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CNN Live Sunday

Stormy Weather Forces NASA to Scrub Shuttle Launch Again; Ramsey Clark Discusses Hussein Trial; Shopping for a Portable Media Device; An Israeli Chopper Fires Missiles at Palestinian Prime Minister's Office Overnight

Aired July 02, 2006 - 16:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have announced a scrub for today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: No go for the Discovery. Bad weather washes out a second attempt to launch the shuttle. NASA is now hoping the third time is the charm. Hello and welcome to CNN LIVE SUNDAY, I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

The conditions were not so right, so again today NASA scrubbed the launch of the shuttle Discovery. The seven-member crew will board the orbiter again on Tuesday, this Independence Day, for another shot at it. Earlier, I talked with our Miles O'Brien and former NASA commander Eileen Collins at the Kennedy Space Center.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Weather was a problem yesterday and again, Miles today, a problem only a bit more pronounced?

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Pronounced indeed. That's why we are inside this trailer, as a matter of fact, Fredricka. This is our CNN -- the nexus of all CNN activity here at the Kennedy Space Center, our temporary trailer.

And we are inside because the weather is not conducive to us being on an elevated platform outside. It was right around the same time that we made the decision to go inside that NASA made the decision that it would be a good thing for the space shuttle crew to do the same.

And so they scrubbed the launch, about five minutes after we got set up in here, a little after 1:00 p.m. Eastern time. And I think part of the thinking is, is the weather was just looking positively more frightful as the afternoon went on. And they didn't want to make it -- more or less strand the crew inside the orbiter.

Because the safest place for them to be if there is a lightning storm is inside. The most unsafe scenario is them at the 195-foot level of the launch scaffolding, trying to make their way down. Eileen, you were talking about that, that in the course of countdowns, sometimes there are better than others for calling a scrub, and this was one of them, right?

EILEEN COLLINS, FORMER NASA COMMANDER: Well, you know, I think because the closeout crew was out there, they were in the process of closing the hatch -- before you send the closeout crew away, you need them to help the astronauts get out of their seats. Once you send them away, the crew is out there on their own. And then you wouldn't call a scrub until you could get the closeout crew back out. So I think they used the fact that the crew was there and the closeout crew was getting ready to leave, is a good point.

The weather was looking bad, as you were saying. We were getting rained on. We moved here into the trailer. In fact I have to tell you a story, when the shuttle in the station docked, we practiced something called a JUES, which is a joint undocking expedited separation. That's what you guys did here. The CNN team did a great job undocking and setting up in the trailer. And I'm so impressed.

O'BRIEN: We got JUES'ed.

COLLINS: They got JUES'ed.

WHITFIELD: We got JUES'ed. That's a nice way of putting it. And so commander, I am wondering, what does this do to the crew? I mean, here they are, pumped up, excited, ready to go. For the second time they are doing this dress rehearsal. This has to be exhausting and taxing.

COLLINS: Well it is very tiring, I can speak from -- I've done this several times on my missions. You are laying on your back, you're in in your suit, you're hot, you're having trouble really reaching the things you need to reach because you are in a very tight suit.

And mentally you are ready to go. You've got the adrenaline flowing. It's physically and mentally tiring. And then you have to get out of the orbiter, go back and get ready to fly the next day. I'm going to tell you, I think the crew is probably glad that we're taking a day off tomorrow and waiting until Tuesday, because it will give them a chance to rest and recover and be a little more fresh when we try to go on the fourth.

O'BRIEN: Even though that's not the reason, the reason they are doing it is basically by trying twice, and then sort of topping of some fuel tanks, they will end up having two opportunities on the fourth and the fifth as opposed to trying a third time, where they'd have a longer downtime to try to fill up all the consumables on board the spacecraft.

WHITFIELD: And so if Tuesday, July fourth, let's say it doesn't work, what is the window of opportunity in the month of July for them to get this shuttle up in the air?

O'BRIEN: Well we could spend a lot of time going through scenarios. But here's -- the short-term horizon here is they will try the fourth. If they don't do well, they will try the fifth. Then they'll have to stand down for -- what is it, a four day, three or four days? The cryogenic fuel, which is the liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen, which is the fuel cell material, it generates electricity while they're on orbit, that kind of just boils away as time goes on as it's sitting there.

