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CNN Live Saturday

Vice President Cheney Enters Hospital For Tests; U.S. Marines Still Fighting For Falluja; Peterson Penalty Phase To Begin November 22

Aired November 13, 2004 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


JOHN KING, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): The White House contacted the wire services, then us this morning. They obviously know that we will come into possession of this information. They have a simple procedure in place when the vice president goes in for any major treatment, or the president for that matter, his annual, or if anything else happens. They understand that this is something that they need to convey to the public as soon as possible. Based on at least what we know so far, they were pretty quick in getting the information out about the vice president today.
WHITFIELD: Yes. And John, have they given you any indication of what kind of tests they would conduct under circumstances like this?

KING: No, but we know in the past the vice president would go in, he'd have an EKG and other exams taken to test the pace of his heartbeat and perhaps blood tests and other tests. Many heart patients would have a stress test in such a case. Whether he would need something like that would be the decision of his doctors once he gets there.

WHITFIELD: His wife Lynne, is she with him at this time, do you know?

KING: I don't know the answer to that question. One would assume so. She is generally with him. Whether she waqs traveling or anything is information we just don't have at this moment.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. Any idea what his schedule is going to be looking like over the next couple of days?

KING: Well, he is a key player, of course. The administration is putting together its second term agenda. And there is next to the president, nobody more important than the vice president in doing that.

Early next week, for example, we're expecting to hear about some turnover in the president's national security team. That will be a big deal in any event, even more so because of the ongoing war in Iraq and other international questions facing the president. The vice president is a -- you cannot overstate his role as an adviser to the president when it comes to those issues.

He is also preparing for the State of the Union, for the inaugeral, the second term legislative agenda. So, the vce president is the top adviser to this president. We saw that in the first term. We expect that in the second term.

So, he's quite busy. Obviously, the pace of government is slower right now after the election and the pre-inaugural period of time. But it's not such a public -- we don't see him in public as much as we did during the campaign. But they are quite busy in the Bush White House behind the scenes.

WHITFIELD: And clearly, a very stressful time with the anticipation of appointments they wanted to make, and now appointments that they are forced to make in most recent days and hours upon learning, like the deputy director of the CIA, John McLaughlin, stepping down. And now Education Secretary Ron Paige stepping down as well just adding to the load of what to do about their cabinet.

KING: There is. The CIA news was a big surprise yesterday. Obviously, there's some tension between the new CIA director Porter Goss and some of his key deputies. And that will add to both the drama and the workload of the first or second term transition.

Secretary Paige's resignation is not a surprise. And there will be several more in the next couple of weeks and even more in the next couple of months. They're trying to stagger the turnover.

One of the trademarks of this administration was the fact that there was such little turnover in the first term. Generally, there is quite a bit more turnover in the administrations than we saw in the first Bush term. So one of the prices they will pay, if you will, for that loyalty and stablity in the first term is perhaps a greater pace of turnover in the second.

But at the White House, they view that as an opportunity, if you will, as well to bring in some new blood as you prepare to push an agenda in the second term.

WHITFIELD: And John, you describe, this is a vice president everyone knows by now who is very hands-on, very involved in the administration, very much in the forefront. And it comes as no surprise the kind of workload he has on a regular basis. But can you kind of paint a picture for us what the workload might be for this vice president? Especially compared to other vice presidents in the past.

KING: In successive presidential administrations, we have had the president claim that they have the most active, the most influential vice president in history. Bill Clinton certainly said that of Al Gore.

But in Dick Cheney's role in the George W. Bush administration, I think we have seen the breadth, if you will, of the portfolio. He is the key adviser on foreign policy, he was a key adviser in picking the foreign policy team, Secretary Rumsfeld, Secretary Powell, a key voice in the decision about how to respond to September 11.

It was the vice president who ran the minute by minute government in the moments immediately after the September 11 attacks. He was at the White House, and of course the president was in Florida. This president trusts this vice president completely. He is his point man on Capitol Hill. The part of this vice president we don't see that often in public is the private negotiations, the arm twisting, to get things through on Capitol Hill, the phone calls he makes to try to keep Republicans in line, and find an occasional Democratic vote.

