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CNN Saturday Morning News
New Offensive Is Underway in Iraq
Aired June 23, 2007 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR, SATURDAY MORNING: Good morning everybody from the CNN center in Atlanta, Georgia. It is Saturday, June 23, is that right?
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR, SATURDAY MORNING: So far.
HOLMES: ... get confused when we get to the date. I'm T.J. Holmes everybody.
NGUYEN: And I'm Betty Nguyen. Good morning everybody. Thanks for starting your day with us. We are starting with a developing story in Iraq, sniper versus sniper, a slow and steady fight.
HOLMES: U.S. soldiers battling al Qaeda fighters facing fierce resistance. We will take you to the front lines.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ASST. CHIEF STEVE McINERNY, FT. LAUDERDALE FIRE RESCUE: Fires today are inherently in more dangerous than ever before because they're burning hotter and faster.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Facing a different kind of danger at home. Why more firefighters are dying on the job. We are going to get some answers for you. Plus this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoa, whoa!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There you go. That hurt!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Holy carp! Big fish literally jumping into the boat but this is not a fisherman's dream. That is a wild picture. We've got that story ahead on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING. But we are going to begin in Iraq and a major offensive underway to fight the al Qaeda threat. Day five now of operation arrowhead ripper, a major push against militants in Diyala province north of Baghdad. U.S. military reports American and Iraqi troops have killed at least 68 al Qaeda fighters so far. And it says they're tightening their grip on the city of Baquba, an insurgent stronghold.
NGUYEN: Baquba is one of the most dangerous places in Iraq and CNN's Karl Penhaul is with U.S. troops on the ground there where the battle against insurgents never stops.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The dawn reveille and attack helicopter blasts insurgent positions across the palm grove. Shock and awe dissolves as a guerrilla sniper targets U.S. troops in this combat outpost in Baquba.
UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: Shot one of our sergeants in the head. I would say he's pretty accurate.
PENHAUL: This soldier searches for a ghostly enemy he rarely sees.
UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: It's kind of the guessing game.
PENHAUL: It's sniper versus sniper each scouring the battered cityscape for a gap in the concrete or a chink in the glass.
UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: You look for every loophole there is out there. Most of the time they're shooting through loopholes.
PENHAUL: It's a war of attrition, the slow pace of fighting and the steady march of death seems to be grinding down these soldiers.
After so many people die, you kind of lose, you know, it's a natural occurrence. It just happens. It's kind of like a dream. You just -- it's not reality.
PENHAUL: He says six friends have been killed in the last few months. Then a shot in a hole 400 yards away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right on the money.
PENHAUL: It's only shot these soldiers will take for much of the day, not knowing if the insurgent gunman was ever even there. As the day fades, a prayer called wails from the minaret. Soldiers call this the witching hour, dusk when insurgents often ramp up their fight. As night envelopes the outpost, the radio's ominous crackle.
UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: Sounded like a big-ass IED right there (INAUDIBLE).
PENHAUL: A roadside bomb is exploded under a U.S. patrol 600 yards away. Soldiers head to the rescue. Out in the palm groves, a sentry spooked by the shadows. Illumination flares cut through the dark.
UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: Let it rip. Start shooting in the palm grove.
PENHAUL: A machine gun spits into the black. The GI's nightmare, by day or night, a ghostly enemy he rarely sees. Karl Penhaul, CNN, Baquba, Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE) NGUYEN: Well, we are also following intense action in Afghanistan. The military says dozens of militants attacked U.S. and NATO-led forces overnight near the country's border with Pakistan.
HOLMES: But coalition forces fired back killing 60 insurgents. It's just one of several violent classes in Afghanistan the past 24 hours. One ended with coalition troops detaining about 20 suspected al Qaeda fighters in the eastern part of that country.
NGUYEN: CNN's correspondents do discuss the military offensive in Iraq on "This Week at War." Join host Jamie McIntyre tonight 7:00 p.m. Eastern for "This Week at War."
HOLMES: Tighter security in Germany in response to a possible terror threat. The country is stepping up safety measures at borders, rail stations and other places. German's equivalent of the FBI says it's (INAUDIBLE) by intelligence that indicates suicide attacks may be in the works against its citizens. One official likens the situation to the summer before the 9/11 attacks in the U.S. Three Germans believed to be members of an Islamic extremist group have been arrested in Pakistan.
NGUYEN: There are new developments in the case of that missing pregnant woman. Authorities say a newborn left on a doorstep in northeast Ohio is not Jessie Davis' child. The 26-year-old woman has been missing for more than a week now. Wayne County officials say the newborn belongs to a woman who concealed her pregnancy from her family. But Davis's mother vows to continue their search.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PATTY PORTER, MOTHER OF JESSIE DAVIS: My message tonight is that we are not going away. We're not going to stop looking for Jessie. And we're not going to stop looking for who's done this to her. It may be my daughter today, but tomorrow it could be someone else's daughter. And we need to find her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: So far two days of searching around Davis' home near Uniontown turned up nothing. Volunteers plan to be out again at it today.
In other news, former Durham, North Carolina, district attorney Mike Nifong may soon face charges of his own. The three Duke lacrosse players originally charged by Nifong are now seeking criminal contempt of court charges and they want a judge to order Nifong to pay their legal bills. Nifong was disbarred after a hearing last week and he could face a fine as well as jail time.
HOLMES: Lady Bird Johnson is in stable condition this morning in Austin, Texas, hospital. It's unknown what caused the 94-year old former first lady to be admitted. But a hospital spokeswoman says Johnson could be released sometime this weekend.
And we are awaiting an update from fire officials this morning on the cause of that tragic fire out of Charleston, South Carolina, furniture store. Nine firefighters died in Monday night's blaze. Many details still unknown about the origins of that fire. It is the worse loss of life for firefighters since 9/11.
Take a look. That was the backdrop for a massive memorial service. Thousands of firefighters from all across the country came to Charleston to honor their fallen brothers.
HOLMES: The South Carolina tragedy highlights the daily dangers faced by firefighters. And those dangers seem to be growing. CNN's John Zarrella takes a look at why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nearly every time Ft. Lauderdale fire Lieutenant Billy White heads out, one thing is certain, the danger this second generation firefighter faces will likely be greater than what his father had to deal with.
LT. BILLY WHITE, FT. LAUDERDALE FIRE RESCUE: In the back of your mind going, you know, I don't know what's in here. I don't know what I'm going to expect. I don't know what I'm going to find.
ZARRELLA: There are many reasons for the increased risk. Firefighter will tell you the South Carolina fire is an example of this.
ASST. CHIEF STEVE McINERNY, FT. LAUDERDALE FIRE RESCUE: Fires today are inherently more dangerous than ever before because they're burning hotter and faster.