So they need to replenish that. And so they want to have it topped off, and so it takes a while for them to get in and do that. So that will require several days. Then they will try another trio maybe, of opportunities, after that, right?

COLLINS: The most you can go for is three in a row. In this case, we are going to go for two in a row, yesterday and today, top off the cryo and then, possibly, and I am kind of speculating here, but possibly go for two in a row the fourth and fifth and then take off a day or two or however much it takes to reload the amount of cryo that has been off loaded. But we have until the 19th. After the 19th, it's going to be too dark in the early parts of the launch to get the photos of the external tank.

O'BRIEN: Every day that they make a delay, every day they have a scrub, the opportunity to rendezvous the space station becomes 22.5 minutes earlier. It's just the orbital mechanics of trying to catch up with space that station at that very specific time of day. So as they get deeper into this window, they get into a time of day that is more conducive for weather here in Florida in the summer.

WHITFIELD: All right, Miles O'Brien and commander Eileen Collins. And Miles this is particularly special because now you and I know, because the commander said so, we got JUES'ed.

O'BRIEN: We got JUES'ed, I like that.

COLLINS:

WHITFIELD: Right. OK.

O'BRIEN: If we stayed outside, we might have gotten juiced in another way, if you know what I mean. So it's good we moved.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much you all.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, let's check in now with Bonnie Schneider in the Weather Center, where weather is not so good in Florida and in other places as well.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: And CNN will be there for the next scheduled launch there in Florida. Our in-depth coverage begins Tuesday. The next Discovery launch attempt is scheduled for 2:38 p.m. Eastern, Tuesday, the Fourth of July.

Now let's get you up-to-date on other news. The CIA says the voice on a new audiotape is Osama bin Laden. The tape was posted online Saturday. In it, bin Laden warns Iraqi Shiites against harming Sunnis, or helping coalition forces. It's bin Laden's second taped message in two days, and his fifth this year.

Amid tension over the fate of a kidnapped Israeli soldier, Israel is allowing aid shipments into Gaza. Two border crossings have been opened for four days. There were fears of a humanitarian crisis there, after Israel bombed Gaza's only power plant on Wednesday. That attack cut off electricity and water to residents.

Mexicans are electing a successor to President Vicente Fox today. Regardless of who wins, Mexican-U.S. relations will be dominated by issues like trade, economics and immigration.

Budget deliberations in New Jersey today. Lawmakers are meeting to resolve a dispute that has closed much of the state government. New Jersey's constitution requires a balanced budget by July 1st. Lawmakers missed the deadline, so the governor ordered the shutdown.

A coalition helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan today killing the pilot. One crew member was injured. Military officials say the chopper was not brought down by enemy fire. They are still investigating the cause, however.

And lots of other news to tell you about today, including the trial of Saddam Hussein. The case is now drawing to a close. I will speak with one of Hussein's legal advisers, former attorney general Ramsey Clark. Also.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dad. Hey Dad, it's Chris. Hey, I got some good news and I got some bad news.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A phone call a parent never wants to hear: imagine you getting this call from your son, who's on duty in Iraq. We will talk with the soldier and his dad a little later.

Plus, a music mogul faces prison overseas. Dallas Austin gets his day in court in Dubai straight ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, it's my favorite time in the morning. I'm sure it is yours too. Time for the allergy report. Take a look at what you can expect. High cases of sniffling and sneezing through the Central Plains, possible into those Central Rockies and the Great Basin. And add along the West Coast and the Pacific Northwest. However, you'll have an easier time of it in the Central Plains and for south Texas, the breathing will be easy. That's a look at today's allergy report.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A secret burial for terrorist leader Abu Musab al- Zarqawi. The U.S. military says it turned over al-Zarqawi's body to Iraqi officials, who buried his remains according to Muslim customs and traditions. The Iraqi government says the burial took place in a secret location in Baghdad. The former leader of al Qaeda in Iraq was killed in a U.S. air strike last month.

And Iraqi insurgents again on the offensive. At least 13 people were wounded today after a car bomb exploded near a Baghdad police station. Three other explosions in the capital killed four people and wounded seven. There were also two assassination attempts on government leaders. The attacks follow a massive bombing at a Baghdad market yesterday, which killed at least 62 people.

