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CNN Saturday Morning News

Bush, Musharraf Talk Terror War; Baghdad Blast at Green Zone Checkpoint

Aired December 04, 2004 - 09:00   ET

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

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


BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, good morning, everyone, from the CNN Center. This is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It's already December 4. Can you believe it? The year has gone by. Nine a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. out West. I'm Betty Nguyen.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Tony Harris. Thanks for starting your day with us.

"Now in the News," explosions this morning near the coalition-run Green Zone in Baghdad. Two car bombs went off at the entrance gate, killing 16 people and wounding nearly 40. A U.S. embassy official says security within the Green Zone was not breached. We'll get the latest from Baghdad in a few minutes.

At the White House this hour, a meeting gets under way between President Bush and Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf. Pakistan is scaling back the hunt for Osama bin Laden. Mr. Bush is expected to ask why.

And in Ukraine, two different rallies, one disputed election. The country's supreme court has nullified the November 21 runoff election for president. Supporters of the opposition candidate, Viktor Yushchenko, are calling it their orange revolution. The court ordered a new runoff today after Christmas between Yushchenko and Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.

NGUYEN: Here's what's coming up this hour.

Confessions and accusations, rumors and denials. One baseball player comes clean about using steroids, while another's lawyer says he never used anything illegal. A sports expert will help us dissect what could be the biggest scandal ever to hit major league baseball.

And speaking of rumors and accusations, what happened in Ohio on election day? While some say all of the votes were not counted, others say losers are just sore. The Reverend Jesse Jackson is pushing to know. And he'll join us in about 30 minutes.

Plus, pictures like these are brought to you by war reporters embedded with troops. So what is it like to cover such hot spots? And how good is the current coverage? We'll ask a legendary reporter who's been on the front lines many times.

HARRIS: Our top story this hour, whether through menacing messages or terror by tape, he's managed to stay high atop the global list of most-wanted terrorists. Just where is Osama bin Laden? The state of the hunt is expected to be central to a meeting between two allies in the war on terror who have been looking for him for a long time. President Bush and Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf are meeting at the White House this hour.

For more on their meeting, we turn to White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux. Suzanne, good morning.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Tony.

We actually expect that this is going to be a brief but packed meeting. There are a lot of issues these two leaders have to talk about. As you know, of course, Pakistan is a critical ally in the war on terror. We're told not to expect any major announcements. But certainly a lot of concerns that both these leaders have.

First and foremost, of course, is the United States' concern about Pakistan's announcement that it is pulling back, scaling back its military operation in search for Osama bin Laden on the Pakistan side. It has actually been operating the U.S. as well on Afghan side, looking for Osama bin Laden. That is something that the two leaders will discuss.

Also, the president concerned about its role in supporting Atu Kahn (ph), that is the Pakistani scientist who sold the country's nuclear secrets to Libya, North Korea, and Iran.

Also, Musharraf's refusal to give up his military post. This is really seen as a backtracking of democratic reforms.

And finally, of course, they'll be addressing the tension between Pakistan and its nuclear-armed neighbor, India.

As far as Pakistan is concerned, it is looking for a reward in terms of its support of the United States. Most notably, it wants to buy F-16s. Those are the military surveillance planes from the United States. They're also looking to buy antitank missiles and other weapons.

This is something that the Bush administration says is not going to be moving forward in any way today. We don't expect an announcement on that.

And finally, of course, Musharraf is also looking for the president to engage in a much more active role in the Israeli- Palestinian conflict, Tony.

HARRIS: And Suzanne, we're expecting to hear from both men within the hour, and we will check back with you after we hear from them.

Another question Mr. Bush is likely weighing, who will be around the table at his next cabinet meeting? While some of his secretaries are going, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is not one of them. At Mr. Bush's urging, Rumsfeld says he's staying put in his post. A high-level administration official tells CNN the president does not want Rumsfeld to leave in the middle of a war.

One person not staying on board is tommy Thompson of Health and Human Services. He announced his resignation yesterday. Amid the announcement, Thompson says, he worries every single night about terrorists poisoning the nation's food supply, because only, I'm quoting now, "a minute amount of food imports are inspected."

NGUYEN: More deadly attacks on Iraqi police today, this time outside the heavily fortified Green Zone. Police say two car bomb exploded at an entrance near an Iraqi police station to the Green Zone. Sixteen people, including five Iraqi police officers, were killed, dozens wounded. Americans were killed elsewhere in Iraq as well.

For more on these developments, let's turn now to CNN's Karl Penhaul in Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A senior Iraqi health ministry official says at least 16 people were killed and 38 others wounded when two car bombs exploded at a busy crossroads in Baghdad this morning. An Iraqi police chief tells us among the dead, at least five Iraqi police officers.

The car bombs exploded around 9:30 local time. At the crossroads where the explosion took place on one corner is a main district police station. On two of the other four corners, two of the main checkpoint and entry points to the so-called Green Zone. That's the headquarters for the U.S. administration here, as well as for the Iraqi government.

Following the explosions, insurgents opened fire on two of the checkpoints, and security sources inside the Green Zone tell us that the insurgents tried to storm those checkpoints. However, a U.S. embassy official has said that there was no serious attempt to breach the Green Zone security defenses at that time. He also adds that no coalition members were involved in the casualties.

In addition to the explosions at the, outside the Green Zone, in the east of Baghdad, a few minutes before the attack on the Green Zone checkpoints, a U.S. soldier died and five others were wounded were a roadside bomb exploded in an eastern neighborhood of Baghdad. And about 30 miles north of Baghdad, near the city of Baquba, another roadside bomb. One U.S. soldier was killed in that, one other wounded.

Karl Penhaul, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Now to what may be another instance of prisoner abuse in Iraq. We don't have all the details just yet. What we know so far comes from the Associated Press in words and still photos. According to the AP, they show what appear to be Navy SEALs in Iraq posing with prisoners, some of them bloodied, some handcuffed, with guns to their heads. An AP reporter found more than 40 of them posted on a commercial photo-sharing Web site by a woman who said her husband brought them home from a tour of duty.

It is unclear who took these pictures, or where. Date stamps on some of them suggest they were taken in May of last year. Again, according to the AP, the military has launched a criminal investigation into what the photos portray.

HARRIS: Now to the war on terrorism. Let's check our terror watch for the week, as we do every Saturday morning.

It was once reserved only for such things as the U.S. military and Israeli police. A report out Thursday says mall security guards are being taught how to search out suicide bombers. Antiterrorism instructors say a bombing is about twice as likely at a commercial building than at a government or military facility.

A nearly abandoned mining town in New Mexico is reborn as an antiterrorism training ground. The New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology bought the town of Pious (ph) in September for $5 million. Thursday marked the first large-scale mock terror drill, complete with bomb blasts, Black Hawk helicopters, and SWAT teams.

Friday, word that New York can expect most of an $850 million pot of money for homeland security. The federal government is dolling out more than $850 million to the 50 cities it says are most at risk of a terror attack. Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and Chicago are next in line.

NGUYEN: Well, it's a talker, and there are new revelations in the steroid scandal looming over major league baseball. And the allegations are coming from a man under federal indictment. Victor Conte, the founder of the Balco Drug Lab that's accused of supplying performance-enhancing drugs to athletes had this to stay last night on "20/20."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "20/20," ABC)

VICTOR CONTE, BALCO FOUNDER: Let me tell you the biggest joke of all. Do you know what that is? I would guesstimate that more than 50 percent of the athletes are taking some form of anabolic steroids.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Baseball players?

CONTE: Absolutely.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: More than 50 percent.

CONTE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). More than 50 percent, OK? But I'll tell you something else they're doing that they've never addressed at all. And that's this. My guess is greater than 80 percent are taking some sort of a stimulant before each and every game.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Well, Conte says that major league baseball policy on drug testing is a joke, and that the Olympic games are a fraud, Tony. HARRIS: And Conte implicated another sports star in that same interview. He says he himself gave performance-enhancing drugs to track star and five-time Olympic medalist Marion Jones. Victor Conte told ABC that he gave her the human growth hormone in the weeks leading up to the 2000 Olympics, and even showed her how to inject herself.

Jones has never failed a drug test and has denied ever using performance-enhancing drugs. She's currently under investigation by the U.S. Antidoping Agency.

NGUYEN: Well, we want to hear from you this morning in our morning e-mail question. And that is, Should athletes who've taken steroids be forced to renounce their records or give their medals back? Send us your comments to wam@cnn.com.

HARRIS: Accusations of voter irregularities in Ohio. Now, some voters in Ohio today are rallying for a recount. The Reverend Jesse Jackson joins us this hour.