He is controversial. He had a little dust-up with some foul language with a key Democratic member of the Senate, Pat Leahy, a few months back. It is really hard to overstate this vice president's role. Much of it we do not see in public, because he is a behind the scenes player. He was that way in his years in Congress, his years as President Ford's chief of staff. It's the way he likes it. He does not -- he's not a politician who runs and seeks the cameras or the spotlight. He likes to do his work quietly.

WHITFIELD: All right. White House correspondent John King, thanks so much for joining us on the telephone. And I you won't be going to far, because we'll be coming back to you momentarily.

So real quick, a recap right now. Vice President Dick Cheney is receiving some treatment at George Washington University hospital, just a few blocks away from the White House, after experiencing some shortness of breath. A White House spokesperson is saying that it's their belief that shortness of breath may be related to a cold that he's been nursing recently.

As you recall, Vice President Cheney has been crisscrossing the country, particularly in the past recent weeks just leading up to the re-election of the Bush White House.

But right now, as a precaution, is the kind of language that's being used from the White House. He is being looked after and undergoing some tests at GW University hospital.

Our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is with us on the telephone to help us, Elizabeth, reflect on the fact that this is a vice president who has had heart troubles for many years. He's experienced 4 heart attacks since 1978, as John was helping us to recall. His first one being when he was the age of 37. And here he is now over the age of 60.

Elizabeth, give us an idea of the kind of testing that would be taking place about now.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, you know, Fredricka, I was just talking to a paramedic. And I said, sir, what would you do if you were called to tend to Dick Cheney who was having shortness of breath? He said, I'd give him an EKG immediately, and I would slap some oxygen on him. Those are the first two things he said that he would do.

If indeed the shortness of breath is due to the cold that John King mentioned, then that oxygen would be helpful, because it would force oxygen in. It's hard to get oxygen when your nose is stuffy. If that cold had gone to his chest at all, that also could help possibly explain the shortness of breath.

But of course, if someone with the heart history that Dick Cheney has, you of course have to be concerned with shortness of breath. But not knowing any more details than simply shortness of breath it's hard to say. Is it a cold? Is it possibly his heart?

It really depends to some degree on the severity of the shortness of breath. The shortness of breath that many of us feel as we climb several flights of stairs, then there's shortness of breath that's much more severe than that. We really truly are having a hard time taking in oxygen.

WHITFIELD: And as a result of the heart troubles that he has had in the past, he's also had a number of procedures that have immediately followed: everything from a quadruple bypass surgery to having the pacemaker inserted, and then most recently, many of us remember learning a lot more about a stent.

So given all of these things have taken place to help strengthen his heart, to help his body endure any kind of shortness of breath or repeat of, can you give us a sense as to how the most recent procedure, the stent, works and why it has been perhaps the best treatment. And the kind of follow-up treatment that then follows?

COHEN: Stents have really been a huge advance in the treatment of heart problems. What a stent does is you have an artery that's blocked. And you put a stent in. It's like, imagine a wire mesh little tiny tube. And you put it in to open up that artery.

And they have made them better and better over the years. For example, they coat them now. That makes them less prone to have problems later on. And so stents have really been an amazing advance in the treatment of heart disease.

However, as you said, for surgery, stents, other kinds of procedures, none of these are fixes forever. You can't -- someone who has heart problems, you can do surgery, you can do stents, it doesn't work forever. People sometimes have problems after them.

WHITFIELD: All right. Medical corresponent Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much for joining us on the telephone there. We're going continue our look at CNN LIVE SATURDAY in a moment. This top story we're going to continue to watch for you with the vice president getting treatment at George Washington University hospital after experiencing shortness of breath. We'll be right back right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We continue CNN LIVE SATURDAY as we continue to keep a close watch on the vice president's condition as he is being hospitalized at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C. just a couple of blocks away from the White House after experiencing some shortness of breath. The vice president has a history of heart problems dating as far back as 1978. But for now, as a precaution, the White House is saying he is being treated at the hospital.

He is not necessarily admitted into the hospital, but undergoing some tests because of experiencing some shortness of breath that may, according to the White House, be related to a cold he's been nursing in recent days.

Our other top story we're following here on CNN LIVE SATURDAY, Iraq.