Saddam Hussein's oldest daughter is wanted by the Iraqi government. She is one of 41 fugitives on a new most-wanted list and living in asylum in Jordan. Also on the list her mother, Hussein's first wife, who has been living in Qatar. Both women are accused of funding the insurgency. The Iraqi government says most of the fugitives on the list are in Iraq. Many were part of the U.S. military's original deck of cards.

The biggest catch on those cards was the ace of spades, Saddam Hussein himself. The former Iraqi dictator faces a death penalty if convicted of war crimes charges, but Hussein apparently isn't worried about that. CNN's Mary Snow explains why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARY SNOW (voice-over): Saddam Hussein apparently believes he can evade a death sentence because he thinks the U.S. will seek his help in stopping the insurgency ravaging Iraq. That is according to Hussein's chief defense lawyer, who recently spoke with the "Associated Press" and the "New York Times." One Iraqi expert suggests the idea says more about Saddam Hussein's mindset than about reality.

PHEBE MARR, U.S. INSTITUTE OF PEACE: He's isolated. It's wishful thinking. And in addition to that, it may be one of the few ploys that the defense lawyers have.

SNOW: Though Saddam Hussein can likely be counted out of any type of peace negotiations, some have suggested including loyalists to the former Iraqi leader. That's something that Iraq's prime minister discounted on Sunday when he said Saddam Hussein's supporters would be excluded from the nation's reconciliation plan.

MARR: To be frank about it, I don't know how many Saddam loyalists there are. My guess would be that it's a small number.

SNOW: But some Middle East experts say whatever their number, those loyalists have to be brought into the system in some way.

JON ALTERMAN, CSIS MIDDLE EAST PROGRAM: What Saddam's loyalists coming on board would do is it would send the signal that this is really over, that the old Iraq has made peace with the new Iraq.

SNOW: And even some who say former enemies will have to work together in the new Iraq equate Saddam Hussein's inclusion in the new equation with ruin.

ALTERMAN: You can make peace with the people who have supported Saddam, but it seems to me that you can't use Saddam as a way to get there.

SNOW: Mary Snow, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: One of Hussein's lawyers is a former U.S. attorney general. Ramsey Clark believes executing the former dictator would only trigger more violence in Iraq. He joins us now from Washington. Good to see you Mr. Clark. So what direction do you see this trial, as it wraps up, going?

RAMSEY CLARK, FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL: Well, the trial that we're in the so-called Dujail trial, is scheduled for summations by the defense next Monday, the 10th of July. And that would end it up. We want four days for the lawyers. There are eight defendants, which is half a day a lawyer, not very much time and two days for the defendants themselves to wrap up.

But before we go, we need to know that we have protection for the defense lawyers. We have had our third defense lawyer murdered a week ago Wednesday. I wrote President Bush and Secretary Rumsfeld and General Casey and the U.S. ambassador in Baghdad, asking them to assure us some protection, haven't heard yet.

WHITFIELD: Well how can you or the other attorneys representing this crew of eight be assured security when it hasn't happened already, enough for three, as you say, defense attorneys to be killed.

CLARK: Well they've always promised us they would give it to us, but they haven't. They finally let you have pistols, a permit for a pistol, and they said you could hire three guards and they'd pay for them. They never paid for the three guards so no one could -- some people have friends that did it for awhile, but you can't ask people to forget their families and risk their lives for nothing.

So there's been essentially no protection. But it's easy for them. Who's got the guns there, who protects the United States people, who protects the people in the international zone? You just fly them in on helicopters, and let them defend the accused, and then you fly them out and protect them while they are there.

WHITFIELD: So when you think about the end game, at least for this Dujail trial, is it your point of view that the death penalty is almost assured for Saddam Hussein?

CLARK: No, the Dujail case is not a case at all. The prosecution has never mentioned the central fact, and that is that the Iran-Iraq war was raging. There were probably 25,000 Iraqis killed in that war that year that Iran had moved onto Iraqi soil that year.

Dujail is the central of the Dawa Party. The Dawa party is an Iranian party, committed to the overthrow the government. They had people there -- and you're talking about 500 people in a city of tens of thousands. It makes no sense whatsoever. The case is an absolute fraud and it should be set aside and I assume that if anybody in the international community pays attention -- because I tell you, an unjust trial in this case will guarantee further anger.

