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CNN Saturday Morning News

Whistleblower Accused of Rape in Sweden; President Obama on Vacation; Bed Bugs Bite NY; Roger Clemens Indicted; Brett Favre's Back; Lessons Learned in Iraq

Aired August 21, 2010 - 08:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning everybody. Welcome to this CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes.

We are following a story this morning that has impacts on the war possibly in Iraq and Afghanistan. Because of the editor and founder of this whistle blowing website WikiLeaks now facing a warrant for his arrest, not because of the leaks but because of an accusation of rape. The man, Julian Assange, you're seeing there, runs this website, WikiLeaks.

You may have heard a lot about in the past couple of weeks because he leaked some 76,000 documents related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Allegedly he got his hands on those documents from a soldier who is now in custody accused of handing those secured classified documents to Assange so Assange could then put them on his website. You see a picture of it, WikiLeaks, some 76,000 documents were released recently. He has promised to release another 15,000 in the coming days and weeks.

He is also in the past released a video of a helicopter assault attack that happened in Iraq several years back in which a civilian, a journalist was killed. Now, the top officials at the U.S. Pentagon, at the Pentagon, U.S. military officials have said that, in fact, it's possible Julian Assange already has blood on his hands in Afghanistan or Iraq because he has released these documents that possibly let our adversaries know on the ground in Afghanistan and Iraq about our methods, our techniques, our people. Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the joint chiefs is the one who actually said he may have blood on his hands.

Robert Gates, the Defense secretary, has also said in the past that they might have to change techniques on the ground, their war strategy because some of these documents could possibly put that information in the hands of adversaries. So given all of that backdrop about Julian Assange and given that the Pentagon was trying to find a way for him to keep him from making some more leaks. It now turns out that there are more personal issues he's having to deal with and that is charges of rape and molestation in Sweden that he's facing right now.

Our Atika Shubert is on the phone for us from Florence, Italy. Atika, you have talked to Julian Assange in the past. You have interviewed him in the past as well. We know this story has taken many twists and turns over a time period. But this was one that nobody, I suppose, saw coming.

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, certainly, it's a shock to see these kinds of charges leveled against Julian Assange. However, whether or not it was a surprise to Assange may be something else. He has said many times he expected to see these kind of, quote, dirty tricks being played.

He put that out on a Twitter posting just a few hours ago. In a recent Twitter posting he denies this, any of the charges. He says quote, the charges are without basis and issued at this moment is deeply disturbing.

The fact is we don't know exactly what this incident is. The Swedish prosecutor's office has said the charges were issued last night. They will not release any more details on who is pressing these charges, when this alleged incident is supposed to have happened. And they say that they have not been able to contact Julian Assange. So we don't even know if he's still in Sweden. We do know that WikiLeaks have felt pressured, under threat, particularly with the Pentagon's considering apparently pressing charges against him for these leaks but so far there's been nothing -- there has been no legal charges against WikiLeaks regarding this leak of information. This new apparently personal criminal charge against Julian Assange is completely unexpected and new.

HOLMES: You have talked to, Atika, you sat down and you talked to Julian Assange before. Help our viewers understand, I mean, WikiLeaks, not necessarily something a lot of people were familiar with before the leaks started coming out and before you heard the top Pentagon officials start talking about this man. But remind our viewer just how big of a thorn in the side he has been for U.S. Pentagon plans.

SHUBERT: He has become a tremendous thorn in the side for Pentagon planners.

I mean, he was singled out personally by Secretary Robert Gates, by Admiral Mike Mullen, personally saying that he has blood on his hands, that they would have to change his war strategy because of these leaked documents.

I mean, this is the biggest, in terms of volume, it's the biggest leak of secret documents that we know of. It's 70,000 -- more than 70,000 documents. There's another 15,000 to come. And Julian has repeatedly said he still has thousands of more documents that he's sitting on and waiting to release once they have been verified.

So the implications for the Pentagon are massive and they have been trying to find a way to either destroy these documents, take them back, demand that WikiLeaks return them. WikiLeaks have said they will not do that. And so far attempts to try and pin some sort of legal charges on WikiLeaks have not materialized. There's -- WikiLeaks, as far as we can tell has done nothing wrong. They have accepted these leaked documents and published them. But there's been no one to prove yet that WikiLeaks did anything to try and steal these documents or in any way through the actual, you know, acquiring of these documents. So to see all of a sudden this new completely different criminal charge coming up is very surprising. Clearly Julian thinks it's a dirty trick, but the Swedish prosecutor's office takes this very seriously.

