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Bird Flu Developments; Former President Carter Shares Views on Mideast Peace Process; Troops Returning to Afghanistan; Schools Cracking Down on Student Blogs; Jeb Bush as NFL Commissioner?

Aired May 24, 2006 - 17:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: And to our viewers, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM, where new pictures and information are arriving all the time.
Standing by, CNN reporters across the United States and around the world to bring you today's top stories.

Happening now, did bird flu spread from human to human in wiping out an Indonesian family? Why is a European capital right now under partial quarantine?

It's 5:00 p.m. here in Washington. As fears grow about a possible pandemic, I'll speak with America's point man on infectious diseases.

He sees racist overtones in one immigration bill. And a quarter century after he warned about foreign oil, he has ideas to ease your pain at the pump. My interview with former president Jimmy Carter, that's coming up this hour.

And his brother once ran a baseball team. Could Governor Jeb Bush be the next commissioner of the NFL?

I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

There are growing concerns right now about bird flu with troubling new developments heightening fear of a possible pandemic. Health officials are focusing in on two potential hotspots.

We have complete coverage for you this hour. Let's begin with CNN's Mary Snow. She's watching all of these developments from New York -- Mary.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, we'll get to those hotspots in a moment, but the headline tonight, officials are searching for possible human-to-human transmission of avian flu in Asia.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW (voice over): In a sign that countries are worried, the Romanian government has quarantined hundreds of residents in two districts of the capital of Bucharest, concerned they may have been exposed to birds with avian influenza. So far, no confirmed sickness. In Indonesia, six family members died in what health officials say is the largest known cluster of humans dying from bird flu, prompting the World Health Organization to make this sober statement...

PETER CORDINGLY, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: We have a team down there. They're examining what is going on. And they can't find an animal source of this infection. And that worries us. And in the absence of a known animal source, we have to treat this as possibly human-to-human transmission of the virus.

SNOW: Health officials stress that the H5N1 flu found in this family has not mutated in a way that is easily passed from person to person. It's not the first case of human-to-human transmission of avian flu, but officials say it's the largest. They are now investigating if anyone who had contact with the family may have contracted the disease.

DR. PAUL GULLY, WHO: Well, what we're trying to identify, if it has occurred, is what we call sustained human-to-human transmission, i.e., one human giving it to another and giving it to another, and so on and so forth, because that would indicate that we have the potential for a pandemic.

SNOW: If that happens -- and officials stress it's a big "if" -- it would raise the level of pandemic plans. What would happen in the U.S.?

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: If it occurs, then that would trigger a number of events of preparedness to the next level. And some of it might be and could be restriction of travel to a particular area where there seems to be rather easy spread from person to person, which is, again, I underscore, not the case we're seeing now in Indonesia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: Concerns about travel were reflected in the stock market. Airline stocks in both the U.S. and Europe traded lower out of concern that international travel may be affected the way it was in 2003 when there was a SARS outbreak in Asia -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Mary, thanks for that.

Let's get a little closer look at some of the areas we're talking about. Tom Foreman is here in THE SITUATION ROOM with us.

Show our viewers where this is unfolding.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, let's look first at the big issue of where the bird flu has affected bird populations. If you look at the world right now, this is the big hotspot, all of the yellow spaces here over in Europe, Asia, and now on to Africa.

If we rotate the globe here, all of the golden areas are places where they have had bird flu out breaks among poultry. If you come on around to the western hemisphere, the deadly strain has basically not shown up over here. But -- and this is the big issue now -- the human cases. You go back around the world here, and if you look at the places where human cases have been found, there have been more than 200 of them. About half the people who have contracted this disease have died. And so far, in Europe, in Asia, and on over into Africa, the general sense has been that has always been from people who have been around poultry or who have been involved in handling birds, or things that were associated with birds.

The big issue, of course, is this mutation, whether or not it becomes something that transmits from humans to other humans. And thereby, you get rid of the bird as the transmitter. The worry about that is that these red areas, which so far represent only the places where humans have contracted it from birds, could then become places where people are passing it to each other.

And look at this, China, down here into Indonesia, populations where people are moving all over the world. And if it's transmitting this way, that potentially becomes an avenue for this transmitting much further, much faster.

BLITZER: Let's hope that never happens.

Thanks, Tom, very much.