NGUYEN: He told soldiers' stories. Now. legendary war correspondent Joe Galloway talks to our Robert Novak about the coverage of today's wars.

HARRIS: And good morning, Washington. There's a picture, a live shot of the White House. We'll have your complete weekend forecast all ahead this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And welcome back, everyone, to CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm Tony Harris.

Here's a quick update of our top stories this morning.

A huge explosion kills 16 people and wounds dozens others in Baghdad today, many of them Iraqi police officers. Authorities say two car bombs exploded at an entrance gate to Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, which is coalition controlled. Two American soldiers were killed in separate roadside bomb attacks this morning in eastern Baghdad, near Baquba. Two other Americans died yesterday in a roadside bomb attack along the Jordan border crossing.

And back in the U.S., President Bush is holding White House talks with Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf at this hour. At the top of the agenda, Pakistan's decision to scale back its search for Osama bin Laden.

And later this hour, it was a battleground state, and people there are still fighting. Ohio voters are getting a call to action, and it's coming from the Reverend Jesse Jackson. He'll join us on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

HARRIS: As a legendary war correspondent, Joe Galloway has been in his fair share of hot spots around the world.

This week, he joins CNN's Robert Novak in The Novak Zone.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERT NOVAK, HOST: Welcome to The Novak Zone. We're in Washington, D.C., with the famous war correspondent Joe Galloway, now a military correspondent for the Knight-Ridder newspapers, and co- author of the bestselling "We Were Soldiers Once and Young."

Joe Galloway, the troops now have reporters embedded with them in Iraq, where the fighting continues. What do you think of the concept of embedded reporters?

JOE GALLOWAY, CO-AUTHOR, "WE WERE SOLDIERS ONCE AND YOUNG": Well, it's working well. It worked well during the combat phase, when they sent out 700 embedded reporters. It is -- it dwindled for a time, down to only 20 or so correspondents coming in for a few days. But now it's building back up, because of the difficulties of covering Iraq any other way.

NOVAK: What is the attitude of the troops when they see one of us, a journalist, tagging along with them?

GALLOWAY: Well, you know, in all of the wars I have been to, I was always welcomed by the troops, as a sign that someone outside the big green machine cares about them, cares enough to share the risks and the dangers and tell their story.

NOVAK: Joe, General Schwarzkopf, Norman Schwarzkopf, called you the best combat correspondent of your generation, said you were a soldier's reporter and a soldier's friend. Do you think it's good for a reporter to be a soldier's friend?

GALLOWAY: Absolutely. It doesn't make you a worse reporter. It makes you a better reporter to love soldiers. Those kids are out there, putting their heart, putting their lives on the line, doing a dirty job. I came to love them because they saved my life many times.

NOVAK: What's the difference between this war in Iraq and the war where you got your baptismal fire at the age of 23 as a correspondent?

GALLOWAY: Well, there are a thousand reasons why Iraq is not Vietnam. But there's some where there are similarities. And if you don't have an exit strategy going into a war, there's no way out but defeat. That's the key similarity I see. Nobody has stated an exit strategy, the thing that you ought to have foremost in your mind before you go in.

NOVAK: What's the difference for a correspondent between Vietnam and Iraq, do you think?

GALLOWAY: Well, Iraq has become much more dangerous to the correspondents. You can't leave your hotel in Baghdad. You can't travel between Baghdad and the airport without risk of being kidnapped and killed. NOVAK: Joe, there's a picture of you, material sent around, from Vietnam of carrying a Swedish K submachine gun. Did you carry a weapon in Vietnam? And is that ever done any more in Iraq?

GALLOWAY: It hasn't been done much in Iraq. It was done in Vietnam. I did it. I carried a weapon. You know, there were 500 accredited correspondents in Vietnam at any given time. And I saw the same 12 or 15 at most operations in the field. And most of those 12 or 15 carried a weapon, because it was a dangerous place.

NOVAK: When I was a young boy growing up, the most famous war correspondent was Ernie Pyle. And he wrote mostly about, oh, stories about soldiers and individual heroism. You don't find that much of that now coming out of Iraq. Why do you think that is?

GALLOWAY: Well, I would have agreed with you a couple of weeks ago, but we have a young reporter named Tom Lassiter, Knight-Ridder does, Who spent a couple of weeks with a company of the Big Red One. We just put out a 6,000-word journal that is some of the finest combat correspondence that I have seen in years. So I think that there are some young ones coming along who may follow in the mold of Ernie Pyle.

NOVAK: And now the big question for war correspondent Joe Galloway.

Joe, you have been watching American military for about 40 years. How do these soldiers and Marines in Iraq stack up with the troops at the yesteryear?

GALLOWAY: These young men and women that are in uniform today are the finest soldiers I have ever seen. And they're all volunteers, and they're all there for the right reason. Most of them enlisted after 9/11. And they enlisted out of a feeling of duty to the country, to the American people. They're as good as it gets. I'm amazed every time I see it.

NOVAK: Joe Galloway, thank you very much.

GALLOWAY: Thank you, Bob.

NOVAK: And thank you for being in The Novak Zone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: For more of Bob Novak, tune in tonight at 7:00 p.m. Eastern for "THE CAPITAL GANG." Joining "THE GANG" will be former Democratic congressman Vic Fazio.

HARRIS: So who says the election ended in November? Washington state still doesn't have a governor. So what's being done about that?

NGUYEN: Plus, the Bayou State is still hanging in balance. Two House seats will hopefully be decided today. We'll have a voter update when CNN SATURDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) NGUYEN: That it is, feeling the spirit in Washington. President Bush kicked off the holiday season with the lighting of the national Christmas tree this week. And until New Year's Eve, you can catch choral performances -- not Tony's, thank goodness -- a Yule log, and a nativity scene every evening on the Ellipse.

A look at your weekend weather with Orelon Sidney is coming right up.

HARRIS: A prominent church puts out an ad saying it turns no one away. But the big three TV networks are turning it away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST AD)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No way.

Not you.

I don't think so.

No.

ANNOUNCER: The United Church of Christ. No matter who you are, or where you are on life's journey, you're welcome here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Well, that's only part of the ad. Too hot to handle for the networks. Reaction from the United Church of Christ, live tomorrow morning in Faces of Faith, 8:00 a.m. Eastern, on "CNN SUNDAY MORNING."

NGUYEN: In our look at news across America today, it's best done by hand. That's what Democrats in Washington state are saying, they want each of the almost 3 million votes cast in their recent governor's race counted by hand. And they're paying more than $700,000 for it. Republican Dino Rossi was certified the winner over Democrat Christine Gregoire by just 42 votes.

In Minneapolis, imagine going to get a flu shot, then being told afterwards, no one knows what was in it. Yikes. Police say they've arrested a woman who allegedly injected over two dozen people with what she said were flu shots. But health officials say they have no idea if they really were, or what exactly was in those injections. Police say when first asked for her medical credentials, the woman ran off.

And in Houston, Texas, take a look at this, an alarming picture of orange, crimson, and gray, and one question. How did this fire start? There are no injuries after a huge explosion at a chemical plant. The fire burned through the night, releasing thick plumes of smoke. A team of investigators will soon be on the site to determine the cause.

HARRIS: We want to spend a few minutes with Orelon Sidney in the CNN Weather Center, get you caught up on weather in your neighborhood, Orelon?

ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning. Thanks a lot. Good morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

SIDNEY: Your forecast coming up in the next half hour, Tony, Betty.

NGUYEN: Orelon Sidney on a Telestrator (ph) this morning. I want one of those.

HARRIS: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

SIDNEY: Can't have it. It's mine.

HARRIS: Want that for Christmas.

NGUYEN: We want to borrow it, just a little bit. All right.

HARRIS: Put that on the wish list.

NGUYEN: Yes, really.

HARRIS: Accusations of voter irregularities in Ohio. Jesse Jackson asks voters to speak up. He joins us next.

Plus, athletes and steroids. Is this how the game is now played? When CNN SATURDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Scandal on the field. Will reports of steroid use taint America's pastime?

Welcome back, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.

NGUYEN: And I'm Betty Nguyen. That story is coming up.

But first, here's a look at what's happening "Now in the News."

Right now, President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan is meeting with President Bush at the White House. The two allies are discussing the so-far-unsuccessful hunt for Osama bin Laden and efforts to end the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

He's so shrewd, they call him the Chess Player. But Colombian drug kingpin Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela is of now in handcuffs, and heading for trial in the U.S. The co-founder of the Cali drug cartel spent nine years in a Colombian prison before being extradited. He is the highest-ranking Colombian kingpin to be sent to the U.S. to face trial.