HOLMES: And last thing here, Atika, it sounds like the Swedish prosecutor's office, sounds like they don't know where he is. When did we last see him? Where was he last? Do we have any idea where he is?

SHUBERT: We don't know where he is right now. Frankly, he could be anywhere. He is notorious for slipping out of country, popping up half away across the world. We do know that he was in Sweden as of yesterday. We don't know where he is today. Previously he was in the United States, but when he felt under pressure by U.S. officials there he left the use United States saying that he has been told by his lawyers that it would not be prudent for him to return there. So we don't know where he's going to pop up next. It could be -- it literally could be anywhere in the world. We'll just have to see where he decides to make his next statement.

HOLMES: All right. Our Atika Shubert on the line for us. We appreciate you this morning. Thanks so much.

Also need to remind our viewers here, when you hear rape and molestation here in this country, you automatically think -- you naturally think what that means here in the U.S. In Stockholm, in Sweden, rape, being what you think it does mean that particular charge, but molestation, which you often hear related to child molestation in this country, molestation in that country doesn't necessarily mean it having to do with a young person or underage person.

And what we understand from Swedish authorities is that the two people, there were two people apparently that came forward, two different women, so two different incidents. And molestation could mean trying to force yourself on an adult person, adult woman, in this particular case.

So it doesn't necessarily mean what we often think of it as in this country. Also, you need to know that in that country you can be charged after an accusation of something like this, you can be charged, which only means now they want to talk to him and bring him in. After several days they can hold him and they can decide then if they're going to release him or they're going to move forward with the case. So the legal system works a little differently in Sweden than it does here.

But just want to give a little perspective on what these charges mean. Just because he has been charged, they just need to talk to him and then he'll be let go after two or three days. They have a certain amount of time that they can hold him or they have to let him go with no charges moving forward. Bring in Josh Levs now. Josh, Julian Assange, a lot of people may not be so familiar with his name, heard a bit. WikiLeaks they've been hearing a little more about that at least over the past several weeks. JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You're right to draw the distinctions you just did. The standards to bring charges, what we call charges is a broad term. It varies a lot among different countries. What we're seeing today is another example of that. The first thing I'll tell you is that to hear what his response is and what WikiLeaks is saying, the best we've got today is actually their Twitter feed. Let's zoom in for just a second. I want to see, what we've been seeing first of all, first of all, this was after an article came out about these charges being expected.

We were warned to expect dirty tricks. Now we have the first one. They're linked to an article about those charges coming. Then they talk about the newspaper that carried that story. They say "Expressions" is a tabloid. No one here had been contacted by Swedish police. Needless to say, this will prove hugely distracting. That was five hours ago. Then comes the one, the big one at the top, the latest one, directly from Julian, attributed to him. The charges are without basis and their issue at this moment is deeply disturbing.

Let's do this. Let's take a look at the video from WikiLeaks. I want to tell you all some basics about what this is so you understand what's going on. Then we're actually going to hear a little bit of sound from Julian Assange himself. WikiLeaks itself, the way we describe it on cnn.com is a pretty good summary. It's a non-profit and it's run by basically a group of tech savvy volunteers and has been involved in numerous controversies before. They gather and publish documents that they receive. They do say people say they do go through a bunch of steps before deciding whether to public these things.

There's a controversy some of you might remember back in 2007 with a secret video of the U.S. helicopter attack that killed a dozen civilians, was posted. Now, at the time, U.S. military officials said that all evidence available supported they were engaging armed insurgents and not civilians. When we talk about whether WikiLeaks has been a thorn in the side of the U.S. military, it has. Even before the latest controversy that happened not long ago when they published, originally what they said were about 90,000 U.S. military and diplomatic records about Afghanistan that had been filed between 2004 and January of this year.

So they gathered a lot of those documents, put it out there and created a new controversy with the military saying look, whoever provided it to them should not have done that and some of these things involved information that could in the words in some military officials, could ultimately assist enemies out there and to this controversy going on.

Now I want you to hear from Julian Assange himself. We actually have a little bit of sound in which he talked in general about what WikiLeaks is and how it operates.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS ANDERSON: It's been reported that WikiLeaks, your baby, has in the last few years has released more classified documents than the rest of the world's media combined. Can that possibly be true?

JULIAN ASSANGE: Yes, can it possibly be true. It's a worry isn't it, that the rest of the world's media is doing such a bad job that a little group of activists is able to release more of that type of information than the rest of the world press combined.