There, officials say, only isolated pockets of insurgents remain in Falluja. There is stilling some fighting as U.S. and Iraqi troops engage the few rebels that are left. Officials report that at least 1,000 insurgents have been killed and a dozen more taken prisoner.

Jane Arraf is embedded with U.S. troops in Falluja. And filed this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Military commanders on the ground tell us that they believe they've cornered the insurgents here in this small section of the southeast of Fallujah. This was thought to be a stronghold of the Zarqawi network. And on this block alone, they found five houses with major weapons.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We breached right here, found an RPG right outside. And this door was already open, so didn't have to breach it.

So, we kicked down the door. I sent my Alpha team up this way. They secured the stairwell. And we saw multiple doors.

At this point in time, we had security up in the foyer here. And Alpha team, they stacked up right here. And at that point in time they saw this guy right here. They engaged him. He was standing up. It was pretty dark in here. He came in there after we engaged him. We saw the vehicle here. So, we know the vehicles are a big taboo here because the vehicle bore an I.D. threat.

So, we came up here, we knew we had to finish clearing. We also had clearing going on in the rest of the rooms. Nothing that showed up here. We had this guy down. So, we came up here to go inspect what the car had and finish clearing the garage.

As we came in here, we noticed when they started clearing, right away we saw the dishka mounted on the gun truck here, we saw a recoiless rifle. And that's when started noticing we had also RPGs.

We cleared this area. Took a little precaution here, because of the vehicle bore an I.D. threat. We pretty much just secured the area, finished clearing right here. Then called up what was going on. Then we started securing all the weapons.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, we've been bringing you many of the incredible pictures coming out of the battle for Falluja. And our Denise Belgrave has been getting a closer look examining the operation still underway in Falluja.

DENISE BELGRAVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fredricka. The U.S. Marines are moving house to house as they continue to try and take control of Falluja. We have some pictures just in from the pool that show us they may still be facing some resistance. Let's have a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BELGRAVE (voice-over): This young Marine explains how they're staying alive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As much as possible, stay out of the street. So we'll go rooftop to rooftop. We'll blow holes in walls if we have to. Just so that that street is a kill zone, basically.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cease-fire! Cease-fire!

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BELGRAVE: CNN still has a reporter on the ground, so we'll be bringing you the latest as it comes in.

WHITFIELD: A remarkable images, particularly since the coalition forces are saying that they believe they're at the tail end of the operation. But the job isn't over once they finalize their sweep through Falluja, right?

BELGRAVE: That's right. It's not quite done yet. But I think that they're feeling that they are coming toward the end of this assault.

WHITFIELD: All right. Denise Belgrave, thanks so much.

BELGRAVE: Thanks, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well, with the future of the Middle East peace process thrown even into more question after the death of Yasser Arafat, what is the next move for Palestinians and Israelis? Is there an opportunity there?

For some insights we turn to journalist Mark Perry, Washington editor of the Palestine Report. Good to see you again, Mark.

MARK PERRY, PALESTINE REPORT: Good to be here.

WHITFIELD: Well, the funerals and the burials were quite remarkable, and quite contrasting. If you didn't believe in the power of Arafat when he was alive, certainly it hit home, didn't it, upon his death?

PERRY: A man of remarkable abilities and talents. I think people get it right when they say the Palestinians, he was beloved among Palestinians. We certainly saw that yesterday. I think it's going to be very difficult now for the leadership to fill his shoes. They're very capable, very intelligent, articulate men and women, but they're not the symbol that Yasser Arafat was.

WHITFIELD: And so do you see that that restart of the Middle East peace process might be a challenge simply by virtue of that?

PERRY: It very well could be. I think the first step in the Palestinian leadership has announced this will be to hold elections. A very important for the new leadership to gain legitimacy by winning in those elections. And When they do that, they will only have begun the process of democratization. But it's an important first step.

I think even so, it's going to be very difficult to start this process. The president has said, hopefully that he's willing to expend political capital. What he means is that he has to bring pressure on Israel. We haven't seen that yet.

WHITFIELD: President Bush, you're talking?

PERRY: President Bush, that's correct.