ZARRELLA: The reason, because so many of the products in our businesses and homes are made of plastics and resins, polyurethane, and response time is faster than ever. Why?
McINERNY: Cell phones. Everybody has a cell phone.
ZARRELLA: At the first sign of smoke, someone is dialing 911.
911: You see flames, right?
CALLER: Yes, somebody's calling right now as well.
CALLER: We've got a fire in our backyard.
911: OK, ma'am, are you outside the house?
CALLER: Yes.
ZARRELLA: The raw facts bear out the danger. From 1996 to 2005, the number of structure fires declined nationwide by more than 65,000. But the number of firefighter fatalities has hovered near or above 100 every year, this, despite a wealth of new technologies, thermal imaging.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The whites are hotter, the darker colors are lower temperature.
ZARRELLA: A hazmat team arrives at the scene of a ruptured gas line. Vital information about each one, how much air in the tank, which company he or she is with is continually checked with this monitoring device. Something goes wrong and they are forced to evacuate the scene, each firefighter would get the message loud and clear, get out.
WHITE: Now, that's loud. You can't miss that.
McINERNY: Right. They definitely know that we want them out.
ZARRELLA: Preaching, teaching, constant training is the only way McInerny says to reduce the risk. Even then there are no guarantees. Fighting a fire means getting up close. Firefighters call it putting the wet stuff on the red stuff. John Zarrella, CNN, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: We are awaiting an update on that Charleston fire investigation. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has scheduled a 9:00 a.m. Eastern news conference. We will bring that to you live right here on CNN.
NGUYEN: I want to take this opportunity to do something about issues that matter to you. Here's what you can do. You can log onto cnn.com/impact. With a click, you can get information that you need to take action. So be a part of the solution. Use the news on CNN to impact your world. Go to cnn.com/impact. You can do it right now.
HOLMES: We don't know if you all caught the very beginning of our show here but Betty and I were a bit off. We were startled.
NGUYEN: I was frightened.
HOLMES: We were sent a picture of a dog who has been nabbed.
NGUYEN: We think it's a dog. We're not sure what this thing is.
HOLMES: The thing has gotten a title.
NGUYEN: What is that? Look at the tongue.
HOLMES: The ugliest dog, that is your winner, I think.
NGUYEN: OK. There was some stiff competition for this. We're going to show you which pooch. These are just so ugly on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
HOLMES: First, we need to go to a handsome devil of a man, Reynolds Wolf.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: This is not working. You made me follow the ugly dog.
HOLMES: You look great, man.
NGUYEN: We are making you look fantastic on this show.
WOLF: Oh, man, people nationwide has just lost their breakfast this morning looking at that thing. Goodness! This morning, people in Chicago are enjoying their breakfast and a chance of scattered showers and storms going to pop up as we speak and we've got a potential for some rough weather in the central plains as well as south Texas. We have a shot of some flooding. We'll talk about that coming up in a few moments. That and ugly dogs on its way.
NGUYEN: Hard news starts right here and we are also going to talk about the weather, which forced the space shuttle to land in another state. So what exactly did those astronauts do while in space? We'll examine that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: A final detour for the space shuttle "Atlantis," the western landing now at least more traveling to be done. The astronauts fly to Houston today to reunite with their families while the shuttle is going to be taking a piggyback ride back to Florida. CNN space correspondent Miles O'Brien has more on the mission.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A day late and 2500 miles short, the space shuttle "Atlantis" came back to earth at the back-up landing site in the high desert of southern California. The weather there was pristine. Not so at the orbiter's home in Florida. Rain clouds forced mission control to divert "Atlantis" to Edwards Air Force base after a two week, 5 3/4 million mile mission. The mission will be remembered for staples and jumper cables. The former used to affix a thermal blanket that peeled away near the tail during launch and a ladder used by Russian cosmonauts to solve a massive computer melt down that put the space station in great jeopardy.
RICK STURCKOW, ATLANTIS COMMANDER: Had we been in a simulator at Johnson station, we would say, no way that would be going on right now. So -- but the team was up to the challenge and the folks figured a good way to get around it.
O'BRIEN: The crew attached a huge set of solar arrays that can generate enough power to run 30 homes.
JIM REILLY, ATLANTIS ASTRONAUT: This machine that truly is the first really permanent international human outpost in space. It's our first real step off the planet.
O'BRIEN: The landing marks the return of station keeper Sunita Williams after 195 days in space, a new record for a woman. She is almost as famous as her Jack Russell terrier Gorby. She brought a poster board of the pet with her and it cropped up (INAUDIBLE) in photos from space. SUNITA WILLIAMS, ASTRONAUT: Kids can relate to a dog. They don't necessarily relate to things that adults relate to. I think everybody can understand that you have a passion for a pet and it's something that you miss while you're up here. I think that was sort of universal and obviously it was and it spread and I think that's pretty neat.
O'BRIEN: NASA wanted to bring "Atlantis" home because a California landing cost the agency an extra $1.7 million and they're concerned about schedule, too. The space shuttle fleet is slated for retirement at the end of 2010 and the agency would like to finish as much station construction work as it can before it moves on to its next mission, a return to the moon. Miles O'Brien, CNN, at the Kennedy space center, Florida.
NGUYEN: Well, we have a return of our very own here and that is Reynolds Wolf. Where have you been Reynolds?
WOLF: Everywhere, all over.
NGUYEN: Apparently.
WOLF: All over the world of CNN. Right now we're really -- where I am obviously is in the weather center. We're talking about Chicago this morning. They've had some rough weather there just south of the city and we're going to zoom in on a few locations on radar right now. South of the city and over in Rockford, over to Peoria, we're seeing some scattered storms, nothing severe at this point but certainly going to bring you some heavy rainfall in spots. Southward, we go from South Bend to Terre Haute, back over into Oklahoma. We're seeing some showers and storms pop up there as well, some of these still not severe.
But wait until this afternoon. We have a little bit of daytime heating. You have this unstable air mass rolling over parts of the central plains as well as the southern plains. You can see not only some strong storms develop, but maybe even a (INAUDIBLE) situation especially in south Texas. I would say near Brownsville back over to south Padre Island you may be dealing with some very heavy rainfall. That's going to be the set-up for you today. Look for scattered showers again as I mentioned in the Gulf coast going out to the great lakes.
Meanwhile, for much of the west coast, northwest, the west coast as well as the four corners, it's going to be pretty, nice and sunny in New York for you as well. Atlanta looks pretty good with temperatures staying in Atlanta going up into the 90s and by Stone mountain, 93 in Memphis, 73 in Chicago, 86 in Kansas City and 93 in Albuquerque and 111 degrees, summer has arrived in Phoenix, unbelievable heat. That's the latest on your forecast. Let's send it back to you.