Well, they're voting again today in Louisiana, with runoff elections in two districts for U.S. House seats. In one race, Republican Billy Tauzin III faces Democrat Charlie Melancon. In the other, it is Republican Charles Boustany against Democrat Willie Mount.

HARRIS: Senator John McCain says he'll lay down the law on major league baseball if the league doesn't. McCain, who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, tells "The Washington Post" that if owners and athletes don't launch a crackdown on steroids, he will. McCain is quoted as saying he will initiate legislation if the league doesn't adopt drug testing requirements within a month's time.

NGUYEN: Well, as major league baseball columnist for "The Sporting News," Ken Rosenthal has a few opinions about the steroid scandal. Ken joins us now from Baltimore with the latest on all of this.

Want to talk to you first of all, Ken. Good morning.

KEN ROSENTHAL, BASEBALL COLUMNIST, "THE SPORTING NEWS": Good morning, Betty.

NGUYEN: Let's talk about, were you surprised at all? I mean, steroids is something that we're not really shocked about hearing in major league baseball. But the fact that these players, Giambi and Bonds, stood up and said, Hey, we're going to testify.

ROSENTHAL: I was more surprised that Giambi actually admitted that he used steroids and knowingly used steroids. Of course, when Bonds testified, he said he used them, but not knowingly. And I thought the plausibility deniability route was the one that all players were going to take. So the fact that Giambi actually admitted it, admitted that he knew what he was doing, that was the surprise for me.

HARRIS: All right. But are fans going to buy players saying, Well, I took it, but I didn't really know what it was?

ROSENTHAL: I don't think they should buy it, and I don't think they're going to buy it. But the real question with fans is how they will react to this. Fans have known players have been on performance- enhancing drugs for quite some time now, and yet they've continued going to the ballpark in big numbers.

The real key now is Bonds, as he pursues Aaron's record of 755 home runs, how will fans react to that? I think they're going to be ambivalent, if not downright angry.

NGUYEN: Now, some of these players are granted immunity for these admissions. But do you think ultimately it's going to end their careers?

ROSENTHAL: In Giambi's case, it might, simply because he's had some health problems. He's only 33 years old. But no one knows what his physical condition is. And certainly the Yankees are going to look to void his contract or reach some kind of financial settlement with him. I do think he'll surface again.

It's not certainly going to end Bonds's career, or I don't believe, anyone else's career. NGUYEN: What about the records and titles that players hold, if they are believed, or, I guess, accused of and found to have been taking steroids, should they be stripped of all those records, all those accolades?

ROSENTHAL: You can't do that, Betty. And the reason you can't do that is because until 2003, there was no rule in major league baseball that prohibited steroid use. There was nothing on the books at all. So it would be like saying, Well, everybody who drank beer during the Prohibition era was guilty of something. You can't just go back retroactively and legislate against it.

So these records will stand. It's the public's prerogative here to decide what they want to view these things as.

NGUYEN: But some are saying, let's put an asterisk by some of these records. Is that fair?

ROSENTHAL: I just don't think you can do that, no. And the reason is, again, because these things were legal until 2003. And even in the 2003 season, they had steroid testing, but without penalties. So again, you can't go back, make a law now, and then say everything else before that was illegal. That's just not the way it's done.

NGUYEN: All right. In the case of Barry Bonds, should he still be allowed to chase Hank Aaron's home run record?

ROSENTHAL: I don't know how you get around it. And the problem for baseball is, this very notion, this very issue right now. He is going to be allowed to play. He testified to a grand jury, which was supposedly confidential, and he did not admit using steroids knowingly.

Baseball has another player, Gary Sheffield (ph), who said, I don't -- I didn't know that I used steroids knowingly either. So baseball didn't act against him. They're not going to act against Bonds. Things are going to proceed.

NGUYEN: Seems like it's a dirty little secret. But how big is steroid use in national baseball?

ROSENTHAL: I think it was very big in the late '90s and the early part of the 2000s. I think it did reduce somewhat after the labor agreement in 2003 initiated testing for the first time. That first year, as I mentioned, was just survey testing. There were no penalties involved.

But last year, we saw some noticeably thinner physiques on some of these players. And I think because there are penalties now, however meager, players are starting to react.

NGUYEN: Well, is the league partially to blame because there aren't stricter rules, that the testing doesn't go as deep into this as it maybe should? ROSENTHAL: The league is entirely to blame, because they did not recognize this problem for many, many years. Ben Johnson, the sprinter, was stripped of his gold medal in 1998 for using performance-enhancing drugs, and yet baseball didn't even enact any kind of policy until 2003. They had their heads in the sand.

At the same time, they face the difficulty of dealing with a very powerful union that fought them tooth and nail, and continues to fight them, on this issue, because they're trying to protect their members' rights.

NGUYEN: All right, Ken, we want you to stick around for just a second, because this really is a topic in our morning e-mail question of the day, and we want to get your response to some of the responses from our viewers.

HARRIS: All right, here's the e-mail question. Should athletes who have taken steroids be forced to give back their records and give back their medals?

Morning, Ken. Good morning.

ROSENTHAL: Good morning, Tony.

HARRIS: All right. Here's the first e-mail that's from Todd. It says, "Well, you could always create a steroid wing at Cooperstown." Do you make some kind of a notation on the plaque? What do you think?

ROSENTHAL: I don't think that's going to happen, Tony. But the Hall of Fame issue is a very interesting one. As players like Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds become eligible for the hall, the question is, what will voters do? Now, I do think these guys will all get into the Hall of Fame.

But I doubt right now that, as a voter, I can vote for Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds on the first ballot, because I just don't feel that that great honor, of being a first ballot Hall of Famer, is something you can give the players who are suspected of using steroids.

HARRIS: And so you're saying that you wouldn't make Barry Bonds, who may end his career as the all-time home-run hitter, a first-ballot Hall of Fame induction?

ROSENTHAL: Tony, I'm having a hard time with it right now.

HARRIS: Huh. OK. (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

ROSENTHAL: Now, granted time passes.

HARRIS: Yes.

ROSENTHAL: Players aren't eligible until five years after they retire. And you have plenty of time as a voter to rethink your thoughts and all of that. But my feeling today is... HARRIS: Right.

ROSENTHAL: ... I'm going to have a hard time first ballot with Barry.

NGUYEN: All right.

HARRIS: All right. Take this one on too. This is from Bruce.

"Should we go back and review the records of baseball pitchers who were notorious spitballers, or Bobby Thompson's shot heard round the world? It's fairly well documented that his team was stealing signs. How about athletes with corporate sponsorships that allow them access to better training facilities, better equipment, better coaching? Should their records be asterisked" -- I think that's the word -- "because they had this unfair advantage? Clean the sport up, but don't blame any athlete for trying to get any edge they can, always been done, always will be."

That's from Bruce.

ROSENTHAL: That's a really excellent point, Tony. And I think one thing, when you talk about generational comparisons, and they are so important in baseball, you have to remember that it's never been apples to apples. Babe Ruth did not compete with the same kind of baseball that Barry Bonds does. Babe Ruth did not compete against African-American athletes or athletes from all over the world.

HARRIS: There you go.

ROSENTHAL: So there is and are differences between each era. But at the same time, I think with steroids and performance-enhancing drugs, the athletes have introduced an artificial means of excellence, and that is what people have a problem with. Ultimately, one day, 50 years from now, this all might be accepted. But I don't think it's accepted right now, nor do I think it should be accepted.

NGUYEN: All right. Ken Rosenthal, the MLB Insider with "Sporting News," we appreciate your insight for us this morning. Thank you.

HARRIS: Thanks, Ken.

ROSENTHAL: Thanks, Tony.

HARRIS: It's a story of one man's heartfelt love for his home. Why is he going back to Iraq, in spite of the danger? And no matter the cost? That story when CNN SATURDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And here's a quick look at our top stories.

President Bush is meeting in the White House this hour with Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf. One question the president is likely to ask, why Pakistan's army says it is downgrading the manhunt for Osama bin Laden.

Two explosions in Baghdad this morning killed 16 people and wounded more than three dozen others. Five of those killed were Iraqi police officers. Police say two car bombs went off near an entrance gate to the coalition-controlled Green Zone.

And in Washington, Senator John McCain is threatening action in the major league baseball steroid scandal. According to "The Washington Post," McCain says if the league doesn't adopt testing requirements within a month, he'll get the process started.