WHITFIELD: And a lot has to take place, doesn't it though, between now and this January 9 date, which is what Qorei said their hoping this election will take place before January 9. There still has to be this period of mourning, and there has to be this acceptance among the Palestinian people of the succsesors of Arafat's leadership.

PERRY: Well, that's right. There is a period of mourning. I don't think we can expect there to be real progress or the initiation of any talks. I think the Palestinian leadership has made it known that they're willing to begin negotiations. But they can't until that period of mourning is done. And I don't think they can until an election is held.

What they need to do now, and are doing now, is consolidating their hold on the levers of government. They are committed to transparency and they need to show that. I think it's a good beginning but we do have a long way to go.

And you talk about President Bush's words and his level of commitment. At the same time, isn't there some risk involved with the U.S. being a little too involved in helping to get the election process under way. And helping to select some of the leadership in the Palestinian territory?

PERRY: I think that's exactly right. I don't think that we can interfere one bit. I do think, however, that we can show our good offices by urging the Israelis to open up this process, to ease their control of their occupation, to make certain that the vote and the registration of voters goes forward without any interference.

And I think we can be very helpful if we urge the Israelis to show good faith in this new leadership by allowing full, free, fair and open elections. That's our role now.

WHITFIELD: Mark Perry, Washington editor of the Palestine Report. Thanks so much for joining us.

PERRY: My pleasure.

WHITFIELD: Scott Peterson faces life in prison for murdering his wife and unborn son, but would he be a free man if this woman were still on the jury? A former juror speaks out straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The jury that convicted Scott Peterson of murder must now determine whether he lives or dies for the crime. The penalty phase gets under way a week from Monday. Let's check in with CNN's Kimberly Osias in Redwood City -- Kimberly.

KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Fredricak. Well, soon jurors will essentially weigh basically two options: whether or not Scott Peterson will face life behind bars without parole, or death by lethal injection at San Quentin. This after yesterday, in just seven hours, a newly reconfigured jury reached a verdict.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OSIAS (voice-over): Cheers outside the Redwood City Courtroom as the verdict came down. Almost two years after Laci Peterson went missing, five months of testimony, a community now voicing vindication and venom toward Scott Peterson's mother Jackie. They asked if she was proud of her son. She mouthed, I am.

Outside the Peterson's Modesto home, flowers from around the nation. A growing shrine. And in the local bars, they weigh in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE; My first response was, that son of a -- you know what. He's a rotten person. I mean, they proved how bad a person that man is. I mean, he lived a double life, thought he was above the law, thought he could do what he wanted to do. And he deserves what he's got.

OSIAS: A gag order remains in effect for all the key players, attorneys for both sides as well as the 12 jurors. Jurors that had changed in makeup several times over, 2 ousted from the panel in 2 days. Former juror No. 7 Fran Gorman spoke to Bay Area affiliate KTVU Friday.

FRAN GORMAN, FRM. PETERSON JUROR: This is the verdict I would have wanted. This is where I was headed. So I'm glad it came to that.

OSIAS: Gorman says she was excused for doing independent research, a direct violation of Judge Alfred Delucchi's instructions, both at the trial's onset and after closing arguments as well.

JUDGE ALFRED DELUCCHI, SAN MATEO COUNTY: You must determine what facts have been proved from the evidence received in the trial and not from any other source.

OSIAS: Overriding the objection of defense attorney Mark Geragos, the former foreperson, a doctor and lawyer who took extensive notes, 19 pads in all, was excused as well. He was replaced as foreperson. And then after seven hours of deliberation later, unanimity.

Legal experts credit passionate closing arguments for the prosecution success.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I have to give extraordinarily high marks to Rick Distaso.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OSIAS (on camera): Scott Peterson was found guilty of both first and second degree murder as well. Now jurors will be going home enjoying a week off before returning here November 22 when the penalty phase begins -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Kimberley, has there been any expressed concern that, perhaps, the jurors were not sequestered an additional week in between that sentencing phase?

OSIAS: Well, of course, obviously the judge is trying to do everything possible to ensure purity, of course, before and now as well. But they can only do the best to ensure that.

WHITIFELD: Kimberly Osias in Redwood City, California, thanks so much.