It's not a question of who is loyal. What do the Sunnis think if you do this? And they are large part of the population, and they think the same thing that will happen to them, in the sense that they'll be excluded from everything. If you want reconciliation, you better be intelligent about this and do what international law requires anyway, forget all about it.

WHITFIELD: Bottom line, one of your colleagues, one of the attorneys representing Saddam Hussein, who is living in Jordan for the very security reasons that we talk about, Dr. Khalil al-Duleimi -- he says in his argument that the 148 people who died, they had every right to die, meaning at the hands of the government, because they conspired of attempt assassination of Saddam Hussein and under the Iraqi law, that is the consequence. Is that how this is being argued?

CLARK: Well, I wouldn't say right to die.

WHITFIELD: Those were his words. He was quoted as saying they had every right to die.

CLARK: Translation is wonky in these cases. It's not an easy matter. I'm not saying people do it wrong purposefully, but I doubt very seriously it said the right to die, that's a question that has to do with people who have a terminal illness and want to die.

But the government had prosecuted them under a statute for treason against your own country in a time of war that had a mandatory death penalty, that's all. And over a period of two years -- now what kind of radical reaction is this? What kind of violence is this? Over a period of two years, it was investigated and finally presented to the court and the court reviewed confessions, 148 confessions.

WHITFIELD: So is Saddam Hussein being tried on Iraqi law that he helped commandeer?

CLARK: All the crimes alleged are international crimes. All the funding for this court -- this court was created entirely by the United States, it's financed entirely by the United States, it's statute was drawn long before -- more than six months before authority was so-called turned over to the Iraqis. The judges were picked and trained by the United States, with people like Ahmed Chalabi's nephew, Salim Chalabi, who -- and it was manufactured to condemn the enemy, is what it's about.

WHITFIELD: So Mr. Clark, where would you be when it comes down to hearing of the verdict in this case against Saddam Hussein before the other trial, which is scheduled for August to begin -- would you be in Iraq or will you stay in the U.S.?

CLARK: Well there's no telling. I don't know when the verdict may come down. I don't know for sure the verdict will come down. Sometimes we are told that they will wait until after the next trial, which is the real case, and that involves what's happened to the Kurds. That's a real case, it's a piece of history, we know about it. This first case is not a case, not a crime.

WHITFIELD: We will be watching. Mr. Ramsey Clark, representing Saddam Hussein, one of a team of attorneys doing so. Thank you so much for your time.

CLARK: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Scrubbed, another no-go for the space shuttle today, but NASA is hoping the third time will be a charm. We are live at the Kennedy Space Center with more in a moment. Plus, soccer superstar David Beckham. Maybe he won't be bending it for England anymore. We'll explain. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Shopping for an MP3 player or another portable media device? Then you probably have been wondering how flash memory stacks up against gadgets with a hard drive. Size matters for both content and how it fits in your pocket. Daniel Sieberg has our techno file report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Well if you are in the market for a new MP3 player, you might be asking yourself, should I go big or should I go small? Well it turns out the question shouldn't be does size matter, but why does size matter? And joining us now to help answer that question is Brian Cooley, editor-at-large with CNET. Brian, we are talking about the difference between a flash-based MP3 player and a hard drive based MP3 player. What's the simple difference between the two?

BRIAN COOLEY, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, CNET: Simple difference is this, Daniel. This is a flash player, iPod Nano. Flash means flash memory. The music, the content is stored on memory chips that have no moving parts in this, like the memory in your computer. A hard drive player, as the name says, has a hard drive in it, like your computer also has. It will hold more, but it's a moving part that uses a little more energy and makes this thing a little bigger. That's why you see a physical size difference, not just a capacity difference.

SIEBERG: So different uses for each of these. Let's say you've got thousands of songs, but all you want to do is use it when you go to the gym, for example. Is there one that would be better than the other?

COOLEY: That's a classic flash player application because these are lighter, as you can see, very small and thin, have very battery life, are very shock proof. Nothing in here can get jarred by being dropped, unless you really drop or hurt this thing in a major way. So this is great for portable vigorous use.

