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American Morning

Fidel Castro Turns Over Temporary Control to Brother; New Fighting in Aita Al-Shaab in Southern Lebanon

Aired August 01, 2006 - 09:00   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: In Cuba, Fidel Castro no longer in charge. The ailing leader has turned over temporary control to his younger brother.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I also pray to god that that bastard is dead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Don't expect any get well cards coming from those Cuban exiles in Miami. It seems many hope the change in Havana is permanent.

There is Chad clicking his fingers.

Good morning, Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, everyone. I couldn't hear you there, but heat index, excessive heat warnings from Boston, to New York, all the way down to D.C.

The forecast, all that and more coming up on this AMERICAN MORNING.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Nobody clicks like Chad does.

O'BRIEN: I like that. I've got to try that.

Does that work, Chad?

Hey. Hey.

Good morning, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien.

SANCHEZ: And I'm Rick Sanchez. I'm sitting in for Miles O'Brien on this day.

Good to be here with you.

O'BRIEN: Thank you. Thanks for helping us out. We sure appreciate it.

Let's get right to one of our top stories this morning, a stunner, really, in Cuba. Fidel Castro, who's been in power for 47 years, is stepping down while he recovers from very serious surgery. The 79-year-old says it's just temporary.

We've got several live reports for you this morning from the White House, from Miami, and from Havana as well.

That's where we star. Shasta Darlington is standing by for us.

Shasta, good morning.

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

That's right, Soledad, Cubans woke up with a new, if only provisional, leader, Raul Castro, the younger brother of Fidel, five years younger. But they are trying to treat it just like another -- another day, going to work.

The news was repeated in the official newspaper word for word. The letter that Castro wrote and was read aloud live on television last night by his secretary, where he announces that due to stress and a heavy schedule he was forced to under go intestinal surgery and hand over the power for the time being to his brother, Raul, this at the time first time he has done this in the 47 years of power.

He's outlived -- or outlasted nine U.S. presidents, the collapse of the Soviet Union, a fainting spell, an accident that left his knee crushed, and only now is he provisionally handing over power. So this is an important moment for Cubans -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: He is a guy who is notorious for giving those three and four-hour speeches, just without notes, standing at a podium the entire time. You know, in some ways he's just gone on and on and on in spite of lots of wishes from people that -- certainly in Miami -- among Cuban exiles that -- who have been really hoping and praying in some cases that he would die.

Let me ask you a quick question. Tell us a little bit more about Raul Castro. Who is he? What kind of a leader is he going to be, even if it is temporary?

DARLINGTON: Right. He's obviously much less charismatic than his older brother. He's always been by his side, but he's always been in his shadow.

However, in certain times in history, especially after the collapse of the Soviet Union, he did get -- gain more notice because of his pragmatic side. He's famous for saying at one point, "Beans are more important than bullets" to save the Cuban revolution at a time that Cubans were going hungry and trying to come to terms with the collapse of the Soviet Union.

So he's pragmatic. He's also known for being a little more lighthearted, joking. He was very close to his family...

O'BRIEN: Looks like we're taking...

DARLINGTON: ... are hoping to see more of O'BRIEN: All right. We lost a smidgen of you at the end there, but I understand what you're saying. And we'll obviously be watching this.

Also watching it, Cuban exiles in Miami. Susan Candiotti is there for us.

Hey, Susan. Good morning.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.

You know, you were talking about Fidel Castro being famous for his longwinded speeches going on for hours and hours. I have been to Cuba many times myself, covered at least one of those speeches. And it's interesting to note that many of them are given on the 26th of July, which is a major holiday in Cuba marking a turning point in the Cuban revolution.

And just last week, it might be interesting to note, that his speech didn't go on for six hours like it often time does. It only went on for just a couple of hours or so the last go-around.

In the meantime, we're reporting to you from the heart of Little Havana, Calle Ocho, where traffic has pretty much returned to normal compared to what it was last night, aside now an occasional blaring horn from passersby. But last night the street was transformed. People void by the mere notion that Castro might be out of power for good.

