New Details May Come Soon In Foley Scandal; Some Democrats Accusing GOP Congressional Leadership Of Engaging In Cover-Up Designed To Protect Political Power; Top Republican Senator Recently Back From Iraq Says If Things Don't Get Better U.S. May Have To Change Course; Interview with Senators Richard Durbin and Jack Reed
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: We are just moments away from the christening ceremony of the USS George Herbert Walker Bush. It's the 10th and final Nimitz class aircraft carrier, and it will join the naval fleet in 2008. We'll go live to that ceremony when President Bush heads to that podium. Well, it looks like the danger is over. Residents evacuated when a fire broke out at a hazardous materials plant in North Carolina are returning home. City officials gave them the OK for a phased-in return this morning. A few people living closest to the plant will have to wait just a bit longer. An Iowa company is voluntarily recalling 5,000 pounds of ground beef in seven states. Each package bears the USDA number 2424. The USDA says the meet may be contaminated with the E. coli strain that the spinach that we've been hearing about the past few weeks had killed three people. There are no reported illnesses linked to the recalled beef just yet. CNN.com's Veronica de la Cruz has more on the recall coming up in our next half hour.</s>BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, I'm no meteorologist, but today's weather forecast for Virginia, take a look at this, wet, rainy and flooding in some areas. The National Weather Service is predicting six more inches of rain today, just want they don't need. People living in the Battery Park community near Richmond are under evacuation orders just as a precaution. Floodwaters are rising, and city officials, well, they're not taking any chances. Let's get you straight to Reynolds Wolf for a quick look at the weather. More rain, that is not what they need, Reynolds.</s>NGUYEN: Well, we do run down the stop stories every 15 minutes right here on CNN NEWSROOM, with in-depth coverage all morning long. So your next check of the headlines, that's coming up at 10:15 Eastern. Seeing the effects of war firsthand. Senators Dick Durbin and Jack Reed are in the war-torn nation. We'll here from them right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. That's coming up just minutes away. In the meantime, it is Saturday, October 7th, 10:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, 5:00 p.m. in Baghdad, where we will go live shortly. Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen. And I've got a new partner on hand today, T.J. Holmes.</s>HOLMES: Yes, that would be me.</s>NGUYEN: Thanks for being with us.</s>HOLMES: Thank you. Thank you for having me.</s>NGUYEN: Glad to have you.</s>HOLMES: And again, like she said, I'm T.J. And thank you all for starting your weekend with us. New details may come soon in the scandal surrounding e-mails ex- congressman Mark Foley allegedly sent to former congressional pages. A lawyer for one former page says his client is expected to talk with federal agents next week. CNN's Brian Todd has the story from Washington.</s>BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A former congressional page at the center of a Foley scandal, a young man who faces many questions. His high-powered attorney answers some of them.</s>STEPHEN JONES, ATTY. FOR FORMER CONGRESSIONAL PAGE: Jordan hasn't done anything wrong. He's a witness. He will cooperate fully with the investigation, both the House investigation and the Department of Justice.</s>TODD: Stephen Jones says he represents Jordan Edmund but Jones would not confirm Edmund exchanged instant messages with Congressman Foley. Edmund finished the page program in 2002, the alleged exchanges first reported by ABC News mistakenly left with a user name on the network's Web site traced by a blogger, CNN and other news outlets to Edmund include this. From Maf54, ID'd by ABC as Foley: "You're in the boxers, too." The reply: "Nope, just got home." Maf54: "Well, strip down and get relaxed."</s>JONES: It reads like some of the novels that are on the market, but I haven't read all of them and I don't know whether they're true and they've been edited. I'm still playing catch up.</s>TODD: Pressed further on when these alleged communications might have taken place.</s>JONES: I don't know what the allegations are, other than Congressman Foley allegedly acted improperly. I don't know whether he did or not.</s>TODD: Another key question, was there physical contact with the congressman?</s>JONES: I'm certain that there was no physical involvement between Jordan and Mr. Foley.</s>TODD: We also asked Jones about an item on "The Drudge Report", citing two people close to Edmund, saying he goaded Foley into the exchanges as part of a prank. ABC News reports that is not accurate and Jones seems to agree.</s>JONES: From what I do know, this was not a prank.</s>TODD: CNN, along with one of our affiliates, has also spoken with Brad Wilson, who was a page a year before Edmund. Wilson says Congressman Foley's behavior made some pages uncomfortable. He says Foley never made any overtures toward him, but did approach a friend.</s>BRAD WILSON, FORMER CONGRESSIONAL PAGE: He asked my roommate when he was coming to Florida and then followed that question with the phrase 18 is the magic number and that threw up red flags and it was bizarre for all the pages.</s>TODD (on camera): Wilson said he thought that meant the age of 18. We called Mark Foley's attorney, David Roth, for reaction to Brad Wilson's accounts and Stephen Jones' comments. Mr. Roth did not return our calls. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.</s>HOLMES: The Foley scandal has Democrats on the offensive. And Republicans, well, they're running for cover. Some Democrats are accusing the GOP congressional leadership of engaging in a cover-up designed to protect their political power. Correspondent Elaine Quijano joins us now live from the White House with the latest. Good morning, Elaine.