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CNN Live Sunday
Israel Begins Giving Control Of West Bank To Palestinians; Senate Agrees On Terri Schiavo Legislation; Profile Of Florida National Guardsman Dr. Lisa Dewitt
Aired March 20, 2005 - 16:00 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.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead this hour, the emotional tug of war surrounding Terri Schiavo. Tonight, word of an agreement on Capital Hill.
Also...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK LUNSFORD, JESSICA LUNSFORD'S FATHER: We have to make some changes. This is too close to home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: A father who must now plan his 9-year-old daughter's funeral, urges parents and lawmakers to help keep children safe.
And then, on the front lines with Dr. Lisa, her memories of the men and women she saved. And those she could not.
It is March 20, and you're watching CNN LIVE SUNDAY.
Good evening from CNN's global headquarters in Atlanta. I'm Carol Lin. And here's what's happening right now in the news.
The nation's lawmakers are in a political battle in the Terri Schiavo case, and we have lots of developments in the last hour. The House will reconvene 3 hours from now to debate a bill that could save Schiavo's life. The Senate already approved legislation earlier that would take the case out of the Florida state courts and send it to a federal judge. We are going to have extensive live coverage of the case in just one minute.
In the meantime, the family of Jessica Lunsford has been told details of her death. Sources tell CNN the family was told the suspect did not kill the 9-year-old girl until a day or two after kidnapping her. The suspect in the kidnapping and killing made his first court appearance today. John Couey is being held without bail. We've got a live report coming up.
Gas prices are at a record high. A national survey says it will cost you an average of $2.10 for a gallon of regular gas. The Lundberg Survey says that is up nearly 13 cents over the past two weeks.
But right now, I'm going to begin with the latest hour's developments in what has been a frenzied day of activity to keep Terri Schiavo alive. The Senate passed an emergency bill today that would allow federal courts to decide the brain damaged woman's fate. The House is expected to take up the debate tonight, which could result in Schiavo's feeding tube being reinserted.
Our correspondents are monitoring the story on two fronts. Bob Franken is in Pinellas Park, Florida.
But first, let's go to Capital Hill and Joe Johns with more on today's rare legislative session. Joe, what have you heard just in the last hour?
JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Carol, as said, the Senate has now passed that legislation that would allow the feeding tube of Terri Schiavo to be put back into place. It would also give her parents the right to sue in federal court.
Now, the legislation, of course, is in the court of the House of Representatives. House majority leader Tom DeLay saying just a little while ago in a news conference carried on CNN that he does intend to see this legislation passed tonight, early this morning. It is expected to hit the floor around 9:00 p.m. Eastern time. We expect three hours of debate, and a vote on the legislation sometime after midnight.
DeLay was also continuing to put pressure on a handful of Democrats, who are, so far, objecting to what is called unanimous consent, which would effectively allow this legislation to be passed much quicker.
Let's hear what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. TOM DELAY, (R) TEXAS: The few remaining objecting House Democrats have so far, cost Mrs. Schiavo two meals already today, and now we hope to -- and no fluids, and now we hope to resolve this in time for her to get some food and water tonight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: Earlier today, those few Democrats he was speaking of apparently had very strong feelings on this case, suggesting that in their view, the Congress should not get involved in the Schiavo case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN-SHULTZ, (D) FLORIDA: We are members of Congress. We're not doctors. We're not medical experts. We're not bioethicists. We're members of Congress. When I ran for Congress, I didn't ask my constituents for the right to make life or death decisions and they don't want me to make them. That's the bottom line.
I can't get into those kinds of questions. We don't know. We're not God and we're not Terri Schiavo's husband, sister, brother, uncle or cousin. We're members of Congress. We make laws and we uphold the law, and we swore to protect the constitution. And we are thumbing our nose at the constitution if this goes forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: It's just not clear how many Democrats hold that position. It has been suggested that only a few, in fact, do.
Still, there are some political considerations here. Among them, the fact that a political memo has been circulated around Capitol Hill, apparently written by a Republican but unsigned, indicating that some Republicans may see a benefit by exciting their political base and pushing this issue.
Today, Senate majority leader Bill Frist distanced himself from that memo. A number of other Republicans also doing the same thing. In fact, Tom DeLay saying if anyone on his staff had written such a memo, they'd be fired.
Carol, back to you.