Traffic last night bumper to bumper as people were blaring their horns, jumping out to the street, banging on pots and pans, celebrating the fact that Castro again might possibly never come back to power, though there is certainly no positive indication of that. Many of the people who were out here escaped the island many, many years ago, and others were struck by the number of young people who were also in the street of Little Havana, many of them hearing only stories from their parents and grandparents about what life has been like on that island.

Now, realistically, of course, there's no telling what will happen next. But in talking to people on the street, they are saying it is time to celebrate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are seeing the fall of the Berlin Wall in the United States of America, the beginning of a new era. I think it's done, it's over, and we're starting to celebrate because Cuba is going to be free. We've been in this for 50 years almost, and I hope and pray to god that that bastard is dead.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I came to the United States. I can't see my mother for nine years because Castro closed that -- I can -- I can't go back or she can come here to the United States. So I was nine years, and I was waiting for this moment 45 years. So I'm so happy that he's dead, because I think he's dead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Political and law enforcement authorities not trying to put a lid on any of these celebrations even though they might be premature for now -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Susan Candiotti in Miami for us.

Susan, thanks.

The White House said to be monitoring the situation, not speculating on Fidel Castro's health at this point.

Let's get right to White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.

Suzanne, good morning.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

Well, you can bet that White House officials are keeping a very close eye on the developments in Cuba, but they are saying no speculation, "We continue to work for the day of Cuba's freedom." And already they are very much prepared for that day.

It was three years ago that President Bush got together a commission through the State Department. It's co-chaired through Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, essentially to provide U.S. aid for that moment in the event that Castro becomes incapacitated. Some $80 million in two years or so to help with trade and economic incentives.

It was just yesterday, of course, we realized the political component to all of this. President Bush was in Miami, Florida, visiting yesterday with a very important voting constituency, talking about the importance of the economy, of trade, and, of course, every time he goes to that region he talks directly to Cuban-Americans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've known many people in my country who are proud of their Cuban heritage that came to the United States to live in a free society. And my hope is that one day that same freedom that people found here in America will be found in Cuba.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Now, this report that we're mentioning through the commission, some are saying that it is simply a political ploy, of course, to win the support of those Cuban-Americans. I should let you know that there are two things not included in that commission's report.

One is the explicit call for regime change. That is not in the report. And also not in the report is any call for U.S. troops to enter Cuba in the event that there is some sort of change in the regime -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk about President Bush and his health today. He's got a check-up this morning. He got a great review last year. Expecting the same this year?

MALVEAUX: He certainly did. Actually, he got the superior category for men his age, which is really extraordinary.

He is an avid bike rider. He used to run. He is 60 years old, as you know. He just turned 60 last month. Every year he goes before a team of about nine doctors or so and gets everything thoroughly checked out.

It's going to last for about four hours. We should get some sort of assessment sometime this afternoon, but so far administration officials say they think it's going to go pretty well.

O'BRIEN: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House for us.

Thank you, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Sure.

SANCHEZ: We have this story just in, pictures that we've been sharing with you throughout the better part of the last half-hour or so. Soledad first brought these pictures to your attention.

This is in a place in southern Lebanon. It's Aita Al-Shaab in southern Lebanon, where there's been some heavy fighting this morning. And now we're getting reports. In fact, one Arab television station is reporting that Israeli soldiers have been killed.

This is part of a statement from Hezbollah that also said that there is house-to-house fighting going on right there in that area that we're talking about. This very much a part of that Israeli military engagement that we had been talking about earlier with Paula Hancocks, who first brought us the story earlier on when we first came to you about 7:00 a.m. this morning.

Let's go back now to CNN's Paula Hancocks, who is joining us live from Jerusalem, to see what she can share with us on this apparent ground incursion that's already under way, Paula, huh?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Rick. Yes, it's Aita Al-Shaab, which is just a couple of miles up from the border itself.

Now, this is an area that the Israeli Defense Forces say they have been working in for more than 24 hours now. But certainly in the last half-hour or so we have seen some heavy shelling in that particular area.

Now, we know that, according to the IDF, over the past couple of days, and in this area, they believe they've killed or injured about 20 Hezbollah fighters. Injuries on the other side IDF is not commenting on at this point. But we do see that there is a tremendous amount of shelling that's happening in this area.