</s>ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, T.J. Of course with one month left until the congressional midterm elections, the White House would rather not be talking about the Mark Foley scandal. But of course Democrats are seizing on the situation, trying to make the case that Democrats, not Republicans, can best protect America's children. Now, making that argument today in the Democratic radio address will be Minnesota congressional candidate Patty Wetterling. Her son Jacob was abducted almost 17 years ago and is still missing. Since then she has worked as a child advocate. And in her address, she had some harsh words for Republican leaders, saying that "Mark Foley sent obvious predatory signals, received loud and clear by members of congressional leadership, who swept them under the rug to protect their political power." She goes on to say, "We need a new direction in Congress because our children need strong voices. We need to stop the sexual exploitation of children across the country, and in Washington we must hold accountable all those complicit in allowing this victimization to happen." Now, the White House has argued that it is simply too early to pass judgment on who knew what when. But earlier this week, the president's spokesman, Tony Snow, said he didn't think every member of Congress should be held responsible for Mark Foley's behavior.</s>TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president has made it absolutely clear that the behavior that has been reported on the part of former representative Mark Foley is disgusting and unacceptable. He supports House Speaker Dennis Hastert's calls for a full and thorough investigation, and he believes that you need to get all the facts, you need to find out what the problem is, you need to fix it. But as far as speculating about what people on the House ought to do to accomplish those ends, that's up to members of the House. We're not going to get into it.</s>QUIJANO: Now, expect to hear more sharp rhetoric from President Bush as he tries to cut through the noise of the Mark Foley issue. The president trying to tout Republicans' national security credentials with the election just around the corner. And speaking of noise, sorry about that, T.J. We had some audio coming in from the event that's taking place down in the Newport News area, the one that you've been talking about, of course, the christening of that ship. We're hear in the briefing room and you heard the speakers overhead. Sorry about that.</s>HOLMES: No worries. We know it's not your fault. Thank you so much, Elaine.</s>NGUYEN: Now to the Iraq war zone. More than a dozen people have been killed today alone, and the bodies of 17 more apparent torture victims have been found. There's no letup in the sectarian violence. And now one top Republican senator recently back from Iraq says if things don't get better soon, the U.S. may have to change course. CNN Senior Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre reports.</s>JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Citing what he calls the exponential rise in the number of deaths, both U.S. and Iraqi, along with the failure of the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to disarm the warring militias, Republican Senator John Warner is sounding a dire warning: while he still has hope, it's fading fast.</s>SEN. JOHN WARNER, (R-VA) CHMN., ARMED SERVICES CMTE.: I assure you, in two or three months if this thing hasn't come to fruition, and if this level of violence is not under control, and this government able to function, I think it's a responsibility of our government, internally, to determine is there a change of course that we should take?</s>MCINTYRE: Just back from meeting with Iraqi officials and U.S. commanders in Baghdad, Warner is giving voice to what many inside and outside the Pentagon are coming to believe; namely, the U.S. strategy of standing down as Iraqi forces stand up is failing.</s>COL. DOUG MACGREGOR, U.S. ARMY (RET.): This change that the senator's talking about is long overdue. We had no business occupying central Iraq. It has been enormously wasteful. The change that's indicated is departure at the earliest opportunity.</s>MCINTYRE: But even as Warner says the situation is, in his words, drifting sideways, he argues withdrawal would simply turn the Iraqi oilfields into a treasury for the world terrorists movement. And he expressed continued faith in U.S. commanders.</s>WARNER: We've just got to stand behind them and give those military operations the time needed to succeed.</s>MCINTYRE (on camera): What went wrong? Senator Warner blames himself, along with former CENTCOM commander General Tommy Franks, for not asking the right questions about Iraq's history and culture. Had they paid more attention to the problems the British had forming Iraq nearly a century ago, he says, they would have had a better understanding of how difficult it would be to forge a working government from three rival ethnic groups. Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon. (</s>END VIDEOTAPE NGUYEN: Well, the Iraq war has sharply divided Americans. Many remain steadfast in their support of President Bush. But many others now question the wisdom of invading Iraq. There's not a lot of in between. Democratic senators Dick Durbin of Illinois and Jack Reed of Rhode Island had made the trip to Iraq to see for themselves. They've also visited Afghanistan and Pakistan, and they join us this morning from Baghdad. Good morning to you, senators.</s>SEN. RICHARD DURBIN (D), ILLINOIS: Good morning.</s>SEN. JACK REED (D), RHODE ISLAND: Good morning.</s>NGUYEN: Well, let me start with you, Senator Durbin. There's a lot of talk about the violence ramping up in Iraq, the sectarian violence. And now you've got the curfews that are in place. Given what you have seen on the ground, are we at a situation where we're going to see more deployments extended of U.S. troops just to stabilize the security situation there?