And when we come back, an update on Vice President Dick Cheney's heart condition. We'll be right back.

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Aired November 13, 2004 - 14:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN KING, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): The White House contacted the wire services, then us this morning. They obviously know that we will come into possession of this information. They have a simple procedure in place when the vice president goes in for any major treatment, or the president for that matter, his annual, or if anything else happens. They understand that this is something that they need to convey to the public as soon as possible. Based on at least what we know so far, they were pretty quick in getting the information out about the vice president today.
WHITFIELD: Yes. And John, have they given you any indication of what kind of tests they would conduct under circumstances like this?

KING: No, but we know in the past the vice president would go in, he'd have an EKG and other exams taken to test the pace of his heartbeat and perhaps blood tests and other tests. Many heart patients would have a stress test in such a case. Whether he would need something like that would be the decision of his doctors once he gets there.

WHITFIELD: His wife Lynne, is she with him at this time, do you know?

KING: I don't know the answer to that question. One would assume so. She is generally with him. Whether she waqs traveling or anything is information we just don't have at this moment.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. Any idea what his schedule is going to be looking like over the next couple of days?

KING: Well, he is a key player, of course. The administration is putting together its second term agenda. And there is next to the president, nobody more important than the vice president in doing that.

Early next week, for example, we're expecting to hear about some turnover in the president's national security team. That will be a big deal in any event, even more so because of the ongoing war in Iraq and other international questions facing the president. The vice president is a -- you cannot overstate his role as an adviser to the president when it comes to those issues.

He is also preparing for the State of the Union, for the inaugeral, the second term legislative agenda. So, the vce president is the top adviser to this president. We saw that in the first term. We expect that in the second term.

So, he's quite busy. Obviously, the pace of government is slower right now after the election and the pre-inaugural period of time. But it's not such a public -- we don't see him in public as much as we did during the campaign. But they are quite busy in the Bush White House behind the scenes.

WHITFIELD: And clearly, a very stressful time with the anticipation of appointments they wanted to make, and now appointments that they are forced to make in most recent days and hours upon learning, like the deputy director of the CIA, John McLaughlin, stepping down. And now Education Secretary Ron Paige stepping down as well just adding to the load of what to do about their cabinet.

KING: There is. The CIA news was a big surprise yesterday. Obviously, there's some tension between the new CIA director Porter Goss and some of his key deputies. And that will add to both the drama and the workload of the first or second term transition.

Secretary Paige's resignation is not a surprise. And there will be several more in the next couple of weeks and even more in the next couple of months. They're trying to stagger the turnover.

One of the trademarks of this administration was the fact that there was such little turnover in the first term. Generally, there is quite a bit more turnover in the administrations than we saw in the first Bush term. So one of the prices they will pay, if you will, for that loyalty and stablity in the first term is perhaps a greater pace of turnover in the second.

But at the White House, they view that as an opportunity, if you will, as well to bring in some new blood as you prepare to push an agenda in the second term.

WHITFIELD: And John, you describe, this is a vice president everyone knows by now who is very hands-on, very involved in the administration, very much in the forefront. And it comes as no surprise the kind of workload he has on a regular basis. But can you kind of paint a picture for us what the workload might be for this vice president? Especially compared to other vice presidents in the past.

KING: In successive presidential administrations, we have had the president claim that they have the most active, the most influential vice president in history. Bill Clinton certainly said that of Al Gore.

But in Dick Cheney's role in the George W. Bush administration, I think we have seen the breadth, if you will, of the portfolio. He is the key adviser on foreign policy, he was a key adviser in picking the foreign policy team, Secretary Rumsfeld, Secretary Powell, a key voice in the decision about how to respond to September 11.

It was the vice president who ran the minute by minute government in the moments immediately after the September 11 attacks. He was at the White House, and of course the president was in Florida. This president trusts this vice president completely. He is his point man on Capitol Hill. The part of this vice president we don't see that often in public is the private negotiations, the arm twisting, to get things through on Capitol Hill, the phone calls he makes to try to keep Republicans in line, and find an occasional Democratic vote.

