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CNN Saturday Morning News
Two Tourists Attacked in Beijing: One Dead, One Injured; Fears of an All-Out War Between Russia and Georgia; John Edwards Admits Affair;
Aired August 09, 2008 - 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: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, George, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING on this August 9th. Hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
MELISSA LONG, CNN ANCHOR: And hello. I'm Melissa Long, in today for Betty.
Welcome back. Did you have a nice time -- away?
HOLMES: Yes. I had a nice time. I was away. And my goodness, a lot has happened (INAUDIBLE).
LONG: Yes, a very, very busy week.
HOLMES: A lot is going on.
LONG: And a busy morning for you as well. Coming up, some breaking news out of the Olympics in Beijing.
I'm not sure if you stayed up to watch the opening ceremonies. What a spectacle -- amazing.
But, at the same time, some terrible breaking news. Americans are attacked at a popular tourist site. One American man is dead, another female is wounded.
HOLMES: Certainly, not the way to get the Olympics started. But we'll have all the details on that.
Also, another story we've been closely watching here at CNN. Fears of an all-out war now between Russia and a former Soviet republic, Georgia.
Now, this is a long way and seems disconnected from the U.S., but it has serious implications for the U.S.-Russian relations, and also, for U.S. interest in Iraq. A lot of details, you need to stick around in here.
LONG: And we have a live report coming up from Matthew Chance who is en route there to the capital of South Ossetia.
Also, of course, we're talking about the denial and then the truth. After months of speculation, now, former presidential hopeful, John Edwards is saying he did have an extramarital affair back in 2006. A big story we'll be talking about throughout the morning here. HOLMES: And also, back to the positive of the Olympics. The president is there. Wait, what's the president doing there?
LONG: I don't -- what was that?
HOLMES: What in the world? OK, I didn't see that video earlier.
LONG: I think that was an affirmative tap (ph).
HOLMES: What was that?
LONG: Yes.
HOLMES: All right. Well, we will get into this, what's turning into scandal there apparently on the volleyball.
LONG: No.
HOLMES: No, not at all. Yes, we're talking about the president and what he's doing. He's hanging out with the athletes as well but we do have to start with that major story talking about the downside of the Olympics. Day one, an American tourist is dead in Beijing. It is a horrible story here.
LONG: Well, as we were just telling you, one American dead, another person injured. The man is dead, the American female tourist is the one injured.
Larry Smith is joining us live from Beijing with more on this breaking news story -- Larry.
LARRY SMITH, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you both. Good evening from Beijing.
Yes, this is a story that is moving very quickly as we're getting a lot more details now. As you mentioned, one American is dead, a second, seriously injured, when they were attacked by a Chinese national just after midday at the Drum Tower in central Beijing. The Drum Tower is an ancient monument here in central Beijing.
Now, the man, who reportedly is 47-years-old -- that Chinese national, then committed suicide by jumping off the second floor of that building. Again, this happened just after midday about five miles away from the Olympic Green. Now, the two Americans have not been identified. However, USOC says they were family members of a U.S. men's indoor volleyball coach.
But, again, we don't know who they are. We don't know who the coach is. They are not releasing those names for privacy reasons, for the family. However, they do say they were not wearing anything that would have identified them as connected to the U.S. Olympic team or at the same time as Americans.
Now, the USOC issued this statement earlier today. They say, "Our priority is to attend to the needs of the family members of the U.S. Olympic men's indoor volleyball team and staff, and the entire U.S. Olympic delegation. In addition, the USOC is working closely with the U.S. embassy, U.S. and local law enforcement authorities."
Now, just in the past five minutes, the International Olympic Committee has also issued a statement pledging their support as well for the U.S. and any local officials here as they try to gather some details. And again, try to get to the bottom of just what happened and why it happened here in Beijing. Let's go back to you.
HOLMES: Larry, give us an idea, if you can on this story -- I know it was a huge ceremony and many people are saying right now, one of the most spectacular, really people have ever seen in history and to have this, I guess, this damper on what has been just a -- many thought -- a glorious start, I guess, what kind of reaction around there, among your fellow reporters, fellow journalists, just the athletes as well about this story breaking?
SMITH: Well, right now, the USOC also says they have not determined if any additional security is needed for the athletes or anyone else. You know, attacks on Americans are very rare here in China. There was one earlier this spring where a woman was killed, but authorities determined that she had walked in on a burglary and then got caught up in that and that's why she was killed on that. But, the attacks on Americans here are rare.
We spent some time this week out in Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City and we were welcomed with open arms. We have been at every place we have gone here, and not just as journalists, just simply as Americans. People walked up and wanted to take our picture. They don't even watch CNN. It's not like you're the sports guy on CNN. They just -- we were Americans, we look different and there is some great attraction and wonderment about the way we looked and the way we carried ourselves.
HOLMES: All right. Larry Smith on the story for us. Unfortunately, this is a story being reported right now and has to be reported, but hopefully everything else will go off without a hitch.
Larry Smith, of course, we'll be checking in with you plenty as you cover the Olympics for us. Thank you so much. Good to see you, buddy.
We turn now to another and just a major story that is really turning a lot of people's stomachs, quite frankly. We have learned now that John Edwards, while he was running for the highest office in this land, while his wife was battling cancer -- he was having an affair. His wife, Elizabeth Edwards, is now speaking about her husband's infidelity.
Let's show you now the woman at the center of the story -- that is her -- 42-year-old Rielle Hunter. She had worked for John Edwards' presidential campaign as a documentary filmmaker. After months of rumors, after months of denials, the former senator confessed yesterday to having that affair in 2006.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN EDWARDS, (D) FORMER SENATOR: She was mad. She was angry. I think furious would be a good way to describe it. It was painful for her -- hard and painful for her. But she responded exactly like the kind of woman she is. And then she forgave me and we went to work on it. She was -- I'm not saying she thought it was OK. I'm not saying that. But she did forgive me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, Edwards' wife, Elizabeth, has been battling cancer, of course, many people know. A statement from her was posted on the Daily KOs' Web site.
It says in part, "John made a terrible mistake in 2006. The fact it is a mistake that many others have made before him did not make it any easier for me to hear when he told me what he had done. But he did tell me." She goes on to say, "We began a long and painful process in 2006, a process oddly made somewhat easier with my diagnosis in March of 2007. This was our private matter."
LONG: Of course, there's so much more to this story, including allegations that Edwards is the father of Hunter's five-month-old child. And Edwards insists he is not.
CNN's Brian Todd explains now why the former presidential candidate finally decided to come clean.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Under increasing pressure from a story that had gone beyond the tabloids, to serious discussion among Democratic Party chiefs, the former presidential candidate admits he had an affair with a woman who'd worked on his campaign.
In a statement, John Edwards says he's ashamed and, quote, "In 2006, I made a serious error in judgment and conducted myself in a way that was disloyal to my family and to my core beliefs. I recognized my mistake and I told my wife that I had a liaison with another woman and I asked for her forgiveness."
But Edwards denies he's the father of that woman's child and says he's willing to take a paternity test. During his presidential campaign this year, Edwards repeatedly denied that there was any truth to the story, initially, calling it false and ridiculous.
He issued another denial just two weeks ago.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE REPORTER: Senator, I have a question. When you were running for president, you flat out denied having a relationship with Rielle Hunter. Did you give me a truthful answer? Were you telling me the truth then?