NGUYEN: Glad to have you back. thank you, Reynolds.
The U.S. tests its military might with a missile launch and it's all caught on tape. HOLMES: Also an amusement park horror in Kentucky. A thrill ride mall functions and a teenage girl has her feet severed. We've got that story, straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, Six Flags and another company have shut down eight more rides nationwide after a horrifying accident at Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville . A 13-year-old girl lost both her feet on the superman tower of power ride yesterday. There's no word on her condition today. One witness said he saw a cable snap and come up under the car. And that he saw riders just lift up their legs. Other people at the park yesterday tell their own stories.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS WILLIAMS, WITNESS: We seen the cable break loose as soon as it got to the top on the right-hand side. As the ride came down the wire swung left, hit -- struck the young lady.
TREVA SMITH, WITNESS: When I got up here the, lady was just sitting there and she didn't have no legs. She didn't have no legs at all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Can you just imagine? Police are not confirming anything just yet. We do want to clarify this accident happened on Thursday, not Friday. Six Flags and another firm, Cedar Fair entertainment have shut down eight similar rides nationwide just to be safe.
HOLMES: Significant movement in the nuclear standoff with North Korea. Christopher Hill, the top U.S. envoy said today he expects North Korea to shut down its main nuclear reactor within three weeks.
NGUYEN: And he says the next round of six-party talks aimed at scrapping Pyongyang's nuclear program will likely take place in July. Hill made a rare visit to the reclusive country last week.
A U.S. missile defense test off of Hawaii. Check it out. That missile defense agency says it intercepted a mid range target missile and a test off of the island yesterday. The military says it marks the ninth time it has successfully shot down a missile from a ship at sea.
HOLMES: Closing the Guantanamo Bay prison camp would be a mistake. That's what Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney says. He's responding to a report that President Bush is nearing a decision on shutting down the facility. Romney suggests suspected terrorists housed at the facility need to stay in Cuba, far from the U.S. court system. The Bush administration denies a decision is imminent.
The president's pick to hold the number three post at the Justice Department is withdrawing his nomination. William Mercer says it's unlikely the Senate would confirm him as associate attorney general. Mercer sites the ongoing controversy over the administration's firing of Federal prosecutors. But Democrat Senator Patrick Leahy says Mercer is trying to avoid testifying under oath at Tuesday's confirmation hearing. Mercer has held the post on an interim basis since September.
NGUYEN: Coming up, a tale of two churches, one that supports homosexuality and then one that doesn't.
HOLMES: No topic has divided Episcopals more. A look at how both congregations are handling the issue.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And meanwhile, how many Americans are gay? I'm Josh Levs. We're going to take a look at the numbers this morning, the CNN reality check and you just might be surprised. Betty.
NGUYEN: And protecting football players from serious injuries. There's the right video. Our own Rick Horrow takes a look beyond the game. That is coming up on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Most popular video on cnn.com, watch it. Oh, right there. People just can't get enough of this. A chopper crashes into a ship and then falls into the ocean. Veronica de la Cruz brings us up to speed a little bit later this hour.
Meantime though, we do want to welcome you back on this Saturday morning. Good morning everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And I'm T.J. Holmes. So glad you could be here. Up first this half hour, there's a rift in many American churches over the rights of gays and lesbians.
NGUYEN: As part of our "Uncovering America" series, we look at two churches, both Episcopal, but very different in how they see gays. CNN's Kara Finnstrom reports from Santa Barbara.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Anglican church steeped in history, now bearing the blows of the latest culture war over gay and lesbian rights.
FATHER MARK ASMAN, TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH: Gay and lesbian people are full human beings. They should be entitled to all of the sacramental rights.
FATHER BRIAN COX, CHRIST THE KING EPISCOPAL CHURCH: We have to find some way to be inclusive of gays and lesbians but I think that the manner that we're going about it is inconsistent with what the scripture teaches.
FINNSTROM: Father Mark Asman, Father Brian Cox both lead American Episcopal congregations on opposite sides of town with opposite points of view. Decades ago Father Asman was tortured by his own sexuality. ASMAN: I did not believe I could be an openly gay priest and felt that I had to deny my sexuality, discipline it. I even tried to heal it. And sadly enough, I'm embarrassed to say, even at one point I sought out exorcism.
FINNSTROM: Father Asman says he now accepts his sexuality and openly blesses same-sexed unions like that between Carola Pisani and Shawn Carey.
CAROLA PISANI, WORSHIPS AT TRINITY: More and more, we feel comfortable and have a sense of belonging.
FINNSTROM: Pisani and Carey both grew up in the Catholic church but wanted to be openly blessed and supported as a couple.
SHAWN CAREY For me, it's just the example of Jesus. What his idea and philosophy and treatment of people who are marginalized in the society at his time.
FINNSTROM: Much of Trinity's congregation is proud of what they see as their church's march towards equality, citing full rights for homosexuals as evidence of progress. Many at Christ the King church disagree.
COX: The interpretation that some liberal leaders are drawing at this time is inconsistent with how scripture has been interpreted throughout the time of history.
DOROTHEA PHELAN, WORSHIPS AT CHRIST THE KING: I don't wish anything bad for them. I just don't want them to be married with the blessings of the church and I don't want them as spiritual leaders in my life. Anybody who's read the scriptures in St. Paul and in the old testament believe that the lord feels that the practice is an abomination.
FINNSTROM: The two rectors call themselves friends. Friends with differences based on sincerely-held, very different interpretations of scripture.
(on camera): But this isn't just a struggle between two churches in the coastal city of Santa Barbara. In the 150 church diocese of Los Angeles, four churches have felt so polarized that they've completely broken away from the American Episcopal Church.
BISHOP JON BRUNO, LOS ANGELES DIOCESE: We're an evolutionary church in the sense that we need to grow with the times.
FINNSTROM (voice-over): Bishop Jon Bruno oversees the L.A. diocese. He says he's saddened by the loss of the four churches which joined more conservative branches in other countries, essentially ending the dialogue.
LYNN BUNTING, WORSHIPS AT CHRIST THE KING: That, I think, is the part that gets -- breaks my heart the most, is that people leaving over this issue.
FINNSTROM: Kara Finnstrom for CNN, Santa Barbara.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: OK. So struggling to come do common ground on the rights of gays and lesbians. And it's not just happening in churches but in homes and workplaces all across America. So how many people are part of the gay community? Josh Levs joins us with those numbers. It might be surprising.
JOSHUA LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is. Yes. And that's why I took a look at the numbers this week. And I was a little bit surprised. And obviously this is one of these unknowable things because who goes around announcing their sexuality? But it turns out there have been some surveys to try to get some concrete figures.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS (voice-over): There's no question, America's gay population has gained prominence and become more outspoken in recent years. And some stars coming out have helped draw attention to it. How many Americans are gay? There's no way to know for sure, but a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2002 asked people confidentially about their sexuality.