He is controversial. He had a little dust-up with some foul language with a key Democratic member of the Senate, Pat Leahy, a few months back. It is really hard to overstate this vice president's role. Much of it we do not see in public, because he is a behind the scenes player. He was that way in his years in Congress, his years as President Ford's chief of staff. It's the way he likes it. He does not -- he's not a politician who runs and seeks the cameras or the spotlight. He likes to do his work quietly.

WHITFIELD: All right. White House correspondent John King, thanks so much for joining us on the telephone. And I you won't be going to far, because we'll be coming back to you momentarily.

So real quick, a recap right now. Vice President Dick Cheney is receiving some treatment at George Washington University hospital, just a few blocks away from the White House, after experiencing some shortness of breath. A White House spokesperson is saying that it's their belief that shortness of breath may be related to a cold that he's been nursing recently.

As you recall, Vice President Cheney has been crisscrossing the country, particularly in the past recent weeks just leading up to the re-election of the Bush White House.

But right now, as a precaution, is the kind of language that's being used from the White House. He is being looked after and undergoing some tests at GW University hospital.

Our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is with us on the telephone to help us, Elizabeth, reflect on the fact that this is a vice president who has had heart troubles for many years. He's experienced 4 heart attacks since 1978, as John was helping us to recall. His first one being when he was the age of 37. And here he is now over the age of 60.

Elizabeth, give us an idea of the kind of testing that would be taking place about now.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, you know, Fredricka, I was just talking to a paramedic. And I said, sir, what would you do if you were called to tend to Dick Cheney who was having shortness of breath? He said, I'd give him an EKG immediately, and I would slap some oxygen on him. Those are the first two things he said that he would do.

If indeed the shortness of breath is due to the cold that John King mentioned, then that oxygen would be helpful, because it would force oxygen in. It's hard to get oxygen when your nose is stuffy. If that cold had gone to his chest at all, that also could help possibly explain the shortness of breath.

But of course, if someone with the heart history that Dick Cheney has, you of course have to be concerned with shortness of breath. But not knowing any more details than simply shortness of breath it's hard to say. Is it a cold? Is it possibly his heart?

It really depends to some degree on the severity of the shortness of breath. The shortness of breath that many of us feel as we climb several flights of stairs, then there's shortness of breath that's much more severe than that. We really truly are having a hard time taking in oxygen.

WHITFIELD: And as a result of the heart troubles that he has had in the past, he's also had a number of procedures that have immediately followed: everything from a quadruple bypass surgery to having the pacemaker inserted, and then most recently, many of us remember learning a lot more about a stent.

So given all of these things have taken place to help strengthen his heart, to help his body endure any kind of shortness of breath or repeat of, can you give us a sense as to how the most recent procedure, the stent, works and why it has been perhaps the best treatment. And the kind of follow-up treatment that then follows?

COHEN: Stents have really been a huge advance in the treatment of heart problems. What a stent does is you have an artery that's blocked. And you put a stent in. It's like, imagine a wire mesh little tiny tube. And you put it in to open up that artery.

And they have made them better and better over the years. For example, they coat them now. That makes them less prone to have problems later on. And so stents have really been an amazing advance in the treatment of heart disease.

However, as you said, for surgery, stents, other kinds of procedures, none of these are fixes forever. You can't -- someone who has heart problems, you can do surgery, you can do stents, it doesn't work forever. People sometimes have problems after them.

WHITFIELD: All right. Medical corresponent Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much for joining us on the telephone there. We're going continue our look at CNN LIVE SATURDAY in a moment. This top story we're going to continue to watch for you with the vice president getting treatment at George Washington University hospital after experiencing shortness of breath. We'll be right back right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We continue CNN LIVE SATURDAY as we continue to keep a close watch on the vice president's condition as he is being hospitalized at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C. just a couple of blocks away from the White House after experiencing some shortness of breath. The vice president has a history of heart problems dating as far back as 1978. But for now, as a precaution, the White House is saying he is being treated at the hospital.

He is not necessarily admitted into the hospital, but undergoing some tests because of experiencing some shortness of breath that may, according to the White House, be related to a cold he's been nursing in recent days.

Our other top story we're following here on CNN LIVE SATURDAY, Iraq.