So what should we make of these latest bird flu developments? We took our questions to one of this country's top experts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And joining us now here in THE SITUATION ROOM is Dr. Anthony Fauci. He's the director of the Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Fauci, a couple major problems potentially developing right now. First, in Romania, they're quarantining a whole district right now. There is suspicion of bird flu there. What do you make of this latest report we're getting from Romania?

FAUCI: I think the Romanian report really is just a reflection of how a particular country is dealing with the fact they have infected chickens and people exposed to the chickens. I don't think it tells us much about what the virus is doing there. It's a rather aggressive precautionary measure that the Romanian authorities are taking.

It's not surprising that they do that. They're concerned about that. But we'll have to leave it up to those local authorities of how they handle when they get flocks of chickens that are inflected and when they have exposure of humans. They just want to make sure that the people who have been exposed to those chickens, if, in fact, they do get infected -- and there's no indication that there's massive infection there at all -- they just want to make sure that the exposed individuals don't ultimately spread it to other people. And for that reason, they're doing the containment method that you just described.

BLITZER: Perhaps more worrisome is what has happened in Indonesia in recent days. One family infected with bird flu. According to World Health Organization authorities, may have passed that on from family member to family member.

What is the latest information you're getting on that? Because if there is human-to-human passing on of the bird flu virus, that could be enormously significant.

FAUCI: Well, what it looks like we have, if you look at the data as it has unfolded, that it is likely that there was transmission from one person to another within that family cluster, particularly a father who was very close to a child, taking care of a child who was very seriously ill. And other members of the family, for example, who were sleeping in the same room together, when one person was coughing very vehemently and was acutely ill.

So it is -- it cannot be ruled out, and it is likely that we do have limited human-to-human transmissibility within this family. That's of concern. Those are the kinds of things we need to keep an eye on.

The somewhat encouraging news thus far within the framework of a serious situation is that there have not been other cases outside of the family unit. In other words, not a casual contact, not any of the nurses or the doctors or others who were taking care of them. So this could be a reflection of one of those unusual cases where you do get a family cluster.

You might recall we discussed some time ago, Wolf, that there was a similar smaller group of people in Thailand a couple of years ago when a mother and an aunt got it from a 10 or 11-year-old child who was seriously ill. This looks like that kind of pattern.

We need to observe it carefully, take it seriously, and just hope it does not go beyond that particular group, which it looks like it has not at this point, gone beyond the immediate exposure of that family.

BLITZER: So, as far as you know, there's no evidence to suggest that the virus has mutated to a form where it would go from human to human, which clearly would spark a pandemic?

FAUCI: Well, actually, if you look at the virus and the mutation aspect, what we call the molecular makeup, we have looked at a few of those viral isolates and there's no evidence at all that there's any mutations that would suggest what you're referring to. And it's still a purely bird virus.

So it has not assumed any other genes that might make it spread more readily from person to person that we would make that projection if we saw that. So it looks like the same virus that has been circulating in that area for some time now, that fundamentally has gone only from chicken to human, chicken to human, and stopped. This family cluster is an example of limited spread from a person to person within a family, but the virus itself does not seem to have changed at all from what we were looking at months ago.

BLITZER: So, to our viewers watching right now, especially in North America, what words of advice would you have for them?

FAUCI: I think we take this seriously. And we should. We, as public health authorities, we should be following it very closely.

We should continue the same kind of preparedness that we have been doing all along. Some people say, well, this is a wakeup call. Well, in some respects it's not, because the wakeup call came a long time ago when we knew that there was a potential for a pandemic flu. So we need to continue to aggressively prepare the way we have been doing now for several months to well over a year.

BLITZER: Dr. Fauci, thanks very much for joining us.

FAUCI: Good to be here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: President Bush tomorrow will host one of his closest allies, the British prime minister, Tony Blair, who just paid a visit to Iraq. The White House says the two leaders won't be setting a deadline for a troop pullout, but they will be holding a live evening news conference. Our coverage will start tomorrow, right here in THE SITUATION ROOM, 7:00 p.m. Eastern.

Meantime, the United States and its allies are focusing in on Iran and its nuclear program. Our national security correspondent, David Ensor, is joining us now live with the latest developments -- David.