ANDERSON: How does it work?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: You can watch more of that at cnn.com if you want to hear him talk about WikiLeaks. I'll tweet it out after this. One more thing, we have a little more video of him. I just want to give you a little bit of a bio on this man who suddenly is in the news in a new way today. He was born in Australia.

This is from his own bio for a speaking engagement (INAUDIBLE) touring theater family, attended 37 schools and states' universities, ultimately became what he and some others describe as an ethical computer hacker, people who hack into computers in various places and then inform the places, hey, we hacked, here are your security problems and have that kind of communication with them.

We went on to found various groups and described himself as fighting for civil rights in various ways. So that's his background. A lot of activity on the Internet there, a lot of tech savvy, a lot of knowhow which ultimately helped lead to his role, again, WikiLeaks isn't all him, but to his role at WikiLeaks along with others who gather information and post it there. We're going to keep an eye on the Twitter feed. We're going to keep an eye on every which way that he has of being a test (ph) today and we will be first to find out if Julian Assange has an additional response to these charges T.J.

HOLMES: All right, Josh, we appreciate you, 12 minutes past the hour here on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Taking a quick break, we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: A quarter past the hour here now. The U.S. military draw down from Iraq is nearing completion. U.S. troops report Stryker (ph) brigade, marked another milestone when they rolled up their flag in Camp Virginia in Kuwait. They will be heading home soon, completing at least their part of the mission. President Obama has promised to reduce troops in Iraq to 50,000 by the end of the month. Also the remaining U.S. troops are preparing to leave Iraq. Many of them are certainly feeling relief and excitement about heading home. And Arwa Damon went alone with some of them as they made their final patrols.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is it. Make sure you you've got your ID cards on hand, too.

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are 24-year- old Sergeant Terry Wetzel's final hours in Iraq, last-minute checks and laughter, relief at having survived and finally going home. Wetzel is part of the last U.S. combat brigade to convoy out of Iraq, as America dialed back the war 25 assist mission (ph), 50,000 troops. After two tours in Iraq, Wetzel says he feels like he's aged a decade.

SGT. TERRY WETZEL, U.S. ARMY: Moments I'll never forget, will be just first of the one first fire fights you've ever been, the first time you get shot at, it's just -- it wakes you up. You think that before you come here that you're an adult, you're a grown man. But this place will change you. I've seen some friends die and, you know, been right there and had to carry the bodies. This place will change you.

DAMON: On that very same night we spoke with Wetzel in another part of the country this patrol rolled out under cover of darkness. It's 10:00 p.m. at night and we're out with the U.S. military on a mission that is intended to disrupt roadside bomb and placement cells. They run these fairly regularly. The areas that they choose are based on insurgent activity. They specifically target areas where there has been three or more roadside bombs in a 90-day period. There is a lot that's going to be going on tonight that we will not be able to show you or talk about because of operational security.

LT. BRIAN KOSSLER, U.S. ARMY: We're in a direct partnership with the Iraqis security forces of this area. They man the checkpoints on the route. We provide over wash (ph) from the shadows off the route. This provides security for logistic patrols that move nightly, facilitating the reduction of forces in Iraq.

DAMON: While Kossler and others keep a close eye on the roads --

UNIDENTIFIED SOLDIER: I want to know when it's time to leave.

DAMON: ... those on their way out are keeping a close eye on their watches.

SPC. DON LAMPHER, U.S. ARMY: I mean, we put our blood, sweat and tears since we've been here for 12 months. And you know, we know we did our job. And we know it's not going to be in vain. But there's a lot excitement right now of course.

DAMON: Still, Lampher says Iraq will always be on his mind. For the most part, the soldiers do feel they have accomplished their mission. And they hope this is a final good-bye to a war zone for which they have sacrificed so much. Arwa Damon, CNN, with the U.S. military in Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: We are going to have a whole lot more on Iraq coming your way at the top of the hour, our 9:00 Eastern half hour. Retired General Mark Kimmitt is going to be joining us live. He's going to be part of our special half hour talking about that final combat brigade that rolled out of Iraq this week with so much fanfare.

We're also going to be talking to CNN's Arwa Damon and Chris Lawrence who covered the story from the war zone extensively and will be joined by a soldier who served in Iraq and also joined by his wife who of course is happy to have him back home.

A massive egg recall has gotten bigger. Now up to half a billion eggs, possibly tainted with salmonella are being recalled in more than 14 states. We'll tell you what you need to know before you scramble those eggs.

Also, school back in session for many kids around the country. Going to be breaking down how to manage the growing to do list many students are now facing. Twenty past the hour. Quick break. We're right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Twenty two past the hour. Every Saturday this month we've been giving you so tech tips for back to school. Students are back in school for the most part around the country. We're going to help you get them organized.

