CNN 2009-07-05

South Korea says North Korea's launching of seven short-range missiles is a provocative 1 act. Let's get more now from Sohn Jie-Ae in Seoul. We're talking about these short-range missiles. They fire about 310 miles into the Sea of Japan. What is a scud 2 missile?

Well, scud missile is a type of ballistic missile. It is a missile that North Korea has about 700 of. It has -- it doesn't usually carry a nuclear warhead, but it is certainly deadly to the people that are on the other side of it. Now, the North Koreans have about 700 in their arsenal 3. They have been in the relatively 4 shorter range than the one that they fired off today. It was actually belonging to people here in South Korea, because for South Koreans, the fact that North Korea has these scud missiles with about a 300-mile range, which means that it has the entire South Korean peninsula under its watchful 5 eye, is of great concern here to people in South Korea.

Jie-Ae, what kind of message might this be sending to the states and perhaps the world community?

It's the type of the missile that North Korea fired was a warning to South Korea. The timing 6 of it actually seems to be aimed towards the Americans. I mean, they did fire seven on the Fourth of July. So it is something that they're telling the United States, they are not happy with Washington pressuring the Pyongyang government. It does seem definitely a sign on the Fourth of July.

We've come to expect the unexpected with Governor Sarah Palin. Nobody saw this one coming. She's quitting; she's stepping down. She says she's not going to seek re-election in 2010, but not only that, she's leaving office early, gonna hand it over to her lieutenant 7 governor in about a month. Take a listen to the announcement she made yesterday.

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.

Well, it's the Fourth of July, time for fireworks, little barbecue and the presidential address. President Barack Obama today urging the nation to reflect on the spirit of our founding fathers, but he also seizes that opportunity to argue for change.

Now is the time to reform an unsustainable health care system that's imposing 8 crushing costs on families, businesses, large and small, as well as state and Federal budgets. We need to protect what works, fix what's broken, and bring down costs for all Americans. No more talk, no more delay. Health care reform must happen this year. And now is the time to meet our energy challenge. One of the greatest challenges we've ever confronted as a people or as a planet, for the sake of our economy and our children, we must build on the historic bill passed by the House of Representatives and make clean energy the profitable kind of energy so that we can end our dependence 9 on foreign oil and reclaim 10 America's future.