LIN: Joe, I know you don't have an exact head count, but what is your sense about this? Do you think this is going to be a done deal tonight?
JOHNS: Well, it's very hard to say, but a lot of people on the Republican side are predicting that it will, in fact, be a done deal.
The thing you have to realize, is that they need 217 people in the chamber, or at the Capitol, in order to go forward with a vote. Two-thirds of those, according to the rules, would have to vote in favor of this, in order to pass it.
So with members of Congress spread out all over the country, all over the world, the word went out, something like 12, 14 hours ago that they might be expected back here for a midnight vote. The question is, how many people they can get here, and whether they can get the numbers they need to pass the bill and send it to the president's desk.
LIN: All right, Joe Johns, thanks very much, live on Capitol Hill with less than six hours to go before that vote.
No less than the Senate majority leader says Terri Schiavo's husband is barring her parents from seeing their daughter now. Several of Schiavo's family members were turned away at the hospice in Pinellas Park, Florida. Our Bob Franken is there.
Bob, is that true? Is Michael Schiavo at his wife's bedside? Or what's the reasoning behind this?
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well first of all, he was for quite awhile this afternoon inside the hospice room. And during that period, according to Michael Schiavo, to avoid any awkward moments, he asked that the blood relatives the family that is fighting him so hard about connecting or disconnecting the nutrition tube to Terri Schiavo that they not be allowed inside to visit her. He is the guardian and was able to enforce that later in the day. However, that changed.
As I said this is a family battle that has become a national political battle, a battle with life and death as the stakes here. And it looks like now that the Congress, according to what we just heard from Joe Johns, is on its way to possibly passing this legislation. The family, the blood family is now optimistic this could happen tonight.
And as we heard that the feeding and the hydration, that is to say the liquids that she's given, could be resumed sometime overnight. And that, of course, was the scenario that is very optimistic and the one that was laid out by the Schindler family, that is the parents -- of the family lawyer for them, laid out a very rosy scenario.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID GIBBS, SCHINDLER FAMILY ATTORNEY: We are anticipating that if everything proceeds forward as is currently planned, that she will start being hydrated and receiving food later tonight.
Lots of things continue to move. We received a phone call, and we haven't yet been able to confirm it, but it appears that the Senate has just passed the bill, and you may have the word on that, and so we are very pleased about that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRANKEN: What they would envision would be that if this was passed overnight and President Bush signed it into law, that that lawyer would then go to the federal court, where clerks would be ready to take the petition. Then it would be a matter of when a federal judge would decide to take action, and what action that would be.
But the scenario that everybody has operated on is that sometime overnight or whenever this legislation is passed, the initial legal steps would have it that the nutrition tube would be reconnected.
But this is a story that has many, many obstacles ahead of it yet. And we'll have to see how it plays out. At the moment, Terri Schiavo has now been going without any nutrition since Friday -- Carol.
LIN: All right. Thanks very much, Bob Franken.
Still a question if a federal judge would even accept this. We'll see what happens. Lots of constitutional tests ahead.
In the meantime, President Bush jumped on Air Force One today, returning from his vacation early so that he can in Washington to sign the bill when or even if it passes the House. And I'll go live to the White House in 20 minutes.
And also, remember you can log onto CNN.com to view a timeline of the Terri Schiavo case, and read the Florida Supreme Court opinion. Just go to CNN.com/law. In the meantime, the story of what happened to Jessica Lunsford, after she was taken from her home, is just beginning to unfold. CNN national correspondent Susan Candiotti joins me live by telephone from Florida.
Susan, you're learning much more about that fateful night of February 23.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Yes, Carol. The difficult new details to pass on to you. Law enforcement sources tell CNN the youngster, 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford, was not killed immediately. Convicted sex offender John Couey, who allegedly confessed to murder, might have held her hostage more than a day, possibly two. However, according to investigative sources, because of Couey's drug haze during that period, quote "his timelines were all over the place."
Law enforcement sources tell CNN there are indications Jessica was sexually assaulted. It's not yet clear whether the little girl was held the entire time at the house where Couey was staying. From that house, you can see Jessica Lunsford's home, where soon after she was reported missing, the sheriff set up a mobile command center.
Sources tell CNN, after Couey got into the Lunsford house the night of February 23, he made his way to her bedroom, put his hand over Jessica's mouth, and told her to be quiet, and forced her out of the house.