SIEBERG: So you may not fit all your songs on there, but enough to use it at the gym?

COOLEY: You'll get many, 250 songs per gigabyte is the rule of thumb, if you want to figure out what the player holds. So this 30 gigabyte player with a hard drive holds a lot more songs than this one gigabyte Nano, 30 times as much, but that means it can also go beyond that. It can do video and hold a lot of photos, which a flash player would do a lot less of, or not do video at all.

SIEBERG: All right, so it does a little bit more, but it requires a little more battery power to keep up with all that. What's the battery life comparison?

COOLEY: Roughly, a hard drive player, while playing video is going to give you five, six, seven hours of battery life, maybe 10 or 12, 14 of audio life, not bad. But compare it to a flash player, playing music, it can do 20, 30, 40 hours in many cases of music playback on the best models.

So when CNET.com reviews these, battery life is a key part of what makes these good or not because these are necessarily portable devices. They need to be good about battery.

SIEBERG: All right, music on the go, Brian Cooley, editor-at- large with CNET. That's so much for helping us out.

COOLEY: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Bottom of the hour, top stories. It's hurry up and wait for the crew of the space shuttle Discovery. For the second day in a row, NASA had to scrub the shuttle launch because of stormy weather near the Kennedy Space Center. Launch officials say they will try again on Tuesday, the Fourth of July.

The CIA is now confirming the authenticity of the latest tape from Osama bin Laden. It's his second message in two days and his fifth this year. In it, he issued his first threats against Iraqi Shiites and recognized the new leader of al Qaeda in Iraq.

Israel has reopened two crossings into Gaza, allowing food, medical supply and fuel into the impoverished area. The crossings will remain open humanitarian aid for four days. Israel sealed them last week after a militant attack in which a young Israeli soldier was abducted.

A coalition helicopter crashes in southern Afghanistan today killing the pilot. One crew member was injured. Military officials say the chopper was not brought down by enemy fire. They are still investigating the cause.

Mexican voters are at the polls today choosing a new president. The leading candidate, leftist Andreas Manuel Lopez Obrador. The former Mexico City mayor is pledging to put the poor first, and conservative Felipe Calderon, who is pushing private investment and free market as the keys to prosperity.

New Jersey Governor John Corzine says he's ready to negotiate through the night to get his government up and running by Monday. Corzine shut down the government yesterday after a political stalemate saw the state miss its July 1st budget deadline.

Will the third time be a charm? Lift-off is now planned for the Fourth of July. We're live from the Kennedy Space Center in just a moment.

And later...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dad -- hey dad, it's Chris. Hey, I've got some good news and I've got some bad news. Well, the good news is I'm probably going to go home pretty soon. The bad news is I got hurt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: This soldiers has been to Baghdad's E.R. before. Now he's finally home safe. I'll talk with him and his dad later on CNN LIVE SUNDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: NASA hopes to provide some of the rockets red glare this Fourth of July. That's when the space agency will have its next attempt to launch the shuttle "Discovery" after the second scrub because of bat weather, CNN's technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg is live at the Kennedy Space Center with more. Dan you are inside because weather is still bad outside?

SIEBERG: Well Fred, the weather is a little better right now but at the time of the scheduled launch, we actually had to come in here at CNN mission control you could call it, there was thunder and lightening in the area, it was pretty bad at times. They had to scrub the launch today but the astronauts did go through the motions. They got suited up, did the traditional crew walkouts, they got wedged into position in the orbiter, and each of them getting their position inside there, but before the hatch door was closed about 1:15 in the afternoon Eastern time with the launch scheduled at about 3:28 they called the launch, scrubbed it because of the weather in the area, and about an hour or so ago the management director John Shannon came out and gave some reasons why they decided to scrub the launch when they did.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN SHANNON, CHAIRMAN, MISSION MANAGEMENT TEAM: Nobody is going to remember that we scrubbed a day or two days a year from now, but if we go launch and get struck by lightening and have some other problem that will be very memorable. We're going to, since we have taken this much time, we will make sure the weather conditions are right and we will launch when we are ready.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIEBERG: The next scheduled launch time is actually for Tuesday at 2:38 in the afternoon, of course Tuesday is July Fourth so NASA has said they would love to have the scheduled launch happen, have "Discovery" go up as a gift to the nation on the 230th birthday. That about 2:38 in the afternoon, then they have a tight time frame between now and then, they need to top off some of the fuels on board, the liquid hydrogen that helps to power electricity on board the shuttle. That's necessary to do a lot of things, including squeeze in a third space walk. They are hoping to get all this done in time for Tuesday afternoon's launch.