Among men age 18 to 44, 90 percent said they were heterosexual. About 2 percent said they were homosexual. And another 2 percent said they were bisexual. 6 percent did not identify with any of those groups. Among women, the numbers were similar, 90 percent said they are heterosexual. One percent said they are homosexual. About 3 percent said they are bisexual. And 6 percent did not identify. So overall, 4 percent of men and women called themselves gay or bisexual and 6 percent left their sexuality unclear.
Is the gay population growing? The CDC points to a study 10 years earlier by the University of Chicago in which 97 percent of men and 98 percent of women identified themselves as being heterosexual.
But that study was different and included an older sample of people. The CDC also points out that its figures have slight margins of error, less than 1 percent. Researches say there is no proof of whether America's gay population is growing or shrinking. Also, keep in mind, the surveys depend on people being honest.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS: Now, a lot of this information is new. More and more surveys are being done right now. And researchers say you will be able to start to get a greater sense of the gay community in America. One tell will be from the Census. In 2000 the Census really looked at this for the first time. And, Betty, the Census found 600,000 homes having same-sex partners.
NGUYEN: Well, do you think that because people fear the confidentiality may not be there, that's why they're not coming forthright with the fact that they are or are not? LEVS: Yes. I mean, that is one reason that you really can't necessarily trust these figures. So really what you're getting a sense of is how many people want to say that they're gay. But let me just tell you what the CDC did. They left people alone in a room with a computer to answer questions about sexuality.
They said all your answers will end up in the system somewhere. No one will ever know it was you. So even given that, the CDC acknowledge -- researchers acknowledge there will be some people who believe they may be gay or bisexual and just aren't saying, but even given those precautions, only 2 percent of people were saying yes, that they are definitively gay.
NGUYEN: Very interesting stuff. Josh, thank you. And we're going to continue with this because this guy once denounced gays.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The people who were gay were disfigured and dysfunctional and confused and, I mean, those are the only explanations we had and that God would not be pleased with that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Well, today this evangelical preacher has had a change of heart and it is costing him everything. Hear his story tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN NEWSROOM with Rick Sanchez.
HOLMES: Wal-Mart is reportedly giving the cold shoulder to gays. Fortune magazine says the retail giant is curbing contributions to gay rights groups. This reportedly comes after conservative Christian groups threatened a boycott. According to Fortune, Wal-Mart cited a policy saying the company would not make corporate contributions to support or oppose highly controversial issues, unless they directly relate to the company's ability to serve its customers.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: And we are also getting very ugly this morning. I'm not joking with you. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You've got to be ugly. We're pre- qualifying for ugly tonight. So we have a prequalification judge on the grounds who's going to look at each dog before they get their number and make sure they are ugly enough.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: OK. But let's just clarify. We are not talking about ugly people, she was not an ugly person, but this definitely ugly.
HOLMES: You've got to qualify for ugly. You know all the viewers are thinking about somebody that could qualify for ugly.
NGUYEN: What is wrong with that dog's tongue?
HOLMES: OK. The ugliest dog competition, who won? My money's on that dog. And just how ugly is it? We'll be talking about it.
NGUYEN: I am frightened and traumatized. Veronica De La Cruz is here though, checking on...
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not ugly, interesting, interesting.
NGUYEN: No, no, no.
DE LA CRUZ: The dog was interesting looking.
NGUYEN: That was ugly. That was ugly. I'm sorry.
DE LA CRUZ: All right. Well, check this out, I've got more great video. This is a chopper crash in Australia. The video getting a lot of traffic at cnn.com. What exactly happened here? I'll explain, next from the dot-com desk.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: OK. TV remote in one hand, right? Computer mouse in the other.
DE LA CRUZ: Is that how you do it?
HOLMES: Is it?
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: A lot of people doing it like that.
DE LA CRUZ: How about laptop, in your lap and then focusing on the television because you should be at home watching us.
HOLMES: You sound like you have done this before. And good morning to you now.
DE LA CRUZ: Good morning. Nice to see you guys. Well, you know, we're going to take a look at the top stories at cnn.com. And the first one is actually from right here in our own backyard. We're going to go ahead and focus on what has been happening in Atlanta. A murder right here in Atlanta. The accused is this man right here. And the victim is his mother. The two apparently got into a fight over, get this, dirty dishes.
NGUYEN: No.
DE LA CRUZ: Yes. The man allegedly stabbed his mother to death as she stood washing these dishes in the kitchen. Adding to the tragedy, the woman's two young granddaughters witnessed the killing. Our report is from affiliate WXIA. That's the top story.
Number two this morning is a chilling report by CNN's Diana Magnay in London, police busting an alleged pedophile ring. She reports authorities used sophisticated computer software to track people around the world downloading images of child pornography from a particular network police say, Betty. Internet users were sometimes lined up 60 or 70 deep waiting to download these images. So that report on cnn.com.
And number three on the Web site, Paris Hilton's $1 million deal with NBC for an exclusive interview after she gets out of the slammer. The outrage has been pouring in. And now there is word that this deal could be off. CNN's Anderson Cooper takes a closer look for us.
And then rounding out the top four, a spectacular helicopter crash. This video released by the Australian Navy has been on the most popular list for several days now...
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: Yes, we reported that several days ago.
DE LA CRUZ: Yes, for the entire week.
NGUYEN: And it's still there.
DE LA CRUZ: People are still very interested in this. It shows the chopper slamming to the deck. It flips into the ocean. Two people died in this crash, which happened about seven months ago. And incredibly, eight people survived.
NGUYEN: Well, and a lot of people, especially family members, are pretty outraged that this video is even out there considering their loved ones died in that accident.
DE LA CRUZ: Well, they've released it after the investigation. So of course that's all at cnn.com.
Another thing I want to tell you guys about, you know all about the YouTube Debates, right? Well, I'm going to be back later to tell you about this new initiative between CNN and YouTube for the upcoming presidential debates. A couple of hundred video questions so far have been submitted. And I'm going to be taking a look at some of most the recent ones that is coming up in the 9:00 a.m. hour.
And don't forget the debates happen July 23rd. That's the Democrats and the Republicans on September 17th. And you just have to laugh.
NGUYEN: Really?
DE LA CRUZ: Some of these are just -- I'm just going to use the word interesting. Not ugly.
NGUYEN: But they're not naked, because that one guy who had the question, he was naked, remember that?
DE LA CRUZ: Right, yes.
NGUYEN: We don't have any of those.
DE LA CRUZ: We're -- even if they are on there (INAUDIBLE)...
