soar, so does the appeal of gas-saving products. Do they work? We put them to the test.

And memorial or celebration to mark a year since Katrina? Unconventional plans prove quite unpopular in New Orleans. We'll tell you.

That's ahead on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Let's go and check in on a developing story out of Phoenix, Arizona. It's a rescue operation at a construction site in downtown Phoenix.

Straight to Sara Carlstrom of our affiliate KPHO for the latest.

Sara, hello.

Hello. It has been about three and a half hours cine that worker got -- got trapped at this construction site. Let me tell you what happened.

It was a planned demolition this morning in downtown Phoenix. What happened is the worker was in a front-end loader when he was demolishing a wall that fell the wrong way. It ended up falling on his piece of machinery, trapping him inside, trapping him from the waist down.

Now, since then, it has been a very difficult extradition process. They have -- he's trapped from the waist down. We're told they have given this worker pain medication. They are giving him oxygen. They're working diligently to try to get him out.

The problem right now is the weight of that wall. We're told it is thousands and thousands of pounds. So they have to be very careful trying to get him out.

Again, that worker is in stable condition, we're told. He is able to talk, but he is getting oxygen, he is on pain medication.

This happened about three and a half hours ago. We're told it will still take at least another hour to get him out.

I'm also told that they're not worried that the wall is going to cause any more damage. They're just concerned about where the wall is going to fall when they finally are able to get him out.

His parents are here at the site. In fact, his father works at this construction site with him. We're told his wife is also here at the scene.

Again, those front-end loaders big pieces of machinery. He was moving a wall when it did fall on his piece of machinery, trapping him from the waist down. This process of getting him out of the truck will take at least another hour, a very painstaking process that has already taken hours long.

Of course, we're staying on top of this scene. And the good news here, though, in Phoenix, Arizona, is that worker is in stable condition. He's getting the air he needs, and he's getting that pain medication. But again, it could take some time before he's free.

Back to you.

KAGAN: Sara, how does the summer heat play into these rescue efforts?

CARLSTROM: Well, it's very warm already at this time of the morning here in Arizona. It's about, oh, 8:00. It's already close to 100 degrees. This is our monsoon season, so it's also very humid.

It's a dry heat, as I'm sure you've heard, in Arizona. But this time of year it is very, very warm. And again, the problem is, he is getting enough air, but they're providing oxygen for him. And you can imagine how uncomfortable it is for him being trapped inside of that machinery.

So, as far as, is it causing any problems with the rescue, I haven't heard that. I just am certain that it is just making things much more uncomfortable.

KAGAN: I used to do your job over at KTVK. So I know the summer heat there in Phoenix very well.

CARLSTROM: You know the heat.

KAGAN: Sara -- yes, and I know what it means to stand out in a live shot, too. So we'll let you go get a drink as well.

Sara, thank you.

Sara Carlstrom of our affiliate KPHO.

Hurricanes in the news, even though there are none. That's kind of news right there.

Chad Myers tells us more about that -- Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: There are none.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: Hurricane Katrina, August 29th, if you can believe that, will mark one year since the storm wrecked the lives of so many Americans. Now the mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, apparently wants to take a happy approach to the anniversary. It's not sitting so well with some.

Here's CNN's Susan Roesgen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN GULF COAST CORRESPONDENT (voice over): You expect fireworks on the Fourth of July, but on the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina? That's what city leaders were planning. And that's not all.

(on camera): How about a talent show, an auction of Hollywood celebrity jewelry? Even a comedy night. When the mayor's office released those plans recently, some people were shocked.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just can't imagine it. You know, it's too solemn an occasion.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are some who have lost everything, and I don't think it's quite that type of thing to celebrate. You know?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Most of us just don't have the spirit for it, anyway.

MALCOLM SUBER, COMMUNITY ACTIVIST: Not only was it wrong, but he's not man enough to even admit today that it was a wrong conception.

ROESGEN (voice over): Community activist Malcolm Suber says the mayor shouldn't be planning a party, he should be planning a memorial to pay respect to the more than 1,300 people who were killed in New Orleans. And he should be helping those who have come back rebuild their lives.

But when we asked the mayor whether the anniversary would be a memorial or a celebration, he seemed to say it would be a little of both.

MAYOR RAY NAGIN (D), NEW ORLEANS: It's a memorial event celebrating that we survived one year after Katrina.

ROESGEN: Nagin says a city committee is planning the anniversary events with financial support from Harrah's Casino. Now, Harrah's says the festivities have been scaled back for logistical reasons. The fireworks idea has also fizzled.

Other communities are marking the anniversary in other ways. Welder Vincent LaBruzzo (ph) is making a stainless steel cross. This is what officials in St. Bernard Parish have asked for. No talent show, no fireworks, just a cross capable of withstanding 170-mile-an- hour winds, a permanent and solemn reminder of Katrina's wrath.