It's a small village. It's believed to be, by the Israeli military, a Hezbollah stronghold.

Now, to put it into perspective of where it is, two towns that we've certainly been hearing the name of a lot recently, Maroun al- Ras, and also Bint Jbeil, which military has been working in the past week or so, it's just west of there.

So the military is working its way along the border. It's not necessarily going further into Lebanon, but it's certainly taking out those small towns that it believes Hezbollah does have a foothold in. So, at this point, we are hearing a lot, as you can probably see the live pictures, a lot of shelling that has been ongoing.

Now, there has been a 48-hour suspension of airstrikes by Israel. They have said that if they felt the need to carry out airstrikes, then they would if they thought their troops on the ground were in danger. And we know that they have been over the past couple of days. They have been carrying out these airstrikes.

But what they are trying to do is to allow humanitarian aid into southern Lebanon, into areas like this place we're looking at now, and also to allow those that couldn't escape before to escape now. Although many agencies have been saying it's certainly not enough time, many European countries have been saying a temporary cease-fire from the air is just not enough -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: Just curious, because we've been sitting here watching these pictures as they come in. And we were trying to figure out whether this was part of a ground incursion or not. It looks like some of the shelling that we're seeing are from either Howitzers or tanks, not necessarily missiles being fired from above by planes or jets.

Do you happen to know if that's the case, Paula?

HANCOCKS: Just from looking at the pictures that we have been for the past half-hour or so, it doesn't appear as though any of them are from airstrikes. Of course, it's very difficult to be able to tell from the picture on the television.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

HANCOCKS: But at this point we don't believe that that's the case. But we know that the Israeli air force is going to be around that area covering the ground troops, and certainly they've said in the past and we have seen over the past 24 hours they'll certainly carry out airstrikes if they feel their ground troops need it.

SANCHEZ: If they only need them, because obviously we're still in the second part of that 48-hour stand-down, so to speak, as far as airstrikes are concerned.

Paula Hancocks, thanks so much for bringing us up to date.

Let's get more on this story now by taking you to north, over to northern Iraq now, where officials say a curfew is in place after a series of deadly car bombings. One of the attacks, Baghdad.

Officials say that a suicide bomber blew up his car near an Iraqi army convoy within several hours today. At least 39 people were killed. More than 50 others were wounded -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk about that deadly heat wave that's been sweeping across the country. And now it has arrived here on the East Coast. A heat emergency is now in effect in New York City.

Chad Myers has got a look at that for us this morning from the CNN Center.

It's sort of cool in Atlanta. Cooler than it is where we are.

MYERS: Yes, we're cool Atlanta this morning, instead of hot Atlanta.

O'BRIEN: Cool Atlanta.

MYERS: I can hear you now, so everything is good now.

O'BRIEN: Oh, yes. I forgot I was going to do this and torture you this morning, my finger snapping, man.

MYERS: Well, no one up there listens to me ever, so I've got to get your attention somehow.

O'BRIEN: You are speaking to the choir.

MYERS: I know.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Thank you, Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

SANCHEZ: Still to come, Syria's president urges his troops to step up their readiness. Is he possibly gearing up to get involved militarily in the Middle Eastern conflict?

O'BRIEN: Then our weeklong series, "Inside Autism." Dr. Sanjay Gupta take as look at some of the leading theories about what cause this mysterious condition.

SANCHEZ: And then later, meet a 41-year-old mother of four who is joining the Army. Her family and friends say they couldn't believe it. Why she wants to trade her manicures and lattes for Army fatigues.

You'll want to hear what she has to say. And she'll be here to tell you. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: There are some very troubling signs from Israel and Syria today. Israel preparing to increase its ground forces in Lebanon, and Syria putting its troops on alert.

Imad Moustapha is Syria's ambassador to the United States.

It's nice to see you, sir. Thanks for talking with us this morning. Certainly appreciate it.

IMAD MOUSTAPHA, SYRIAN AMB. TO U.S.: Good morning.

O'BRIEN: Here is what the Syrian president had so say.

He said, "We're going to intensify efforts in training and work for more preparations and raise readiness," according to a statement that he released. "We must be aware that every effort and every drop of sweat exerted in training now will spare a drop of blood when the time comes."