EDWARDS: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE REPORTER: Has you or your campaign provided any financial support to Rielle Hunter or Andrew Young? Have you or your -- anyone affiliated with your presidential campaign provided any financial help to Rielle Hunter or Andrew Young?
EDWARDS: I have no idea what you're asking about. I've responded to -- consistently to these tabloid allegations by saying I don't respond to these lies and you know that really and you covered me. And I stand by that.
TODD: The woman, Rielle Hunter worked for Edwards as a freelancer, making Web videos. She told the program, "Extra" that her travels with Edwards were a life-altering experience.
RIELLE HUNTER, FORMER EDWARDS CAMPAIGN CONSULTANT: The thing about John Edwards is he's so open and willing to try new things and do things in new ways.
TODD: Edwards says his wife, Elizabeth, became aware of the relationship in 2006, not long after it began. Edwards tells ABC News that his wife's cancer was in remission when he began the affair. Elizabeth Edwards has since then developed an incurable form of cancer.
(on camera): Government records show John Edwards political action committee paid a total of about $114,000 to Hunter's production company for Web site and Internet services. CNN has tried for weeks to talk to Rielle Hunter about this story without success.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And, there's a lot of talk going around this country about this shocking news and a whole lot of that coming from his home state, John Edwards' home state that is, of South Carolina.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's a sad day for him (INAUDIBLE), but a married man should honor his wedding vows, you know (ph). And he shouldn't be messing around.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody makes mistakes. And if he did it, he can live with it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, the "National Enquirer" has been reporting this story for about a year now. Still ahead this hour, our "Special Investigations Unit" on that hotel confrontation last month that may have finally convinced Edwards to confess.
LONG: President Bush is weighing in this morning from Beijing where he's attending the Olympics, weighing in on the deadly conflict between Russia and the Republic of Georgia. The two sides are battling in the breakaway Georgian territory of South Ossetia. The president is calling for calm.
We are waiting to hear his comments a little bit later during our newscast. We'll share them with you.
Now, he is trying to walk a fine line. Georgia is an important ally in Iraq, with the third largest commitment of troops behind the U.S. and behind Britain. And now, they want to quickly redeploy many of those troops to South Ossetia.
We've been getting in some new pictures we want to share them with you this morning of the fighting. Separatist sources say as many as 1,600 people have been killed -- a figure that is disputed by Georgian officials.
Matthew Chance is on his way now, right now to the Georgian capital of Tbilisi. He joins us by phone -- Matthew.
VOICE OF MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Melissa.
Well, a very dangerous situation, dramatic developments taking place here in Georgia. With the Georgian president, Mikhail Saakashvili, appearing on CNN and on national television here in this country as well, describing the current situation that exists in Georgia as a state of war with its giant neighbor Russia. There's an important legal distinction because it gets --
LONG: Our apologies. Obviously, a phone disconnect right there. We'll try to reconnect with Matthew Chance who is en route now to the capital, Tbilisi. In the meantime, he mentioned that we just heard from Georgia's president.
Let's take an opportunity to share his comments, it's Mikhail Saakashvili speaking about the strike in his country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRES. MIKHAIL SAAKASHVILI, GEORGIA: Today, it will not be defeated no matter what. We appeal to our friends and allies to call to Russia to cease hostilities immediately. Georgia is a peace-loving nation but today we're being attacked north to south, east to west.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LONG: And, again, that was President Mikhail Saakashvili of Georgia, speaking about the violence in his country, in South Ossetia. We will try to reestablish that connection with Matthew Chance, who is, again, en route to the capital.
And still ahead this morning: more in depth look, a closer by Josh Levs at the Republic of Georgia, this conflict as well and why it is so important to the U.S.
HOLMES: All right. We've got bravery to show you during an armed robbery, possibly?
LONG: An amazing Good Samaritan there. This guy didn't want to take a gun in his face lying down. You can see here all caught on tape on that surveillance camera. More on the story. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: Good morning. A quarter past 7:00 Eastern Time.
This morning, we're learning more about a bus involved in a horrific crash in Texas. It was in violation of safety codes. Investigators are looking into the possibility of a blown front tire causing that crash. They say the tire had been retreaded illegally, the bus unlicensed. Fifteen people were killed when it slammed into railing and flipped off the highway. It happened in Sherman, that's north of Dallas and dozens of other people were injured.
HOLMES: All right. Let's just go right to this video here. You go to the grocery store, you know, you pick up some eggs, need some milk, and you end up taking out an armed robber. This happened in Oklahoma. All this was caught on tape, as you see.
Police say a customer there helped to apprehend this armed robbery suspect. There was a body-slam involved. The suspected robber had to be -- was caught.
Now, the guy that you saw there in the stripes, the actual customer that we're talking about there -- can you believe, the guy was armed. And look at this, this thing continues on and on and on. It actually goes outside. But they go around and around. But, again, the man was armed. And the customer decided to take matters into his own hands.
LONG: And you have to give the guy a lot of credit. The Good Samaritan says -- you know what -- his instincts just kicked in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE REPORTER: Why did you hang on? Why were you so insistent on just hanging on to this guy?
VOICE OF CRAIG STUTZMAN, TACKLED SUSPECT: Just reaction really. I'm not sure why, but it's just what happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LONG: Well, that's Craig Stutzman you just heard from. He says, he ended up (ph) -- you can see right there in the video with a few cuts on his head, they required some stitches. He is just fine. He and two other men held that suspect down until police survived. That takes courage -- incredible courage.
HOLMES: It does. And I hope he got free eggs out of the deal with (INAUDIBLE).
LONG: If that was he was shopping for, I hope so.
Well, fighting in the Republic of Georgia may have caught some Americans by surprise.
HOLMES: Yes. Truth is, though, that this conflict has been going on for many, many years. It's on, it's off again. And believe it or not, it's actually a bit worrisome to the Bush administration.
Josh Levs is here to explain why this matters.
Good morning to you, Josh.
LONG: Good morning.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning to you guys. Obviously, this confuses a lot of people. We don't hear very often about South Ossetia. But right now, it's one of our top stories at CNN.com.
And I'm here with the Atlanta international desk where they pretty much know things about every place in the entire world. So, what I want to do now is trace you through some of the basics about South Ossetia and why it matters so much to the U.S.
Let's start off with this graphics. Some key facts about this region and why you would want to know about this. First of all, this is an autonomous region. It's inside Georgia but it's autonomous. And Russia supports its government.
Now, it's small. The population there, we're only talking about 70,000 people, that's like a small American town. Most of them support independence from Georgia. And a lot of them want to reunify with North Ossetia which would, in a way, make them part of Russia, effectively make them part of Russia.
So, let's go to the next graphic now because I want to tell you some key steps to bring you up to what's going on right now. There have been fighting -- there's been fighting in South Ossetia in the past and as a result of that, there were ceasefire deals. As a result of that, Russia has forces there already who were in peacekeeping mode and the Kremlin supports the separatists there.
Now, there's been a new wave of violence.
So, this is the background for what's going on right now. Georgia has launched this crackdown, trying to crackdown some of these separatists. Russia is responding. So, Russia is able to say, "Hey, we already have peacekeeping troops there, we're sending more peacekeeping troops. We want to support our troops and we want to support the civilians who are there now."
