Operation Arrowhead Ripper; Afghanistan President Angry Words at Coalition Forces; Coalition Aircraft Fire Kills Afghan Children; South Carolina Furniture Store Fire; Crossing Guard Alleged Child Molestation
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Thank you so much T.J.and Betty. Straight ahead this hour, we will be taking you to one of the most dangerous places in Iraq, as U.S. troops target an al Qaeda stronghold. Also, menacing messages from an e-mail hitman. Find out how do avoid this cyber shakedown. Plus...</s>SEN HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I ordered for the table.</s>BILL CLINTON, FRM. U.S. PRESIDENT: No onion rings?</s>KEILAR: Presidential politics brings us the viral video of the week. The news unfolding live on Saturday, June 23rd. I'm Brianna Keilar in for Fredricka Whitfield and you're in the NEWSROOM We begin with fierce fighting in Iraq on day five of "Operation Arrowhead Ripper." U.S. soldiers are battling al Qaeda militants in Diyala Province and the military says they're tightening the grip on the insurgent stronghold of Baqubah, north of Baghdad. Hala Gorani now joins us live from Baghdad -- Hala.</s>HALA GORANI, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Brianna.</s>KEILAR: I wanted to ask -- Sorry Hala, go ahead. Sorry Hala, go ahead.</s>GORANI: All right, well, here's the latest really, on "Operation Arrowhead Ripper." You mentioned that it is targeting insurgent bases in a province north and east of Baghdad, that is Diyala. And especially focusing on the capital of that Diyala Province, Baqubah, involving 10,000 U.S. troops. Now, this is taking U.S. troops closer to danger, closer to action on a house-to-house, block-to-block search for these insurgents, as well as factories that manufacture car bombs and IEDs -- IEDs that are the biggest killer of American troops. Now, the question out there is, did some of these insurgent troops leave the area of Baqubah and Diyala Province in anticipation of the operation? General Odierno told reporters -- he's No. 2 commander of U.S. forces in Iraq -- that that was a possibility. So, that is a big question. Also, is the insurgency, if it has indeed left some of these areas targeted by U.S. troops, relocating to other areas? So, these are all big questions left up in the air as this operation enters its sixth day -- Brianna.</s>KEILAR: And Hala, you know, we're hearing that there are some new developments involving Iraq's parliament. What can you tell us about that?</s>GORANI: Well, parliament has essentially extended its session until the end of July. Now, the reason given for that is to work on draft legislation, work on voting on draft legislation that the U.S. considers essential to political reconciliation in Iraq. One of those laws that the U.S. hopes to see passed is a law to share the revenue of oil in this country. Iraq is a very oil-rich country and all sects are going to want to be able to share the revenues of this very important natural resource. However, no draft laws have been presented, essentially, to parliament. So, whether or not the extension of this session will mean anything with that regard is also an open question -- Brianna.</s>KEILAR: And we know you'll be keeping an eye on that for us. We really appreciate that. Hala Gorani live, for us, from Baghdad. And now from Afghanistan's president, angry words aimed at coalition forces. Hamid Karzai is upset over the deaths of civilians caught in the fighting between NATO troops and al Qaeda fighters; among recent incidents, a coalition operation that reportedly killed more than two dozen civilians in a village in southern Afghanistan.</s>PRES. HAMID KARZAI, AFGHANISTAN: They have to accept our recommendations, which they have not been accepting for the past many years. They have to coordinate with us. They have to strengthen the Afghan National Army further. They have to help us build a police force that is raised from the community, that is in the community. They cannot bring standards from their countries in the West and try to apply it to Afghanistan.</s>KEILAR: In another deadly incident this week, seven Afghan children were killed when coalition aircraft bombed a building in eastern Afghanistan. And we've learned more today about Monday's tragic furniture store fire there in Charleston, South Carolina. Investigators have completed their site investigation. And while they still aren't saying what exactly started the fire, they are saying where it began.</s>KEN CHISHOLM, ATF SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: The local ATF office, SLED, the sheriff's office, the police department, the fire department, will continue the investigation to determine the cause of the fire. Our own scene investigation showed that the area for origin for the fire is the loading dock area.