It certainly sounds like he's signaling something to his troops. What exactly does mean?

MOUSTAPHA: Well, this is a very natural reaction. And our next- door neighbor, Lebanon, is being come bombarded and shelled by Israel, and Israel is committing massacres there. The ground troops of Israel are preparing an invasion of Lebanon, and Syria has to be well prepared.

Israel has a record of aggression against Syria, and the natural reaction of Syria would be to raise its level of preparedness and alert so that we can defend our country in case anything happens.

O'BRIEN: So, does "well prepared" mean that Syria is in fact planning to enter the conflict?

MOUSTAPHA: No, we are not planning to enter the conflict. It's the other way around.

Since day one of the hostilities, we have been calling the international community to work towards a cease-fire. The United States of America and Israel are the only two countries in the world that were opposing the cease-fire.

What we want do is really de-escalate the situation. We want to stop the ongoing massacre in Lebanon, the death and destruction that -- that are prevailing there. However, if the Israeli troops decide to attack Syria, we have to be prepared.

O'BRIEN: How do you de-escalate by preparing? It seems a little counterintuitive to me.

MOUSTAPHA: No, it's the other way around. On one hand -- on one hand, we have -- all options are open. Israel might attack Syria. We have to be prepared so that if Israel attacks we defend ourselves.

Having said this, we are not trying to escalate the situation. The other way around.

We are calling on the United States to do the only thing that it can do towards Israel, ask Israel to stop the hostilities and the death and destruction campaign in Lebanon. Enough is enough.

The United States is sending actually laser-directed bombs to Israel so that Israel can use these bombs to kill more and more Lebanese civilians. While we -- the only thing we are doing is, on one hand, we are calling for an immediate cease-fire, leading to probably a comprehensive peace in the Middle East. And on the other hand, we are preparing ourselves. If Israel decides to attack, we need to be ready to defend ourselves.

O'BRIEN: Let me ask you about the plans that the United Nations is now considering, that troops would monitor what's happening on the border between Lebanon and Syria.

Would your country be open to that, to having troops there?

MOUSTAPHA: Let me first say that anything that needs to be agreed upon should be agreed upon among the Lebanese parties itself.

O'BRIEN: Right, but that's kind of a yes or no question, sir.

MOUSTAPHA: It is a Lebanese issue, not a Syrian issue. So it is a yes or no question that should be addressed to the Lebanese. However, the Lebanese have said, particularly the prime minister of Lebanon, Fouad Siniora, that right now Lebanon is not prepared to discuss anything at all before a cease-fire, because the death and destruction toll on Lebanon is unprecedented.

O'BRIEN: But, we're also talking about the Syrian border. So, from the Syrian perspective, on the Syrian border, would you be willing to in fact have troops there monitoring the peace?

MOUSTAPHA: Monitoring what? The only thing Syria is allowing to go into Lebanon is humanitarian aid, medical aid, convoys -- convoys of humanitarian -- international humanitarian aid, and the huge influx, huge influx of Lebanese refugees from Lebanon into Syria. So if somebody needs to monitor anything, they need to monitor the Israeli aggression on Lebanon.

O'BRIEN: All right. So I'm going to take that as you're not going to quite answer that question for me.

Let's move on.

You say what is going in is humanitarian aid. As you well know, there are many others who say, actually, what is going in is a lot of weaponry and a lot of support for Hezbollah, military support for Hezbollah. As you know, what is also in front of the U.N., another facet of the plan, would say that Hezbollah has to have an arms embargo. You're not allowed to -- anybody, nobody can supply arms, weaponry to Hezbollah.

Would Syria agree to that?

MOUSTAPHA: What Israel would love to see is for all the Arabs to have an arms embargo imposed on them so that Israel can continue its policy of occupation, building more and more settlements while the Arabs are totally, totally defenseless.

O'BRIEN: But I guess I want to go to that also yes or no question, would be, would Syria be willing to not arm Hezbollah?

MOUSTAPHA: The answer is very clear. The answer is very clear. Syria would be willing to impose embargoes on all countries in the Middle East, starting with Israel, ending with Syria, including every other party.

Enough is enough. We have had too many wars, too many troubles. The mother of all evils is the occupation, the ongoing Israeli occupation of our territories.