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: Brace yourself, because that was not pretty.
HOLMES: You keep going back to that, Betty. You liked it.
NGUYEN: I'm traumatized by it.
HOLMES: You liked it.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: All right. Thank you, Veronica.
NGUYEN: Thank you, Veronica.
HOLMES: We've got new recommendations to tell you about for football players, those playing and those retired. It will affect not only pro athletes but younger players as well.
NGUYEN: And it seems like a fisherman's dream. Check this out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Well, maybe not that. But look at the fish behind him just jumping all over the place. So many fish, they're jumping in the boat. Well, we're going to tell you how this could be a disaster in the making.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, an important safety step now being taken by the NFL. The NFL laying down some new rules on how team's players and the league deals with head injuries. And here to talk about this impact of this decision, our sports business analyst, Rick Horrow.
Rick, always good to see you, kind sir. This has been a debate going on for quite some time. They've been looking at it for a while. It looked like they were taking some really serious steps. But, so we are talking about the NFL there, but how is this, the rules that take place in the NFL, going to trickle down to college, high school players, junior -- even younger? How does this affect the younger folks?
RICK HORROW, CNN SPORTS BUSINESS ANALYST: Well, you know, the NFL has its (INAUDIBLE) traumatic brain injury seminar last week in Chicago. But the real impact is the million kids that play high school ball, the Pop Warner, the youth leagues, the college kids. The studies are saying that it takes longer to recover from a concussion the younger you are.
Lee Steinberg has a Concussion Institute. There are a lot of dueling studies. But the bottom line is the real key is player safety, keeping a kid out if he hasn't recovered fully yet. You know, only 0.009 percent of these kids even sniff the pros but the problem with concussions is very, very, very real.
HOLMES: And certainly more real and more important to make sure that the younger folks and the younger brains, as they say, more susceptible to some of those long-term injuries, pay attention to those rules. Rick, what are the rules? What are the new rules that the NFL players, teams and medical personnel even are going to have to follow now?
HORROW: Well, again, the NFL is looking at all of these processes. And they've got tests, whistle-blower, mandatory testing, you've got player safety with the helmets and chinstraps, field safety, Astroturf and the like, some of their improvements.
The bottom line is, Roger Goodell, the commissioner, said it absolutely correct, that the competitive decisions will not override the medical decisions. And we think he means it based on these actions.
HOLMES: He means it. But, man, really, to follow up on that point, these are some of the toughest guys on the planet. And everybody is under pressure to win. Can you really get into their heads and tell them? Those guys are going to want to play, even go against the advice of medical staff sometimes.
HORROW: That's where the whistle-blowing comes in. You know, the bottom line is, we're not sure of the impact. But a lot of these studies have been done on Andre Waters and Justin Strzelczyk and some of these 40-year-old guys, the brains look like 88-year-old Alzheimer's patients. So something has to be done somewhere.
HOLMES: All right. You talk about some of those 40-year-old guys. What about the retired players? I know they're a lot of the ones leading the charge, saying not enough is being done. So where do they factor into all of this? How can they be affected? How can they be helped, some of those retired players who are suffering right now?
HORROW: Well, this is a big one-two punch couple of weeks for the NFL because there are congressional hearings on Tuesday about pensions and retirement. You know, the NFL put a plan in in 1959, they have got about a billion dollars in assets. But the real key is how you divide those dollars.
The former players got retirement dollars in the '70s. Now today's players gobble up most of that with 401(k)s and otherwise. It's really a titanic battle between the haves and the have-nots. The pressure from Tuesday's hearing has already caused the NFL to change their policy.
If you're eligible for Social Security now, you're automatically eligible for NFL disability payments. And the pressure of the hearings may have caused that. It might save two years for a retired player getting his dough.
HOLMES: OK. Those pensions and the retirement you're talking about there, will a lot of those who complain about it -- take a while to get that dough and what not, how does the NFL compare as far as their -- what they have in the bank in terms of pensions and retirement compared to the other major sports?
HORROW: The NFL has got a lot in the bank. Their maximums aren't as high because they're a more violent sport, there are a lot more claims, that's obvious. Baseball has a lot more money, a lot less claims, not as violent. But you've got catchers foul tips, you've got concussion issues there, too.
And basketball, with a few less players all told, but they've still got issues. Listen, the bottom line is there has to be some responsibility from these professional leagues for retired players, both as far as safety and as far as compensation is concerned.
HOLMES: All right. Rick, a very serious issue. Appreciate you getting us up to speed on this. We're going to talk to you I think again next week, we'll be talking about the NFL draft -- excuse me, the NBA draft. And you're taking Durant first, right?
NGUYEN: Hook 'em, Horns.
HORROW: Yes, I think so. I think so. But it will be an interesting week. We'll talk about that next week.
HOLMES: We'll talk about it next week. Rick, always good to see you, man.
NGUYEN: That's my Longhorn there. OK. Be watching that. I had to put it out there.
HOLMES: You didn't watch a game last year.
NGUYEN: Yes, I did. Hey, but this is something you may not want to watch. You may want to turn your head, OK, because you think all dogs are cute? Uh-uh. There's one that just got voted the ugliest for good reason. You be the judge, when we show you his close--up. Brace yourself. It's not pretty.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTINGLY: Whoa! Man.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: The fish are a-jumpin'. But this is not a fisherman's dream, would you believe? We're going to take a closer look at this ecological nightmare in the making. He is OK. That reporter is just fine.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, the Westminster Dog Show, the pinnacle for dog shows. Well, where do you go for the other end of that spectrum, Betty?
NGUYEN: The ugly spectrum?
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: Well, try Petaluma, California. That's right. That is where you see the likes of Elwood.
HOLMES: Clean the mouth.
NGUYEN: I don't understand -- why is the tongue sticking out? Well, he has just been crowned the world's ugliest dog. Yes. The contest was held at the Marin-Sonoma County Fair (ph), and in case you were wondering, Elwood is a Chinese crested and Chihuahua mix, obviously not a very good mix.
HOLMES: OK. Now of course, there are some people out there, some of you who say that the dogs...
NGUYEN: Oh! Stop with the close-up.
HOLMES: You say the dogs are so ugly that they're cute.
NGUYEN: Uh-uh.
HOLMES: But you folks would be wrong. These dogs are just ugly. Elwood edged out...
NGUYEN: Is that slobber? What is that?
HOLMES: What is that?
NGUYEN: I don't know. Is that a tooth?
HOLMES: Edged out other contenders, a dog named Squiggy (ph), I think that may be Squiggy, and another Pee Wee Martini (ph). Sounds like a good drink. But take the $1,000 first prize in the ugly dog -- OK. Let's get off the video now.