Sources say Couey told investigators he buried the little girl behind his sister's home. Her remains were recovered overnight Friday, following his alleged confession at a jail in Augusta, Georgia. But was anyone else home with Couey at the time Jessica was there? That remains unclear.
If you recall three people, including Couey's half sister, were arrested and charged Saturday with obstructing police which beholding information that Couey knew he was wanted. The sheriff said he doesn't know whether these three people knew the little girl was murdered. Investigators are awaiting test results from evidence collected in that home.
The family has been made aware, Jessica Lunsford's family, aware of additional details of her death. The sheriff told them this afternoon.
Remember Couey is being called a suspect, who is not yet charged in this case.
LIN: Susan, this is a no-brainer. I mean he's allegedly confessed to it and now you know more details of the crime. So, why haven't they gone ahead and charged him?
CANDIOTTI: Investigators and the sheriff themselves have said they're taking their time in putting this case together. They said they want to make sure that they have all of their Ts crossed, their Is dotted before they file charges. And they don't have to rush it, they have at least a few weeks to do so.
LIN: All right, thank you very much. Susan Candiotti, joining us by telephone on this breaking case.
In the meantime, we go to Homosassa Springs, Florida. Sarah Dorsey is standing by there.
Sara, you have got a special guest with some reaction to these latest and gruesome details.
SARA DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I do, Carol. It's been a terrible week for the Lunsford family. And through it all Mark Lunsford, Jessica's father, has been gracious to us.
And just a short time ago, Mark, you heard from the sheriff with some not so good news about your daughter and the details. What's your reaction to what the sheriff had to tell you?
MARK LUNSFORD, JESSICA LUNSFORD'S FATHER: It's actually it was relieving, because I don't have to wonder. And I mean -- and I can just go on with my efforts to, you know, change the law -- try to change the laws about things down here.
DORSEY: Well, let's talk about that. What do you want to see done? This was a convicted sex offender living in your neighborhood, not registered. You couldn't have looked him up to see if he was here. What do you want changed? What would you like to see happen?
LUNSFORD: I want to see everything changed. I mean, this shouldn't have happened. It shouldn't have happened this way. I mean, he lived across the street from me. And to know that my daughter was over there, and he took her life in front of my face, and there was nothing I could do about it. And I hope that -- I've got some attorneys working on some papers to get people to sign, and as soon as I get that together, that's what we'll do.
There's a man from here in Homosassa, he's already started a petition and he needs your support. This is his effort to help me, and I just want everybody to help him out as much as they can.
DORSEY: Well, hopefully you can get that started. You know, it has to be unbelievable to you as a parent to know that some man just walked in your house and took your child. What do you have to say to this man who is now sitting in jail only one town over?
LUNSFORD: I can only hope that Couey's watching. And all my life, I've done nothing but raised kids, and work. And this was my last job with Jessie, to raise her, and you took that away from me, Couey. And my father was lenient when he has hope that God has mercy on your soul. I don't feel that way. I hope you rot in hell. And I hope you get the death penalty. And I hope you can find it somewhere in you to be a man and stand up and take your punishment.
DORSEY: Wow, Mark. You know, just coming to your house today to talk to you all, to talk to your family, to give you our sympathy and our best regards, you can still see the crime tape up. Is that hard for you to have to look out your door and still see that?
LUNSFORD: No, it just reminds me that I got to keep going. That I got to keep trying. We got to go to Tallahassee. We got to take as many signatures as we can. I mean, everybody's signature.
And I can't do it without the people's support. I wouldn't have been able to get as far as I've gotten without people's support. And this is what I'm doing for Jessie, and there should be a law for Jessie.
DORSEY: Well, we'll do our best to get your message out. Thank you so much for joining us. And our deepest sympathies go out to you and your family.
LUNSFORD: Well, and I appreciate you guys. You guys have been real lenient and easy with us and sympathetic with what's going on with us. And I can't tell you how much I appreciate you.
DORSEY: Well thank you and good luck to you.
LUNSFORD: Thank you.
DORSEY: Carol, we'll send it in back to you.
LIN: All right. Thanks very much, Sarah, for that. And we wish that family all the best.
In the meantime, we are covering some historic changes overseas. On the heels of an historic handover of the West Bank, much of the credit is being given to new Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas. So, straight ahead tonight a look at his first two months in office.