And still to come this hour, we'll take you into a digital beauty contest, where the winner is more than just a package of pixels. We'll tell you the virtual truth later on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

NGUYEN: Well, Iraq seems to grow deadlier by the day, yet it is precisely because of the chaos that some people feel driven to go there to try to fix it.

CNN's Aaron Brown has the story of a California man who is ready to give up everything to return home.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AARON BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Iraqi-born, an American citizen now, living out the American dream.

JABIR ALGARAWI, IRAQI-AMERICAN: I'm a real estate agent and being as a agent for three years.

BROWN: But soon, he says, he'll return home to Iraq, a place that is much more nightmare than dream.

ALGARAWI: I want to go there and help to, even if I lose my life. So it's, I think it's worth it to go and help my family there.

BROWN: "There" is a small town in the southern part of Iraq, not far from the Iranian border, a decision he insists that was not that difficult to make.

ALGARAWI: It's a duty toward the people in Iraq and to help this country. We, every day, we sacrifice, and -- soldiers, and I feel I want to help.

BROWN: Jabir Algarawi is someone the Americans covet. He is a Shi'a, a Shi'a who worked for the Coalition Provisional Authority after the American invasion. He helped set up local civic organizations, helped created regional women's groups as well. Then last spring, as insurgents ratcheted up their attacks, one of the women he worked with, he recruited, was murdered.

ALGARAWI: She gave her life for the new Iraq, and I felt very sad, and -- but the people condemned the incident, and unfortunately, it was chaos.

BROWN: Nonetheless, he is going back, ironically, he says, to complete the work he did before the war began. He was among the 200 or so Iraqi-Americans who contributed to a 13-volume report commissioned by the State Department on shaping a post-Saddam Iraq, a report effectively shelved by the Pentagon in the days after the invasion.

ALGARAWI: That plan was put aside, and that one of the problems, I believe, it's -- we're facing now in Iraq, with the chaos situation. The plan did not use it, so our military went with no plan.

BROWN: Those volumes, he says, still are valid, still hold the key to a safe and functioning Iraq.

ALGARAWI: There is a lot of need to educate these figures to work with the Iraqis. So that document and that paper and that information, it has all the information what they need to how they can work with the Iraqi and how they can restore the situation.

BROWN: And aside from his personal safety, he says he has but one worry.

ALGARAWI: I'm worried, as an Iraqi-American, I worry myself, the U.S. is going to give up. As an American, I want the mission accomplished. I don't want to feel we failed as American to accomplish, and being defeated by a small group of criminal.

BROWN: Aaron Brown, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Well, if you've had a tough time keeping up with work, family, and the news this week, that's what we're here for. Time now to rewind the top stories of the week.

Tuesday, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge announced he is leaving his post. Ridge was appointed shortly after the September 11 attacks. President Bush nominated former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik as Ridge's replacement.

Next stop, Baghdad. Wednesday, the Pentagon said 1,500 U.S. troops are getting ready to head to Iraq ahead of the country's January elections. They'll be helping with security, along with 10,000 other U.S. troops who are having their tour of duty extended.

Flash floods began to recede Friday in the northern Philippines, after back-to-back storms devastated much of the country. Monday's tropical storm was followed by a powerful typhoon three days later. Nearly 650 people were killed, and about 400 are still missing.

Now, tomorrow, we'll fast forward to the week ahead, and tell you which stories will be grabbing the spotlight.

NGUYEN: And want to give you a live look now at Milwaukee. Look at the beautiful sky this morning. Someone is going to have the city laughing. We will tell you who. Plus, your weekend forecast when CNN SATURDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Oh, good morning, Milwaukee. Get ready to laugh about nothing. You know what that means, comedian Jerry Seinfeld is bringing his standup show to the Milwaukee theater. Your complete forecast is coming right up.

NGUYEN: We want to go now to Kathleen Hays in New York for a look at what's coming up "ON THE STORY." Good morning, Kathleen.

KATHLEEN HAYS, "ON THE STORY": And good morning to you, Betty.

We're "ON THE STORY" from New York, Washington, Atlanta, California, and Ukraine. Suzanne Malveaux at the White House today, where President Bush just met with the leader of Pakistan about terrorism and the hunt for Osama bin Laden. Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is "ON THE STORY" of the so-called sex patch for women, medical marijuana, and the link between stress and aging. We'll go to Kiev, Ukraine, where Jill Dougherty has watched while tens of thousands of protesters succeeded in forcing a new election. All coming up, all "ON THE STORY." You don't want to miss it.

Betty, back to you.

NGUYEN: And we will be watching. Thank you, Kathleen Hays.

Tony?

HARRIS: Well, you knew it had to happen in the Internet age, results are in from the first worldwide digital beauty contest, featuring virtual models. Representer of Miss Digital World wasn't just a product of some computer geek's overheated imagination. She's actually based on a real woman, a soap opera star from Chile. And here she is, there she is in the flesh. Her husband hired an artist to recreate her in computer pixel form.

NGUYEN: Very interesting. Think you're going to get a recreation of your wife in computer pixel form?

HARRIS: No, I'm very happy with the real thing.

NGUYEN: Yes, (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

HARRIS: Thank you very much.

NGUYEN: ... why would you want that if you have the real version?

HARRIS: Exactly.

NGUYEN: Orelon Sidney, weigh in on this one.

SIDNEY: Well, you don't have to feed it, that's for sure.

NGUYEN: That's a good point.

SIDNEY: No, you can't complain about your mother. NGUYEN: Can't use your...

(CROSSTALK)

SIDNEY: ... things there.

(WEATHER FORECAST)

SIDNEY: Certainly watch out for that. Betty, Tony.

(CROSSTALK)

HARRIS: Thank you, Orelon.

SIDNEY: You're welcome.

HARRIS: We should mention that we're expecting to hear from President Bush and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in just moments. And when that becomes available, we will bring it to you.

President Bush will attend a college football game today that will also draw impassioned fans from around the world. Yet not a single player will move on to the NFL. In fact, some will find their next great challenge in combat. Here's a look at the 105th Army-Navy game.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AARON POLANCO, NAVY QUARTERBACK: Football game is a battle. When you're leading, you know, men, just as you would out in the fleet or in the Marine Corps, it's the same, you know, concept. It's not nearly the same surroundings, but it's the same concepts. They come to leadership.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whether you fly airplanes or operate ships or submarines, all those things that you learn on the playing field certainly help make you a better leader. These young men, when they leave the football team and graduate, they're not going to the NFL. They're going to off to go to be Marine second lieutenants or Navy ensigns leading troops or sailors.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to be a SEAL. Guys on the SEAL teams in the SEAL community are just hard-nosed, determined, focused individuals. And that's who I'm used to working with, being a Navy football player, because that's the exactly kind of people I play with on Saturdays.

My freshman year, 9/11 occurred. But as soon as it happened, I'm looking on TV and saying, Well, I'm going to war. Time's ticking away until I get there. I'm a senior now. It will be less than a year. When it comes to going to war, I'd have to say part of me is anxious, part of me definitely doesn't want to go. Who wants to go to war?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it really hits home when you hear about another casualty in Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: March, march.

PAUL JOHNSON, NAVY HEAD COACH: When you hear, you know, you look to see, Hey, do I know that guy? It's something you can't dwell on every day. I think you just have to go about your life, and know that it's part of what's going on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ready, set, go!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coach Ross, after every practice, reminds us what's going on, and reads us e-mails, and tells us stories about when he was in Germany as a young lieutenant.

JOHNSON: "Sir, from Baghdad, Iraq, and task force Steel Dragons, I send my profound thank you to Coach Ross and the Army team for the victory in Army football. The members of the Long Gray Line currently serving in combat really, really needed this Army victory. Please extend my sincere compliments to the members of the Army football team and have mercy on the corps for the goalposts."

I do it because it serves as a constant reminder to me that we almost have an obligation to win. And going further, we certainly have an obligation to play hard, and to play as well as we possibly can, and to play with spirit, and to play with intensity. And we have that obligation because we are symbolic, in my mind, of the United States Army troops.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not just the small world. We're reaching out to everybody worldwide, fighting, you know, for us just to have this ability to play the game that we love, and, you know, it means so much to them. So it means a lot to us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And this just in to CNN. A former Panamanian leader, Manuel Noriega, we understand, has suffered a mild stroke in prison. He is being treated in Miami, where he is in prison. Once again, Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega has suffered, we understand, a mild stroke. We will have more on this story as we get more information.

NGUYEN: Throughout the morning.