There, officials say, only isolated pockets of insurgents remain in Falluja. There is stilling some fighting as U.S. and Iraqi troops engage the few rebels that are left. Officials report that at least 1,000 insurgents have been killed and a dozen more taken prisoner.

Jane Arraf is embedded with U.S. troops in Falluja. And filed this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Military commanders on the ground tell us that they believe they've cornered the insurgents here in this small section of the southeast of Fallujah. This was thought to be a stronghold of the Zarqawi network. And on this block alone, they found five houses with major weapons.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We breached right here, found an RPG right outside. And this door was already open, so didn't have to breach it.

So, we kicked down the door. I sent my Alpha team up this way. They secured the stairwell. And we saw multiple doors.

At this point in time, we had security up in the foyer here. And Alpha team, they stacked up right here. And at that point in time they saw this guy right here. They engaged him. He was standing up. It was pretty dark in here. He came in there after we engaged him. We saw the vehicle here. So, we know the vehicles are a big taboo here because the vehicle bore an I.D. threat.

So, we came up here, we knew we had to finish clearing. We also had clearing going on in the rest of the rooms. Nothing that showed up here. We had this guy down. So, we came up here to go inspect what the car had and finish clearing the garage.

As we came in here, we noticed when they started clearing, right away we saw the dishka mounted on the gun truck here, we saw a recoiless rifle. And that's when started noticing we had also RPGs.

We cleared this area. Took a little precaution here, because of the vehicle bore an I.D. threat. We pretty much just secured the area, finished clearing right here. Then called up what was going on. Then we started securing all the weapons.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, we've been bringing you many of the incredible pictures coming out of the battle for Falluja. And our Denise Belgrave has been getting a closer look examining the operation still underway in Falluja.

DENISE BELGRAVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Fredricka. The U.S. Marines are moving house to house as they continue to try and take control of Falluja. We have some pictures just in from the pool that show us they may still be facing some resistance. Let's have a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BELGRAVE (voice-over): This young Marine explains how they're staying alive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As much as possible, stay out of the street. So we'll go rooftop to rooftop. We'll blow holes in walls if we have to. Just so that that street is a kill zone, basically.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cease-fire! Cease-fire!

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BELGRAVE: CNN still has a reporter on the ground, so we'll be bringing you the latest as it comes in.

WHITFIELD: A remarkable images, particularly since the coalition forces are saying that they believe they're at the tail end of the operation. But the job isn't over once they finalize their sweep through Falluja, right?

BELGRAVE: That's right. It's not quite done yet. But I think that they're feeling that they are coming toward the end of this assault.

WHITFIELD: All right. Denise Belgrave, thanks so much.

BELGRAVE: Thanks, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well, with the future of the Middle East peace process thrown even into more question after the death of Yasser Arafat, what is the next move for Palestinians and Israelis? Is there an opportunity there?

For some insights we turn to journalist Mark Perry, Washington editor of the Palestine Report. Good to see you again, Mark.

MARK PERRY, PALESTINE REPORT: Good to be here.

WHITFIELD: Well, the funerals and the burials were quite remarkable, and quite contrasting. If you didn't believe in the power of Arafat when he was alive, certainly it hit home, didn't it, upon his death?

PERRY: A man of remarkable abilities and talents. I think people get it right when they say the Palestinians, he was beloved among Palestinians. We certainly saw that yesterday. I think it's going to be very difficult now for the leadership to fill his shoes. They're very capable, very intelligent, articulate men and women, but they're not the symbol that Yasser Arafat was.

WHITFIELD: And so do you see that that restart of the Middle East peace process might be a challenge simply by virtue of that?

PERRY: It very well could be. I think the first step in the Palestinian leadership has announced this will be to hold elections. A very important for the new leadership to gain legitimacy by winning in those elections. And When they do that, they will only have begun the process of democratization. But it's an important first step.

I think even so, it's going to be very difficult to start this process. The president has said, hopefully that he's willing to expend political capital. What he means is that he has to bring pressure on Israel. We haven't seen that yet.

WHITFIELD: President Bush, you're talking?

PERRY: President Bush, that's correct.