Georgia is able to say, "You know what, we are being attacked by separatists, our people are being attacked. You have all of this ongoing fighting with all these different players."
There's three major parties right there. So, clearly, when you look at all that, you can understand some of this context and why there's such a battle there right now. And as we talked about, yes, the Bush administration is keeping a close eye on this, guys.
HOLMES: All right. Josh, we appreciate you there. We're actually keeping an eye on something going on there while you were reporting about Georgia. And that's -- that the president there has, in fact, in the parliament, has endorsed presidential decree to introduce 15-day martial law. This is something the president was talking about, the possibilities of what needed to happen there in Georgia to keep things peaceful, if you will.
But right now, we're not exactly sure when this will go in to place, what exactly it will mean. We know what it usually means, oftentimes when martial law is implemented in places but we'll see what this means going forward. But that's the latest coming out of Georgia.
We'll continue to follow that, of course. But, Josh, we appreciate you again.
We will turn now to an unfortunately familiar storyline...
LONG: Yes.
HOLMES: Sex, lies and politics. But this latest storyline has a few twists and turns and really some sad details.
LONG: And affecting a former presidential hopeful. What will it mean for former Senator John Edwards' political career, what is the reaction from the campaign trail as well.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: Cities across the country of Georgia are being bombed by Russia. Joining us now live on the line is Matthew Chance. We tried to establish a connection with him earlier. He's en route now to the Georgian capital of Tbilisi with the very latest on the violence and the death -- Matthew.
CHANCE: (INAUDIBLE) there's a lot of fierce fighting going on here in Georgia, according to Georgia officials, not just in fact in South Ossetia, the breakaway region to quell (ph) this violence and kind of sparked it up a few days ago.
But now, according to Georgia officials Russian forces have begun bombarding Georgia's position in another breakaway region of the country, in Abkhazia. That is a significant development. It means that Russia is opening its second front in this widening conflict with Georgia over (ph) the fact, an hour or so, the Georgian president, Mikhail Saakashvili --
LONG: Our apologies for the audio connection there with Matthew Chance. Again, our senior international correspondent, en route to the capital of Tbilisi, reporting on the violence and bombing today in the country of Georgia.
We will work to establish a better connection with Matthew and bring you the very latest developments on this important story. Important for so many reasons, but also, it's very important because Georgia is a key U.S. ally on the war on terror.
HOLMES: And we are expecting to hear from President Bush making comments about the situation in Georgia coming up in a short time from now. We will bring those to you.
Also, back to U.S. politics now. A universal health care coverage, the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, those were two of the goals included in the draft of the Democratic Party platform. A meeting begins about two hours from now to debate and fine-tune that platform, pretty much a statement of goals and policies for the party. Democrats vote on it at that convention later on this month in Denver.
LONG: Democrats say John Edwards likely will not be taking part in their convention after admitting he had an affair and lied about it. News of his infidelity is dominating the political headlines this morning.
A surprised CNN deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser, is joining us live now from Washington with the very latest on Edwards and, of course, the news from the campaign trail.
Paul, nice to see you. Happy Saturday.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Good morning to you.
LONG: OK. Much loved, worked for the poor, a man who was self- made and all about integrity and honesty. Considering all of that and this stunning admission, what type of political career could this man have going forward?
STEINHAUSER: I think, short term, not so much. Remember, John Edwards was considered one of the people on Barack Obama's list of candidates for running mate and I think that's pretty much out of the question now.
Also, if Barack Obama were to win the election in November, there was thought that maybe John Edwards would possibly serve as his attorney general. That, too, seems like it could be, you know, kind of farfetched right now because of this episode.
Barack Obama last night arriving in Hawaii was asked about John Edwards, about the situation, and about Edwards' role at the convention. Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D-IL) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, if I'm not mistaken, I think that they already indicated, his family indicated that they probably wouldn't be attending the convention. I understand that. But this is a difficult and painful time for them. And I think they need to, you know, work through that process of healing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: You know, when he ran for president back in 2004 and again this past time, John Edwards has also often stressed the importance of family and morality in his campaigns. And, I think, that's one of the things that makes this episode just so politically painful as well, Melissa.
LONG: You know, that sound byte coming from Hawaii, Senator Barack Obama enjoying a family vacation ahead of the, of course, demanding schedule for the fall, it's kind of the lull before the conventions.
And speaking of the conventions, there has been much talk lately that the vice president may not even attend the convention. Now, a change of that, he will be attending the Republican convention in Minneapolis after all.
STEINHAUSER: Yes, he will. The McCain campaign announcing that Vice President Cheney will be there and most likely speaking on the first night, and that is the night as well when President Bush will speak. There was some controversy earlier in the week when some Republican officials were saying that it didn't look likely that the vice president would speak.
Why all this controversy? Vice President Cheney is very unpopular in national polls yet he is popular among core Republicans, core conservatives. Also, there's a thought that maybe the McCain campaign is trying to distance itself from the current White House, from President Bush and Vice President Cheney.
LONG: Deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser, joining us from Washington. Paul, thank you.
And, of course, Senator John McCain on the campaign trail all this weekend. To find out more about Senator McCain or Senator Obama, just go to CNNPolitics.com. It's your source for all things political.
HOLMES: And, a horrible story we learned about in the past day or so -- a charter bus running off the road, 15 people dead.
LONG: And this morning, we are learning that that bus was operating illegally.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: Good morning. Happy Saturday. It's 7:30 in the morning. I'm Melissa Long, in today for Betty...
HOLMES: And nice to have you with us.
LONG: ... enjoying some time off. Good to be here.
HOLMES: She is, right now. We're glad to have you with us. And hello, I'm T.J. Holmes.
We're going to let you know what's going on right now in the news.
LONG: An American tourist killed in an attack in Beijing this morning. Another American was injured before the Chinese attacker killed himself. Now, the victims are relatives of the U.S. Olympic team men's indoor volleyball coach.
The White House is offering assistance to the families. Right now there is no known motive for the attack. Of course, we're on top of the story and we're going to bring you any details as soon as we get them.
HOLMES: Also, there's intense fighting in the breakaway region of South Ossetia this morning. That is in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. Russian troops are battling Georgia forces there. Georgia's been trying to retake that breakaway territory which has ties to Moscow.
Georgia's president is calling for a ceasefire at the same time asking the parliament to declare a state of war. We got word a short time ago from the "Associated Press" that, in fact, martial law has now been declared.
We will turn to a story that's just been breaking over the past day or two, but the scandal about John Edwards and the sex is pretty old news to those who read the "National Enquirer."
In a way, that has now given John Edwards a bit of covers since supermarket tabloids, not exactly sticklers for facts oftentimes but, as CNN Special Investigations correspondent, Drew Griffin explains, a recent confrontation at a hotel in Beverly Hills may have forced Edwards out into the open.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): The Edwards story has been fodder of the "National Enquirer" for more than a year, and the headlines show why. A presidential candidate and former U.S. senator with a cancer-stricken wife has an affair and according to the tabloid -- fathers a child with this woman, a campaign consultant named Rielle Hunter. John Edwards had dismissed the "National Enquirer" allegations.
This is what he said just last month in New Orleans.