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, there are several. Iran fired a missile even as it made diplomatic overtures, while six countries talked about how to make Iran back down.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR (voice over): The latest Iranian missile test of a Shihab- 3, capable of reaching Europe and Israel, comes as the crisis over Iran's nuclear program continues to heat up. In London, at a secret location, diplomats from six powers met: the U.S., Russia, China, Britain, France, and Germany. At issue, what carrots and sticks to offer to Iran in an effort to convince it to give up enriching uranium.

In Washington, Secretary of State Rice said the meeting went well.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: The London meeting had good progress. We did not expect that they were going to finalize all matters.

ENSOR: The talks come amid renewed reports that Tehran is talking to America's allies about its desire for direct talks with Washington on all the issues, not just Iraq. U.S. ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad says he will discuss Iraq with the Iranians, and the U.S. has held talks with Iran about Afghanistan some years ago. But foreign diplomats say Iran wants to talk about much more, even their nuclear program.

Bush administration officials present the Iranian feelers as a sign Tehran is worried.

SEAN MCCORMACK, STATE DEPT. SPOKESMAN: The Iranians are feeling the pressure of the international community.

ENSOR: Ever since the election of Iranian President Ahmadinejad, some experts say Tehran has been quietly pushing for broad-ranging direct talks with Washington. They say it is really President Bush and his advisers who are still wary, but, they argue, that may change.

RAY TAKEYH, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: And there'll be incredible pressure on the United States, on the Bush administration to actually engage in those negotiations. And I suspect at the end they will.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ENSOR: But U.S. officials say if Iran really wants direct talks on all the issues, they know how to get in touch, and that telling other nations they would like talks with the U.S. could simply be a tactic designed to weaken international resolve against Tehran's nuclear plans -- Wolf.

BLITZER: David, thank you for that.

And I'll speak about Iran with the former president, Jimmy Carter. That's coming up later this hour in THE SITUATION ROOM. We'll also cover immigration, gas prices, and the Israeli-Palestinian crisis. All of that coming up, my interview with Jimmy Carter.

The Senate today cut off further debate of the immigration reform bill, and that clears the way for a final vote this week on the measure which would boost border security while giving millions of illegal immigrants a chance to gain United States citizenship. Passage of the Senate bill would set up a showdown with the House of Representatives, which has passed a bill making illegal immigration a felony.

The drama comes during a four-day visit by Mexico's president, Vicente Fox, to the United States. But he's far from the U.S. capital.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is covering the visit for us. He's joining us live from Salt Lake City -- Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Wolf.

Well, Vicente Fox has left Utah and is on his way to Washington State, where he will continue his four-day visit to the U.S. But he didn't leave Utah before talking immigration, before a joint session of the Utah legislature.

Vicente Fox, the Mexican president, essentially pushing for the U.S. to adopt a more open border policy, a guest worker program for Mexican migrants. In his words, he wants to be able to create a system where people can freely move back and forth across the border legally and safely.

Of course, this does not come as the kind of thing that many people here in the U.S. who are anti-illegal immigration have been wanting to hear from the Mexican president. But nonetheless, President Vicente Fox says that the U.S. cannot fight the illegal immigration problem all by itself, that it needs the help of Mexico.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VICENTE FOX, MEXICAN PRESIDENT: Mexico believes that enforcement, enforcement-only measures will not solve the challenges posed by the migration phenomenon. And that comprehensive reform is in the interest of both nations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: President Fox did acknowledge that his country needs to do more to create economic opportunities for workers there. And that, in the long term, will prevent more people from wanting to migrate to the north. And that is also part of the reason why he's here, encouraging more people to do business with Mexico.

But that is a long-term solution and does not appease many of the people, some 50 protestors, for example, that showed up here as Vicente Fox was walking into the Utah State Capitol to chants of, "Fox fix Mexico. Close the border." These people do not feel that Vicente Fox has a serious effort -- is making a serious effort to solve the immigration issue -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Ed, thank you very much for that.

Let's go back up to New York right now. Jack Cafferty standing by with "The Cafferty File" -- Jack.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: You mentioned the Senate getting ready to pass this immigration bill. It's pretty much a toothless piece of legislation.

Employers who don't use a new computerized system to check Social Security numbers and the immigration status of all new hires could be fined between $200 and $600. That's a deterrent, a $200 fine.