As far as the weather for Tuesday, a slightly better chance only about a 40 percent chance that weather would prohibit the launch from happening on Tuesday afternoon, they will have to wait and see again what happens. It is Florida in the afternoons, anything can happen. The weather just comes and goes, as the saying goes, it's probably better to be on the ground wishing you were flying, rather than flying and wishing you were on the ground, so obviously some disappointment with the astronauts but they will be prepared on Tuesday.

Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. All fingers will remain crossed until. Thanks so much. Dan Sieberg at the Kennedy Space Center.

Be sure to join us for our live extended coverage of "Discovery's" expected takeoff now set for Tuesday afternoon. CNN, the most trusted name in news.

Let's go global now with headlines from around the world.

Search and rescue crews in Peru's Andes Mountains are looking for three missing American hikers. Authorities say the group set out on a challenging route usually only attempted by experts. They say it difficult to remain for a long time at that altitude.

Civil unrest in Bangladesh, protesters demanding election reform are met with riot police and tear gas, a demonstrator and a police officer were killed and dozens of people injured. Protesters are calling for a countrywide general strike on Tuesday.

Soccer celeb David Beckham is stepping down as captain of England's national team. The 31-year-old striker had to leave Saturday's World Cup loss against Portugal because of an injury. Beckham's move coincides with the exit of manager Sven-Goran Eriksson.

A week after militants seized an Israeli soldier, Israel showed Hamas how much it wants the soldier to be returned. An Israeli chopper fired missiles at the office of the Palestinian prime minister over night. Reporting from Gaza now CNN's Paula Hancocks.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Palestinian prime minister walks through the ruins of his Gaza city office. Israeli air strikes destroyed much of his headquarters early Sunday morning. One person was injured.

ISMAIL HANIYA, PALESTINIAN PRIME MINISTER (Translator): This is part of a strategy of comprehensive targeting that the Palestinian people have been subjected to in the West Bank and Gaza strip. It is very obvious and means that there is the policy based on power.

HANCOCKS: President Mahmoud Abbas visited the offices Sunday. Warmly embracing the Haniya before going inside to view the damage and assess the current situation. Hours before the air strike, Abbas had sounded positive about the chances of diplomacy, saying talks to secure the release of the kidnapped Israeli soldier were not at a deadlock.

MAHMOUD ABBAS, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY PRES (Translator): I am afraid that what is to come is going to be dangerous because we can't bear another serious aggression and another occupation. What is to come may be more difficult.

HANCOCKS: Heavy shelling continued in northern Gaza as Israeli tanks and troops continued to wait on the border. In his Sunday morning cabinet meeting, exactly a week after the soldier was kidnapped, the Israeli prime minister says he told the military to do everything necessary to bring him home.

EHUD OLMERT, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (translator): These are not easy days for the state of Israel but we have no intention of capitulating to blackmail. Everyone knows that capitulating to terrorism means inviting the next act of terrorism. We will not do this.

HANCOCKS: A second fatality in the early hours of Sunday morning. The Hamas militant was killed by an Israeli air strike. Lack of electricity, fuel and clean water is continuing to concern the international community. Israel, Sunday agreed to open a crossing to allow emergency supplies in. Olmert has warned that no one is immune in the search for the kidnapped Israeli soldier and he certainly proved he meant it when he targeted the Palestinian prime minister's office in the early hours of Sunday. He has also threatened a major military incursion into northern Gaza, which at this point has not yet happened.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Gaza City.