JOHN EDWARDS, (D) FORMER SENATOR: I have no idea what you're asking about. I've responded to -- consistently to these tabloid allegations by saying I don't respond to these lies. And you know that really, and you covered me. And I stand by that.
GRIFFIN: Now, the stunning about-face. In a statement, Edwards admits, quote, "In 2006, I made a serious error in judgment and conducted myself in a way that was disloyal to my family and to my core beliefs. I recognized my mistake and I told my wife that I had a liaison with another woman, and I asked for her forgiveness."
The pressure had been mounting on Edwards for several weeks. Since news stories appeared about a confrontation with the "National Enquirer" here at the Beverly Hilton Hotel last month. On July 21st, the former senator was in Los Angeles, raising awareness for the homeless. That night, "National Enquirer" reporter Alex Hitchen was waiting for Edwards at the hotel. The paper says it had a tip that Edwards, Rielle Hunter, and Hunter's baby were meeting in a room. At 2:40 in the morning, Hitchen says he surprised Edwards as Edwards was trying to leave.
ALEX HITCHEN, NATIONAL ENQUIRER: I say to him, "Mr. Edwards, Alexander Hitchen from the "National Enquirer," either we know that you've been with Rielle Hunter tonight and your child. And then we said to him, "Don't you think it's about time to actually tell everyone that you are actually the father of this child?" And the reaction again was sheer panic.
GRIFFIN: Hitchen says Edwards did not say a word. Instead, he ran down the stairs into this bathroom in the basement and held the door shut.
According to ABC News, Edwards now admits he did go to the hotel that night and did meet Rielle Hunter as the "Enquirer" has reported. Wednesday, the tabloid turned up the heat on Edwards, publishing this blurry photograph, a photo that the paper claims was shot in the Beverly Hilton Hotel during the encounter. The paper says the baby in the picture is Edwards', but is it?
Edwards told ABC News the child could not be his because of the timing of the birth, but the former senator says he wants to take a paternity test to prove he's not the father. This man, Andrew Young, an Edwards campaign staffer, said last year, he is the father, not Edwards. Still the child's birth certificate adds to the injury, the name of the child's father is left blank.
John Edwards was a former North Carolina senator. John Kerry's 2004 running mate and this year, a populist candidate for president. The pained language of his statement reflects how far he has fallen from those heady days.
"In the course of several campaigns, I started to believe that I was special and became increasingly egocentric and narcissistic. If you want to beat me up," he says, "feel free. You cannot beat me up any more than I have already beaten up myself."
Drew Griffin, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, yesterday, she was just another anonymous former campaign worker for John Edwards. Today, everybody wants to know just who is Rielle Hunter.
Well, the Florida native is 42 years old. She met Edwards by chance actually in '06. Soon after that, she began working for his campaign, making behind-the-scene films of his campaign. They were posted on the Internet, the so-called "Webisodes." And for that work, she was paid about $115,000.
In February, she had a baby, that is the one that Edwards says is not his. And so far, she has not admitted to that affair. Coming up a little later this morning, we're going to speak with Alex Hitchen. He's a "National Enquirer" reporter you just saw in that report of our Drew Griffin who had that confrontation with John Edwards in that Beverly Hills hotel.
LONG: The 2001 anthrax attacks and in Maryland this morning, a memorial service for Bruce Ivins, the main anthrax suspect. Ivins killed himself last week as authorities moved in on a murder indictment.
In the meantime, there are new details emerging about Ivins' whereabouts around the time those anthrax-laced letters were mailed. A CNN source says the scientist left work early. On September 17th, 2001, investigators think Ivins may have driven to Princeton, New Jersey, that's where the infamous anthrax letters were postmarked. Ivins' attorneys say there is no proof.
Oil prices sink, the stock market surges. Wall Street ended with a huge rally at the end of the week. The Dow gained more than 300 points on Friday. Investors were encouraged by a stronger dollar and another drop in oil prices.
Now, the price of crude fell to about $115 a barrel -- that is a three-month low. Oil has fallen more than $32 from the record high set last month. And gas prices fell another penny overnight -- thank goodness, right -- to just under $3.83 a gallon. The price at the pump is down significantly in recent weeks. But it is still more than $1 higher than it was a year ago at this time.
Now, everybody, of course, is trying to make ends meet. And here's an interesting idea. Birmingham, Alabama is trying a four-day work week for city employees. Well, coming up a little later in the morning, we're going to talk to the city's mayor about his cost- cutting move and how it's going over now about four weeks into it.
HOLMES: All right. Well, lucky numbers and newborn babies is what we're talking about now.
LONG: 8/8/08, right?
HOLMES: Yes.
LONG: All these birthdays should be easy to remember. I know so many people are trying to induce on that day.
HOLMES: Really? That's not natural. That's not what you should do, right?
LONG: No. A friend of mine was two days early.
HOLMES: But, tried...
LONG: Tried.
HOLMES: ... to make this date. Are you serious?
LONG: You got it.
HOLMES: You need new friends. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: It's 7:40 in the morning Eastern Time. Now, it's one thing to be born on the Fourth of July. I was two hours late.
HOLMES: Were you?
LONG: The 5th, yes. But what about being born on a...
HOLMES: I'm sorry.
LONG: OK.
HOLMES: You haven't gotten past that, right?
LONG: Yes, I don't need (ph) a firecracker.
HOLMES: OK.
LONG: The eighth day, the eighth month of a year ending in eight.
HOLMES: Yes. That is the case for, probably a few babies around the country and around the world. But that's the case for this newborn in Illinois, a couple in Colorado as well, celebrating their little girl's unique birth date and time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEITH MCREYNOLDS, FATHER: If she plays sports, probably eight is going to be her number. I was like, "Well, she was born at 8/8/08." And she's like, "Well, I know, that's today." I said, "No, the time is 8:08." And she's like, "Oh, are you serious?" I'm like, "Yes, I'm serious."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LONG: That's fantastic.
HOLMES: I don't know about that.
LONG: Luck.
HOLMES: Come on now. Who is that child?
LONG: A lucky child.
HOLMES: That's the golden child, apparently. Chinese consider the number eight lucky of course, 8/8/08 and 8:08, I don't know -- come on.
LONG: You know, not only Chinese but Asians. I've put it in my wallet (ph), I've been carrying this since I was in Singapore, it's an eight-sided dollar and it's supposed to bring wealth.
HOLMES: Really?
LONG: I was there in April. So, you know, been carrying it with me.
HOLMES: Eight-sided?
LONG: Yes, I haven't found much wealth yet. But --
HOLMES: How much do you see, Reynolds?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Give me, give me. Thank you very much.
LONG: No, give it back.
WOLF: To see how this -- here you go.
We actually have a producer in our science and tech department, Gary Walker (ph), a great guy, good friend, good man for CNN and his birthday is on 8/8, not '08, but it's on 8/8, because if he was, you know, he was born yesterday, that's a heck of a challenge. I mean, being born and coming straight at us, producing for CNN. I mean...
LONG: Really? Well, we have so many brilliant people here working.
WOLF: That's exactly what I'm talking about.
LONG: Yes. Speaking of brilliant, you were just reporting on one of the many tropical storms and hurricanes like Edouard, right?
WOLF: Edouard, yes, a tropical storm.
LONG: We have a clip of you reporting there.