NGUYEN: Well, no, hold up. Maybe...
HOLMES: Let's not.
NGUYEN: Is there such a thing as like doggy plastic surgery? Maybe they can use that $1,000 to make Elwood look beautiful. Probably not.
HOLMES: We're going to move on to fish, flying fish now. Fascinating to see, fish...
NGUYEN: Ugly dogs, flying fish, out of control.
HOLMES: Flying fish, big fish, flying out of the Illinois River.
NGUYEN: No, we're not joking. But these Asian carp are proving to be an ecological disaster. He's CNN's David Mattingly. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fisherman talk about days like this. Big fish so easy to catch they jump right into the boat. But this is one fish story with a very serious turn. These leaping fish are part of an invasion, an ecological disaster on the move.
(on camera): The fish are Asian carp, and they have been ruining lakes and streams everywhere they go. We're going to one of those areas right now. And we have been warned, keep your head down.
ERIC GITTINGER, AQUATIC ECOLOGIST: It's hard to believe until you're out here actually experiencing it.
MATTINGLY (voice-over): Aquatic ecologists for the state of Illinois guide us on a journey up the Illinois River, a trip, they say, that grows riskier each year for boaters and jet skiers.
JOHN CHICK, AQUATIC ECOLOGIST: Bruises and broken noses and black eyes and being knocked out. Those are the type of injuries we're seeing from these fish.
MATTINGLY: But local fishing economies could take the biggest hit of all. Several Asian carp species were introduced to U.S. catfish farms in the '70s to eat algae in local ponds. They have since escaped into the Mississippi River system, and become so prolific, that they threaten to gulp down the food native fish need to survive.
CHICK: They've invaded some of the most productive ecosystems so far.
MATTINGLY: Today, everywhere we see one carp leaping, irritated by our boat motors, there could be thousands more. Watch what happens when these devices deliver a small electric shock to the water.
(on camera): Holy cow! Whoa! Man! We got a boat full of fish. Whoa! When these fish were small, people thought this was funny. But now that they're -- ooh! Ten and 20 pounds, they can hit you and really do some serious harm.
(voice-over): And just a few seconds later, I find out the hard way.
(on camera): Whoa! Oh, ouch, that hurt.
(voice-over): Let's look at that from a different angle. A 10- pound carp leaps out of the water from the far side of the boat and hits me hard from more than eight feet away.
(on camera): That's going to leave a mark.
(voice-over): And that wouldn't be the only one. Imagine what that would do to a fast-moving jet skier. But these fish collisions are only the most obvious signs of a far-reaching problem. As the invaders continue their march north, the commercial fishing industry on Lake Michigan could be the next big target.
An electrical barrier under development is the lake's only defense from fish that grow bigger and more plentiful every day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This here is a big black big head (ph).
MATTINGLY: There is a small but growing consumer market for the Asian carp, but so far there hasn't been enough of an appetite to keep their numbers under control. Biologists can see the Asian carp are here to stay. Everyone on the river, beware.
David Mattingly, CNN, Havana, Illinois.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, good morning, everybody. From the CNN Center right here in Atlanta, Georgia, you are watching CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And I'm T.J. Holmes. We're so glad you could be with us this morning. We are going to start right now in Iraq and a major offensive under way to fight the al Qaeda threat.
It's day five of Operation Arrowhead Ripper, a major push against militants in Diyala province north of Baghdad. U.S. military reports American and Iraqi troops have killed at least 68 al Qaeda fighters so far and it says they're tightening their grip on the city of Baquba, an insurgent stronghold.
Also following intense action in Afghanistan, the military says dozens of militants attacked U.S. and NATO-led forces overnight near the country's border with Pakistan. Coalition forces fired back killing nearly 60 insurgents, just one of several violent clashes in Afghanistan's past 24 hours. One ended with coalition troops detaining about 20 suspected al Qaeda fighters in the eastern part of that country.
NGUYEN: There is still talk of bringing troops home from Iraq by spring of next year, but the U.S. military warns the Iran factor may thwart those plans. CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even as combat operations continue, once again a top U.S. commander is raising the prospect that some of the 160,000 U.S. troops now in Iraq could come home.
LT. GEN. RAYMOND ODIERNO, CMDR, MULTINATIONAL FORCES-IRAQ: I think if everything goes the way it's going now, there's a potential that by the spring, we would be able to reduce forces and Iraq security forces could take over.
STARR: But it's a big if. First, Lt. General Raymond Odierno says Iraqi troops must handle security in key areas of Baghdad, as well as Baqubah and elsewhere in Diyala province where U.S. troops are battling insurgents and al Qaeda. The upcoming September security assessment may be the first sign of whether a draw down is feasible. And there is more evidence that Iran has increased weapons shipments, training and support for extremist groups in Iraq over the last three months.
ODIERNO: I think maybe Iran decided to surge more money, conduct a bit more training and surge a few more weapons into Iraq.
STARR: The U.S. military expects to unveil new evidence in the days ahead, but Odierno offered some additional details.
ODIERNO: We have found a few people that were Shia extremists that were connected to -- had some training in Iran, those mostly being the mortar and rocket teams inside of Baghdad where they were trained in Iran and came in here to conduct attacks against not only Polish and Iraqi security forces, but government of Iraq targets inside of the green zone.
STARR: In fact, U.S. forces attacked a site hiding Iranian rockets that were aimed at the green zone. Some of the rockets had already been fired.
(on-camera): The combat operations in Baquba and other parts of Diyala province are part of the effort to cut off the flow of weapons from Iran. If it doesn't work, there's no prediction when there might be enough security for U.S. troops to begin coming home. Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Significant movement in the nuclear standoff with North Korea. Christopher hill, the top U.S. envoy said today he expects North Korea to shut down its main nuclear reactor within three weeks and he says the next round of six party talks aimed at scrapping Pyongyang's nuclear program will likely take place in July. Hill made a rare visit to the reclusive country last week.
NGUYEN: Well, we want to tell you about a disturbing story. Hundreds and hundreds of molestation charges are filed against a school crossing guard in Pennsylvania. Suspect Dale Hutchings is charged with more than 1,000 counts of child molestation. That's right, 1,000 counts. Hutchings was arrested Tuesday in Berwick, Pennsylvania and he's charged with molesting at least six children under the age of 13 between 1998 and 2007. The alleged molestations according to police, took place at Hutchings home, which is within sight of the school where Hutchings was a crossing guard.