And also...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. LISA: September 11 definitely pushed it to the forefront of my mind that I'm an emergency physician. I have a skill that I can give back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Caring for the sick in combat. She's known as Dr. Lisa. Later, why she left civilian life for the front lines in Iraq.
And we'll return to our top story, such renewed focus by Congress for Terri Schiavo. And is the proposed House bill even constitutional? I'll be back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: International news right now. Israel's handover of a West Bank town to the Palestinians may not happen tomorrow as originally planned. Palestinian security officials say there's a disagreement over the issue of control of the city of Tulkarem prompting a delay. Israel's military will only say the two sides will talk about it possibly tomorrow. The handover is the latest step in a series of goodwill gestures between the two sides.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is getting a lot of credit. CNN's Guy Raz reports from Jerusalem.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUY RAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The rhetoric of revolution was never Mahmoud Abbas's strong suit, but the quiet achievements he's made in just two months could be called revolutionary. His latest success, persuading militant groups to halt attacks against Israel.
MAHMOUD ABBAS, PRES. PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY (through translator): This is an important Palestinian success. All the factions agreed to an unlimited period of calm.
RAZ: The city of Jericho, under Israeli military control for the past four years, is now back in the hands of Palestinian police. Palestinian soldiers, under Abbas' command, are now deployed in Gaza and parts of the West Bank.
And Israel has started to release some Palestinian prisoners from jail. Small steps perhaps, but a strategic method that is so far working.
ABBAS (through translator): What concerns us at the moment are the achievements on the ground: the Israelis have withdrawn from Jericho, hopefully Kalkilia and other cities will follow. Then we'll focus our energy on resolving the problem of recently expelled and wanted Palestinians.
RAZ: Abbas shuns the revolutionary talk of his predecessor Yasser Arafat. Nation building, even for a nation still without a state, is top priority.
HANAN ASHRAWI, PALESTINIAN LEGISLATOR: The whole interest now, the whole momentum is for change, for reform, for efficiency, and of course, for negotiated peace and a just peace.
RIAD MALKI, POLITICAL ANALYST: When you look at this, you see that we are setting the pace for something so serious, so important, the transformation has started already.
RAZ: It explains, perhaps, why world leaders are lining up to meet Abbas and help him.
(on camera): Mahmoud Abbas is proof that a lot can be achieved in two months. After his election in January, Israeli military officials released a pessimistic outlook for 2005. But in the past few days, that report had to be revised. Military officials are now calling 2005 the year of profound optimism.
Guy Raz, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE) LIN: And right here in the United States, first there were the steroid hearings on Major League Baseball, and now Congress is convening on Terri Schiavo. So which came first, congressional concern or the newspaper headlines? CNN's political analyst Carlos Watson has a theory. He's going to join me, next.
Also, checking in now on the most popular story this hour on CNN.com. Shark tears man in half. Authorities are hunting Sunday for a 20-foot shark that tore a man in half, as he snorkeled off Australia's West Coast. Click on to CNN.com for more details.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: On one side, a passionate plea for life. On the other, a passionate plea for death. And now both houses of Congress are involved in the life of Terri Schiavo.
Are lawmakers setting a dangerous precedent? Here to talk about the Schiavo legislation and a lot more, CNN political analyst Carlos Watson, joining me live from Mountain View, California.
Carlos, it's been such an exciting day watching all of this congressional action back and forth. I'm just wondering, are you even surprised that it got to a compromise bill in the Schiavo case?
CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: There's still a little bit more to go. But I'm surprised, like a lot of people. Maybe the thing that stands out the most is not that an issue of life would come before Congress, or not that the state of Florida would once again play a prominent role in a national political story, but really the amount of bipartisan cooperation here.
You've got Senate Harry Reid, leader of the Democrats, working very closely with the Senate and the House Republicans. You've got people like Steny Hoyer, a House Democrat also working closely.
And I think the big question to watch for, Carol, is whether or not some of the cooperation that you're seeing, maybe unexpectedly in the Schiavo case, will spill over to issues like the budget and even the big debates over judges. You know, some in the Senate want to employ what some Democrats call the nuclear option which would say get rid of the filibuster and not allow 41 or more senators to block legislation.
LIN: But what's the incentive for the Democrats here? I mean, when you hear the Republicans banding about phrases like the culture of life, I mean that is a buzz word for the right to life movement and attacks on Roe V. Wade. It seems like the Democrats are now piling on in the Schiavo case.