(CROSSTALK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LONG: About an hour ago now in Texas this morning, coming ashore between High Island and Sabine Pass. CNN's Reynolds Wolf joins us live from Galveston, Texas this morning with the latest on the story. Good morning.
WOLF: Good morning. The latest we have here from Galveston is things have actually begun to intensify just over the last 30 minutes or so. The rain has really picked up. The wind kind of comes and goes. And we have an occasional gust which kind of interesting. And then, you know, it kind of dies down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF: I was barefoot in that shot, seriously.
LONG: You were?
WOLF: I want you guys to know that -- yes. (INAUDIBLE) the thing is, a lot of times when you have these kinds of stories you have to be ready -- you're like a frog. You know, you have to be ready for really, really damp conditions because if you wearing socks, you get wet everywhere. Even if you have this rain-refilling gear, water gets in every spot you could ever imagine. I mean, it's crazy out there.
HOLMES: You were barefoot in that shot?
LONG: What happened to like water shoes, tevas (ph) or something?
WOLF: Everything goes through. Well, I'm also size were 16. Go try to find some size 16 tevas (ph).
LONG: Hey, you know, can I just do a little bit of self- promotion here, this is from CNN.com live. It's CNN's online news service. And this is the clip. So, the graphics look a little bit different. So, CNN.com/live if you want to follow it through the week.
HOLMES: We don't mind the self-promotion.
WOLF: Absolutely. It's always a good thing to do. Also, it's really funny, every time Melissa and I speak on CNN.com, it's usually the worst possible circumstance. There's a hurricane, a fire, always things like that.
LONG: Yes, next time I'm going to ask whether or not you're wearing shoes.
WOLF: That's what I'm talking about.
Let's go right to show what's happening out there. It's going to be an interesting day for many people in the northeast, expects some scattered showers. Let's go right to the weather computer and you can see that we're going to be seeing some showers, maybe even a few thunderstorms.
The big worry in places like Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, is not really going to be today or it's going to be tomorrow, but rather as we make way into Monday, a couple of days in a row we're going to see the rain begin to pile up and then, as we get to early next week, we're going to see a total around three to four inches in some places. So, there will be the potential for some flash flooding in that part of the world.
Meanwhile, let's go right into parts of Michigan, right along I- 75 up near (ph) Mackinaw Island, the showers continue. You're going to see rain as far south as, say, well, Detroit, maybe Cleveland before the day is out. That's some heavy wave action yesterday on Lake Erie.
And today, you might be seeing waves on the highway along parts of Highway 70. The rain is going to continue to fall in places like Manhattan, Kansas. Scattered showers and flash flooding potential, but that is not going to be the issue in parts of Pacific Northeast. In fact, into Idaho, into Oregon, maybe even into Washington State, California and -- well, even Nevada, we have very dry conditions, red flag warnings are in effect.
Also, we've got the fire weather watch. Very, very low humidity and strong wind gusts into the afternoon could really generate very, very -- not bad conditions or fires and where there were fires, it could possibly get set by dry lightning, boom, they get spread very quickly.
Something else is going to spread very quickly, as I wrap it up, the heat all coming from Texas, pulling up into parts of the Rockies, 85 degrees for Denver, 98 in Dallas, and 94 in Houston. But when you've follow (ph) -- following the humidity, it's going to feel like it's near (ph) into the century mark in many spots -- 77 in Boston and 87 in Atlanta. Any time that you happen to get this time of the year in Atlanta, and you get 87 degrees, that's a reason to celebrate in itself.
Let's send it back to you at the news desk.
HOLMES: We will celebrate the 87. Reynolds Wolf...
WOLF: Yes, we're 87.
HOLMES: All right. Thank you, buddy. We'll see you again.
WOLF: You bet, man.
LONG: Thank you.
Well, this morning, a big developing story out of the Republic of Georgia with fierce fighting.
HOLMES: Yes, we'll get into more about what's happening there. Also, we're going to bring you a statement from President Bush. But the president there of Georgia calling this an all-out invasion by Russian troops. All those developments at the top of the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Good morning again, everyone, from the international desk here in our news room. Certainly, a busy place right about now. A lot is going on, all of our editors and producers on the phone, chit and chatting, trying to understand what's happening all around the world. Certainly, major stories, including in Georgia right now, where Georgia and Russian forces are battling.
We expect to hear from President Bush on that momentarily, actually. The president right now is in Beijing for the summer games. Our Larry Smith there as well, covering those games.
And, Larry, of course the president, we expect to hear from him shortly about the situation going on in Georgia. We will get to that when we need to. But, he's also there to enjoy the Olympics as well and support the athletes.
SMITH: Yes, he's having a lot of fun here, there's no question. When you think about, you know, coming over and being a part of the opening ceremony, it was great to see him and the first lady, you know, go out and being a part of that last night, and welcoming the American delegation.
But, also today, he is going out and visiting some of the teams. President Bush is spending time with the volleyball team that is going to be going for gold in these games, spending some time with those ladies and then later, with the softball team. He took the time to stop and watch batting practice and from the cage, and then huddled up with the team beforehand, and led them in a chant and asked them -- who do we play for, who do we play for ...
HOLMES: In a second, we need to get to President Bush like we said who is making the comments about the conflict going on between Georgia and Russia right now. Let's listen in to what he has to say.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Crisis (ph) is occurring in regions of Georgia far from the zone of conflict in South Ossetia. They mark a dangerous escalation in the crisis. The violence is endangering regional peace, civilian lives have been lost, and others are endangered. This situation can be resolved peacefully.
We've been in contact with leaders in both Georgia and Russia at all levels of government. Georgia is a sovereign nation and its territorial integrity must be respected. We have urged an immediate halt to the violence and a stand down by all troops. We call for an end to the Russian bombings and a return by the parties to the status quo of August the 6th.
The United States is working with our European partners to launch international mediation and with the parties to restart their dialogue. Russia needs to support these efforts so that peace can be restored as quickly as possible.
Laura and I were also saddened by the attack on an American family and their Chinese tour guide today in Beijing. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families and the United States government has offered to provide any assistance the family needs. Thank you very much.
HOLMES: Again, we've been listening in to President Bush there, making comments from Beijing where he's there to actually enjoy the Olympics, but really, the president really never gets away from that job, had comments here to make about the situation going on between Russia and Georgian forces going on right now, battling over a semi- autonomous region, if you will, a de facto autonomous region of South Ossetia right now, where forces have been battling, and making comments that this can be resolved quickly and that the borders of Georgia need to be respected.
Georgia, a pro-western, a U.S. ally, also, has been helping out in the war in Iraq right now, actually having to remove its forces from Iraq to go help in the fighting in Georgia.
But he called for the end to the Russian bombings as well and then you heard there him wrap up by saying his thoughts went out to the family of the American tourist who were attacked. This happened on day one of the Olympics there in Beijing, they were attacked and one American tourist was killed, another was injured.
So, the president there. We want to bring you his comments he made there (ph) in Beijing, again, on now the second day of the Olympics. But a tough start, spectacular start with the ceremonies, but unfortunately, a tragic start for those American tourists, at least one killed.
LONG: One of the big stories we're following today. Also, a really busy juggling the John Edwards story today as well. After months of speculation, confirming, in fact, an extramarital affair and, of course, everybody is weighing in. Our CNN.com readers not known to mince words, and I've been reading some of the comments today and I know, Josh, you've been doing the very same thing.