If you really want to address the problem in the Middle East, start with the occupation. Why not? An arms embargo is very good, but you have to start with the United States embargo -- opposing embargo on Israel, and all other parties will do the same.

Give the good example and everybody else would follow. Would you agree with me on this?

O'BRIEN: Well, you know, I'm not the one being interviewed. I just get to ask the questions, sir.

A final question for you. You -- we've been told by the administration that there's no lack of communication between the leadership in your country and the administration, as well. Is that -- is that the case? I mean, how often do you get to speak to senior administration officials?

Do you feel like you have communication since Syria has a dog in this fight, obviously?

MOUSTAPHA: No, there is no communication whatsoever between the United States administration and the Syrian government. Of course, this has not been the case in the past.

In the past, whenever there would be a crisis in the Middle East, the United States would immediately dispatch an envoy to the major capitals of the Middle East, including Damascus, where they will sit, discuss, negotiate, look for creative solutions and reach a settlement or a compromise. Not with this administration.

This administration does not talk to Syria. It only talks past Syria.

O'BRIEN: Syria's ambassador to the United States is Imad Moustapha.

Thank you, sir. Thanks for joining us.

MOUSTAPHA: You are welcome.

O'BRIEN: We've got a short break. We're back in just a moment.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: And welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.

Now to the medical mystery that is autism. As many as one in every 166 children in this country are diagnosed with autism, but doctors still don't know exactly what causes it.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us live now from the CNN Center in Atlanta. He has been looking into this for quite a while. And this is part two of his special series, "Inside Autism."

Boy, this is something that seemingly affects more people now than ever before, Sanjay.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It really is remarkable, Rick. If you look at -- a lot of people obviously know what autism is, although harder and harder to define exactly what causes it. The numbers have been increasing over the last 10 years, but luckily the number of researchers actually looking for the cause has increased, as well.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA (voice over): It is a true medical mystery, the secrets of an autistic brain.

WENDY STONE, VANDERBILT CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: There is no identified single cause of autism that is universal for all children. And there may never be.

GUPTA: As with many mysteries of the mind, doctors point to genetics and environment as culprits. But as the mystery starts to unfold, we learn that it could be more complicated than that.

The newest research shows that there is something that a child is born with that allows outside factors to reek havoc on their little brains. More simply, these children are not necessarily born with autism, but they are born with the potential to develop it.

And what exactly are those outside factors? Not sure.

STONE: Before we're born, it's the mother's womb and placenta. After we're born it's what we eat, it's what we breathe, it's what we drink. And there are so many different things out there that it's hard to pinpoint exactly what it is.

GUPTA: Still, any parents of an autistic child will have theories. When Zack Cachas' (ph) parents learned he had autism, his mother began to change his diet, worried he was eating something that was causing him to get worse. Some families believe that a preservative in some childhood vaccines called thimerosal is causing autism in their children.

The CDC says no scientific link.

DR. BOB DAVIES, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL: Now that we have the data coming in, there is no data to suggest that the thimerosal or the mercury in vaccines is linked to autism.

GUPTA: And what about the genetic link? Well, doctors at Vanderbilt are studying siblings of autistic children.

STONE: They are at elevated risk for developing autism. Even from birth we can start following these children and we can identify the very earliest signs.

GUPTA: Catching those early signs may help doctors get one step closer to solving the mystery.

So what exactly is happening in an autistic brain? At the University of Pittsburgh, doctors are seeing what is happening inside the autistic brain.

The picture here shows a normal brain on the left, an autistic brain on the right with dramatic fewer connections lighting up. And, it turns out, we may soon be able to diagnose autism before the child is even born.

DR. FRED VOLKMAR, YALE UNIV.: The placenta of the babies with autism had higher rates were called profoblasts (ph) which usually is a sign something had gone wrong genetically in the pregnancy.

GUPTA: No, we still don't know what exactly causes it, or even how to explain the rising rates across the United States. But every day we're getting close to solving the mystery of autism.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA: And you can understand and you can start to see the problem here, without a specific cause, it's hard to actually develop a cure. But you are starting to see some new technologies which is helping solve the mystery of autism, actually taking a look inside the brain, for example, and just some new studies coming out yesterday as well, talking about the genes responsible for autism. Rick, this is interesting, they're actually different in boys and girls. That might be a step toward solving that problem as well, Rick.