But that is all of our time this morning. We thank you for joining us. "ON THE STORY" is next. Have a great day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired December 4, 2004 - 09:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, good morning, everyone, from the CNN Center. This is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It's already December 4. Can you believe it? The year has gone by. Nine a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. out West. I'm Betty Nguyen.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Tony Harris. Thanks for starting your day with us.

"Now in the News," explosions this morning near the coalition-run Green Zone in Baghdad. Two car bombs went off at the entrance gate, killing 16 people and wounding nearly 40. A U.S. embassy official says security within the Green Zone was not breached. We'll get the latest from Baghdad in a few minutes.

At the White House this hour, a meeting gets under way between President Bush and Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf. Pakistan is scaling back the hunt for Osama bin Laden. Mr. Bush is expected to ask why.

And in Ukraine, two different rallies, one disputed election. The country's supreme court has nullified the November 21 runoff election for president. Supporters of the opposition candidate, Viktor Yushchenko, are calling it their orange revolution. The court ordered a new runoff today after Christmas between Yushchenko and Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.

NGUYEN: Here's what's coming up this hour.

Confessions and accusations, rumors and denials. One baseball player comes clean about using steroids, while another's lawyer says he never used anything illegal. A sports expert will help us dissect what could be the biggest scandal ever to hit major league baseball.

And speaking of rumors and accusations, what happened in Ohio on election day? While some say all of the votes were not counted, others say losers are just sore. The Reverend Jesse Jackson is pushing to know. And he'll join us in about 30 minutes.

Plus, pictures like these are brought to you by war reporters embedded with troops. So what is it like to cover such hot spots? And how good is the current coverage? We'll ask a legendary reporter who's been on the front lines many times.

HARRIS: Our top story this hour, whether through menacing messages or terror by tape, he's managed to stay high atop the global list of most-wanted terrorists. Just where is Osama bin Laden? The state of the hunt is expected to be central to a meeting between two allies in the war on terror who have been looking for him for a long time. President Bush and Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf are meeting at the White House this hour.

For more on their meeting, we turn to White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux. Suzanne, good morning.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Tony.

We actually expect that this is going to be a brief but packed meeting. There are a lot of issues these two leaders have to talk about. As you know, of course, Pakistan is a critical ally in the war on terror. We're told not to expect any major announcements. But certainly a lot of concerns that both these leaders have.

First and foremost, of course, is the United States' concern about Pakistan's announcement that it is pulling back, scaling back its military operation in search for Osama bin Laden on the Pakistan side. It has actually been operating the U.S. as well on Afghan side, looking for Osama bin Laden. That is something that the two leaders will discuss.

Also, the president concerned about its role in supporting Atu Kahn (ph), that is the Pakistani scientist who sold the country's nuclear secrets to Libya, North Korea, and Iran.

Also, Musharraf's refusal to give up his military post. This is really seen as a backtracking of democratic reforms.

And finally, of course, they'll be addressing the tension between Pakistan and its nuclear-armed neighbor, India.

As far as Pakistan is concerned, it is looking for a reward in terms of its support of the United States. Most notably, it wants to buy F-16s. Those are the military surveillance planes from the United States. They're also looking to buy antitank missiles and other weapons.

This is something that the Bush administration says is not going to be moving forward in any way today. We don't expect an announcement on that.

And finally, of course, Musharraf is also looking for the president to engage in a much more active role in the Israeli- Palestinian conflict, Tony.

HARRIS: And Suzanne, we're expecting to hear from both men within the hour, and we will check back with you after we hear from them.

Another question Mr. Bush is likely weighing, who will be around the table at his next cabinet meeting? While some of his secretaries are going, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is not one of them. At Mr. Bush's urging, Rumsfeld says he's staying put in his post. A high-level administration official tells CNN the president does not want Rumsfeld to leave in the middle of a war.

One person not staying on board is tommy Thompson of Health and Human Services. He announced his resignation yesterday. Amid the announcement, Thompson says, he worries every single night about terrorists poisoning the nation's food supply, because only, I'm quoting now, "a minute amount of food imports are inspected."

NGUYEN: More deadly attacks on Iraqi police today, this time outside the heavily fortified Green Zone. Police say two car bomb exploded at an entrance near an Iraqi police station to the Green Zone. Sixteen people, including five Iraqi police officers, were killed, dozens wounded. Americans were killed elsewhere in Iraq as well.

For more on these developments, let's turn now to CNN's Karl Penhaul in Baghdad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A senior Iraqi health ministry official says at least 16 people were killed and 38 others wounded when two car bombs exploded at a busy crossroads in Baghdad this morning. An Iraqi police chief tells us among the dead, at least five Iraqi police officers.

The car bombs exploded around 9:30 local time. At the crossroads where the explosion took place on one corner is a main district police station. On two of the other four corners, two of the main checkpoint and entry points to the so-called Green Zone. That's the headquarters for the U.S. administration here, as well as for the Iraqi government.

Following the explosions, insurgents opened fire on two of the checkpoints, and security sources inside the Green Zone tell us that the insurgents tried to storm those checkpoints. However, a U.S. embassy official has said that there was no serious attempt to breach the Green Zone security defenses at that time. He also adds that no coalition members were involved in the casualties.

In addition to the explosions at the, outside the Green Zone, in the east of Baghdad, a few minutes before the attack on the Green Zone checkpoints, a U.S. soldier died and five others were wounded were a roadside bomb exploded in an eastern neighborhood of Baghdad. And about 30 miles north of Baghdad, near the city of Baquba, another roadside bomb. One U.S. soldier was killed in that, one other wounded.

Karl Penhaul, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Now to what may be another instance of prisoner abuse in Iraq. We don't have all the details just yet. What we know so far comes from the Associated Press in words and still photos. According to the AP, they show what appear to be Navy SEALs in Iraq posing with prisoners, some of them bloodied, some handcuffed, with guns to their heads. An AP reporter found more than 40 of them posted on a commercial photo-sharing Web site by a woman who said her husband brought them home from a tour of duty.

It is unclear who took these pictures, or where. Date stamps on some of them suggest they were taken in May of last year. Again, according to the AP, the military has launched a criminal investigation into what the photos portray.

HARRIS: Now to the war on terrorism. Let's check our terror watch for the week, as we do every Saturday morning.

It was once reserved only for such things as the U.S. military and Israeli police. A report out Thursday says mall security guards are being taught how to search out suicide bombers. Antiterrorism instructors say a bombing is about twice as likely at a commercial building than at a government or military facility.

A nearly abandoned mining town in New Mexico is reborn as an antiterrorism training ground. The New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology bought the town of Pious (ph) in September for $5 million. Thursday marked the first large-scale mock terror drill, complete with bomb blasts, Black Hawk helicopters, and SWAT teams.

Friday, word that New York can expect most of an $850 million pot of money for homeland security. The federal government is dolling out more than $850 million to the 50 cities it says are most at risk of a terror attack. Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and Chicago are next in line.

NGUYEN: Well, it's a talker, and there are new revelations in the steroid scandal looming over major league baseball. And the allegations are coming from a man under federal indictment. Victor Conte, the founder of the Balco Drug Lab that's accused of supplying performance-enhancing drugs to athletes had this to stay last night on "20/20."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "20/20," ABC)

VICTOR CONTE, BALCO FOUNDER: Let me tell you the biggest joke of all. Do you know what that is? I would guesstimate that more than 50 percent of the athletes are taking some form of anabolic steroids.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Baseball players?

CONTE: Absolutely.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: More than 50 percent.

CONTE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). More than 50 percent, OK? But I'll tell you something else they're doing that they've never addressed at all. And that's this. My guess is greater than 80 percent are taking some sort of a stimulant before each and every game.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Well, Conte says that major league baseball policy on drug testing is a joke, and that the Olympic games are a fraud, Tony. HARRIS: And Conte implicated another sports star in that same interview. He says he himself gave performance-enhancing drugs to track star and five-time Olympic medalist Marion Jones. Victor Conte told ABC that he gave her the human growth hormone in the weeks leading up to the 2000 Olympics, and even showed her how to inject herself.

Jones has never failed a drug test and has denied ever using performance-enhancing drugs. She's currently under investigation by the U.S. Antidoping Agency.

NGUYEN: Well, we want to hear from you this morning in our morning e-mail question. And that is, Should athletes who've taken steroids be forced to renounce their records or give their medals back? Send us your comments to wam@cnn.com.

HARRIS: Accusations of voter irregularities in Ohio. Now, some voters in Ohio today are rallying for a recount. The Reverend Jesse Jackson joins us this hour.