I think there are a number of interesting cross-cutting issues here. I mean, certainly, over the last several years the president's election, the election of a number of members of Congress has probably moved the needle at least a little bit on the question of so-called life issues and raised their prominence. I think that's one thing going on. But another thing that's going on here is that you've got...
LIN: But you're saying that they're caving in? I mean, they're caving in.
WATSON: I don't know if they'd say it as caving in. Again, someone like Harry Reid has been pro-life and pro-life for a long time. So, this is probably keeping him where he is. I the thing, Carol, I think that stand out here is that you've got family dynamics involved. And I think some people not only see it as a question of the culture of life, but I think people also see questions here of parental involvement, the husband's role, the husband's new family. And I think and all of those have become part of the conversation as well.
LIN: All right. Well, you know, you think about Schiavo. We saw a professional baseball players testifying on Capitol Hill. Next I wouldn't be surprised to see Amber Frey. I mean, I'm not sure if I'm reading the latest newspaper headlines or watching C-SPAN.
WATSON: Clearly Congress is dipping into the headlines. I mean, this is a year a lot of big, not necessarily sexy items like bankruptcy and class action and energy changes, environmental and even Social Security was supposed to take up the ledger, but now we obviously have seen the baseball steroids hearing, among others.
I think it's an interesting place for Congress to go. You've got ESPN, in addition to CNN and others running the hearings for some 11 hours on and off. And I think one of the interesting things is, while no legislation is likely to come out of this, and while, frankly, baseball, may not, despite the hope of some, ultimately really change their policy in the near term on steroids, this was probably a pretty significant teaching moment. Meaning that there are probably tens of millions of parents around the country who now know more about steroids, know more of the warning signs than they otherwise would have.
And certainly if you hadn't had six big leaders like Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire up there and had the coverage, it wouldn't have happened.
And what do I think this means long term, Carol? I wouldn't be surprised to see another one, two or three major hearings planned over the next year, whether that's on video games or other so-called headline issues.
LIN: Wow. Well, you know what, it's gotten record number of people talking about living wills and making sure that your wishes are known in terms of the Schiavo case.
WATSON: Big teaching moment.
LIN: You bet, big teaching moment and a moment with you. Thanks very much, Carlos.
WATSON: Good to see you. LIN: All right. In the meantime, President Bush back in Washington, cutting a trip to his Crawford ranch short, eager, eager to sign emergency legislation for Terri Schiavo. A live report from the White House up next.
Plus, is the proposed congressional bill constitutional? And what precedence could it be setting for the future? I'm going to put those questions to a constitutional law professor.
And later tonight, from Terri Schiavo to gay marriage, a closer look at the growing influence of faith in public life.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: We're at the half hour. So, let's get back to our top story, the battle over Terri Schiavo. Her mother pleaded before reporters today for the public to back congressional intervention in her daughter's case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARY SCHINDLER, TERRI SCHIAVO'S MOTHER: I'm pleading with the moms and the dads to call their Congressmen and help them pass this bill for Terri. It's very, very important. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: President Bush cuts short his stay at his Texas ranch and came back to Washington early to stand by in case he's needed to sign the Schiavo bill.
Our Dana Bash has more on that part of the story, live from the White House, just returning from Crawford, Texas -- Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. Well, the president arrived here about two hours ago, after deciding last night in Texas that he believes in this case, even hours matter, and he wanted to be here at the White House, ready to sign this legislation as soon as it gets to his desk.
We don't think at that this point that's going to happen until late tonight, probably after midnight. But the question is, why is he so eager? He says, because when there is doubt, you should err on the side of life.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BASH (voice-over): Listen to how on conservative politicians are describing their quest to keep Terri Schiavo alive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It has to do with the culture of life.
SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: The society that is built on a culture of life.
BASH: Culture of life is a catch phrase for abortion opponent. Now Terri Schiavo is exhibit A of an evolving movement and a broadening debate over how to define right to life.
WENDY WRIGHT, CONCERNED WOMEN FOR AMERICA: This case is really mobilizing people and helping them to understand that the attack on the culture of life extends beyond abortion.
BASH: From researching stem cells to cloning to ventilators and feeding tubes, with each scientific development new questions about when life starts, when it ends and who decides.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We must strive to build a culture of life. Medical research can help us reach that goal by developing treatments and cures that save lives and help people overcome disabilities.