Our digital lifestyle expert, your name changes every week, Mario. Now you're the digital lifestyle expert. You used to be our tech guy. I don't know what you are, who you are, man, I don't know you anymore.

MARIO ARMSTRONG, DIGITAL LIFESTYLE EXPERT: T.J., you started this, T.J. Holmes. First and foremost man, happy belated birthday to you.

HOLMES: Thank you, brother.

ARMSTRONG: I've a been the digital lifestyle expert for over two months.

HOLMES: Two months, OK, so you've had that title a long time.

ARMSTRONG: Two months.

HOLMES: Kids are back if school here. Yes, everybody has got classes and you got sports, you got clubs, you got homework, you got tests, you got all of these to do lists. Back in the day we just kept up with it and we knew what we needed to do. Why can't they just do that now?

ARMSTRONG: That's right. Because the kids today don't use -- they don't walk around with notebooks and pens and pads like we used to. Those aren't the only devices that they can use to manage their schedule. They're doing more with today's technology than we've ever had afforded to us before. So now they're using mobile devices, they're using cell phones, they're using iPads and they're using all these tools to help better manage everything from research to the class notes to their to do list.

HOLMES: What kind of stuff w talking about here?

ARMSTRONG: The first one is called -- the first one is called Evernote and Evernote is a free application. You can use this T.J. on your mobile device or you can use this on your computer. So what it does is it captures all of your research from class, any notes that you've been taking.

But really what I like about this, T.J., as a student you do a lot of web research, a lot of online research. You have to clip notes. So instead of printing out pages, where do you put all those notes? You can clip those notes into your folder that is stored online as well as your to do list that are stored online.

So it makes research and organizing your class notes that much smoother. Kids today shouldn't have any excuse for not getting an A plus.

HOLMES: Can you store papers? Can you put those everywhere, you never want to lose a paper that you're working on. Can you store that on this Evernote?

ARMSTRONG: You can store it. You can take a photo of it. Evernote can take text notes. They can take voice notes as well as photos. So yes, you absolutely can do that. It's free.

HOLMES: What about the parents, too? They know the kids are all over the place and parents are all over the place as well. Can you link up schedules so everybody know where's everybody is going to be?

ARMSTRONG: There's a great website for that. There's a website called cozi.com, c-o-z-i.com. This is a free online calendar for exactly what you just talked about, multiple family members, multiple schedules. People have shopping lists, doctors' appointments, classes, extracurricular activities. How do you manage all of that so that everyone can see where everyone is? So it's password protected, secure. I've actually up loaded a profile and been using it with my family. Really like how it's easy to use, interface. Nothing to get confused on and really helps you manage your to do list, you shopping list and where everyone is on their schedule so you know what's going on and that everyone is on the same sheet of music.

HOLMES: All right, we need to get all on the same page here. I want to provide a link to this stuff. There's one more we're not going to have time to get to but we want to make sure we put it up online somewhere. Do you have them already up somewhere?

ARMSTRONG: We've got them up at marioarmstrong.com at the blog. But we'll also get them up on newsroom.

HOLMES: I'm going to put marioarmstrong.com out right now. The other cool one is how you can keep up with your kids and not where they're supposed to be and not at the mall. So Mario, we appreciate you, as always, what is it there? The digital lifestyle expert, yes.

ARMSTRONG: There you go.

HOLMES: Mario, good to see you.

ARMSTRONG: You started this, train, T.J., I wouldn't be on CNN if it wasn't for you.

HOLMES: Remember that when you blow up. Thank you. We'll talk you soon.

Vacation out there, supposed to rest and relax as you're on vacation right? The president, you never really get a true vacation. Really taking a look at presidential vacation, where the unpredictable often happens, turning time off into time on, 26 past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: We have a -- well, take a look here. That's a nasty little something, isn't it? Those are bedbugs but they're not just biting you in bed these days. They're actually showing up all over the place, movie theaters, stores, offices.

Is there a bedbug -- bug infestation going on in New York and other places around the country? We will let you know. We're talking with somebody with an advisory council that's been formed in New York. Yes, it got so serious they formed a bedbug advisory council. She'll be talking to us in just a bit about what they're battling up there.

Nasty little suckers aren't they?

Bottom of the hour here -- welcome back to this CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes.

(AUDIO GAP)

HOLMES: President Obama is vacationing with the family this weekend. He's at Martha's Vineyard with the family.

Our White House correspondent Dan Lothian is with us here live as well in Martha's Vineyard. Sometimes it's not so bad to get to cover the president.