LEVS: Yes, and you know what they're doing right now, is they're debating just how much this kind of thing should even be the public's business. Well, you have your chance to weigh in.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. John Edwards' admission of an extramarital affair has a lot of people talking and, certainly, they are talking on the Internet.
LONG: Absolutely. A story broke yesterday afternoon, Josh Levs has been staring at the online volumes of commentary pouring in. And that people have been very critical not only of Edwards but also of the fact that it's become a story.
HOLMES: A lot of coverage there.
LEVS: Right. Yes, I mean, there's a big debate about this. And we have seen this in the past with some major sex scandals with people talk about this idea how much is it the public's business, how much does it say about how a person might lead in office, no matter what office that might be.
This is one of our top stories right now at CNN.com. A lot of people are weighing in right there. And also, I'll show another page here at our CNN political ticker. People are weighing in like crazy, they just keep coming in. And it doesn't stop all day. I want to just show you a few examples.
So, let's just go to this graphic we've made of a few quotes from people who have weighed in on this. One person says, "99 percent honest? How can he say that when he lied about it for the past year?" Another one, "He who is without sin, cast the first stone. My prayers are with you and your family." Finally, this one at the bottom you see, "A politician had an extramarital affair, this is news? And who cares, exactly?" All right. Something else that's getting a lot of traction online, a lot of people are checking out today over at the Daily KOs. This is where Elizabeth Edwards weighed in and she'd put her statement, and you can read it there at Daily KOs. It's tough to miss. But we pulled out one of the main quotes from it.
Let's take a look this. "I ask that the public, who expressed concern about the harm John's conduct has done to us, think also about the real harm that the present voyeurism does and give me and my family the privacy we need at this time."
So, here's what we're going to do. We're going to open up this question to you now. And you know what I like to do on this show, I like to get an intelligent dialogue going, give people an opportunity to weigh in with thoughtful responses. So, here's our e-mail question for you today. And it boils down to this: Should politicians' private indiscretions be the public's business?
And you have a couple of ways you can answer us. One is to go to Weekends@CNN.com and send your responses right there. We ask you to include your name and the city where you live. You can also go to iReport.com if you want to answer through photos or videos and let us know how you feel about that.
And, obviously, if you want to get the details first, what each side is saying, of course, go to the story, CNN.com. Right now, you can't miss it.
And, Melissa and T.J., here's what we're going to do. We're going to keep a close eye on this morning, we'll start bringing you some on the air and we keep looking throughout the day. We'll bring you more tomorrow morning -- to get that intelligent dialogue going about that angle of this question: how much is it the public's business of their personal indiscretions by politicians. There you go.
HOLMES: All right. Josh, we appreciate you. We'll get back to you soon. Thanks so much.
LEVS: Thanks.
LONG: Thank you.
Good morning. Straight up, it's 8:00 in the morning. We're joining you live from the CNN Center here in Atlanta. Happy Saturday. I'm Melissa Long, in today for Betty.
HOLMES: And good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. We do have breaking news this morning out of Beijing and really a tragic story in the worst way, really, to start the Olympic Games, day one.
LONG: Oh, absolutely. Glorious opening ceremonies and then this devastating likely for the U.S. Olympic team. Family members of a team coach, an indoor volleyball coach, are victims of a brutal and a deadly attack in Beijing. HOLMES: Yes. They were there and like many folks at that time, seeing the sites of the city. One of them killed, the other injured. Our Larry Smith has gone to Beijing to cover the Olympics.
And, Larry, unfortunately, this is the story on day one you end up having to cover.
LONG: Larry?
HOLMES: We apologize. Our Larry Smith there...
SMITH: T.J., that's right.
HOLMES: Oh, there he is. All right.
SMITH: This is one of those stories that -- there you go. I got -- a problem there. Can you hear me now?
Yes, these little stories that we really -- you don't want to ever have to cover and especially on a day like this. One American has been killed, another one seriously injured when a Chinese national attacked them and their Chinese tour guide at the drum tower.
It's a historic landmark in central Beijing about five miles away from the Olympic sites. The two people are family members of a U.S. Olympic men's indoor volleyball team coach. They're family members of that coach. We don't know their identities nor the identity of the coach at this time, but again one killed and one seriously injured. The man, the assailant, he is 47 years old. He then committed suicide by jumping off the second story of that building.
Now, we understand that the two people were not wearing anything that would identify them as being connected with the U.S. Olympic team, nor identifying them as Americans. USOC spokesman Daryl Siebert (ph) had this to say about the attack. We don't have that sound for you.
We can tell you though that he has said that right now, they're working very closely with officials from the U.S. embassy as well as authorities, local and international, to try to get to the bottom of exactly what happened. The International Olympic Committee has also issued a statement saying they, too, are working very closely with all parties to try to find out what happened and why it happened. Let's go back to you.
HOLMES: what and why. Larry, we appreciate you. Sorry we had to be talking about this instead of the spectacular beginning to the games but a tragic start there in this way at least. Larry, we appreciate you, checking in with you again.
LONG: A couple of big stories that we're following for you this morning. The fighting has intensified in the Republic of Georgia. Russian forces have been launching air attacks against Georgian troops. That's in the breakaway region of south Ossetia. Georgian troops are trying to regain control of the republic. They're also attempting to pull their troops out of Iraq and join in the fighting. Now, Georgia's president is pushing for a cease-fire.
Just moments ago, the president who is in Beijing for the Olympics spoke about the worsening conflict in Georgia and also the attack on Americans in Beijing. Here is that statement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: I'm deeply concerned about the situation in Georgia. The United States takes this matter very seriously. The attacks are occurring in regions of Georgia far from the zone of conflict in south Ossetia. They mark a dangerous escalation in the crisis. The violence is endangering regional peace. Civilian lives have been lost and others are in danger.
This situation can be resolved peacefully. We've been in contact with leaders in both Georgia and Russia at all levels of government. Georgia is a sovereign nation and its territorial integrity must be respected.
We have urged an immediate halt to the violence and a stand down by all troops, the call for an end to the Russian bombings and a return by the parties to the status quo of August the 6th. The United States is working with our European partners to launch international mediation and with the parties to restart their dialogue. Russia needs to support these efforts so that peace can be restored as quickly as possible.
Laura and I were also saddened by the attack on an American family and their Chinese tour guide today in Beijing. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families. And the United States government has offered to provide any assistance the family needs. Thank you very much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LONG: And again, an American man in Beijing for the Olympics was killed. An American female wounded in that attack at a popular tourist spot just about five miles from the Olympic venue. We're going to have much more on that story of course, the developing story out of Georgia throughout the morning here on CNN.
Now in Texas, a memorial service for the victims of a bus accident, 15 people were killed, dozens of others injured. They were all part of a church group heading to a religious festival in Missouri. This morning investigators are now looking into the possibility an illegal retread tire blew causing that fatal accident. The bus was carrying 55 people, suddenly slammed into a guard rail and skidded off the road.
HOLMES: Now to a story being much talked about now, the man who was a Democratic party vice presidential nominee and the man who wished to become the Democratic presidential nominee this year, has confessed to cheating on his wife. Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of John Edwards is speaking out about her husband's infidelity now.