WHITFIELD: Inside of Baghdad ER coming up meet a soldier who has been treated there not once but twice, he along with his dad are going to be joining us in a moment. Both looking good there, we will talk to you in a bit right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In Iraq, severely wounded troops are taken first to a cache, a combat support hospital, like its predecessor the M.A.S.H. unit it's a place where dark humor and tough band encounter the daily reality of pain and loss. Our Baghdad camera team was there when one serviceman, that one right there, arrived for the second time.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SGT. CHRISTOPHER FLORES, U.S. ARMY: Dad, hey dad, it's Chris. Hey, I got some good news and I got some bad news. Well, the good news is I'm probably going to go home pretty soon. The bad news is I got hurt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just a tip off the big toe and maybe the second toe in.

FLORES: Will I still be able to walk?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course, not a problem.

FLORES: My name is Sergeant Flores, Christopher, Bravo Company of the 102nd.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lungs are clear, belly looks good too.

FLORES: This is me second time in this case.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have to stop visiting us, but we appreciate you taking one for the time, OK.

FLORES: I hate you guys.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we love you, too.

FLORES: You know you don't forget how those people take care of you. They look after you; they try to do their best. It doesn't matter how long it will take them. They will do their best to patch you up to get you back into the game.

LT. NATALIE SKATES, U.S. ARMY: This shows he was in here a few months ago actually; I had him as a patient I think in March. But he's back again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sorry about that news, your son is a trooper man, he's joking and giving us a hard time.

SKATES: A lot of them come in with major injuries and they are joking around, trying to pull through. They just roll with the punches.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That guy is a hero.

FLORES: All right. I love you dad.

I'm glad I joined. I don't regret it one minute. I don't regret that my face is like this. I don't regret that my toes are almost gone. As a matter of fact, I embrace the fact that this happened to me, and I am just proud to be in the infantry. That's it.

(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: Sergeant Christopher Flores is back home with family including dad, Mr. Joseph Flores. Both are joining us now from Los Angeles, good to see both of you. Sergeant Flores let me begin with you, how does it feel to be back home and how do you feel physically?

C. FLORES: I am feeling OK; I am getting a lot better. I'm off the pain medication now. The doctors are telling me it will heal fine. I have a little broken bones but it's going to take time so they can heal. As far as being home, I can't explain it, it's great. You know, never in five months did I think I was going to be home this soon, but unfortunately because of what happened to me, I am just happy to be here and I am happy to be with my parents and happy that I am OK.

WHITFIELD: So take me back if you will, here you have been in the military four and a half years, you have been injured a couple times at least as we saw in that piece while on duty in Iraq. When you made that phone call to your dad, tell me what that was like for you, knowing that, you know, he would be glad to hear from you, but at the same time worried sick that you are injured.

C. FLORES: Unfortunately I have made more than one of those calls before. But, you know, I was kind of scared but at the same time I was excited to hear from my dad because he always encourages me and tells me to pull through. But more so I was glad that I'm OK, glad that I'm fine, glad that I survived the blast. That's why I said I have good news. The good news is I'm going to come home and be fine.

WHITFIELD: So Poppa Flores, what was it like getting that call from your son? I imagine every day with you are waiting to hear from your son in some way, shape or form and this is the call that you got.

JOSE FLORES, SGT. FLORES' FATHER: Yes, unfortunately those are the calls we don't want to get. We haven't talked to him for, like, two weeks and we know things are not looking good out there, and when I heard from him the way he talked to us, he sounded fine. So I wasn't that worried until I realized the seriousness of his wounds. That's when we started, after that phone call is when we started really getting worried, my wife and I.

WHITFIELD: At what point did you have some conversations about whether you, Sergeant Flores would be going back into active duty, again or not?

C. FLORES: No, unfortunately, ma'am, I think getting wounded three times is enough. I have given the military a lot. I do not regret anything that happened but I think the third time I took it as a sign from god that my time is done with the military. I want to move onto other things now with my life.

WHITFIELD: Mr. Flores I understand that also includes that perhaps your son is going to be more involved in your family business. That must be great news for you.

J. FLORES: That's correct, yes, yes. I mean, we are proud that he served our country, we are very proud of him. Proud of the men and women that he served personally and we pray for every one out there. But we are glad our son is back and like he said we believe he has already done his time. He done it well and served his country proudly and well. And we are just anxious to get him back out here and pick up on the family business and be with us at all times.

WHITFIELD: How much did you lean on him in trying to make that decision, you know, encouraging him to, perhaps, remain a civilian now and not go back into active duty?