NGUYEN: He told soldiers' stories. Now. legendary war correspondent Joe Galloway talks to our Robert Novak about the coverage of today's wars.

HARRIS: And good morning, Washington. There's a picture, a live shot of the White House. We'll have your complete weekend forecast all ahead this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And welcome back, everyone, to CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm Tony Harris.

Here's a quick update of our top stories this morning.

A huge explosion kills 16 people and wounds dozens others in Baghdad today, many of them Iraqi police officers. Authorities say two car bombs exploded at an entrance gate to Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, which is coalition controlled. Two American soldiers were killed in separate roadside bomb attacks this morning in eastern Baghdad, near Baquba. Two other Americans died yesterday in a roadside bomb attack along the Jordan border crossing.

And back in the U.S., President Bush is holding White House talks with Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf at this hour. At the top of the agenda, Pakistan's decision to scale back its search for Osama bin Laden.

And later this hour, it was a battleground state, and people there are still fighting. Ohio voters are getting a call to action, and it's coming from the Reverend Jesse Jackson. He'll join us on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

HARRIS: As a legendary war correspondent, Joe Galloway has been in his fair share of hot spots around the world.

This week, he joins CNN's Robert Novak in The Novak Zone.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERT NOVAK, HOST: Welcome to The Novak Zone. We're in Washington, D.C., with the famous war correspondent Joe Galloway, now a military correspondent for the Knight-Ridder newspapers, and co- author of the bestselling "We Were Soldiers Once and Young."

Joe Galloway, the troops now have reporters embedded with them in Iraq, where the fighting continues. What do you think of the concept of embedded reporters?

JOE GALLOWAY, CO-AUTHOR, "WE WERE SOLDIERS ONCE AND YOUNG": Well, it's working well. It worked well during the combat phase, when they sent out 700 embedded reporters. It is -- it dwindled for a time, down to only 20 or so correspondents coming in for a few days. But now it's building back up, because of the difficulties of covering Iraq any other way.

NOVAK: What is the attitude of the troops when they see one of us, a journalist, tagging along with them?

GALLOWAY: Well, you know, in all of the wars I have been to, I was always welcomed by the troops, as a sign that someone outside the big green machine cares about them, cares enough to share the risks and the dangers and tell their story.

NOVAK: Joe, General Schwarzkopf, Norman Schwarzkopf, called you the best combat correspondent of your generation, said you were a soldier's reporter and a soldier's friend. Do you think it's good for a reporter to be a soldier's friend?

GALLOWAY: Absolutely. It doesn't make you a worse reporter. It makes you a better reporter to love soldiers. Those kids are out there, putting their heart, putting their lives on the line, doing a dirty job. I came to love them because they saved my life many times.

NOVAK: What's the difference between this war in Iraq and the war where you got your baptismal fire at the age of 23 as a correspondent?

GALLOWAY: Well, there are a thousand reasons why Iraq is not Vietnam. But there's some where there are similarities. And if you don't have an exit strategy going into a war, there's no way out but defeat. That's the key similarity I see. Nobody has stated an exit strategy, the thing that you ought to have foremost in your mind before you go in.

NOVAK: What's the difference for a correspondent between Vietnam and Iraq, do you think?

GALLOWAY: Well, Iraq has become much more dangerous to the correspondents. You can't leave your hotel in Baghdad. You can't travel between Baghdad and the airport without risk of being kidnapped and killed. NOVAK: Joe, there's a picture of you, material sent around, from Vietnam of carrying a Swedish K submachine gun. Did you carry a weapon in Vietnam? And is that ever done any more in Iraq?

GALLOWAY: It hasn't been done much in Iraq. It was done in Vietnam. I did it. I carried a weapon. You know, there were 500 accredited correspondents in Vietnam at any given time. And I saw the same 12 or 15 at most operations in the field. And most of those 12 or 15 carried a weapon, because it was a dangerous place.

NOVAK: When I was a young boy growing up, the most famous war correspondent was Ernie Pyle. And he wrote mostly about, oh, stories about soldiers and individual heroism. You don't find that much of that now coming out of Iraq. Why do you think that is?

GALLOWAY: Well, I would have agreed with you a couple of weeks ago, but we have a young reporter named Tom Lassiter, Knight-Ridder does, Who spent a couple of weeks with a company of the Big Red One. We just put out a 6,000-word journal that is some of the finest combat correspondence that I have seen in years. So I think that there are some young ones coming along who may follow in the mold of Ernie Pyle.

NOVAK: And now the big question for war correspondent Joe Galloway.

Joe, you have been watching American military for about 40 years. How do these soldiers and Marines in Iraq stack up with the troops at the yesteryear?

GALLOWAY: These young men and women that are in uniform today are the finest soldiers I have ever seen. And they're all volunteers, and they're all there for the right reason. Most of them enlisted after 9/11. And they enlisted out of a feeling of duty to the country, to the American people. They're as good as it gets. I'm amazed every time I see it.

NOVAK: Joe Galloway, thank you very much.

GALLOWAY: Thank you, Bob.

NOVAK: And thank you for being in The Novak Zone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: For more of Bob Novak, tune in tonight at 7:00 p.m. Eastern for "THE CAPITAL GANG." Joining "THE GANG" will be former Democratic congressman Vic Fazio.

HARRIS: So who says the election ended in November? Washington state still doesn't have a governor. So what's being done about that?

NGUYEN: Plus, the Bayou State is still hanging in balance. Two House seats will hopefully be decided today. We'll have a voter update when CNN SATURDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) NGUYEN: That it is, feeling the spirit in Washington. President Bush kicked off the holiday season with the lighting of the national Christmas tree this week. And until New Year's Eve, you can catch choral performances -- not Tony's, thank goodness -- a Yule log, and a nativity scene every evening on the Ellipse.

A look at your weekend weather with Orelon Sidney is coming right up.

HARRIS: A prominent church puts out an ad saying it turns no one away. But the big three TV networks are turning it away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST AD)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No way.

Not you.

I don't think so.

No.

ANNOUNCER: The United Church of Christ. No matter who you are, or where you are on life's journey, you're welcome here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Well, that's only part of the ad. Too hot to handle for the networks. Reaction from the United Church of Christ, live tomorrow morning in Faces of Faith, 8:00 a.m. Eastern, on "CNN SUNDAY MORNING."

NGUYEN: In our look at news across America today, it's best done by hand. That's what Democrats in Washington state are saying, they want each of the almost 3 million votes cast in their recent governor's race counted by hand. And they're paying more than $700,000 for it. Republican Dino Rossi was certified the winner over Democrat Christine Gregoire by just 42 votes.

In Minneapolis, imagine going to get a flu shot, then being told afterwards, no one knows what was in it. Yikes. Police say they've arrested a woman who allegedly injected over two dozen people with what she said were flu shots. But health officials say they have no idea if they really were, or what exactly was in those injections. Police say when first asked for her medical credentials, the woman ran off.

And in Houston, Texas, take a look at this, an alarming picture of orange, crimson, and gray, and one question. How did this fire start? There are no injuries after a huge explosion at a chemical plant. The fire burned through the night, releasing thick plumes of smoke. A team of investigators will soon be on the site to determine the cause.

HARRIS: We want to spend a few minutes with Orelon Sidney in the CNN Weather Center, get you caught up on weather in your neighborhood, Orelon?

ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning. Thanks a lot. Good morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

SIDNEY: Your forecast coming up in the next half hour, Tony, Betty.

NGUYEN: Orelon Sidney on a Telestrator (ph) this morning. I want one of those.

HARRIS: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

SIDNEY: Can't have it. It's mine.

HARRIS: Want that for Christmas.

NGUYEN: We want to borrow it, just a little bit. All right.

HARRIS: Put that on the wish list.

NGUYEN: Yes, really.

HARRIS: Accusations of voter irregularities in Ohio. Jesse Jackson asks voters to speak up. He joins us next.

Plus, athletes and steroids. Is this how the game is now played? When CNN SATURDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Scandal on the field. Will reports of steroid use taint America's pastime?

Welcome back, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.

NGUYEN: And I'm Betty Nguyen. That story is coming up.

But first, here's a look at what's happening "Now in the News."

Right now, President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan is meeting with President Bush at the White House. The two allies are discussing the so-far-unsuccessful hunt for Osama bin Laden and efforts to end the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

He's so shrewd, they call him the Chess Player. But Colombian drug kingpin Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela is of now in handcuffs, and heading for trial in the U.S. The co-founder of the Cali drug cartel spent nine years in a Colombian prison before being extradited. He is the highest-ranking Colombian kingpin to be sent to the U.S. to face trial.