There are new developments in the case of that missing pregnant woman. Authorities say a newborn left on a doorstep in northeast Ohio is not Jessie Davis' child. The 26-year-old woman has been missing for more than a week now and Wayne County officials say the newborn belongs to a woman who concealed her pregnancy from her family. But Davis' mother still vows to continue the search for her daughter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PATTY PORTER, MOTHER OF JESSIE DAVIS: My message tonight is that we are not going away. We're not going to stop looking for Jessie and we're not going to stop looking for who has done this to her. It may be my daughter today, but tomorrow it could be someone else's daughter and we need to find her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Two days of searching around Davis' home near Uniontown turned up nothing so far, and volunteers, they do plan to be out again today.
HOLMES: Six Flags and another company have shut down eight more rides nationwide after a horrifying accident at Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville. A 13-year-old girl lost both her feet. They were severed on this superman tower of power ride Thursday. No word on how she is holding up in the hospital right now. One witness said he saw a cable snap and come under the car and then saw riders lift up their legs. Other people at the park yesterday tell their story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS WILLIAMS, WITNESS: We seen the cable break loose as soon as it got to the top on the right-hand side. As the ride came down, the wires swung left, hit the one, struck the young lady.
TREVA SMITH, WITNESS: When I got up there, the lady was just sitting there and she didn't have no legs. She didn't have no legs at all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Police aren't confirming a whole lot of this story just yet. Six Flags and another firm, Cedar Fair Entertainment have shut down eight similar rides nationwide to be checked.
NGUYEN: Lady Bird Johnson is in stable condition this morning in an Austin, Texas hospital. It's unknown what caused the 94-year old former first lady to be admitted, but a hospital spokeswoman says Johnson could be released sometime this weekend.
HOLMES: Windows smashed, roofs ripped and trees down, plenty to clean up this morning after a tornado hit two towns in central Iowa. No one hurt seriously, but about 19,000 homes and businesses are without power. Heavy rain reported overnight this morning. Some areas are flooding. The tornado hit the town of Cumming just south of Des Moines and traveled east to Norwalk.
NGUYEN: The latest on the weather conditions outside, we got a little new technology there. What is that, a plasma up in the air? We're getting all spiffy around here.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah. It's a television screen. It's amazing how they work.
NGUYEN: Where did you pick that up Reynolds? WOLF: They've been hiding all over the place. We're going to show you a lot more. Hey, what we're using right now is just our radar and we're showing you some of the strong storms that are popping up. Moments ago Betty and T.J., we were talking about that rough weather that we had in Iowa that is now moving into parts of Illinois and Indiana, as well. South of Chicago, right to the I-44 corridor near Indianapolis is where the rain is beginning to pick up. Nothing severe at this point, but certainly there is that potential of some heavy rainfall, some runoffs and flooding and I want you not just to focus on where it's raining, but places like Ft. Wayne and over in to Toledo and in Cincinnati, don't have a lot of action yet.
But all of this is going to drift its way eastward bringing some rain showers farther into the Ohio Valley as we make our way into the mid morning hours as well as the afternoon. Right now, we've already got the rain in parts of Kansas, as well as into Oklahoma not just to the northeast of Tulsa and southward into Muskogee. Although it doesn't look that bad in Texas at this point, into the afternoon hours, we're thinking south Texas, Brownsville, maybe even Padre Island, you could be dealing with some flash flooding, so be careful in that part of the world. Something else to watch out for, the heat, extreme heat in the desert southwest, not a big surprise over the century mark for both Las Vegas and Phoenix, well above 100 degrees, 93 in Memphis and 73 in Chicago at the other side of that frontal boundary. Detroit with 77 and Washington, D.C. into the mid-80s. That's your forecast. Back to you.
NGUYEN: Thank you, Reynolds.
There's no word yet on what caused a deadly fire in Charleston, South Carolina. Look at this. Nine firefighters died in a blaze at a furniture warehouse. We're hoping to learn more from investigators this morning during a 9:00 a.m. news conference. We'll of course bring that to you live just as soon as it happens, in less than an hour from now. Meanwhile, thousands of firefighters from across the country came to Charleston in joining with the community there to pay their respects.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We lost nine of the bravest men doing what they love to do best -- fight fires. Those guys were the best.
MAJOR JOSEPH P. RILEY JR., CHARLESTON, SC: These dear heroes who died in the line of duty, in our city Monday night. They did what they and every firefighter is prepared to do every day they put on their badge, to risk their life and, if necessary, to give their lives.
GOV. MARSHALL S. SANFORD, SOUTH CAROLINA: You don't become a part of the fire fighting force to make a whole lot of money. You do it because you see it as a chance to leverage your short time here on planet earth to help other people.
RILEY: Firefighters charge into dangerous places. But the natural human instinct is to free rapidly. Why? Why do they rush into smoke filled intensely burning buildings? Why? To defeat their only enemy - fire, to serve, to help people, to do their duty. These nine men and their colleagues are the people who we would want living near us next door, to be our friend. The neighbor you would want your child to know and watch.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, we do want to take this opportunity to ask you to do something about the issues that matter to you. Log on to cnn.com/impact and with a click, you will get information that you need to take action, be a part of the solution. Use the news on CNN to impact your world. Go to cnn.com/impact right now.
HOLMES: Well, he's keeping a secret about the secrets he keeps. Vice President Cheney fights efforts to find details out about his handling of classified documents. See how far he's willing to go at this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
NGUYEN: And remember the e. coli scare of summer 2006? Well, CNN special investigations unit takes a look at how safe our food really is.
But first, a look ahead to "House Call."
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Betty. If you're traveling this summer, you're going to need to watch the show this morning because you may not know it, but vacation time is prime time for getting sick. Tune in and find out what you need to pack and be aware of. Plus, working out at your desk. Good idea, right? It's possible. It could help you burn up to 1,000 calories a day. All that and the latest headlines coming up on "House Call" at 8:30.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. For years, Vice President Dick Cheney's office has refused to comply with an executive order signed by President Bush. Now, that order governs the handling of classified material. The vice president is accused of carrying that defiance one step further. CNN"s Suzanne Malveaux reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The vice president's office is keeping a secret. The secret is over how many secrets it keeps. An order by President Bush requires Cheney's office to tell the national archives how many documents it classifies or declassifies each year. For years, the vice president's office has refused. Now, Cheney's solution to the dispute, just abolish the office asking for the records. That according to Congressman Henry Waxman who heads the congressional committee investigating the matter. He warned Cheney in a letter that his actions could be down right criminal, saying I question both the legality and wisdom of your actions.
For Cheney's part, his camp would neither confirm nor deny whether they sought to abolish the National Archives office speaking the vice president's records. But they did respond to Waxman's accusation saying, we are confident that we were conducting the office properly under the law. That executive order Mr. Bush signed in 2003 requires all agencies and any other entities within the executive branch to report its records for classifying top secret documents. But according to Waxman, the vice president's office is now claiming it is not an entity within the executive branch. Sound cut and dry? Not exactly. If abolishing the National Archives office doesn't work, Cheney's office has another tactic. They say as vice president, Cheney also serves as the president of the Senate, which means he's in the unique position of straddling the executive and legislative branches.
