[Tony Harris, Cnn Anchor:] And good morning, everyone. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.
[Heidi Collins, Cnn Anchor:] Hi there, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. You'll see events come into the NEWSROOM live on Wednesday July 9th. Here's what's on the rundown. Iran ratchets up war tensions. Test firing nine missiles. Oil promptly reverses a two-day slide and heads up.
[Harris:] So what's the answer to run-away crude prices? A Texas billionaire says it's blowing in the wind.
[Collins:] The government is slapping a strong warning on some antibiotics. What's the trouble? Dr. Gupta diagnoses in the
[Newsroom. Harris:] Rattling nerves and sabers. Iran's state television reports that it has test fired nine new missiles. It is the latest salvo in the rising international tensions over Iran's nuclear ambitions. One of the missiles fired today reportedly has a range of 1,250 miles. That puts Israel within striking distance. Other missile types fired today have ranges of 105 and 250 miles. The White House issued a statement saying Iran should, quote, "refrain from further missile tests if it truly seeks to gain the trust of the world. The Iranians should stop the development of ballistic missiles which could be used as a delivery vehicle for a potential nuclear weapon immediately."
[Collins:] So what's the reaction in the diplomatic community? CNN's State Department correspondent Zain Verjee is in Washington this morning looking for answers. Zain, what are the U.S. officials saying about this?
[Zain Verjee, Cnn State Department Correspondent:] Well, the U.S. condemned Iran pretty quickly saying that they should not do any more missile tests if they truly seek to gain the trust of the world. The Iranians, they said, should stop the development of ballistic missiles which could be used as a delivery vehicle for a potential nuclear weapon immediately. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also weighing in, calling the tests evidence that the missile threat is real, not an imaginary one. Now the missile tests come as tensions, Heidi, have really been rising with the U.S. The State Department itself just announced new financial sanctions against Iranian officials and companies accusing them of helping develop nuclear weapons. The U.S. is also trying to squeeze Iran's economy. At the same time, Washington is pursuing a diplomatic path with Iran, along with the Europeans, basically offering Iran an incentives package in exchange for suspending uranium enrichment, which, as you know, is key in making a nuclear bomb. So the U.S. strategy is really both carrot and stick, but a real condemnation coming out today Heidi.
[Collins:] Yes. And the timing pretty interesting, too, Zain.
[Verjee:] Yes, it is. It's significant. I mean the Iranians seem to be sending a warning sign to Israel. Experts that we've talked to have said that this is really a response to an earlier military exercise by Israel that was seen as a practice run for attacking Iran. Iran's pretty worried that Israel may attack them, and in doing so drag the U.S. into a possible conflict.
[Collins:] All right, well, we are, obviously, watching this story this morning. Zain Verjee from the State Department, our correspondent there thanks so much, Zain. Here's a closer look now at the long-range missile reportedly fired this morning by Iran. It is a version of the Shahab, which means "meteor" or "shooting star" in the Iranian language of Farsi. It can carry a one-time conventional warhead. The missile is believed to have been updated with Russian and Chinese help.
[Harris:] A deadly shoot out near in the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. According to the city's governor, three police officers and three attackers were killed in a gun battle. It began when gunmen pulled up in a car and opened fire at a police checkpoint outside the consulate. The police fired back. Bullets flying for up to five minutes. No Americans or consulate employees were hurt. We will get a live report from Istanbul in just a few minutes.
[Collins:] Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs rushed from jail to a Las Vegas hospital. Our Chris Lawrence is there now. So, Chris, what have you been told about his condition?