SANCHEZ: This is tough on parents, though, Sanjay, because there's really no test, as I understand it, for autism. So how does a parent know if their child is going to fall in the autism spectrum, for lack of a better word? Is there anything they can do?

GUPTA: Well, it is difficult, Rick, and you and I are both parents, we understand this I think more than many do maybe. But when it comes to specific things that pediatricians will tell parents to look for, pediatricians are going to be reluctant to give any specific guideposts in terms of looking for autism or looking for specific milestones. You've got to be careful there.

But here are some things to possibly lookout for. Your child does not babble, point or make any meaningful gestures whatsoever by age one, does not speak one word by 16 months, does not respond to the name, loses language or social skills. That means going backwards. Most parents with autistic children will tell us -- have told us as we were doing some of the work on the series that they know something just isn't right. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what it is, but they know something just isn't right. The key, if there is one sort of thing in all this that's consistent, it is that getting early intervention is important. So if you sense something isn't right, talk to your pediatrician about that. Don't use those guideposts as absolute markers though, because that can be a trouble as well -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: That's good, useful information.

What have you got tomorrow? What do you got?

GUPTA: Well, we're going to talk more about autism. Specifically we're going to talk about the importance of early intervention. What can you do? I mean, you get the early intervention. What specifically is it? How much of a difference can it make? We'll have that report. A lot more coming up as well -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: Sanjay Gupta, we thank you so much. We'll see you again, my friend -- Soledad.

GUPTA: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, actor Mel Gibson apologized for his behavior following his arrest, but is he going to need to do more to save his image? We're going to talk to an expert marketing strategist just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

(NEWSBREAK)

SANCHEZ: And then there's Mel, Gibson that is.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: He's in trouble, too, huh?

SANCHEZ: Yes, I guess so.

As a matter of fact, he has apologized for his recent behavior, even entered a rehab program now. But what is it going to take to now rehabilitate other things, like his image, his career, his moviemaking. We're going to talk to a marketing strategist about that.

First, though, not your typical mom. Oh, no, not at all. Find out why this 41-year-old mother of four is now joining the army. She joins us next. Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: And we welcome you back. She's a 41-year-old mother of four, and she's in the Army now. Laurie-Ann Fuca enlisted in June after the Army had raised its maximum recruiting age to 42. She leaves for boot camp tomorrow, just four weeks after her 19-year-old son was sent to Iraq, and Laurie-Ann is good enough to join us now live from Phoenix, Arizona.

Let's start with this if we possibly can. You have four children. You are recently remarried. Most people would wonder, is this, Laurie, the right time to be doing this? Why?

LAURIE-ANN FUCA, MOM WHO IS JOINING ARMY: I've always wanted to be in the military ever since I can remember, never had the opportunity rearing four children and traveling. Now that I only have one son left at home, and something was missing, just every job I had or everywhere I was just -- I didn't have the satisfaction, and when I gave it some time, I realized, I've just got to follow my dream, which was joining the armed forces.

SANCHEZ: That's amazing. And your son, 19 years old, has enlisted as well. He's over there. Are you following up on him, trying to keep track of him, or is that part of your motivation?

FUCA: It is part of my motivation, as well. It takes me one step close to him, and I want to support him, and I'm proud of him, and we do try and keep in touch, but it's rather difficult.

SANCHEZ: When were you married?

FUCA: Married March 16th of 2006.

SANCHEZ: So, and -- When you told your husband, you know, honey, I think I'm going to enlist, and join up and serve my country right about now, he said what?

FUCA: He said, I'm not going to stand in the way of your dreams and I'm going to support you 100 percent.

SANCHEZ: That's great.

Hey, do you worry at all about the danger involved in something like this? You know, most mothers are trying to talk their kids out of dangerous situations. You're not only not doing that with your son, but backing it up by going in yourself.

FUCA: Yes, there's dangers in everything you do, from taking your car driving out during the day, but I understand Iraq is a much higher sense of danger, but it's just part of what is going on. I accept that. And I'm hoping that boot camp will help prepare me for that.