BASH: Some religious conservatives want the definition of life as broad as possible. For them, Schiavo is a rallying cry.
In phone calls and on Web sites, groups urge activists to call lawmakers. G.O.P. leaders, wading in unchartered waters to change Schiavo's fate, insist they're following the spirit of the constitution not politics.
REP. TOM DELAY, (R) TEXAS: This is about Terri and her life and her family that wants to take care of her. It has nothing to do with politics. And it's disgusting to even suggest it.
BASH: But Republican talking points circulating in the Senate suggest some do see a potential upside against Democrats on the ballot next year. "This is a great political issue because Senator Nelson of Florida has already refused to become a co-sponsor and this is a tough issue for Democrats," a G.O.P. memo says.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. How are you you? You look so pretty.
MARTHA BURK, NATL. COUNCIL OF WOMEN'S ORGS: I think the Democrats are moving toward the right culturally. I think they are trying to look like junior Republicans. And in some cases, like this one, we see it most starkly.
BASH: Democrats stung from a series of electoral losses among social conservatives are by in large biting their tongues on the Schiavo matter.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: But some Democrats are criticizing Congress and the president for what they say is overreaching, even abusing their power. The White House response to that by saying that this is a complex, even extraordinary case. And again, that the president believes that all life should be kept up, should be sustained, even in the case of people with disabilities -- Carol.
LIN: So Dana, if -- if the bill passes the House tonight, what are the plans that the president has for signing it?
BASH: Well, what we're saying the the White House at this point is because they expect it to be so late that the president is going to sign it here at the White House, perhaps even in the residence. Perhaps he won't come back to the oval office to do so. And that they'll simply call reporters, tell them that he's done it and put out a statement.
We asked whether or not we'd be able to get in TV cameras. And of course, the president certainly created a little bit of a spectacle by coming back, cutting his trip short to Texas, but the White House says tonight is that they won't do that because they don't want him to be in the spotlight on this.
LIN: All right, Dana Bash live at the White House, thank you.
BASH: Thank you.
LIN: Well, the Schiavo case has mobilized people on both sides of the often volatile right to die debate. And many questioned whether lawmakers are overstepping their bounds with emergency legislation in this case. And some wonder if such action is even unconstitutional.
Mary Cheh is a constitutional law professor at George Washington University. She's with me tonight.
Professor Cheh, I mean, you would presume that members of Congress understand what the constitution is about and what it says about the separation of powers. So is it legal for Congress to pass a law that is specific to one case?
MARY CHEH, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: Yes, and they've done it in the past, with respect to certain issues, for example, immigration issues, separate bills for separate people. The law that they're about to pass is, on its face, technically constitutional, because what it does is uses Congress's power to set the jurisdiction of the federal courts.
Congress is allowed to say what kind of cases federal courts can hear. They can hear cases involving federal law, and they've said that they're opening the courts to hear a case involving a constitutional issue, a federal matter, about whether Terri Schiavo's constitutional rights have been violated.
LIN: Wait a second, Professor Cheh let me interrupt you here. Because it appears on the face of it to me that the bill specifically reads for the relief of the parents of Teresa Marie Schiavo.
If this bill passes isn't it essentially -- it's tantamount to Congress telling a federal judge, you can take this case, you will take this case and you already know how we, the Congress, stand on this case. I mean, isn't that where the separation of powers is interfered with?
CHEH: Well, let me tell you what I think their primary problems are. After there's jurisdiction for a judge to accept the petition by the parents, the biggest question, the biggest next question is whether this bill, which it purports to do, can give the parents standing to raise the constitutional rights of Terri Schiavo. Under the law...
LIN: But she's never had an attorney representing her. She's only been represented by her husband, actually.
CHEH: That's right. But under the law of Florida, and under the law of all states, there are rules about who represents the interest of a person who can't represent his or her own interest. And there's an elaborate procedure, and they make sure that the person is someone who in law can represent those interests and who doesn't have a conflict. And the Florida laws have said that, in this case, is her husband.
If Congress can give the parents the right to raise her rights now, there's no reason why Congress couldn't give it next time to an uncle or to a cousin or maybe to somebody else, maybe to a next friend, that kind of thing. So the first question is, whether they can even give these rights to the parents to go into court if there is jurisdiction for a federal court to hear it.