Now, once the new screening system is set up -- we don't have it yet -- then those who hire illegal aliens would be fined $20,000. That's double the current maximum. Repeat violators could be sentenced to up to three years in prison.

The key phrase is "once the new system is set up." If it works like every other government program, these illegal aliens will all be on Social Security before they have to even concern themselves with it."

The House bill, on the other hand, actually attempts to address this crisis. It would impose fines on employers of up to $40,000, and employers would have to screen all of their employees. That's an estimated 140 million people, instead of just the new hires.

So here is the question this hour. What is an appropriate punishment for employers who hire illegal aliens?

E-mail your thoughts to caffertyfile@CNN.com or go to CNN.com/caffertyfile -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Jack, thank you for that.

And if you want a sneak preview, by the way, of Jack's questions, plus an early read on the day's political news and what is ahead herein THE SITUATION ROOM, sign up for our daily e-mail alert. Just go to CNN.com/situationroom.

Up ahead, my interview with the former president, Jimmy Carter. I'll ask the pioneer in Middle East peace efforts what he makes of the current situation there. We'll also talk about the immigration debate and lots more.

And the Veterans Affairs Department under fire after personal information on millions of vets was stolen. Our Internet reporters are following the situation online.

And will Jeb Bush go from leading Florida to leading the NFL? We're going to show you why there's growing buzz about what could be his next job.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Fredricka Whitfield joining us once again from the CNN Center with another look at some other important stories making news -- Fred.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, Wolf.

At least four Palestinians have been killed and 32 injured in a battle with Israeli defense forces in Ramallah. The IDF says it was in the West Bank city to arrest militants. Sources with the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades say two of the dead were members of that group.

A familiar face was on the stand at the trial of Saddam Hussein today. The former deputy prime minister Tariq Aziz, looking frail and said to be in poor health, he testified that no one is guilty of anything in the deadly 1982 crackdown on the town of Dujail following a failed assassination attempt of Saddam. Aziz wore pajamas to today's sessions.

The state already devastated by mining deaths suffers yet another. Today, officials say a miner died in West Virginia. It happened at an International Coal Group mine in Harrison County. The number of coal mine related deaths in West Virginia this year alone now stands at 19 -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Sad story there. Tanks very much, Fred, for that. The Veterans Affairs Department is getting a lot of heat for waiting more than two weeks to inform the American people of a massive computer security breach. How are officials now handling the identity theft fears of more than 26 million Americans?

Our Internet reporter, Abbi Tatton, has the latest -- Abbi.

ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Wolf, Veterans Affairs on Monday set up special Web pages and a phone number to answer questions and give advice following this security breach. That number there, 1- 800-FED-INFO. That is currently manned by 1,500 people answering those phones. They have taken over 84,000 calls in the first two days that has been operational.

A spokeswoman for Veterans Affairs tells us that there is some frustration among veterans calling. She also does tell us, though, that there are no problems getting through that she knows of. And we also called and had no problem as well.

A lot more information at the Veterans Affairs Web page. One thing they're at pains (ph) to say is no evidence the missing data has been used illegally. However, some people are taking precautions.

The major credit bureaus here have information about how to put a fraud alert on your account. I talked to TransUnion and they told me they have had more people this week doing that. Other credit report and identity protection agencies offering veterans special deals. All this information at CNN.com/situationreport -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Abbi, thank you.

Coming up, term limits will soon end his career as Florida's governor, but will the next stop for Jeb Bush be the NFL? Details of what he's saying about a significant possible career change.

Plus, the former president, Jimmy Carter, he'll join us in THE SITUATION ROOM. He's hosting a major conference on human rights at the Carter Center. We'll talk about that, immigration, Middle East peace, lots more.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: A day after he met with President Bush, Israel's new prime minister, Ehud Olmert, addressed a joint meeting of the United States Congress. In his hard-hitting speech, he called Iran the world's leading sponsor of terror and restated Israel's refusal to deal with the Palestinian government, led by Hamas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EHUD OLMERT, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: A Palestinian leadership that fulfills its commitments and obligations will find us a willing partner in peace. But if they refuse, we will not give a terrorist regime a victor over progress or allow it to take hope hostage. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Earlier, I spoke with former president Jimmy Carter, who brokered the first Israeli peace deal at Camp David. You'll hear his views on today's Middle East crisis, but we begin with the domestic battle over immigration. The former president joined me from Atlanta, where he hosted the third annual Human Rights Defenders policy forum at the Carter Center.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Joining us now is the former president of the United States, Jimmy Carter.

