[Brooke Baldwin, Cnn Anchor:] It is 8 o'clock on the west coast, 11 o'clock right here in the CNN Center in Atlanta. Good morning to you. I'm Brooke Baldwin, in today for Betty Nguyen.
[T.j. Holmes, Cnn Anchor:] And hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM. Up first here, two U.S. soldiers are dead after a brazen attack in Afghanistan. Taliban fighters hit a U.S. base with a truck bomb, missiles and a rocket. This was a two-hour assault. In addition to leaving those two Americans dead, four others were wounded. CNN's Atia Abawi has been covering this developing story from Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan. After this attack, how is the U.S. responding?
[Atia Abawi, Cnn International Correspondent:] Well, the U.S. actually responded during the attack, they did kill 10 at least 10 militants and captured one. The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attacks. A vehicle born explosive devices went off outside the outposts and then they fired rockets and mortar, at least one containing white phosphorous. A spokesperson for the governor of Paktika province where this attack occurred said that at least 32 militants were killed. But we're waiting to get more figures and that's coming in T.J.?
[Holmes:] And, Atia, before we let you go here, we talked a little earlier to some of our reporter over in Iraq. And, you know, even though they're a long ways away, a lot of these American soldiers still, in other place, celebrating the Fourth? They're doing anything there as well to mark the 4th of July?
[Abawi:] Absolutely, T.J. We're at Bagram airfield and festivities have been going on all day. There was a ceremony this morning with music, barbecue and games. And a U.S. Army band entertained the troop there's in that tent, and one member of the band actually played a song that resonated with everyone there. It was a song called "Fallen Comrade." He wrote it himself. It basically was inspired by ceremonies held here at Bagram when fallen soldiers come here, killed in action after they died in battle. And actually we have a soldier here: Staff Sergeant Tony White, who has a special message this 4th of July for a special person.
[Staff Sgt. Tony White, U.s. Army:] Hi, Mandy. Just want to wish you a happy 4th of July and happy anniversary. Love you, baby.
[Abawi:] And that was fantastic. And Mandy is his wife in the States, worried, of course, for Staff Sergeant Tony White here. Festivities will continue throughout the night, and hopefully, we'll get more pictures for you to show you the festivities that are going on T.J.?
[Holmes:] Well, I'm glad you were able to get that in. And wherever Mandy is, I hope she was able to see that. Atia Abawi, we appreciate you. Thank you so much.
[Baldwin:] Glad we got that in, indeed. Well, Vice President Joe Biden spending the 4th of July with our troops in Iraq. He swore in around 200 of them as new American citizens. Biden's visit comes just days after U.S. troops pulled out of Iraq's big cities, leaving the Iraqis in charge of their own security.
[Joseph Biden, Vice President Of The United States:] You are the reason why America's strong. We're all immigrants different stages, different times, different places we're all immigrants. And the one thing we can never forget and I hope you never forget is there's always room for more in America always room for more in America. It's the life blood of our country. That's what made us so different.
[Baldwin:] In closed door meetings and an official says Biden warned Iraqi leaders not to let the country slide back into sectarian violence, that the American people had no interest in putting, quote- unquote, "Humpty Dumpty" back together again. T.J.?
[Holmes:] Well, some fireworks out of North Korea this morning. South Korean media reporting that North Korea has fired out of seven more missiles over the Sea of Japan. All of them happened in a nine- hour window. These were all short-range missiles just like the four North Korea test-fired on Thursday. South Korea's government is calling this a provocative act. Meanwhile, just about everybody today just scratching their heads and saying what in the world is Sarah Palin thinking? Well, Palin will resign as the Alaska governor at the end of the month. This move left Republicans stunned and split. Does it help or hurt her possibilities as a presidential runner in 2012? And Palin says she just wasn't going to run for re-election in 2010 and didn't want to spend 16 months as a lame duck governor.
[Gov. Sarah Palin , Alaska:] I will support others who seek to serve in or out of office, and I don't care what party they're in or no party at all, inside Alaska or outside of Alaska. But I won't do it from the governor's desk. I've never believed that I, nor anyone else, needs a title to do this to make a difference, to help people. So I choose for my state and for my family more freedom to progress all the way around so that Alaska may progress. I will not seek re-election as governor.
[Holmes:] Well, depending on who you talk to, Palin's resignation is either the smartest or the dumbest thing she's ever done.
[Unidentified Male:] Since she's made this announcement, Washington politicians of both parties have gone nut, suggests to me she's probably done something pretty smart.
[Ed Rollins, Republican Strategist:] I think this is a stupid, stupid move. It's going to cause speculation she got chased out for some reason.