There have been months and months of rumors, months and months of denials, but now the former presidential candidate came clean yesterday about having the affair with this woman you're about to see, 42-year-old Rielle (ph) Hunter. She had worked with John Edwards presidential campaign as a documentary filmmaker. After all of that, the senator confessed yesterday to that affair which he says was in 2006.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EDWARDS: In 2006, I told Elizabeth about the mistake, asked her for her forgiveness, asked God for his forgiveness and we have kept this within our family since that time. All of my family knows about this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: His wife Elizabeth Edwards has an incurable form of breast cancer. Many people know this. The statement from her was posted on the dailykos Web site. It says in part, "John made a terrible mistake in 2006. The fact that it is a mistake that many others have made before him did not make it any easier for me to hear when he told me what he had done, but he did tell me." She goes on to say, "we began a long and painful process in 2006, a process oddly made somewhat easier with my diagnosis in March of 2007. This was our private matter."
LONG: In addition to that statement, we get a more of a perspective right now on Elizabeth Edwards and how she views the scandal from CNN's Tom Foreman.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She knew about the affair when the campaign began, knew about it when her cancer returned. That's what her husband John says. But Elizabeth Edwards never said a word, even as she faced her disease and urged her husband to press on for the presidency.
ELIZABETH EDWARDS, WIFE OF JOHN EDWARDS: I expect to do next week all the things I did last week and the week after that and next year at the same time.
FOREMAN: The couple met at the University of North Carolina law school, marrying just days after they both took the bar exam, celebrated the birth of four children and mourned the loss of one. They enjoyed the meteoric rise of John's career.
E. EDWARDS: With this man as your next vice president, tomorrow will be a better day. John Edwards.
FOREMAN: And they stood together during the falls too.
E. EDWARDS: I felt the bump October 21st and the election is November 3rd when I was campaigning. But I convinced myself, I let my -- I wouldn't let myself think that this could be cancer.
FOREMAN: Through it all, Elizabeth Edwards has become famous in her own right as an author and as an advocate for health insurance reform.
E. EDWARDS: It doesn't matter what kind of services we have if we don't have access to them.
FOREMAN: Her cancer is incurable but she continues to impress fans, even showing up to support Barack Obama this summer.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I think that to add cancer to an already very busy life is -- would seem impossible for some people, although she seems to do a pretty good job.
FOREMAN: Her attacks on other candidates and her support for gay rights created waves for her husband in his recent campaign.
E. EDWARDS: I don't know why somebody else's marriage has anything to do with me. I'm completely comfortable with gay marriage.
FOREMAN (on-camera): But he never publicly backed away from her and she stayed by him. This latest news is undeniably a terrible thing for any couple to face.
BETH FRERKING, THE POLITICO: Again though, she's an incredibly tough woman. She's dealt with the death of a son. She's dealt with cancer. This is somebody who's been around and has dealt with a lot of things and I suspect that she and John Edwards are dealing with this in their own way.
FOREMAN: Just as they have dealt with many issues through more than 30 years of marriage.
Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: One of the big unresolved issues, who fathered Rielle Hunter's baby? Now John Edwards says, he is certain the child is not his. He also says he would welcome a paternity test. For the record another former member of the Edwards' campaign says he is the father.
HOLMES: The spirit of competition is in the air in Beijing or something's (ph) in the air. Is the pollution going to affect the athletes there? Our Josh Levs will try to clear things up a bit.
LONG: He has that kind of power?
HOLMES: Not really.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: It is early Saturday morning, just about 10 minutes past the hour. Beijing is an amazing city. I fell in love with it. But it is polluted, no doubt.
HOLMES: You're OK?
LONG: I actually -- but I'm not a stellar athlete. HOLMES: You're a fine athlete, Melissa.
LONG: You can't even put me in even a close category. We're talking about the Olympians of course, many of them were spotted around the city wearing face masks.
HOLMES: Yes, the big concern there is the smog going to hurt their chances of medaling? Josh, are we going to see people crossing the finish line and gagging?
LEVS: It's not pleasant. Melissa, a word of advice, if T.J. offers you a compliment, take it. They don't come around very often.
LONG: Thank you very much.
LEVS: She's a guest. All right. It's great to have you. Maybe I should be up there right now. Hey, everybody. It's true. This is one of the big concerns about the Olympics (INAUDIBLE) athletes and we heard about some of them wearing masks and we've seen some video now.
I'm going to show you some time lapsed video. It's right here on the screen behind me. Look at what happens. I'll get out of the way a bit. Watch in these successive days how all of a sudden it clears up and starts to looks a little better and then a little bit better and then maybe it gets a little bit worse.
So what we want to know is what it's going to be like throughout the Olympics? Will it get worse and how could it affect the athletes? I don't know the answers but this guy does over here, Reynolds Wolf. We're going to go to him right now. He can tell us partly what the most important things are that we need to get rid of some of this and also what kind of weather is coming. So take it away.
(WEATHER REPORT)
LONG: Talking about universal health care this morning and the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq, two of the goals included in a draft of the Democratic party platform. A meeting begins about an hour from now and it will debate, of course, fine tune the platform. Democrats voting on it at their convention in Denver a little later in the month.
And John McCain on the campaign trail today in Las Vegas. He addresses a disabled veterans' convention. McCain says he may take a few days off a little later this month. What about Democrat Barack Obama? He is already enjoying some down time. He and his family are vacationing, visiting with relatives in Hawaii ahead of the Democratic convention at the end of August.
HOLMES: Hollywood super star Matthew McConaughey embracing a new role these days, dad. In his first TV interview since the birth of his son, he talks with our Dr. Sanjay Gupta about the difficult delivery.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: Did you have a plan ahead of time and was she going to get an epidural? Was she going to get pain meds? How did that all go?
MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY, ACTOR: We did have a plan, didn't happen. It didn't happen.
GUPTA: Sometimes the best laid plans.
MCCONAUGHEY: yes. We had a plan. We had an ideal that we said let's go in and do this as natural as possible.
GUPTA: Was it frightening for you when you're hearing all this go on, pulse is dropping and they say C-section. What's going through your mind?
MCCONAUGHEY: You see a woman just really digging deep into her soul and bearing pain and being on top of it and you see a strength come out of a woman that you've never seen before. I saw a strength come out of her that I had never seen before. The baby comes out and his eyes were wide open and he was crying, glad to see the day. And then she was sewed up and that's all been fine in post.
GUPTA: So no regrets about the way that it went?
MCCONAUGHEY: Absolutely not. Now it went down perfectly and even though we went 60 hours to do what could have been done in a few hours, it was a great journey and for both of us. And her and I now have gone through something that we call it the best dance we've ever had. We've gone through something now that we're like I know and you know and only you and I know and --
GUPTA: That's good.
MCCONAUGHEY: That's good for us.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: A proud father.
HOLMES: yes.
LONG: So many single ladies are so disappointed.
HOLMES: Come on now. Be happy for the guy.
LONG: We are happy for the guy.
HOLMES: So you're one of the ladies.
LONG: No.
HOLMES: You can hear more of Sanjay's interview with Matthew McConaughey by watching "HOUSE CALL" coming up at the bottom of the hour.
We do want to turn back to Beijing. President Bush is there and he's getting up close and personal with the U.S. Olympic team. LONG: Yes. The athletes getting ready, of course, for their time on the world stage, the Olympic stage. CNN's Larry Smith has the wonderful assignment of watching the games from Beijing and joins us now with the latest on everything that's been going on. Larry?