Mr. President, thanks so much for joining us. Welcome back.

JAMES CARTER, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's good to be with you again, Wolf, and the folks in THE SITUATION ROOM.

BLITZER: Thank you.

I know you have a major conference that you're involved with, human rights. I read your remarks on human rights. I want to get to all of those issues, including the human rights aspects of this enormous immigration debate that we have seen unfold in this country over the past several weeks.

You recently wrote in "The Miami Herald" this -- you said, "Competing legislation from the House of Representatives on immigration has strong racist overtones."

What specifically are you referring to?

CARTER: Well, it's such a punitive approach to the very sensitive issue of immigration. And I tried to point out in my editorial that these people who come to our country, and even the ones who employ them, are good, honest, hardworking, dedicated people. And they don't need to be punished. And so I think whenever you single out a particular category of people for just punitive legislation, as I believe was done in the House version of the bill that might be passed, it does have overtones of distinguishing between a particular class of people.

BLITZER: So you're referring specifically to the House legislation, which would categorize these illegal immigrants as felons.

CARTER: That's correct. And also calls for the deportation of all of them. This -- and the categorization, as you just said, of everyone as a convicted criminal. This is not the proper approach to a nation that prides itself on being the champion of democracy, freedom, and human rights.

BLITZER: The president -- the current president's plan calls for stronger border security, a guest worker program, and a path towards citizenship. It sort of -- pretty much coinsides with what senators Kennedy and McCain have in mind, what the Senate certainly supports. But there is strong opposition in the House.

On this issue, I take it you don't have a lot of disagreement with President Bush.

CARTER: No, that's exactly right. I think that the approach that has been put forward and currently being considered, the bill in the Senate, as supported, the way I understand it, by President Bush, is very compatible with my own -- my own views.

BLITZER: What about English as the official language of the United States? Should there been legislation that makes English the official or national language of the U.S.?

CARTER: No. I don't think so. You know, we have gotten along for more than 200 years without excluding other languages.

This is a country that is kind of a melting pot for languages around the world. And I don't think there's any need for it.

It's just kind of one of those emotional issues that can turn one part of America against another. You know, we have survived OK without such language. And I think just to specifically say that it's the only language that we will accept officially is the wrong approach.

BLITZER: Let's talk a little bit about human rights in the West Bank, in Gaza, the Palestinian-Israeli problem, which is clearly very much on your agenda right now.

You say the elections were very free, very fair. The elections that saw Hamas win and become the leader of this new Palestinian government. Listen to what Olmert, Ehud Olmert, the prime minister, said this week at the White House about this new Hamas-led Palestinian government.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EHUD OLMERT, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Unfortunately, the rise of Hamas, a terrorist organization, which refuses to recognize Israel's right to exist and regards terrorism as a legitimate tool, severely undermines the possibility of promoting a genuine peace process.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Is the peace process effectively dead right now?

CARTER: Well, it depends on the judgment to be made by Israel and the Palestinians and with a heavy influence from Washington. There is now a very clearly identified interlocutor or negotiator who represents the Palestinian community from two points of view. One is the president of the Palestine National Assembly. And that is Mahmoud Abbas. And the other point of view is a leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, the PLO. And that is the same person, Mahmoud Abbas.

And so he has been going around national capitals in Europe and other places during the last few months, strongly calling for direct talks between himself and representatives of the Israeli government. And there have been statements made even by Hamas leaders that they favor these direct talks between Abbas and representatives from Israel. So...

BLITZER: Mr. President, excuse me for interrupting. Olmert says that he's powerless, he's helpless. He thinks he's a good man, but he has no longer -- has no longer the authority to deliver anything.

CARTER: Well, I don't want to get into a debate with the prime minister of Israel, whom I respect very much, but the fact is that there are only two positions that are distinct positions of authority. One is the head of the Palestinian government, and the other is the head of the Palestinian Liberation Organization. And the PLO is the only organization, as you know, that the government of Israel recognizes.

So Abbas can speak for the Palestinian community officially. He's also been the one in the past, as you know, that was endorsed by the United States government under President Bush and by the Israeli government under the former prime minister of Israel, Sharon.