Susan Roesgen, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: "AMERICAN MORNING" keeps an eye on Gulf Coast recovery efforts. Join Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien weekday mornings, 6:00 Eastern.

Two well known Democrats are facing major challenges from within their -- within their parties today. Polls show Senator Joe Lieberman trailing among Connecticut voters, but the primary race has tightened in recent days. Lieberman's opponent is a virtually unknown, but Ned Lamont has capitalized on Democratic anger over Lieberman's support of the Iraq war.

Remember this woman, Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney? She made headlines most recently with a confrontation with a Capitol Hill police officer. Today, the six-term lawmakers is locked in a heated runoff in Georgia with a former county commissioner.

When it comes to political debate, words, accusations, they all fly. But what about chairs? Take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, it's not right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: We're going to fill in the blankety-blanks.

From LIVE TODAY, this is CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Well, here's an interesting twist on politics. Candidates usually just throw their hats in the ring, right? (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's not -- that's not right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There you go again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: It was a race for county seat in Tampa. A chair crashes a campaign. A debate reached the boiling point after the man with the ponytail called his opponent "fat." Not nice.

The candidate whacked with the chair wasn't hurt. He says he won't file criminal charges against his opponent. The opponent isn't really saying anything at all. At last report, he hadn't returned reporters' phone calls.

Here comes the chair.

Well, we'll queue it up in a minute.

OK. She's gone toe to toe with the president, even had a confrontation with a police officer on Capitol Hill. And now Georgia Democrat Cynthia McKinney may be silenced by the same voters who once made her seemingly invincible.

CNN's Rusty Dornin sets the stage.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. CYNTHIA MCKINNEY (D), GEORGIA: I was not elected to remain silent.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Her campaign slogan claims she's President Bush's worst nightmare, but Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney is haunted by her own demons. They stem from an incident earlier this year in which she hit a Capitol Hill policeman who had stopped her to check her credentials.

MCKINNEY: The fact of the matter is I was never charged with anything.

DORNIN: Known as defiant and confrontational, the Georgia democrat sparred with AMERICAN MORNING'S Soledad O'Brien a few weeks later.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: With all due respect, Congresswoman, forgive me for interrupting you, but I believe we can't have this...

MCKINNEY: You shouldn't interrupt me, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Well, until you answer my question I'm not sure we can move on.

DORNIN: Later she said she was sorry for what happened at the Capitol.

MCKINNEY: And I apologize.

DORNIN: But she's still defending herself.

MCKINNEY: I have already apologized for that incident even happening.

DORNIN: McKinney's opponent in the democratic runoff, Hank Johnson, has taken advantage of her notoriety and admits he's running on the ABC ticket, anyone but Cynthia.

(on camera): Do you think people are just fed up with what happened?

HANK JOHNSON, CANDIDATE IN 4TH DISTRICT RUNOFF: Well I think it's just one more controversy that could have been avoided, and it was an embarrassment to the people of the fourth district.

DORNIN (voice-over): McKinney initially claimed her clash at the Capitol happened because she is African-American.

ALAN ABRAMOWITZ, EMORY UNIVERSITY: Any problem that she has, any criticism that's made of her, she immediately tries to turn into a racial issue.

DORNIN: A successful strategy for the most part in a district that's 60 percent African-American. McKinney first won a congressional seat in 1992. But in 2002 she outraged voters when she claimed President Bush might have known in advance about the attacks of September 11th. She was defeated for re-election that year. She won her seat back in 2004. This time around, she's trailing in the polls, battling a candidate who seems to be her opposite.

ABRAMOWITZ: He's campaigning on a promise of less politics, less division, less polarization, and let's work together here. And I think that is something that appeals to a lot of voters in the district, irrespective of party or ideology.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Rusty Dornin joins us live from Decatur, Georgia.

Rusty, we've seen in your piece, in fact, that Cynthia McKinney has a checkered past with the media. How does it work this time around?

DORNIN: She's been very evasive. You might say she's outspoken for the most part, but when it comes to the press, she doesn't like to talk to reporters one on one.

CNN requested an interview with her six different times. We were turned down. Then finally they agreed to one, but when the crew showed up, they claimed that no interview had ever been set up.

So, I've talked to several newspaper reporters who have also said the same thing, it's just very difficult to pin her down. This time around, she doesn't want to get in a situation where she's in a one- on-one interview.

KAGAN: We will see what she has to say after the results come in today.

Rusty, thank you.

In international headlines, Hezbollah's two faces. You have a radical militant group and a popular political party.

We'll go inside Hezbollah on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: We're at the half hour. Let's take a look at what we know right now in the Middle East crisis.

Israel dropped leaflets on the Lebanese city of Tyre today warning residents to stay off the roads. It comes as the military considers expanding its offensive in southern Lebanon.

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