[Chris Lawrence, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, Heidi, we know that his health was poor enough for authorities to take him out of his Arizona jail cell and bring him 100 miles here to the hospital behind me. And we know that Warren Jeffs has had some health problems over the past couple of years in jail. While he was awaiting trial, according to court documents, he refused to eat and drink for a significant amount of time, had to be taken to an infirmary, and later he tried to hang himself in jail. While he was on a suicide watch he was observed throwing himself into a wall and banging his head against the wall repeatedly. Now to give you a little bit of background, Jeffs is the so- called prophet of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- Day Saints. Now some of the 10,000 members practice polygamy using arranged marriages that sometimes involve underage girls. Jeffs first showed up on the national radar about two years ago when the FBI put him on it's 10 Most Wanted list. He was caught, tried and then convicted of using his religious influence to coerce his followers over his followers to coerce a 14-year-old girl to marry her 19-year-old cousin. And a lot of people will remember some of the images from April when the authorities came in and removed about 400 children from the FLDS ranch in Texas. It was a very emotional scene. And the Texas Supreme Court later ruled that the state did not have the authority to take the children and authorities were ordered to take them back to their families. Jeffs had been serving 10 years to life in prison. And we expect to get more word on his current condition in the next couple hours Heidi?
[Collins:] All right, Chris, let us know when you get that. Appreciate it. Chris Lawrence this morning.
[Harris:] A fast-moving fire still has residents on the run in Northern California this morning. Forty homes destroyed not long after residents were ordered to evacuate in Concow, California. That fire in Butte County was started by blowing embers from one of the other fires in the immediate area. Thousands of homes are still threatened. Evacuation orders lifted in Big Sur. Residents in the popular tourist community had their first chance to see the damage caused by the wildfires. At least 23 homes were destroyed there. In southern California, firefighters have made progress on a fire burning in Santa Barbara County. About 250 homes are still at risk but that's a bit of good news here. That's down from a peak of 3,000.
[Collins:] Let's get back to the Butte County fire for just a moment now. We want to show you how treacherous it is for fire crews. Amazing video from our affiliate KOVR driving through walls of flames with one of the firefighters.
[Unidentified Male:] If it's not safe we can't put engines down here. And that's what we're experiencing right now with the high winds and fire behavior. So...
[Unidentified Reporter:] And I mean I'm just looking at this like...
[Unidentified Male:] Yes.
[Unidentified Reporter:] ... there's no way.
[Unidentified Male:] Yes.
[Unidentified Reporter:] I don't even want to be here right now.
[Unidentified Male:] Yes. We're actually going to turn around.
[Unidentified Reporter:] Yes. So...
[Unidentified Male:] We can see what the wind is doing to that fire right now. The way it's pushing it. And we're getting dramatic wind shifts in here. And it makes the firefighting very, very difficult for the crews on the ground.
[Unidentified Reporter:] So when you say, you know, it's
[Unidentified Male:] It's not safe but we have crews that are already in there. So right now pretty much they have set out to coming out.
[Collins:] Wow. Here are some numbers on Butte County fire. There are actually 14 separate fires burning in that county. Right now the fire is 40 percent contained. But that doesn't really tell the whole story. Just a couple of days ago it was 55 percent contained. Obviously, developing flames. No kidding about that.
[Harris:] Whoa. Did Rob, did you see that video?
[Rob Marciano, Cnn Meteorologist:] Yes, pretty dramatic stuff, huh?
[Collins:] I thought the reporter was quite calm saying...
[Harris:] Yes.
[Collins:] ... I don't really want to be here right now. It was after he went...
[Harris:] Yes.
[Marciano:] It is always amazing to me when you talk to these firefighters on the ground just how calm and in control they seem when they're that close to the flames. And I mean they're paid professionals so I suppose we should take some comfort in that. But as an amateur or as a journalist going into these things you're just blown away by how they treat it.
[Harris:] OK. Rob, appreciate it.
[Collins:] Thank you, Rob.
[Harris:] Thank you, sir.
[Marciano:] You got it.
[Harris:] Want to take you to Suzanne right now for some breaking news, a developing story that we're going to be following throughout the morning here. Pretty tough stuff. Armed militia has attacked a United Nations peacekeeping patrol that in Darfur killing one peace keeper and wounding 19 others. This according to a U.N. spokeswoman. Six other U.N. peacekeepers are reported missing at this time. Again, this is in Sudan's Darfur region. We are going to keep an eye on this story and get some more information for you and then update the story in just a couple of minutes right here in the
[Newsroom. Collins:] Crippling news from the FDA. Some antibiotics may increase your chances of tendon ruptures.
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