[Holmes:] Like, I said, it depends on who you ask. Well, because she is stepping down, Sean Parnell, congratulations, sir. You are getting a promotion. He will be the new governor starting July 26th. He's currently the lieutenant governor. And I spoke to him this morning.
[Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell , Alaska:] She told me what her decision was going to be upfront and then she explained her rationale. And so, I was I was very surprised at first, but then as she began to explain why she was doing it, I began to see that it was, Sarah Palin once again moving to put Alaska's interests first. Remember that basketball metaphor she used where she talked about the full-court press being on her and how it's time for her to pass the ball to a teammate so we can progress here in Alaska with our agenda, and I think that was an apt way of describing how she perceived things.
[Holmes:] Now, Parnell says he, yes, in fact, will run for his own office. He'll run for governor himself in 2010. He told the Anchorage television station KTVA, he expects to file that paperwork next week.
[Baldwin:] The latest now on the death of Michael Jackson in preparation for Tuesday's massive public memorial, extraordinary demand, as you can imagine, on a very short supply of tickets dolled out by lottery in just a couple of hours. CNN's Susan Roesgen is at the Jackson family compound there in Encino, California. And, Susan, I know that federal officials are getting in on this investigation, but I imagine the focus now, right around where you are, is Tuesday in the Staples Center?
[Susan Roesgen, Cnn Correspondent:] Well, it really is. This is the sort of informal memorial, Brooke, that has still been building the roses, the balloons, people taking pictures, the handwritten notes. And I did sort of a poll of the people back here. Most of them got on that Web site and tried to get one of those tickets. So far, the organizers say, Brooke, they have had 500,000 people register online trying to get tickets, and half a billion total hits of people on that Web site. Tonight, at 6 o'clock local time, they're going to have a computerized random drawing and then they'll let the lucky winners just 17,500 people who will actually be able to go they'll let those people know tomorrow morning. Other than that, they're saying, please don't come. It's going to be, you know, such a zoo down there at the Staples Center. This, as you can see, is really quiet. It's always had just a few people. Nothing too major, very laid back here. But the organizers of the Staples Center memorial are saying that this is supposed to be a celebration of Michael Jackson's life, and these are free tickets that they're giving away. And even though there aren't very many of them, those tickets are not supposed to be sold.
[Tim Leiweke, President & Ceo, Aeg Entertainment:] This is a memorial service. I'm hoping that people have dignity. I'm hoping that people understand we're trying to do the best we can to accommodate the worldwide demand of Michael's fans. We're hoping that no one takes advantage of this particular process. And we're going to great lengths per the request of the family to create a system that will allow us to get the tickets and the wristbands in the hands of the fans. For those that would try to take advantage of this, shame on them.
[Roesgen:] And shame on you, says the city of Los Angeles, if you do try to go down to the Staples Center of on Tuesday. They're actually, Brooke, going to cordon off the whole area, about four blocks around the Staples Center so that only the people have the lucky wristbands showing that they've gotten a ticket can get in. The city of Los Angeles is very concerned that tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of Michael Jackson fans and media will show up on Tuesday, and that the city will basically have gridlock if all of those people try to get down there just to catch a glimpse of some of the people going into the memorial Brooke?
[Baldwin:] And I know they're saying, if you don't have ticket, stay home. Susan, let me ask you about this latest sort of bombshell when it comes to the investigation. According to the "Associated Press," they have found very strong anesthetic, Diprivan, inside Jackson's home?
[Roesgen:] The "Associated Press" is reporting that Diprivan, that anesthetic used in surgery, never used outside of surgery normally, was found in Michael Jackson's rented home the home that he was renting, and that's where he collapsed. Our sources are telling CNN that Michael Jackson in the '90s traveled with basically a mini clinic, an I.V. and Diprivan to be able to have himself injected with it to go to sleep, that he had terrible insomnia and he had, apparently, found a physician to give him Diprivan, which should not be given outside of an emergency room. So, again, our sources are telling us that Michael Jackson had this mini clinic to help him get to sleep. The "Associated Press" is saying that that particular drug was found in his rented home. We're still working to confirmed that, Brooke.
[Baldwin:] And we're still waiting on this toxicology report which I the results will be back for, still, a couple of more weeks. But Susan Roesgen, live for us there in that growing memorial in California Susan, thank you. We want to remind our viewers that tonight and tomorrow night, CNN's Don Lemon takes an in-depth look at Michael Jackson's life and legacy. We'll be talking about his childhood, his music, his finances and his influence. Don't miss the "CNN PRESENTS" special "Michael Jackson: Man in the Mirror," this weekend at 8:00 Eastern Time, only on
[Cnn. Holmes:] Well, closed for eight years after the terrorist attacks on September 11th, one of the best views of New York is now open again.