Dan good morning to you. Does the president ever really get a vacation?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Not really. I mean you look t the scene behind me here and it's so beautiful. You know the President wants to be outside and enjoying all of this. But I'll tell you what. Last year when we were coming here to Martha's Vineyard to cover the presidential vacation, White House deputy spokesman Bill Burton said that there are no news would be made, that reporters should go out and take long walks on the beach.

Well, this year he's using a bit of reverse psychology saying that we will be working long hours every day, he won't even get a chance to go outside. If you look back over history, he just might be right.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LOTHIAN (voice-over): It may have looked like a vacation, swimming, bike riding, golf, and ice cream, but by the dictionary's definition, freedom from work. President Obama has never been on holiday.

KEN WALSH, CHIEF WHITE HOUSE, US NEWS & WORLD REPORT: When the President goes away he can't really escape the job. Not only does he have briefings and so on, there's got to be in the back of his mind the sense that something could erupt at any moment.

LOTHIAN: And it does. President Obama's Hawaii Christmas get away was interrupted almost before it began by the so-called underwear bomber.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: We're learning more as the night goes on about what the White House is calling an attempted act of terrorism.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The American people should be assured that we are doing everything in our power to keep you and your families safe and secure during this busy holiday season.

DENIS MCDONOUGH, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: My Blackberry started to go off quite vigorously. While I tried to ignore the first couple I wasn't able to ignore for long and so we went right to work on this.

LOTHIAN: Denis McDonough, a top national security adviser traveling with the President managed the flow of intelligence information, linking Hawaii to the White House situation room.

MCDONOUGH: Arranging for the -- the phone calls, making sure that General Jones was in regular touch with the President, John Brennan was in regular touch with the president to make sure that we're doing everything we can to stop the immediate threat.

LOTHIAN: It isn't always a national crisis. While the first family was on Martha's Vineyard last year, Senator Ted Kennedy died and the White House announced the reappointment of Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke.

ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: He's been on the pool in either Martha's Vineyard or Hawaii I think you could attest to the fact that the notion of a presidential vacation is -- it's one sitting call away from becoming a --

LOTHIAN: Well, from becoming just another day at the White House. Correspondent Ann Compton who was covered seven presidents for ABC News has seen her share of disrupted presidential vacations but none more than while traveling with George Herbert Walker Bush.

ANN COMPTON, WABC NEWS: Saddam Hussein invades Kuwait, President Gorbachev of Russia is subject to a coup and held hostage. Every single time the President got to Kennedy (INAUDIBLE) all heck would break loose somewhere around the world.

LOTHIAN: A vacation may mean freedom from work, but rarely for the President.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LOTHIAN: The President has had a chance to get out and have a little fun. Already yesterday he was at a local book shop just a few doors away from where I'm standing with the first daughters. They bought some books. And then later on in the day -- he did play a round of golf.

But again, the President does travel with many White House apparatus so in case anything does blow up, they can quickly respond -- T.J.

HOLMES: You know what, after watching that I bet the President is probably nervous to even go on vacation, just waiting for something to happen. But Dan, if it -- if it does --

LOTHIAN: He knows, believe me, he knows.

HOLMES: Yes, if something does happen, you are there, Dan. Good to see you this morning. Thanks so much.

LOTHIAN: That's right.

HOLMES: Well, it's a growing concern for many New Yorkers, but you might need to be worried about it in your town as well. Do you remember that? Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite. Well, they are biting.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, it's 37 minutes past the hour. Let's take a look at some of the stories that are making headlines this morning.

First, Wyclef Jean will not be the next president of Haiti. His candidacy has been rejected now by the committee there in Haiti. The hip-hop singer says his party was shocked by the news. He's among 15 prospective candidates who actually have been rejected by the elections officials. Wyclef Jean was born in Haiti but he has in fact, been living in New York since he was a kid. And apparently he did not meet the residency requirement. He says he will still keep working for his home country.

Also, Iran celebrated the arrival of nuclear fuel at its first nuclear energy plant. Russian and Iranian dignitaries observed the delivery this morning although other western nations are most like keeping a close watch. Tehran says the fuel will be used to power electricity. But the West's concerned it'll be used to secretly enrich uranium which is essential in making nuclear weapons.

Also the founder of the whistle blowing Web site, WikiLeaks is facing some serious charges but not related to the release of those classified Pentagon documents. Instead, a spokeswoman for the Swedish prosecutor's office says Julian Assange is a wanted man after being accused last night of rape and molestation. Assange put out a statement himself on Twitter saying the charges are both without basis and deeply disturbing. Well, a lot of folks remember that saying sleep tight don't let the bedbugs bite. Well, these bedbugs aren't just biting in bed they're biting in stores, in movie theaters and in your workplace.