STEVEN AFTERGOOD, FED. OF AMERICAN SCIENTISTS: It's transparently silly. If it were true, then we would have to rewrite all of the textbooks that we all grew up with. It's obvious that the vice president's office is part of the executive branch and to claim otherwise is preposterous.
MALVEAUX: Those textbooks says the U.S. Constitution establishes the office of vice president under executive branch, article 2, section 1. What is also interesting is that the Bush administration has made the case numerous times for keeping information secret, citing executive privilege and executive power. So it seems inconsistent that the vice president's office is now saying that he's in a unique position. Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Today in uncovering America, growing up gay, Veronica de la Cruz will be here to tell us all about what cnn.com is working on. Now we've got a look at "House Call".
GUPTA: Thanks, T.J.. We got a packed show this morning. We're going to teach you the tips of staying healthy as you travel this summer. Plus, what you need to know before sending your kids to summer camp. Also learn the newest thing in staying fit at work. You'll need to see that. And meet a man who is a double amputee who is doing something that most people will never accomplish. We're bringing you all those stories plus the week's medical headlines coming up on "House Call" at 8:30.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Summer is the season for fresh fruits and vegetables. Here are some fresh picks you'll find in your local super market that taste great and has helpful benefits.
PAGE LOVE, DIETICIAN: I think the top choices that are really in season in the summertime, pears have just come in, berries, strawberries and melon. That gives you a nice, bright and different kinds of fruit and mixture really makes a nice fruit salad.
Take a stroll through your local farmer's market. You'll find lots of vegetables and fruits of every color and shape, bursting with flavor and good nutrition.
LOVE: This variety of color really tells you about a wide spectrum of nutrient needs that you'd be needing. (INAUDIBLE) vitamin A, vitamin C family and these are wonderful antioxidants that pump up the immune system and are great disease fighters.
And there's no better time of the year to make fruits and vegetables the spotlight of every meal.
LOVE: A fruit salad is always a wonderful side for a meal and it's a great way to get a mixture of fruits.
COSTELLO: Buy seasonal produce whenever possible for the freshest taste and for the nutritional value. Carol Costello, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: All right. It is officially summertime and that means burgers on a grill, fresh salads, one thing nobody wants on the menu, e. coli contamination. But ground beef and lettuce have been contaminated recently. How can you keep your food safe? Senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It takes only a pinpoint's worth of e. cola 0157h7 to make you sick as few as 100 cells. Young children and the very old are the most vulnerable to its toxins. E. coli 0157 is also extremely hardy. It's resistant to cold and in one test, it survived on a leaf of lettuce for 77 days. Monsour Samadpour knows all about deadly bacteria. He's president of IEH Laboratories, a Seattle-based company that tests salad greens for e. coli and other pathogens.
MONSOUR SAMADPOUR, PRESIDENT, IEH LABORATORIES: Every 15 minutes, they can double in numbers. So you could have one cell going in and after 24 hours, you can have millions of them. The toxin is released. It's absorbed and it starts killing on the intestinal cells and makes its way throughout the body.
GUPTA: We asked Samadpour to contaminate spinach leaves with e. coli 0157 and then use various methods to remove the bacteria. Washing it off in water, 50 parts per million of chlorine bleach in water, the same as the commercial processors use and then two commercially available vegetable washes.
SAMADPOUR: This product you have to just spray. After that you mix.
GUPTA: Finally, bleach and the vegetable washes.
SAMADPOUR: We are measuring the amount of bacteria that is there on this leaf before the treatment and after the treatment and we can determine what the impact of the treatment was.
GUPTA: Now, the unwashed spinach had 11,7 00 bacterial colonies, each is one or two organisms, more than enough to make you sick. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Find how the washed lettuce faired, you'll just have to tune in tonight. Danger of poisoned food from CNN special investigations unit with senior medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. That is tonight at 8:00 p.m.
NGUYEN: So --
HOLMES: Read it, read it, Betty. Read it like it's written.
NGUYEN: All right. I'm so embarrassed. Are you having sex?
HOLMES: That's not what it says, really.
NGUYEN: Some people like to brag about the number of sex partners. Is this a joke -- that they've had. Others shy away from the topic altogether. Now a Federal study sheds some light on sexual activities. It's all yours now T.J.
HOLMES: This study found that 29 percent of American men report having sex with 15 or more female sex partners in a lifetime while only 9 percent of women report having sex with 15 or more men. So there you go.
NGUYEN: I'm glad we cleared that up.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN.COM: What was just going on here? What is all the giggling about?
HOLMES: You don't want to deal with us right now, Veronica. We don't want to bring you into this.
DE LA CRUZ: OK. We'll move on.
HOLMES: Veronica Cruz, here with the latest installment of what you can find on cnn.com.
DE LA CRUZ: Uncovering America. We've been talking about uncovering America. We've been focusing on all the issues affecting particular communities. This week is gay pride week in many cities across America so we are using this time to focus on the gay community. You can get this special report online by logging onto cnn.com/uncoveringamerica. Like I just mentioned, this is our third in a series in which we report on the community's complex issues. Starting with a look at the same-sex marriage debate, this map highlights the issue as the law applies in states across the country. You can roll your curser over a state and that's going to bring up a bubble with that state's laws. Also on the site, a photo gallery showing how Hollywood has viewed and portrayed gays and lesbians throughout the years. The book "Up From Invisibility" details how the entertainment industry once only had two approaches to the issue. It either portrayed gays as comical or as threats.
And as part of our series, we're asking you if you think a Federal amendment banning same sex marriage will pass in the near future. Right now only 11 percent of people say yes it is only a matter of time, while 50 percent say no. The political will does not exist for it to pass. You can log on to cnn.com/uncoveringamerica to weigh in with your thoughts on the quick vote. Also check out the rest of the special report and I also wanted to invite you to send us your i-Reports if you're out this weekend celebrating gay pride. You can always send us your pictures and of course we're going to get those on air and as you guys you, I just got back from New York and they were definitely setting for festivities there.
NGUYEN: There's one going on here in Atlanta tomorrow.
HOLMES: Thank you for being here. You had a long week up in New York, came right back.
DE LA CRUZ: I love you guys. I want to be right here with my family.
HOLMES: Thank you. That was so sweet.
NGUYEN: You want to check this out because this is really pretty amazing. This lake is Chile is no more. That's right, theories abound on just where the water went? We'll delve into this mystery. That's ahead. Stay with us.
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NGUYEN: It is a mystery to be sure. It's not clear whether this is a case for Sherlock Holmes or Jacques Cousteau. Check it out.
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