WHITFIELD: And a lot has to take place, doesn't it though, between now and this January 9 date, which is what Qorei said their hoping this election will take place before January 9. There still has to be this period of mourning, and there has to be this acceptance among the Palestinian people of the succsesors of Arafat's leadership.

PERRY: Well, that's right. There is a period of mourning. I don't think we can expect there to be real progress or the initiation of any talks. I think the Palestinian leadership has made it known that they're willing to begin negotiations. But they can't until that period of mourning is done. And I don't think they can until an election is held.

What they need to do now, and are doing now, is consolidating their hold on the levers of government. They are committed to transparency and they need to show that. I think it's a good beginning but we do have a long way to go.

And you talk about President Bush's words and his level of commitment. At the same time, isn't there some risk involved with the U.S. being a little too involved in helping to get the election process under way. And helping to select some of the leadership in the Palestinian territory?

PERRY: I think that's exactly right. I don't think that we can interfere one bit. I do think, however, that we can show our good offices by urging the Israelis to open up this process, to ease their control of their occupation, to make certain that the vote and the registration of voters goes forward without any interference.

And I think we can be very helpful if we urge the Israelis to show good faith in this new leadership by allowing full, free, fair and open elections. That's our role now.

WHITFIELD: Mark Perry, Washington editor of the Palestine Report. Thanks so much for joining us.

PERRY: My pleasure.

WHITFIELD: Scott Peterson faces life in prison for murdering his wife and unborn son, but would he be a free man if this woman were still on the jury? A former juror speaks out straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The jury that convicted Scott Peterson of murder must now determine whether he lives or dies for the crime. The penalty phase gets under way a week from Monday. Let's check in with CNN's Kimberly Osias in Redwood City -- Kimberly.

KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Fredricak. Well, soon jurors will essentially weigh basically two options: whether or not Scott Peterson will face life behind bars without parole, or death by lethal injection at San Quentin. This after yesterday, in just seven hours, a newly reconfigured jury reached a verdict.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OSIAS (voice-over): Cheers outside the Redwood City Courtroom as the verdict came down. Almost two years after Laci Peterson went missing, five months of testimony, a community now voicing vindication and venom toward Scott Peterson's mother Jackie. They asked if she was proud of her son. She mouthed, I am.

Outside the Peterson's Modesto home, flowers from around the nation. A growing shrine. And in the local bars, they weigh in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE; My first response was, that son of a -- you know what. He's a rotten person. I mean, they proved how bad a person that man is. I mean, he lived a double life, thought he was above the law, thought he could do what he wanted to do. And he deserves what he's got.

OSIAS: A gag order remains in effect for all the key players, attorneys for both sides as well as the 12 jurors. Jurors that had changed in makeup several times over, 2 ousted from the panel in 2 days. Former juror No. 7 Fran Gorman spoke to Bay Area affiliate KTVU Friday.

FRAN GORMAN, FRM. PETERSON JUROR: This is the verdict I would have wanted. This is where I was headed. So I'm glad it came to that.

OSIAS: Gorman says she was excused for doing independent research, a direct violation of Judge Alfred Delucchi's instructions, both at the trial's onset and after closing arguments as well.

JUDGE ALFRED DELUCCHI, SAN MATEO COUNTY: You must determine what facts have been proved from the evidence received in the trial and not from any other source.

OSIAS: Overriding the objection of defense attorney Mark Geragos, the former foreperson, a doctor and lawyer who took extensive notes, 19 pads in all, was excused as well. He was replaced as foreperson. And then after seven hours of deliberation later, unanimity.

Legal experts credit passionate closing arguments for the prosecution success.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I have to give extraordinarily high marks to Rick Distaso.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

OSIAS (on camera): Scott Peterson was found guilty of both first and second degree murder as well. Now jurors will be going home enjoying a week off before returning here November 22 when the penalty phase begins -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Kimberley, has there been any expressed concern that, perhaps, the jurors were not sequestered an additional week in between that sentencing phase?

OSIAS: Well, of course, obviously the judge is trying to do everything possible to ensure purity, of course, before and now as well. But they can only do the best to ensure that.

WHITIFELD: Kimberly Osias in Redwood City, California, thanks so much.

And when we come back, an update on Vice President Dick Cheney's heart condition. We'll be right back.

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