Ask New Yorkers. They are really having a tough go of it right now. Some of these things were found in a movie theater last week, apparently went after somebody at the AMC Theater. One moviegoer was attacked as they say.

Stores like Abercrombie and Fitch and also Victoria's Secret have also been hit. And the newest sighting was the Times Warner Center that is where our CNN office is in New York. I assure you guys that I'm here working with I did not bring any back with me this week.

Also, the Brooklyn D.A.'s office has been hit. Those places have been treated and are now being debugged, if you will. But these tiny little critters have become such a huge problem in New York that the city council has -- that's just nasty.

The city council had to create a bedbug advisory board. And the person who has the pleasure of being the chair of the bedbug advisory committee is Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann who joins me this morning.

Ma'am good morning, I am told the Times Warner Center where you sit has been cleared out of these things. So I think you're safe up there for right now. But tell me, is it just New York? A lot of the stories have been coming out of New York but does the rest of the country, certain cities, need to be worrying about these little bugs as well?

JODY GANGLOFF-KAUFMANN, CHAIR, NEW YORK BEDBUG ADVISORY BOARD: Absolutely. We're seeing it across the country and in Canada and the UK and Australia.

HOLMES: Where are these little suckers coming from all of a sudden?

KAUFMANN: You know, I think they always were here in the United States. And they've gotten a hold somehow, maybe because we've changed the way we manage other pests, like cockroaches and ants.

HOLMES: Now how -- now, how would it -- and I know you guys are keeping better numbers now and keeping up so you can tell there's a measurable difference on how many there used to be and now. But how is that -- how we deal with other insects, how would that affect what's happening with the bedbugs?

KAUFMANN: I'm not sure I understand your question.

HOLMES: Oh, well, I was asking -- you were making a point there about the -- you said the deal with the cockroaches and other little pests and we're starting to treat those differently, relating it in some way to -- what we're seeing now with the bedbugs.

KAUFMANN: I'm sorry, yes. What we're doing for cockroaches is we're not spraying baseboards anymore. We're using baits. And for ants we're using baits. And so maybe we always kept bedbugs in check by spraying for cockroaches and now they've gotten a hold of the city and the country.

And it probably started with the hotel industry where probably routine spraying was normal.

HOLMES: How are we now spreading them? I guess people could come visit -- I mean you -- of course, there a lot of tourists come into New York. I man, they go to a hotel. They could take something back with them. Could we start to see this spread in such a way because of all the travel that people do and start to see it pop up in more states and even more countries?

KAUFMANN: Absolutely. I think we've already seen that, that. The first place that people were reporting bedbugs was from hotels and when they were traveling. And I still hear reports today of people going away and coming back with bedbugs.

So how do they hitchhike? They hitchhike on things, on your luggage, on your purse, on a backpack. And everybody who travels needs to be careful, needs to know what bedbugs look like and know what the signs are and be able to inspect their hotel room even.

HOLMES: Yes, what are we supposed to do? How do you keep -- I mean, these are tiny little suckers for the most part. I mean, you can't see them, but how are you supposed to protect yourself say if you do go to a hotel in New York or wherever it may be?

KAUFMANN: Right. In fact, you can see them. The smallest ones are about the size of the head of a pin and the largest ones are the size and color of an apple seed. So everybody should realize that of course you can see bedbugs. And if you get bites, you need to look for evidence of bedbugs because a bite alone can't confirm that you have bedbugs.

HOLMES: What are the real physical dangers, I should call it, but what are the signs you should look out for. How would a bedbug necessarily affect a human being?

KAUFMANN: Well, the bites looks a lot like mosquito bites but not everybody in the world reacts to the bites, I should say. And the signs that you would see in your home include the fecal spotting, it looks like somebody touched a magic marker to the sheets or to the mattress.

So you would look for those kinds of things; the bites, but then also these fecal markings and perhaps live or dead bedbugs.

HOLMES: Are we getting this under control right now? Are we starting to make some headway in our battle against this invasion of these little guys?

KAUFMANN: I think the technologies are coming out right now like heat and the use of bedbug sniffing dogs. There are a lot of innovative techniques now that people are working on and trying, but as far as the bedbugs, us getting our hands on it, a handle on it, I don't know. I don't know. It's really growing rapidly.