J. FLORES: Well, you know, he -- it's tough, but he likes, you know, he wanted to be in the military. We didn't, at the beginning, we didn't agree to it, but we supported him 100 percent. He wanted to go to Europe and be in the military, travel. But when this conflict started, things didn't go quite as planned. But, like you said, it's different. We are just glad he's home.

WHITFIELD: So, Sergeant, when you are enlisted in the military, it was post 9/11, now that you are no longer going to be active duty, do you feel as passionate about the mission, immediately following 9/11?

C. FLORES: Definitely, it's one of the big reasons that I joined because I wanted to get out there and do something for our country. Being out there, it shows you a lot. Shows you how fortunate we are to be here. And it shows you everything. It makes you grow. I left when I was 18. I had to grow up fast and I did. And the army, they gave me most of that. They made me become the person I am now and I am grateful for my friends still out there as we speak right now guarding those road, they are out there getting in fire fights. They are still out there fighting and you know I just want to say a strong hello to them because I miss them and love them, they are my friends. Unfortunately we have lost a couple of those friends but that's the way it is. We have to think of them in a positive way rather than remembering in a negative way.

WHITFIELD: Well Sergeant Christopher Flores and Joseph Flores, thanks so much for being with us, we appreciate that you are able to share your story and your relationship with us, best of luck to both of you and the rest of the family in your family business especially.

C. FLORES: Thank you.

J. FLORES: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: The numbers are numbing, 2,500 U.S. troops killed in Iraq. Behind every number was a living breathing human being, and sometimes stories of extraordinary valor. CNN's Kareen Wynter has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) Part of us is gone.

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Flipping through the pages of an old photo album ignites painful memories for this grief-stricken mom. You may catch a smile when Maria Estrella describes how her son marine corporal Michael Estrella so full of life and courage paid the ultimate price for his country. MARIA ESTRELLA, MOTHER OF CPL. MICHAEL ESTRELLA: He told me, he said don't worry if god wants to take me, he will take me. I am coming to Iraq to be with my brothers and I have to be there.

WYNTER: Estrella was on his second deployment. His first took him to Afghanistan, this time Iraq. The 20-year-old field radio operator was out on foot patrol in Haditha, June 14th when he was killed by a sniper's bullet.

ESTRELLA: When we heard that he was shot. My imagination just imagined him being on the floor by himself and me not being there to pick him up. But I was told they, they came to him, they did not leave him by himself. They came to him and picked him up. This person did not -- he carried him with bullets flying. He went and got him and pulled him out.

WYNTER: That person, Lieutenant Rick Posselt who went a daring move risked his own life to save another. We spoke with him from Iraq.

1ST LT. RICK POSSELT, USMC: The first thing I thought of was Ii had to get him to safety. That was all that was going through my head.

WYNTER: Estrella died from his injury. Posselt described the eager marine they nicknamed Scratchy as a close friend.

POSSELT: I used to go to him for everything. It's a shame we have to lose a good one; he's a true hero.

WYNTER: Estrella became the 2,500th serviceman killed since the start of the war. Maria Estrella says that is a sober statistic, but she is grateful for one gift, knowing her son didn't die alone.

ESTRELLA: That is one thing he told me, mom, don't worry, they will always be there to help me and stand by me and sure enough someone was there with him.

WYNTER: Kareen Wynter, CNN, California.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Dallas Austin he is used to attention, he has produced some of the biggest names in the music business but he is facing unwelcome notoriety in Dubai where he has pleaded guilty to charges of bringing cocaine into their country. He faces sentencing on the Fourth of July. A short time ago Susan Roesgen talked to Don Melvin a reporter for Cox newspapers, he is in the United Emirates covering the trial. .

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DON MELVIN, REPORTER, COX NEWSPAPER: So far as we know, he hasn't yet deviated from what a normal person would face, which is four years in prison. There is intense speculation right now in Dubai, however, that he will get pardoned. There is a great deal of speculation that, at a court hearing today when Dallas Austin pleaded guilty to the charge of possession of cocaine, that this was part of a choreographed arrangement that will lead to a similar arrangement for him where he will be pardoned and be freed to go back to the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: You can catch the entire interview with Don Melvin at 6:00 p.m. I'm Fredricka Whitfield back with your top stories right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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