Well, they're voting again today in Louisiana, with runoff elections in two districts for U.S. House seats. In one race, Republican Billy Tauzin III faces Democrat Charlie Melancon. In the other, it is Republican Charles Boustany against Democrat Willie Mount.

HARRIS: Senator John McCain says he'll lay down the law on major league baseball if the league doesn't. McCain, who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, tells "The Washington Post" that if owners and athletes don't launch a crackdown on steroids, he will. McCain is quoted as saying he will initiate legislation if the league doesn't adopt drug testing requirements within a month's time.

NGUYEN: Well, as major league baseball columnist for "The Sporting News," Ken Rosenthal has a few opinions about the steroid scandal. Ken joins us now from Baltimore with the latest on all of this.

Want to talk to you first of all, Ken. Good morning.

KEN ROSENTHAL, BASEBALL COLUMNIST, "THE SPORTING NEWS": Good morning, Betty.

NGUYEN: Let's talk about, were you surprised at all? I mean, steroids is something that we're not really shocked about hearing in major league baseball. But the fact that these players, Giambi and Bonds, stood up and said, Hey, we're going to testify.

ROSENTHAL: I was more surprised that Giambi actually admitted that he used steroids and knowingly used steroids. Of course, when Bonds testified, he said he used them, but not knowingly. And I thought the plausibility deniability route was the one that all players were going to take. So the fact that Giambi actually admitted it, admitted that he knew what he was doing, that was the surprise for me.

HARRIS: All right. But are fans going to buy players saying, Well, I took it, but I didn't really know what it was?

ROSENTHAL: I don't think they should buy it, and I don't think they're going to buy it. But the real question with fans is how they will react to this. Fans have known players have been on performance- enhancing drugs for quite some time now, and yet they've continued going to the ballpark in big numbers.

The real key now is Bonds, as he pursues Aaron's record of 755 home runs, how will fans react to that? I think they're going to be ambivalent, if not downright angry.

NGUYEN: Now, some of these players are granted immunity for these admissions. But do you think ultimately it's going to end their careers?

ROSENTHAL: In Giambi's case, it might, simply because he's had some health problems. He's only 33 years old. But no one knows what his physical condition is. And certainly the Yankees are going to look to void his contract or reach some kind of financial settlement with him. I do think he'll surface again.

It's not certainly going to end Bonds's career, or I don't believe, anyone else's career. NGUYEN: What about the records and titles that players hold, if they are believed, or, I guess, accused of and found to have been taking steroids, should they be stripped of all those records, all those accolades?

ROSENTHAL: You can't do that, Betty. And the reason you can't do that is because until 2003, there was no rule in major league baseball that prohibited steroid use. There was nothing on the books at all. So it would be like saying, Well, everybody who drank beer during the Prohibition era was guilty of something. You can't just go back retroactively and legislate against it.

So these records will stand. It's the public's prerogative here to decide what they want to view these things as.

NGUYEN: But some are saying, let's put an asterisk by some of these records. Is that fair?

ROSENTHAL: I just don't think you can do that, no. And the reason is, again, because these things were legal until 2003. And even in the 2003 season, they had steroid testing, but without penalties. So again, you can't go back, make a law now, and then say everything else before that was illegal. That's just not the way it's done.

NGUYEN: All right. In the case of Barry Bonds, should he still be allowed to chase Hank Aaron's home run record?

ROSENTHAL: I don't know how you get around it. And the problem for baseball is, this very notion, this very issue right now. He is going to be allowed to play. He testified to a grand jury, which was supposedly confidential, and he did not admit using steroids knowingly.

Baseball has another player, Gary Sheffield (ph), who said, I don't -- I didn't know that I used steroids knowingly either. So baseball didn't act against him. They're not going to act against Bonds. Things are going to proceed.

NGUYEN: Seems like it's a dirty little secret. But how big is steroid use in national baseball?

ROSENTHAL: I think it was very big in the late '90s and the early part of the 2000s. I think it did reduce somewhat after the labor agreement in 2003 initiated testing for the first time. That first year, as I mentioned, was just survey testing. There were no penalties involved.

But last year, we saw some noticeably thinner physiques on some of these players. And I think because there are penalties now, however meager, players are starting to react.

NGUYEN: Well, is the league partially to blame because there aren't stricter rules, that the testing doesn't go as deep into this as it maybe should? ROSENTHAL: The league is entirely to blame, because they did not recognize this problem for many, many years. Ben Johnson, the sprinter, was stripped of his gold medal in 1998 for using performance-enhancing drugs, and yet baseball didn't even enact any kind of policy until 2003. They had their heads in the sand.

At the same time, they face the difficulty of dealing with a very powerful union that fought them tooth and nail, and continues to fight them, on this issue, because they're trying to protect their members' rights.

NGUYEN: All right, Ken, we want you to stick around for just a second, because this really is a topic in our morning e-mail question of the day, and we want to get your response to some of the responses from our viewers.

HARRIS: All right, here's the e-mail question. Should athletes who have taken steroids be forced to give back their records and give back their medals?

Morning, Ken. Good morning.

ROSENTHAL: Good morning, Tony.

HARRIS: All right. Here's the first e-mail that's from Todd. It says, "Well, you could always create a steroid wing at Cooperstown." Do you make some kind of a notation on the plaque? What do you think?

ROSENTHAL: I don't think that's going to happen, Tony. But the Hall of Fame issue is a very interesting one. As players like Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds become eligible for the hall, the question is, what will voters do? Now, I do think these guys will all get into the Hall of Fame.

But I doubt right now that, as a voter, I can vote for Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds on the first ballot, because I just don't feel that that great honor, of being a first ballot Hall of Famer, is something you can give the players who are suspected of using steroids.

HARRIS: And so you're saying that you wouldn't make Barry Bonds, who may end his career as the all-time home-run hitter, a first-ballot Hall of Fame induction?

ROSENTHAL: Tony, I'm having a hard time with it right now.

HARRIS: Huh. OK. (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

ROSENTHAL: Now, granted time passes.

HARRIS: Yes.

ROSENTHAL: Players aren't eligible until five years after they retire. And you have plenty of time as a voter to rethink your thoughts and all of that. But my feeling today is... HARRIS: Right.

ROSENTHAL: ... I'm going to have a hard time first ballot with Barry.

NGUYEN: All right.

HARRIS: All right. Take this one on too. This is from Bruce.

"Should we go back and review the records of baseball pitchers who were notorious spitballers, or Bobby Thompson's shot heard round the world? It's fairly well documented that his team was stealing signs. How about athletes with corporate sponsorships that allow them access to better training facilities, better equipment, better coaching? Should their records be asterisked" -- I think that's the word -- "because they had this unfair advantage? Clean the sport up, but don't blame any athlete for trying to get any edge they can, always been done, always will be."

That's from Bruce.

ROSENTHAL: That's a really excellent point, Tony. And I think one thing, when you talk about generational comparisons, and they are so important in baseball, you have to remember that it's never been apples to apples. Babe Ruth did not compete with the same kind of baseball that Barry Bonds does. Babe Ruth did not compete against African-American athletes or athletes from all over the world.

HARRIS: There you go.

ROSENTHAL: So there is and are differences between each era. But at the same time, I think with steroids and performance-enhancing drugs, the athletes have introduced an artificial means of excellence, and that is what people have a problem with. Ultimately, one day, 50 years from now, this all might be accepted. But I don't think it's accepted right now, nor do I think it should be accepted.

NGUYEN: All right. Ken Rosenthal, the MLB Insider with "Sporting News," we appreciate your insight for us this morning. Thank you.

HARRIS: Thanks, Ken.

ROSENTHAL: Thanks, Tony.

HARRIS: It's a story of one man's heartfelt love for his home. Why is he going back to Iraq, in spite of the danger? And no matter the cost? That story when CNN SATURDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And here's a quick look at our top stories.

President Bush is meeting in the White House this hour with Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf. One question the president is likely to ask, why Pakistan's army says it is downgrading the manhunt for Osama bin Laden.

Two explosions in Baghdad this morning killed 16 people and wounded more than three dozen others. Five of those killed were Iraqi police officers. Police say two car bombs went off near an entrance gate to the coalition-controlled Green Zone.

And in Washington, Senator John McCain is threatening action in the major league baseball steroid scandal. According to "The Washington Post," McCain says if the league doesn't adopt testing requirements within a month, he'll get the process started.