HOLMES: Wow. Well, that is not encouraging this morning. Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann, again, the chair of the Bedbug Advisory Committee. So many stories have been coming out of New York. But as we know, it has been spreading and there's a problem in several other U.S. cities.

So it's not just there. But ma'am, we appreciate your time this morning. And good luck in that battle up there, all right?

KAUFMANN: Thank you.

HOLMES: All right, well, coming up here at 44 minutes past the hour. Two years after baseball great Roger Clemens appeared before a Congressional committee, the six-time -- the seven-time CY Young winner faces now a six-count federal indictment for allegedly lying to lawmakers.

That's just one of the topics this morning we're going to be tackling with our friend and business sports analyst Rick Horrow. There he is, standing by. We're talking to him right after the break.

Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, 47 minutes past the hour.

Two huge sports stories to breakdown this morning. The first of which is about one of baseball's greatest pitchers. He's about to face one of his biggest challenges. Not on a mound though, in a courtroom; Roger Clemens indicted by federal prosecutors on six counts of false statements and perjury for allegedly lying to Congress about his use of performance enhancing drugs. He always said he has not used them. Charges stem from his testimony before Congress in February of 2008.

The other big story, Brett Favre is back again. He's been called wishy-washy. He's been called a diva, a media hog, a show boat; he is all cash money however on game day. Millions of people tuned in to watch him when he played last November when he faced his old team the Green Bay Packers. Thirty million people tuned in. That's second only to the super bowl for a Sunday night Fox football game.

Let's bring in our business sports analyst and friend of our show here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING, Rick Horrow. Good morning to you buddy. How are you doing?

RICK HORROW, CNN BUSINESS SPORTS ANALYST: Yes, sir. Absolutely fantastic. How are you doing?

HOLMES: I am well. It's good to see you. Here we go again though; another high-profile athlete dealing with some charges, if you will, of using steroids. But how does this change -- let's take it in two different parts. Does this change the way people in baseball ever felt about Roger Clemens over the past several years? People suspected that he has used? HORROW: Two sets of numbers. Look at the numbers. It's 4,600, 72 strike outs and 374 wins. That's not what's relevant here. What's relevant here is the three numbers: counts of obstruction of justice, false statements, and perjury. This is serious business, an indictment obviously. He's not convicted at this point. There's a presumption of innocence.

Having said that, though, you've got this trial coming up; Barry Bonds has a similar trial coming up in March. Miguel Tejada pled guilty and was sentenced to probation over the same issues, about lying to Congress. You can cover up, but lying to Congress is a serious, serious matter. Of course, it's going to affect how people perceive them.

HOLMES: What should he do? What do we know about cases like these in the past? Prosecutors, these are tough cases to prove.

Well, they're tough cases to prove, but the conviction rate for prosecutors is very, very high once these indictments are filed. So I'm not dispensing legal advice. I am a lawyer but I certainly am not going to give him that advice and the advice so far has been come clean. In his mind he has come clean, but there his direct physical evidence with syringes by his personal trainer on the other side of it.

Now, there's a chain of custody issue. There are legal issues that people have to deal with. But the bottom line is, there is just a difference beyond the normal "he said, she said" which impacts perjury indictments. This may be stronger.

HOLMES: One more thing quickly on this case. Why did it take so long -- why did it take two years? They've been working on this case for two years?

HORROW: Working on this case, gathering the evidence, getting the testimony. There's this Mitchell report with all of this testimony as well and how that becomes involved in this case.

So this is not one of those open and shut overnight cases. They had to amass the evidence. They claim to have significant evidence, by the way.

HOLMES: Let's move to the next topic and the next icon. Brett Favre, are people kind of over getting on to him for being so indecisive? Are people just happy to see this guy playing again?

HORROW: Well, thank you. First of all you are referring to a pushy media hog; I thought you were talking about me for a minute. Sorry about that.

HOLMES: Goes without saying for you, buddy.

HORROW: Forty years old -- thank you very much for that slam.

Hey, listen he's made $14 million off and on the field so let's not hold a bake sale for Brett Favre. The bottom line is this is now the third year the wishy-washiness has affected a camp. He was one interception away from leading the Vikings to the super bowl last year. This is his 20th year. He said that's it.

Well, we may believe him or not. It's time for him to do an endorsement with Waffle House. What do you think?

HOLMES: I don't like it, but they're happy to have him back and he means money for the league and that team. So they'll take him.

HORROW: Yes. Well, they will take him. And it is money for the league and the team at a time where the NFL goes into labor negotiations; everybody talking about creative marketing from the Dolphins to the Packers to the Vikings and everybody in between. But it's good to have superstars as the focus. It certainly brings people back to the TV sets.