SANCHEZ: Most studies seem to indicate that many Americans are saying that we should find a way to get out of Iraq, this while you're going in. How do you reconcile that?

FUCA: I don't have a direct answer for that. I guess all I can say is that I want to help, and my position requires me to be able to help wounded soldiers, so going there and helping them is the best answer I can give you.

SANCHEZ: Is there a possibility you could end up in Iraq itself?

FUCA: Yes, sir.

SANCHEZ: Or are you going to be on the -- tell us about that?

FUCA: Well, they don't allow women in combat situations. My job description is the equivalent of a hospital paramedic, so I would most probably be working in a set-up type of a MASH unit, so I would be helping wounded soldiers as they come into me.

SANCHEZ: And that's certainly something that certainly something that's very much needed over there. I understand you've been going through some pretty rigorous training already, is that right?

FUCA: Yes, I have.

SANCHEZ: Tell us about that. We might even have some pictures to show.

FUCA: Well, I've never jogged before. I don't really care for it, and pushups I've never done, so I don't care for that either. But to prepare for boot camp, my husband, who used to be a Tucson police officer, realized how serious I was and started me running, but he wasn't expecting me go to get up the next morning at 5:30 a.m. with my running shoes on. He's like, what? Really? Right now? I'm like, right now.

SANCHEZ: You know, I know you like manicures and martinis. It might be tough to get them over there. Our friends told us to ask you that.

FUCA: Oh, that's correct. I enjoy my life. I'm very fortunate to have what I do have and all the creature comforts, and I know that it's not going to be a spa going over there.

SANCHEZ: God bless you. We appreciate you taking time to talk to us and we certainly respect your enthusiasm.

FUCA: Thank you so much.

SANCHEZ: All right. Take care. Laurie, appreciate it -- Soledad.

FUCA: You're welcome.

O'BRIEN: She's so cute. Good luck to her. Yes, no manicures and martinis, so you're absolutely right.

We should check in with her again when she's back and get us a sense of how the experience has changed her.

KAGAN: That would certainly be the thing to do, wouldn't it?

O'BRIEN: Let's go right to Daryn. CNN LIVE TODAY is coming up next.

Hey, Daryn.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad.

We have developments in the Middle East, and LIVE TODAY will show you how the Arab media covers the crisis?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: This video starts with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert stating there's no struggle more ethical than our struggle.

As it continues, Ayman Ar (ph) TV puts a swastika on his arm, and an Adolph Hitler-style mustache over his lips.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Also Cuba's Fidel Castro's surgery puts the long-time communist leader out of commission. Insight from my guests, just ahead.

But Castro's health problems are prompting a street party in Miami. And here comes the sun. Dallas, St. Louis, Chicago, New York, grin and bear it. The summer swelter, you are headed for 100 degrees, triple digits. Those stories, lots of breaking news is how things have been going lately. Stay informed with "LIVE TODAY" at the top of the hour.

Back to you.

O'BRIEN: You've got it, Daryn. Thanks.

SANCHEZ: Up next, Andy's "Minding Your Business," and he joins us now with a bit of a preview.

What've you got?

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Rick, gourmet food, upscale bread and Mexican fare leaving a bad taste in Wall Street's mouth. We'll explain that, coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Mel Gibson has entered a rehab program. It happened after his arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence. He's apologized for a reported anti-Semitic tirade after his arrest on Friday. He might need a team, though, of spin doctors to repair the damage that's been done to his career and his image, too.

Laura Ries is a marketing strategist. She joins us from the CNN Center in Atlanta. Nice to see you, Laura, thanks for talking with us.

LAURA RIES, MARKETING STRATEGIST: It's great to be here, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: The details of this story are quite remarkable. He gets pulled over. The deputy who's arresting him, who, it turns out, is Jewish, is -- after he sort of gives a little back and forth, doesn't want to put the cuffs on him, puts the cuff on him, is a victim after spew of really vicious, nasty remarks, anti-Semitic remarks. When a female deputy enters the fray, she becomes the victim of sort of nasty sexist remarks. All this is alleged. We haven't actually heard any of the words yet, although audiotape apparently was rolling and is said to back up the claim. How damaging, first, do you think is the alleged DUI in and of itself?