So if there is a desire to have peace talks, obviously, the Palestinians have a representative who can speak for the Palestinian people.

BLITZER: Israel is saying, the government of Israel, that if there are no negotiations, Israel will take unilateral action to disengage, as he calls it, from the West Bank, at least from parts of the West Bank.

I know you've written an article suggesting that would be an illegal land grab, words to that effect, what you said. I asked Olmert about your article on "LATE EDITION" last Sunday. Here's what he said about your comments. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OLMERT: I have enormous respect for President Carter, who come to visit me every now and then when he's in Israel. I think some of his statements are different than the ones he writes when he's far away.

But I think that the basic point is this. Shall we negotiate with a terrorist government? I don't know that there is one serious American representative that will advise Israel to sit with a terrorist government and negotiate with them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Do you want to comment on that?

CARTER: I think I just have, Wolf. I'm not advocating that Prime Minister Olmert negotiate with the Hamas organization. I'm advocating they negotiate with Mahmoud Abbas, who is the president of the Palestinian organization, the government. And also the head of the PLO.

I haven't advocated that assistance of economic character be given through the Hamas government. What I've advocated is that humanitarian assistance only be given directly to the people in the West Bank and Gaza through the United Nations agencies, perhaps. Through the United Nations refugees, through UNICEF and other organizations, bypassing the Hamas government.

So there's a difference between Hamas on the one hand, with whom Israel will not negotiate and which the United Stats cannot recognize, and the Palestinian people on the other. And their own chosen president and leader of the PLO, Mahmoud Abbas.

BLITZER: Mr. President, I want to leave it on a happy note. This week, you and your former vice president, Walter Mondale, became the longest living ex-president and ex-vice president in American history, beating Adams and Jefferson. Congratulations to you on that. We hope both of you are around for many, many more years to come. Thanks for all your good work.

CARTER: Thank you, Wolf. All you have to do is live a long life and choose a healthy vice president.

BLITZER: Well, you did both. Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

And we're going to have much more of my interview with the former president, Jimmy Carter. That's coming up, 7 p.m. Eastern right here in THE SITUATION ROOM. We'll talk about human rights, Iran, immigration reform. Part two of the interview coming up 7 p.m. Eastern tonight.

Up next, one Bush brother ran a baseball team before becoming governor. Could the other Bush brother go from governor to commissioner of the National Football League?

And as the fighting in Afghanistan heats up, we'll take you aboard the night flight, bringing U.S. troops back into the combat zone. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Four and a half years after U.S. troops toppled the Taliban regime, Afghanistan once again is becoming a red hot combat zone. More than 300 people have been reported killed in the past week alone. Most of them militants.

Our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, took a night flight into Afghanistan with U.S. troops. Here's her report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Our journey into Afghanistan has now begun with the night flight into Bagram Air Base. We're onboard a C-117 plane that left Kuwait. It was about 100 degrees on this plane when we left Kuwait. Now it's cooling down nicely. We've put on sweaters.

On the flight tonight, as you see behind me, are a number of troops that are going back into Afghanistan. Some of them tell us that they've come off their two-week leave, their vacation from the war. They're headed back in. Some of the men on board tonight are members of a military intelligence unit. They have asked us not to show their faces.

The C-17 is a method of transport all over this region into Afghanistan, into Iraq. It's a pretty tidy arrangement. As you can see, the cargo is all put on a pallet. This here is the personal gear, the helmets, the vests, the backpacks of the troops.

But all of CNN's gear is in that pile right back there. Our clothes, our cameras, our sound gear, everything we have for the next two weeks. If it's not in that pallet, we have left it at home and we're going to be doing without it.

We will be in Afghanistan, we expect, in about three hours. And then the trip will begin. And we will see what lies ahead for us in covering the news as it unfolds for the next two weeks.

Barbara Starr, CNN, on the way to Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And we're going to have many, many reports from Barbara coming up in the next several days as she watches the scene unfold in Afghanistan.

Still to come in our 7 p.m. Eastern hour, American forces have the heavy armor in Afghanistan, but the Taliban know the land. New battles are brewing between both sides. We have a unique look inside the battle as American troops scour the mountains.

And Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said she wants it. So why is Florida Governor Jeb Bush being asked about his interest in Rice's dream job? We'll tell you what that is and how the governor is reacting.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Lou Dobbs getting ready for his program that begins right at the top of the hour. He's going to join us to tell us what he's working on -- Lou.

LOU DOBBS, HOST, "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT": Wolf, thank you very much.

Coming up at 6 here on -- 6 Eastern on CNN, I'll be talking with White House press secretary Tony Snow in his first network television interview. Tonight, we'll be talking about the war in Iraq, and the Senate's determination to pass an amnesty bill for millions of illegal aliens. And what is, in many respects, on outright assault on our middle class.

I'll also be joined by Senator James Inhofe, who introduced successfully an amendment to make English the national language of this country. Senate minority leader, Senator Harry Reid, called the Inhofe amendment racist. Senator Inhofe will be here to tell us what he thinks about the Senator Reid comments.

And as the Senate marches toward that so-called comprehensive immigration bill, we'll have a special report for you on Mexican President Vicente Fox's tour of this country, pushing amnesty for his citizens.

We hope you'll join us for all of that and a great deal more, coming up at the top of the hour. Wolf, back to you.

BLITZER: Thank you very much, Lou. We'll be watching.

Let's go back to Fredricka Whitfield. She's at the CNN Center in Atlanta with a closer look at some other important stories making news -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Hello, Wolf.

A Pakistani immigrant was found guilty today on charges he wanted to blow up one of New York's busiest subway stations. He now faces life in prison. Prosecutors say the man wanted to bomb the busy subway station near the Macy's department store in retaliation for the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. The man and one other person was arrested of the eve of the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York.

Congressman William Jefferson's legal team has filed a motion demanding FBI agents give back the documents they seized when they raided the Louisiana Democrat's office on Saturday. Today, House Speaker Dennis Hastert said he also wants those documents returned.

Meanwhile, Democratic minority leader, Nancy Pelosi, wants Jefferson to resign his powerful post of the House Ways and Means Committee. But Jefferson says he won't, and he vows he'll fight allegations he accepted $100,000 in bribes.

It was a real barn buster in Michigan today in the weeklong search for Jimmy Hoffa. The barn on the Hidden Dreams Farm in Milford is no longer standing. Federal agents were working on a tip that the former Teamster chief's remains are on the property. The farm was once owned by a Hoffa associate and is near where Hoffa vanished back in 1975 -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Thanks for that, Fred. Thank you very much.

Can a high school -- high school expel a student for what he or she writes online? That's just one of the latest creative and controversial steps schools across the country are considering in the name of protecting students.

Our Internet reported, Jacki Schechner, once again with the story -- Jacki.

JACKI SCHECHNER, CNN INTERNET CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, some school districts are cracking down on students' use of social networking sites like MySpace.com.

Let's take a look at High School District 128 in Illinois. And what they've done is amend their code of conduct that students have to sign, adding an Internet section to it saying that maintaining a blog or having your image show up on a blog that depicts illegal or inappropriate behavior can lead to disciplinary action.

Now, the school tells me they don't monitor blogs and don't think there's anything wrong with kids using them. But if somebody brings it to their attention, they will respond accordingly.

Over to Northern California where a Manteca school district is also reiterating their policy, telling parents to be aware of what their children do online and pointing out that if there is any inappropriate use that is related to school, they will, in fact, also take disciplinary action. Neither school allows for social networking sites to be accessed from their premises.

We should go to CNN.com/SituationReport. We've got links to all these documents, Wolf. And you can take a closer look.

BLITZER: Thank you, Jacki.

Up ahead, what is an appropriate punishment for employers who hire illegal immigrants? It's our question of the hour. Jack Cafferty has your e-mail.

Plus, will Florida's governor be the next football commissioner? We're going to show you why he could wind up going from the governor's mansion to the gridiron. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: He's the chief executive of Florida. Might he become the next commander in chief of the NFL? Our Brian Todd is joining us with the buzz that's out there.

Brian, what are you hearing?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it's a very tempting high profile job for a popular outgoing governor. The question for Jeb Bush, is the timing right?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): He's got approval ratings his brother can now only dream about. He plans to leave office in January, and is searching for, as they say, his next challenge.

GOV. JEB BUSH (R), FLORIDA: A day doesn't go by where someone doesn't have a great idea for what my life looks like for 2007 and beyond.