And still to come this hour, we'll take you into a digital beauty contest, where the winner is more than just a package of pixels. We'll tell you the virtual truth later on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

NGUYEN: Well, Iraq seems to grow deadlier by the day, yet it is precisely because of the chaos that some people feel driven to go there to try to fix it.

CNN's Aaron Brown has the story of a California man who is ready to give up everything to return home.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AARON BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Iraqi-born, an American citizen now, living out the American dream.

JABIR ALGARAWI, IRAQI-AMERICAN: I'm a real estate agent and being as a agent for three years.

BROWN: But soon, he says, he'll return home to Iraq, a place that is much more nightmare than dream.

ALGARAWI: I want to go there and help to, even if I lose my life. So it's, I think it's worth it to go and help my family there.

BROWN: "There" is a small town in the southern part of Iraq, not far from the Iranian border, a decision he insists that was not that difficult to make.

ALGARAWI: It's a duty toward the people in Iraq and to help this country. We, every day, we sacrifice, and -- soldiers, and I feel I want to help.

BROWN: Jabir Algarawi is someone the Americans covet. He is a Shi'a, a Shi'a who worked for the Coalition Provisional Authority after the American invasion. He helped set up local civic organizations, helped created regional women's groups as well. Then last spring, as insurgents ratcheted up their attacks, one of the women he worked with, he recruited, was murdered.

ALGARAWI: She gave her life for the new Iraq, and I felt very sad, and -- but the people condemned the incident, and unfortunately, it was chaos.

BROWN: Nonetheless, he is going back, ironically, he says, to complete the work he did before the war began. He was among the 200 or so Iraqi-Americans who contributed to a 13-volume report commissioned by the State Department on shaping a post-Saddam Iraq, a report effectively shelved by the Pentagon in the days after the invasion.

ALGARAWI: That plan was put aside, and that one of the problems, I believe, it's -- we're facing now in Iraq, with the chaos situation. The plan did not use it, so our military went with no plan.

BROWN: Those volumes, he says, still are valid, still hold the key to a safe and functioning Iraq.

ALGARAWI: There is a lot of need to educate these figures to work with the Iraqis. So that document and that paper and that information, it has all the information what they need to how they can work with the Iraqi and how they can restore the situation.

BROWN: And aside from his personal safety, he says he has but one worry.

ALGARAWI: I'm worried, as an Iraqi-American, I worry myself, the U.S. is going to give up. As an American, I want the mission accomplished. I don't want to feel we failed as American to accomplish, and being defeated by a small group of criminal.

BROWN: Aaron Brown, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Well, if you've had a tough time keeping up with work, family, and the news this week, that's what we're here for. Time now to rewind the top stories of the week.

Tuesday, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge announced he is leaving his post. Ridge was appointed shortly after the September 11 attacks. President Bush nominated former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik as Ridge's replacement.

Next stop, Baghdad. Wednesday, the Pentagon said 1,500 U.S. troops are getting ready to head to Iraq ahead of the country's January elections. They'll be helping with security, along with 10,000 other U.S. troops who are having their tour of duty extended.

Flash floods began to recede Friday in the northern Philippines, after back-to-back storms devastated much of the country. Monday's tropical storm was followed by a powerful typhoon three days later. Nearly 650 people were killed, and about 400 are still missing.

Now, tomorrow, we'll fast forward to the week ahead, and tell you which stories will be grabbing the spotlight.

NGUYEN: And want to give you a live look now at Milwaukee. Look at the beautiful sky this morning. Someone is going to have the city laughing. We will tell you who. Plus, your weekend forecast when CNN SATURDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Oh, good morning, Milwaukee. Get ready to laugh about nothing. You know what that means, comedian Jerry Seinfeld is bringing his standup show to the Milwaukee theater. Your complete forecast is coming right up.

NGUYEN: We want to go now to Kathleen Hays in New York for a look at what's coming up "ON THE STORY." Good morning, Kathleen.

KATHLEEN HAYS, "ON THE STORY": And good morning to you, Betty.

We're "ON THE STORY" from New York, Washington, Atlanta, California, and Ukraine. Suzanne Malveaux at the White House today, where President Bush just met with the leader of Pakistan about terrorism and the hunt for Osama bin Laden. Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is "ON THE STORY" of the so-called sex patch for women, medical marijuana, and the link between stress and aging. We'll go to Kiev, Ukraine, where Jill Dougherty has watched while tens of thousands of protesters succeeded in forcing a new election. All coming up, all "ON THE STORY." You don't want to miss it.

Betty, back to you.

NGUYEN: And we will be watching. Thank you, Kathleen Hays.

Tony?

HARRIS: Well, you knew it had to happen in the Internet age, results are in from the first worldwide digital beauty contest, featuring virtual models. Representer of Miss Digital World wasn't just a product of some computer geek's overheated imagination. She's actually based on a real woman, a soap opera star from Chile. And here she is, there she is in the flesh. Her husband hired an artist to recreate her in computer pixel form.

NGUYEN: Very interesting. Think you're going to get a recreation of your wife in computer pixel form?

HARRIS: No, I'm very happy with the real thing.

NGUYEN: Yes, (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

HARRIS: Thank you very much.

NGUYEN: ... why would you want that if you have the real version?

HARRIS: Exactly.

NGUYEN: Orelon Sidney, weigh in on this one.

SIDNEY: Well, you don't have to feed it, that's for sure.

NGUYEN: That's a good point.

SIDNEY: No, you can't complain about your mother. NGUYEN: Can't use your...

(CROSSTALK)

SIDNEY: ... things there.

(WEATHER FORECAST)

SIDNEY: Certainly watch out for that. Betty, Tony.

(CROSSTALK)

HARRIS: Thank you, Orelon.

SIDNEY: You're welcome.

HARRIS: We should mention that we're expecting to hear from President Bush and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in just moments. And when that becomes available, we will bring it to you.

President Bush will attend a college football game today that will also draw impassioned fans from around the world. Yet not a single player will move on to the NFL. In fact, some will find their next great challenge in combat. Here's a look at the 105th Army-Navy game.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AARON POLANCO, NAVY QUARTERBACK: Football game is a battle. When you're leading, you know, men, just as you would out in the fleet or in the Marine Corps, it's the same, you know, concept. It's not nearly the same surroundings, but it's the same concepts. They come to leadership.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whether you fly airplanes or operate ships or submarines, all those things that you learn on the playing field certainly help make you a better leader. These young men, when they leave the football team and graduate, they're not going to the NFL. They're going to off to go to be Marine second lieutenants or Navy ensigns leading troops or sailors.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to be a SEAL. Guys on the SEAL teams in the SEAL community are just hard-nosed, determined, focused individuals. And that's who I'm used to working with, being a Navy football player, because that's the exactly kind of people I play with on Saturdays.

My freshman year, 9/11 occurred. But as soon as it happened, I'm looking on TV and saying, Well, I'm going to war. Time's ticking away until I get there. I'm a senior now. It will be less than a year. When it comes to going to war, I'd have to say part of me is anxious, part of me definitely doesn't want to go. Who wants to go to war?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it really hits home when you hear about another casualty in Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: March, march.

PAUL JOHNSON, NAVY HEAD COACH: When you hear, you know, you look to see, Hey, do I know that guy? It's something you can't dwell on every day. I think you just have to go about your life, and know that it's part of what's going on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ready, set, go!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coach Ross, after every practice, reminds us what's going on, and reads us e-mails, and tells us stories about when he was in Germany as a young lieutenant.

JOHNSON: "Sir, from Baghdad, Iraq, and task force Steel Dragons, I send my profound thank you to Coach Ross and the Army team for the victory in Army football. The members of the Long Gray Line currently serving in combat really, really needed this Army victory. Please extend my sincere compliments to the members of the Army football team and have mercy on the corps for the goalposts."

I do it because it serves as a constant reminder to me that we almost have an obligation to win. And going further, we certainly have an obligation to play hard, and to play as well as we possibly can, and to play with spirit, and to play with intensity. And we have that obligation because we are symbolic, in my mind, of the United States Army troops.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not just the small world. We're reaching out to everybody worldwide, fighting, you know, for us just to have this ability to play the game that we love, and, you know, it means so much to them. So it means a lot to us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And this just in to CNN. A former Panamanian leader, Manuel Noriega, we understand, has suffered a mild stroke in prison. He is being treated in Miami, where he is in prison. Once again, Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega has suffered, we understand, a mild stroke. We will have more on this story as we get more information.

NGUYEN: Throughout the morning.

But that is all of our time this morning. We thank you for joining us. "ON THE STORY" is next. Have a great day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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