</s>KEILAR: Many people have said they want to help, and you can help the families of the Charleston firefighters and other causes, as well. You can take this opportunity, right now, to do something about issues that matter to you. Just logon to cnn.com/impact and with a click you'll get the information that you need. Be part of the solution and you can use the news on CNN to impact your world, just go to cnn.com/impact. And the South Carolina tragedy highlights the daily dangers that are faced by firefighters. They go to work never knowing for sure that they'll make it home. CNN's John Zarrella reports.</s>JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nearly every time Fort Lauderdale fire lieutenant, Billy White, heads out one thing is certain. The danger this second generation firefighter faces will likely be greater than what his father had to deal with.</s>LT. BILLY WHITE, FT LAUDERDALE FIRE-RESCUE: The back of your mind going, you know, I don't know what's in here. I don't know what I'm going to expect. I don't know what I'm going to find.</s>ZARRELLA: There are many reasons for the increased risk. Firefighters will tell you the South Carolina fire is an example of this.</s>ASST. CHIEF STEVE MCINERNY, FT LAUDERDALE FIRE-RESCUE: Fires today are inherently more dangerous than ever before because they're burning hotter and faster.</s>ZARRELLA: The reason, because so many of the products in our businesses and homes are made of plastics and resins, polyurethane and response time is faster than ever. Why?</s>MCINERNY: Cell phones. Everybody has a cell phone.</s>ZARRELLA: At the first sign of smoke, someone is dialing 911.</s>DISPATCHER: You see flames, right?</s>CALLER: Yeah, somebody's calling right now as well.</s>DISPATCHER: 911 police and fire.</s>CALLER: We've got a fire in our backyard.</s>DISPATCHER: OK, ma'am. Are you outside the house?</s>CALLER: Yeah, I'm outside the house.</s>DISPATCHER: OK.</s>ZARRELLA: The raw facts bear out the danger. From 1996 to 2005, the number of structure fires declined nationwide by more than 65,000, but the number of firefighter fatalities has hovered near or above 100 every year, this despite a wealth of new technologies -- thermal imaging.</s>MCINERNY: The whites are hotter. The darker colors are a lower temperature.</s>ZARRELLA: A HAZMAT team arrives at the scene of a ruptured gas line. Vital information about each one, how much air in the tank, which company he or she is with, is continually checked with this monitoring device. If something goes wrong and they are forced to evacuate the scene, each firefighter would get the message loud and clear, "get out!" (on camera): Now, that's loud. You can't miss that.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right. They definitely know that we want them out.</s>ZARRELLA (voice-over): Preaching, teaching, constant training is the only way McInerny says to reduce the risk. Even then, there are no guarantees. Fighting a fire means getting up close. Firefighters call it "putting the wet stuff on the red stuff." John Zarrella, CNN, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.</s>KEILAR: A disturbing story now out of Pennsylvania. A school crossing guard charged with more than 1,000 counts of alleged child molestation. Dale Hutchings was arrested Tuesday in Berwick, Pennsylvania. He's charged with molesting seven children under the age of 13. Police say Hutchings allegedly took the children to his home which is within sight of the school. And a strong weather system packing a tornado and lots of rain pounded parts of Iowa. Four inches of rain have fallen in some areas, closing Highway Six near west liberty until at least tonight. The twister damaged several power lines, trees and roofs, but thankfully so far, no reports of any major injuries. And now for a closer look at the weather, let's go to Reynolds Wolf there in the CNN Weather Center. Hi Reynolds.</s>REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi Brianna.</s>KEILAR: All right, looks like we want to be on the West coast today, you know, Reynolds?</s>WOLF: Not a bad choice.</s>KEILAR: All right, thanks so much for that. Well, he says he's not running, so why are all eyes on New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg? Well, because he can run for president right out of his personal checking account. A look at the possibilities coming up 20 minutes from now.</s>SGT. CHUCK TRAPINI, MESA, AZ POLICE: I had been in law enforcement for close to 20 years. I mean, been homicides, AG (ph) assaults, but I've never seen anybody brand another person, especially in the facial area.</s>KEILAR: This is one of the most horrendous crime stories you will ever hear, a woman branded. That's ahead. But coming up next, North Korea's nuclear program. What do they have and will they actually shut it down? We're going to hear from the United States' top nuclear negotiator. You're watching the NEWSROOM.