HOLMES: All right. Well, you bring our viewers back to the TV set every Saturday morning.

HORROW: Yes, sir.

HOLMES: Rick Horrow. Good to see you, as always.

HORROW: Hey, somebody has to do it. See you next week.

HOLMES: Good point. All right. We appreciate you. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Quick break, we're right back with a check of your top stories. Stay here with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Taking a look now at some of the stories making headlines. The founder of the whistle-blower Web site WikiLeaks is facing some serious charges now but not related to the leaked information he has on his Web site.

A spokeswoman for the Swedish prosecutor's office says Julian Assange is a wanted man after being accused last night of rape and molestation. Assange put out a statement on Twitter saying the charges are both without basis and deeply disturbing.

Also, Wyclef Jean will not be the next president of Haiti. He has now been rejected as a candidate for the presidency. He says he accepts the decision that's been made by the committee there in Haiti. The hip-hop singer says his party, however, was shocked by the news. He was one of 15 perspective candidates who were rejected by election officials.

They did not provide an official reason, but Wyclef Jean put out a statement saying he had been ruled out because he did not meet the residency requirements.

Also, two senators are calling for the British and Scottish governments as well as BP to release information on the release of the Lockerbie Bomber. Democratic Senators Robert Menendez and Frank Lautenberg suspect Scotland released him as part of a deal for BP to drill off the Libyan Coast. He was released from prison a year ago on compassionate grounds because he was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

The Obama administration again blasted the Scottish government for releasing the Lockerbie Bomber.

Well, coming up on the top of the hour here now, the last full combat brigade has now left Iraq. That's what the military told us this week. We saw the pictures of it happening. But at the same time, the U.S. Mission hasn't necessarily changed in Iraq.

Welcome back here, everybody. I'm T.J. Holmes. This time every Saturday we spend this half hour, 9:00 Eastern half hour, on one hot topic that's been in the news this week. And today's of topic, what does it really mean that the quote "last combat brigade has left Iraq"? We'll be getting into that with several guests this half hour including a retired general, also several of our reporters who have been working in Iraq for some time.

And also we'll be talking to one man who just came home from Iraq, a part of that last combat brigade. We're talking to him and his wife, live, as well.

But the U.S. military used to spend more money and training on its combat troops than reservists and National Guard members but the war in Iraq has changed all that.

Our Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence spoke with military officials about lessons learned in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The military used to save money by short-changing some soldiers.

MASTER SGT. MICHAEL CLINE, ENLISTED ASSOC. OF THE NATIONAL GUARD: Instead of being one full army, the army of one -- we have the army of one and at least got his two little brothers over here.

LAWRENCE: For the Guard and Reserve, Iraq became the great equalizer. Ambushes and roadside bombs forced officials to train reservist and active duty supply troops a lot like infantry.

MAJ. GEN. JAMES DUBIK (RET.), U.S. ARMY: We had the contract -- we had the IEDs fight their way out of tough situations. That changed a lot of the training and preparation for deployment.

LAWRENCE: And Retired General Jim Dubik admits when the war started the military put more money into some soldiers over others.

DUBIK: We decided to spend most of it on the combat forces forward (ph) and save a little bit by not outfitting the logisticians as much. Those days are past.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's your name? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE SOLDIER: Shauna.

LAWRENCE: Female troops were captured in Iraq; nearly 700 women were wounded, well over 100 killed. Unit commanders started getting around the rules by attaching them to combat units instead of assigning.

DUBIK: One of the biggest combat lessons was this. Everybody is a fighter.

LAWRENCE: Now some foot patrols in Afghanistan to engage its population of women.

This is a picture I took back in 2003 of an American in Baghdad. The troops of 2010 wouldn't recognize his gear.

DUBIK: Body armor changed, helmets changed, almost everything from the soldier up has changed in this war.

LAWRENCE: Change didn't come fast enough in one respect. IEDs killed hundreds of soldiers and marines before they and their families demanded better.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why do we soldiers have to dig through landfills for pieces of scrap metal and compromise ballistic glass on our armored vehicle?

LAWRENCE: Today troops deploy from vehicles in varying patterns to avoid IEDs. To sniff out bombs they trust their dogs as much as electronics. And counter-insurgency is a way of life, not the academic exercises it was 10 years ago.

(on camera): And whether you're talking about troops who did the fighting or their bosses back here at the Pentagon, combat in Iraq literally changed the face of the military from top to bottom.

Chris Lawrence, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)