</s>DURBIN: I can tell you what we've seen today firsthand working with our Marines and our soldiers, they're doing an exceptional job but under very, very difficult circumstances. It really is going to come down to a crucial test in a very short time frame, whether the Iraqis can really keep good on their promise to provide the soldiers and the police to bring stability to their country. There's a sense of urgency about Iraq in America. We have to make sure that the government here in Iraq understands that and has that same sense of urgency.</s>NGUYEN: Well, there's a sense of urgency about Iraq, there's also a sense of urgency about the war on terror. And I want to talk to you, Senator Reed, because this weekend marks the fifth anniversary of the war in Afghanistan. And Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had this to say in a "Washington Post" op-ed piece. Listen to what he had to say, and I want to get your reaction to it. He says, "Building a new nation is never a straight, steady climb upward. Today we can sometimes look worse than yesterday -- or even two months ago. What matters is the overall trajectory, where do things stand today when compared to what they were five years ago? In Afghanistan, the trajectory is a hopeful and promising one." Now, you were just in Afghanistan, Senator Reed. Looking at the situation on the ground from your eyes, are you impressed? Are you pleased with progress so far five years into this war on terror?</s>REED: Well, what's happened in Afghanistan is that after an initial success in terms of ousting the Taliban, the administration and Secretary Rumsfeld, in particular, took their eyes off Afghanistan and allowed, in a sense, the Taliban to get back in the game. Now, with the leadership of our forces and also NATO, we're bringing military pressure to bear on the Taliban. But like Iraq, their challenge is to build the institutional capacity of the government of Iraq to provide security and also provide economic well-being for their people. And we have to complement much more aggressively our military efforts with reconstruction, with economic assistance. We're making progress there I think much more so than Iraq. But the situation is not yet decisively settled in our favor and, more importantly, in the favor of a free Afghanistan.</s>NGUYEN: Well, let's talk a little bit about what's happening here at home, especially with the midterm elections just weeks away. Senator Durbin, let me ask you, the Foley investigation really continuing to stay in the headlines. There are calls for Speaker Hastert to step down. What is your reaction to that? Do you think the speaker has done all that he can?</s>DURBIN: You know, it's tough for us so far away -- Senator Reed and I have been over here in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq -- to keep up with the details of the story. But it is a significant issue. I feel so badly for the pages and their families. And I really do believe that those members of Congress who knew about this threat really had a special, personal responsibility on behalf of those pages to move aggressively. And it appears they did not. The House Ethics Committee is looking into it. Let them get to the bottom of it. But it's a question of competence in the leadership of the House of Representatives. I will tell you, though, being here in Iraq today, that the American people still identify this as their number one concern. They want to make sure there's reform in the House of Representatives, but they want to see our soldiers come home with their mission truly accomplished as quickly as possible.</s>NGUYEN: I know that we're talking a lot about Iraq and it is on the minds of many Americans, but no doubt the Foley scandal and the ensuing investigation is something that a lot of people are talking about. And considering with the vote just weeks ago, Senator Reed, let me leave this with you. The last question I want to ask is, do you feel that Hastert and other GOP leaders are saying that this is just chalking it up essentially to Democratic dirty tricks with the election so close? Do you feel that is a fair and accurate assessment of the situation?</s>REED: Oh, absolutely not. I think that is a situation where apparently Congressman Foley violated the rules of the House. He's being investigated now. And any suggestion or allusion that this is just some kind of a stunt really diminishes the consequential nature of this, the fact that a member of the House and perhaps others with knowledge of his behavior really intruded upon the lives and the behaviors of these young pages. That's unacceptable. It's clearly unacceptable. This is not about dirty tricks. It's about maintaining a safe environment for young people that come to work in Washington. And they should have that safe environment.</s>NGUYEN: Senators Durbin and Reed joining us live from Baghdad today. We appreciate your time today. Thank you so much.</s>REED: Thank you.</s>DURBIN: Thank you.</s>NGUYEN: Well, tomorrow, insight from two retired generals. Their thoughts on what should be done in Iraq. That's starting at 7:00 a.m. Eastern with analysis throughout the day. And of course it's right here on</s>CNN. HOLMES: It's the last of its class, as the Navy christens its newest aircraft carrier. And President Bush is on deck to honor its namesake. We'll bring you his remarks live.</s>NGUYEN: And you see the live pictures right now. Of course we're also talking about an express delivery at Tucson International Airport. One that is truly a bundle of joy. We're going to explain that coming up.</s>HOLMES: Also, a lot of hot air in Albuquerque this morning. We're not talking about the folks there. We love you, Albuquerque. We'll fill you in when CNN NEWSROOM continues.