I ALSO HAVE THE TIME INCREMENTS.
Don't I, Aaron? Years.
From the beginning of time ! The difference is amazing. This is an hour long "Flagship" program where five, six or seven topics of the day is covered on a Cable News Network. How many commercials? How many taped segments? How much can a talented Jew be hated who carries clout in the world? So much so, that he could literally lose his skills in loyality to an unappreciative and oppressive employer. Little did either Aaron or I know the pure and complete genius of David Bohrman.
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening again, I'm Aaron Brown. It's August. It has been dreadfully hot here in the East. The president is taking the month off in Texas, the Congress is out of Washington, back home or on some junket, neither making much news. It's not that nothing is happening these days, things are, but the best stories of the day are hardly going to change life as we know it on the planet.
I say the best stories, which is different from the important stories. There are plenty of important stories, we'll deal with them tonight. But the best stories are something else. And to us, at least, they both involve baseball. At the Little League World Series, officials have determined that the team from Harlem, here in New York, is clean, more or less. That despite charges made by someone, that the league that all the kids do live within the boundaries, they are entitled to play and they shall.
This is an issue because, as you may recall, last year another New York team made the World Series by cheating, really cheating, using a pitcher too old. Anyway, the Harlem kids are legal and we are delighted. We hope the adults who run these programs learned some things last year, though we doubt it. Winning, even at the Little League level, apparently is everything.
The other baseball story involves the best players in the world and the strongest union in the country. Tomorrow, it seems virtually certain Major League players will set a strike date in an effort to force owners to be, oh, shall we say, a little more flexible at the negotiating table. As someone once said in an entirely different context, baseball needs a strike like a fish needs a bicycle.
Here again, adults seem intent on messing up something wonderful and fun. As I was writing this, I received a note from a 14-year-old who told me he was very smart and wanted to be an anchorman when he grew up. He wondered if he might anchor the program the next time I was off. Given how badly adults seem to be messing things up these days, I probably should have said yes.
Onto the day's news. We begin with "The Whip." The perilous situation across Europe, it is especially bad in Germany, the flooding.
Gaven Morris is in Dresden for us. Gaven, the headline please.
GAVEN MORRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The emergency here continues to worsen as the river Elbe reaches its peak and keeps going. The people of Dresden are struggling to keep the water back - Aaron.
BROWN: Thank you. Onto the anthrax investigation, and increasing criticism of the FBI. That's Kelli Arena's beat, and Kelli joins us tonight. A headline, please.
KELLI ARENA CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: The FBI says it's following strict investigative protocols in the anthrax case. And supporters point out the bureau is after all running an investigation and not a public relations campaign - Aaron. BROWN: Kelli, thank you. Onto a lawsuit that involves some of the lawyers who went after the big tobacco and the asbestos industry, too. This time the legal assault has to do with 9/11. Bob Franken working that for us. Bob, a headline from you, please.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And they're representing the family members of the victims, the September 11 attacks. And they're very open about it. They say they're seeking retribution, as one of them said. So they want to shrivel up the terrorist organizations by cutting off their money and their going after individuals, organizations and countries.
BROWN: Bob, thanks you very much. Back with you shortly. And again, the Little League controversy apparently resolved, Keith Olbermann covering that. I'm not sure, Keith, if I left you a headline or not but give it a go.
KEITH OLBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a kids game, Aaron, but that's only on the field. Little League Baseball as played by the adults is a sport of suspicion and controversy. And that latest controversy is officially over tonight with the Harlem kids cleared to play in the Little League World Series, but will the ill will linger - Aaron.
BROWN: Thank you. Thank all of you. We'll be back with you shortly. Also coming up in the program tonight, the pope's trip to Poland, is it a one-way journey? going back home for good? We've heard this line in the past, but the speculation this time seems especially intense.
We'll talk tonight with John Allen of the "National Catholic Reporter" who covers the Vatican. Also tonight, the future of Ground Zero. One of the officials in charge of the rebuilding efforts, Roland Betts, on the decision that we at least think is a smart one, taking a bit more time to come up with some more inspiring ideas. A lot has been going on down there. And we'll deal with much of it tonight. And what in the world is happening with weather? Europe's drenched. A giant dust cloud hanging over Asia. And in New York and across the East, in fact, it feels like we're being barbecued. We'll take a look at the science of what might be happening.
David Mattingly tonight with the story of a boxer whose pro career began after spending a generation behind bars. Joey Torres, a fascinating character and you'll meet him before we say good night. All of that to come in the hour ahead.
We begin in Dresden, a city that has seen an awful lot over the years. In World War II, it was bombed and burned to the ground. Tonight, floodwaters are washing the ground out from under the city and threatening to carry parts of it away. We turn again to CNN's Gaven Morris who is, we hope, in someplace dry. Good evening.
MORRIS: Only just, Aaron, I'm on the edge of the river here. And it's still approaching fast. The problem here has been that it's gone beyond what everybody thought it would. There were dire predictions of 8.5 meters, 8.6 meters, well, it's gone beyond that even. And so we're talking now of very historic levels, in fact, probably levels that have not been seen in any time that records have been kept.