RIES: The DUI in and of itself is not damaging at all. I mean, that's common all around the country. And that happening to a celebrity would hardly make news. The damaging part about this story is, like you said, the despicable comments that Mel, you know, unfortunately made in his drunken rage at being pulled over and arrested as a DUI.

And this is really going to short-term/long-term problem for Mel, as I see it. Short-term, it is the atomic bomb of negative P.R. It's packed with some terrible allegations, compounded by he's coming off some controversy and anti-Semitic feelings after his "Passion of the Christ." Some comments his dad made to "The New York Times" diminishing the Holocaust. So there's a lot of things that were triggered by those unfortunate comments.

But long-term, I think it's going to be another story. Long- term, powerful brands tend to survive if you approach it right, and sometimes even if you don't approach it right. For all intents and purposes, Mel has done the best job at trying to recover this. He's done all the right things so far.

O'BRIEN: You men with his statement regarding his arrest?

RIES: Yes, in trying to come back from this. I mean, certainly the stupidest thing he ever did was get into the car. And apparently, as you've seen on the gossip blogs, I think, as well, you know, people try to stop him, they told him not drive. I mean, why someone didn't take the keys away, I have no idea.

O'BRIEN: So he releases this statement, and he...

RIES: Immediately. Immediately. That's the biggest thing is he immediately...

O'BRIEN: That's a good publicist working for you, when you issue that statement. Because, you know, apparently there was also a videotape rolling as well, and he was, according to TMZ, that Web site, he was aware of that.

And he basically says this: "I did a number of things for which I'm ashamed. I drove a car when I shouldn't have. I acted like a person completely out of control when I was arrested. I said things that I do not believe to be true and which are despicable."

I guess the question is, does that go far enough as an apology? He doesn't talk a lot about any of the underlying issues. And I think there's a lot of people who would say people tend to speak their minds more when they're drunk rather than less when they're drunk?

RIES: Well, I mean, and that's really up for debate. I think Mel really has got to shift the emphasis to his severe alcoholism. This has been a life-long battle for him. He's talked about it before in many interviews. And clearly, he is a man in trouble. And trying to shift it to alcohol -- alcoholics do bizarre things. He apparently doesn't remember saying any of it. I remember going to college and seeing...

O'BRIEN: That's convenient.

RIES: Well -- but I remember going to college and seeing people, you know, just stumbling down drunk, mumbling things.

O'BRIEN: OK, but here's...

RIES: I think he was angry.

O'BRIEN: Let's clarify. Here's what he said. He said, "F'ing Jews. Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world. He asks the deputy, who is Jewish, "Are you Jewish?" He goes on to say, "I'm going to" -- you know, more profanity, more profanity, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

RIES: It is absolutely appalling, terrible, everything he said.

O'BRIEN: But rehab can't cure the anti-Semitism, and can't cure the nasty thing he said to the female deputy, right?

RIES: No, nothing. And that's why he shouldn't say more than he already has. He's very quickly apologized. He made no excuses. He took all responsibility. I think trying to belabor the issue would just make it worse, and repeating some of the things in his statement would make it worse.

O'BRIEN: And you think it goes away?

RIES: Well, I think it's going to take a long time. He's got to be on his best behavior. He's done the right things. He's taken -- he said he's sorry. He's taken -- he's taken responsibility for his actions. He's gone right into rehab. He released this statement right away. I really don't see how there's anything else he can do at this moment. He's got to lie low, wait it out.

And, you know, the big thing is, can he recover, and how long is it going to take? I think he can recover. I think it's going to take an enormous amount of time. They thought he was dead before "Passion of the Christ." They thought he was crazy man. He had to put $25 million of his own money to make that movie. What saved him was that it was one of the number one R-rated movie of all time.

O'BRIEN: So at the end of the day, success may actually trump all the above. Laura Ries, we're out of time. Thanks for talking with us this morning. Guess we'll watch and wait to see what happens with his career. Thank you.

RIES: Thanks.

O'BRIEN: Rick.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

O'BRIEN: We got to take a short break. We're back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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