SMITH: Hello. Good evening from Beijing I should say. President Bush certainly is making the most of his trip here. Of course he made the speech last hour as we heard live on CNN regarding the conflict right now between Russia and Georgia, but he also has spent some time earlier today having some fun with some of the Olympians including the women's beach volleyball team.
President Bush going out and visiting with them and spending some time with them and encouraging them to go for the gold. He also stopped by the women's softball team and before batting practice, holed (ph) up with the team and led them in a chant, asked them, said who do we play for and they chanted USA, USA. Later on he stopped and watched batting practice with those ladies. He also took a ride on the Olympic bicycle course as well.
You might be wondering what has gone on today while you slept, possibly. China already has two gold medals including in women's weight lifting, a gold medal there. Shen She Sha (ph) got the gold in the women's 48 kilometer weight lifting class. They also won one in men's shooting as well, so China hoping for a big showing in the medal counts in these games off to great start.
How about Michael Phelps, we should tell you very quickly about him. He not only did he do well in his preliminary heat in the 400 meter individual (INAUDIBLE), but he broke his own Olympic record. So what was thought to be his toughest assignment as he goes for eight gold medals in the swimming pool, again, he does very well. Now he has only 15 hours off before he goes in the finals of Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. here Beijing time.
One other note very quickly, Sayda (ph) Jacobson and Mariel Zagunis (ph) will both go for gold and silver, possibly the first gold and silver for the U.S. as they won the semifinal matches in saber fencing and so again the U.S. as well looking to do well here in Beijing. Let's go back to you.
HOLMES: Fencing and rifles, it sounds dangerous over there.
LONG: There's a young lady from right around Atlanta who's competing.
HOLMES: What are they doing over there? They're shooting things and -- all right, fighting.
LONG: And winning gold, that's pretty amazing, two golds already for China.
SMITH: But not at each other.
HOLMES: Not at each other. That's key. Larry, good to see you. We appreciate you, buddy. But you're right, going for the gold and still, they practice, they train for a long time and they are athletes as well, even though it's not some sport with the ball.
LONG: In some of these sports like fencing don't always get the accolades that some of the other sports get throughout the four years. So this is really their time on the world stage.
HOLMES: (INAUDIBLE) Coming up here next, a twist in this anthrax mystery that's been going on for years and years.
LONG: Could there be holes now in the case with the FBI? The exclusive interview with the suspect's attorney.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: Approaching the bottom of the hour on this Saturday morning and the 2001 anthrax attacks, Maryland this morning, there was that memorial service for Bruce Ivins.
HOLMES: The main anthrax suspect killed himself last week as authorities moved in on a murder indictment. Many thought he was about to be charged. Five people were killed you may remember in those anthrax laced mailings.
LONG: After 9/11.
HOLMES: yes, after 9/11. This has been going on for some time. Still no end to this case. Ivins attorney is saying that his client is innocent and that the government's case is full of holes.
LONG: Jeanne Meserve now has this exclusive interview.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bruce Ivins sent this photo of himself investigating anthrax to friends and colleagues shortly after the anthrax attacks, attacks which the government says can be traced back genetically to a flask in Ivins' lab over which he had sole control. Other researchers had access to that anthrax and in an exclusive television interview, Ivins' lawyer tells CNN he wants to know why they aren't suspects.
THOMAS DEGONIA, IVINS' ATTORNEY: Show us the evidence that allows us to eliminate these people. That's what we're saying. And that just has not happened.
MESERVE: The Justice Department will not show that evidence, but insists it looked at and eliminated every possible suspect but Ivins. A government official familiar with the case says Ivins took several hours off work on September 17th, 2001. Investigators believe Ivins used that time to drive to Princeton, New Jersey, to mail two anthrax letters. It is another piece of circumstantial evidence the government believes makes a strong case against Ivins.
JEFFREY TAYLOR, U.S. ATTORNEY: It's compelling evidence and in our view is -- we are confident it would have helped us prove this case against Dr. Ivins beyond a reasonable doubt.
MESERVE: But Ivin's lawyer counters there is no concrete evidence to prove guilt.
DEGONIA: No e-mails, no electronic writings planning this, plotting this, nothing like that was ever found in his home and you would have expected as I think has been reported, that these spores flew everywhere, that at least a single spore would have been found somewhere in a vehicle, in a home, but absolutely none of that has been found.
MESERVE (on-camera): Degonia says Ivins suffered from depression and committed suicide because of the pressure of the investigation, not because he was guilty.
Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Shopping is not supposed to be this dramatic, but a take down to tell you about in Oklahoma caught on tape. Police say grocery store customer helped to apprehend an armed robbery suspect.
LONG: I think we can identify who we're watching right there. The man in the black shirt is a suspected robber. The guy in the stripes, that's the customer, inside the grocery store now outside that grocery store. It spills outside. The good Samaritan said his instincts simply kicked in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why did you hang on? Why were you so insistent on hanging on to this guy?
VOICE OF CRAIG STUTZMAN, TACKLED SUSPECT: Just reaction really, I'm not sure why, but it's just what happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LONG: So he was hanging on, ended up with a few cuts as you can see on his head. They required stitches, but you know what, he is OK. That's Craig Stutzman and two other people as well held that suspect down until police arrived at that grocery store. You're right, not what you expect when you're going for some milk and bread.
HOLMES: Not at all. Go ahead.
LONG: I was so excited to tell about this story.
HOLMES: It is a cute one. Go ahead.
LONG: Too young to get a tattoo, but not too young to give one.
HOLMES: Look at this here. Word on the street is that she can do really just a mean Sponge Bob tattoo. Pretty good with skull, bones, whatever you see there, whatever you need, she's got you covered.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: Cute little ...
HOLMES: You like that, don't you?
LONG: ...noise there. Yes.
Tatoos, of course, all the rage for so many people. But would you trust your skin -- would you trust your skin to a nine-year-old?
HOLMES: Hey, hey, I hear Lily is good. Lily Hibbs is her name. She's been around body art all of her life. Mom actually does piercings. Dad does the ink.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LILY HIBBS, TATOO ARTIST: Well, one person just watched one of the videos of me tatooing so many times, when they were going to a different place, they just stopped in saying they wanted a tatoo by me.
STEPHEN HIBBS, FATHER: Most parents would say I can't believe your kid wants to be a tatoo artist, whereas I say I can only be lucky if my kid turns out to be a tatoo artist.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LONG: A cutie. Now, as you just heard, Lily's work has been featured on YouTube. One customer even drove to Dallas from North Carolina for one of Lily's tatoos after seeing her work online.
And you know what, I was reading that her dad said, do you want to tatoo me? She's like, absolutely. So, she put Spongebob -- Patrick from Spongebob on daddy.
HOLMES: On dad.
LONG: Yes.
HOLMES: I don't know about that.
LONG: It's cute.
HOLMES: That stuff hurts. I don't know if I could -- I don't know.
LONG: I give her credit. That is a true artist.
HOLMES: It is. They are artists. People don't often give them credit. But yes, they are artists.
But we will turn to an artist of our own, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. He's pretty good with his hands in operating rooms. "HOUSE CALL" with him starts right now.