TODD: So why not take the helm of America's most popular sport? Jeb Bush admits he was recently approached about the NFL commissioner's job, being vacated by Paul Tagliabue. A tempting role for a man who one invested in the Jacksonville Jaguars and makes a virtual appearance as a Miami Dolphin receiver, going against his brother, suited up as a Dallas Cowboy, in the popular Madden NFL '06 video game.

But Jeb Bush isn't taking the bait.

BUSH: I'm not going to consider any other options other than being governor until I finish.

TODD: An NFL official tells CNN the league won't comment on candidates, but hopes to have a new commissioner by mid-August. Leaving early, analysts say, would present a host of problems for the Florida governor.

JENNIFER DUFFY, COOK POLITICAL REPORT: They're heading into a couple of things. Hurricane season, the election season, which you know, he will preside over in one way or another.

TODD: If not the NFL, what is next? Bush has turned down repeated overtures to run for U.S. Senate, replacing his former secretary of state, Katherine Harris, on this year's ballot. He's also repeatedly refused a presidential run in 2008.

GARY FINEOUT, "MIAMI HERALD": I think it's clear right now, there would be Bush fatigue. But now, the thing about Jeb Bush is Jeb Bush is from the conservative wing of the party. And there are a lot of people who are conservative Republicans who like him very much.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: With those credentials, some political analysts in Washington and Florida we spoke to say Jeb Bush may be more attractive as a vice presidential candidate in 2008, possibly running with John McCain or Rudy Giuliani.

But if Jeb Bush just wants to make money, he may want to consider that NFL job. Right now, Paul Tagliabue is said to make about $10 million a year -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And earlier, Condoleezza Rice, a huge NFL fan, said she -- the timing wasn't right for her to take that NFL job either. Brian, thanks very much.

Brian Todd is part of the best political team on television. CNN, America's campaign headquarters.

Up next, as Congress wrestles with immigration reform, what's an appropriate penalty for businesses that hire illegal immigrants? Jack Cafferty is reading your e-mail. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Let's go up to New York. Jack Cafferty has got "The Cafferty File" -- Jack.

CAFFERTY: Wolf, the Senate's version of the immigration bill includes fines of up to $20,000 for businesses that employ illegal aliens. Repeat violators could be sentenced to three years in prison. Of course, this all has to be worked out with a much tougher version that's already passed the House.

The question, nevertheless, is what's an appropriate punishment for employers who hire illegal aliens?

Richard writes from Syracuse, New York, "If you're caught hiring illegals the first time, you pay a fine and go on probation. If you are caught again, you go to jail. A third time, forfeit your business to the government."

Todd in Taunton, Massachusetts, writes, "Have the owners of CEOs do the job they hired the illegal immigrants to do, for at least five years."

Stephen writes, "In addition to the fines, how about giving each of the guilty parties 80 hours of community service for each illegal they employ? They could all go down and help build a wall on the border."

Carmine writes in Carbondale, Pennsylvania, "Fining these employers is not a big deterrent to them; they can afford to pay the fine with the profits they are making from not paying decent wages to the workers. A fine would be pittance to them. I think a threat of jail time is the answer."

And Mike in Leawood, Kansas: "You asked for e-mail regarding the appropriate punishment for employers that hire illegal aliens. They should be locked in a room for eight hours per day. While in their daily confinement, they should be made to watch you and your pathetic, whining drivel, no remote control and no volume control and absolutely no other channel available. I sincerely believe that news of only a few employers so convicted and punished would eradicate the problem forever."

BLITZER: He doesn't like you, this guy Mike in Kansas. A friend of yours, Jack?

CAFFERTY: No, I guess not.

BLITZER: It's a serious problem, though, because you have to have -- the employers are all saying, you know, "We can't determine the way the system works right now. We just don't have the technology to go and check and vet these people who are coming, looking for work."

CAFFERTY: Yes. We can't guard the borders. We can't determine if the people here are illegal or not. We can't find out if it's OK to hire them. The system is so broken it's unbelievable. And my guess is, there'll be no immigration reform that will be signed by the president. I don't think they can reconcile this thing with the House bill.

BLITZER: See you in an hour at 7 p.m. Eastern, Jack. Thanks very much. Let's go up to New York. Lou Dobbs standing by with "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT".

Hi, Lou.

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