LIN: Well, can a federal judge refuse to hear the case?
CHEH: Well see, here's the problem and here is the cynicism of this particular piece of legislation. What they've done is they've created jurisdiction for the court to accept a petition. Even if the judge ultimately throws it out, and probably will -- even if a judge ultimately throws it out, at least temporarily, the judge has to consider whether, and on what grounds to throw it out. And because it involves a matter of life and death, naturally, the parents will ask, when they file their petition for there to be an order having the tube reinserted to preserve the status quo, until we see what the judge is going to do.
LIN: But once again, a temporary solution. So Congress potentially has created a dynamic where they're leading these parents down the garden path.
CHEH: Well, it would seem so. And that's why it's very cynical, it's a dangerous precedent. And at the end of the day, they're just using, I think, this woman as an instrument for their own political ends. I mean, that's the only way I think it can be fairly read.
LIN: Because at this point, to what end would this bring this family I mean, really? And we've got to leave it there, unfortunately, Professor Cheh.
CHEH: Sure.
LIN: We'll see what happens. The House debate begins at 9:00, with a vote at 12:01.
CHEH: OK.
LIN: Thank you.
CNN is, of course, going to bring you complete coverage as the House lawmakers debate the bill to keep Terri Schiavo alive. The debate, once again, 9:00 p.m. Eastern. So please, make sure to tune in and join us then.
In the meantime, spring is finally here but it may usher in strong storms for the week ahead. So CNN meteorologist Orelon Sidney joins me live from the weather center with that forecast -- Orelon.
(WEATHER REPORT)
LIN: And what a relief to be talking about stormy weather rather than stormy relations tonight, Orelon.
ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's so true.
LIN: All right. Thank so much for the preview.
SIDNEY: You're welcome.
LIN: Well, in the meantime, we've got a heartwarming story coming up. She has seen the very worst of war: the wounded and the gravely ill, victims of battle on the front lines. So why would this former civilian decide to become a combat surgeon, putting herself on the front lines? Her amazing story is straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Well the U.S. military campaign in Iraq has just entered its third year. And the first American fatality of that new year came today, when a U.S. soldier died in a roadside bombing near Kirkuk.
Caring for NEVILLE: e dying and wounded in Iraq is a grueling and emotionally taxing job. So, in our continuing series of personal stories from the front lines, we're going to introduce to you a military doctor who is getting ready to come home after a life altering experience in Iraq. Here's CNN's Jane Arraf.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After 16 months here, Major Lisa Dewitt lowers one last American flag. The soldiers treated with the same care she treats her patients at this forward operating base that's been her home for most of the past year and a half.
Lisa is from the Florida Army National Guard. New to the Army and new to these ceremonies. Two years ago she was heading the residency program at Mt. Sinai in Miami Beach.
MAJ. LISA DEWITT, U.S. ARMY: I can't say it's all because of September 11, but September 11 definitely pushed it to the forefront of my mind that I'm an emergency physician, I have a skill that I can give back.
ARRAF: She's been at this remote outpost in central Iraq since.
DEWITT: OK. Sounds good. I'm just going to listen to your heart.
ARRAF: Lisa is one of fewer than 10 women on this base of 850 infantrymen. She gets to do things that few women do.
DEWITT: It's fun. I love shooting weapons.
ARRAF: She says she's been fortunate, she's never had to shoot at anyone. But she's come under attack a dozen times.
DEWITT: I mean, it certainly is not every mission that we go on. I'm pretty lucky. The last mission I was with them this vehicle, not this vehicle but side of it (ph) got hit.
ARRAF: At this Iraqi clinic where she's dropped in to say good- bye, she's known as Doctor Lisa. The father of an Iraqi girl she's treated comes by.
DEWITT: This young lady, 17 years old. She was struck by a stray bullet. Insurgents were shooting at the polling site, and a stray bullet came into her back yard, and it hit her in her eye and it landed on her neck.
ARRAF: Lisa said she hadn't thought Tasan Abdullah (ph) would live.
DEWITT: Can you close your eyes? Close?
ARRAF: She lost her eye, but she's doing well.
DEWITT: It looks great. When she gets the fake eye, the prosthetic eye, tell the family that she will be beautiful again.
ARRAF: Back at the base, Lisa packs up her life in cardboard boxes.
DEWITT: I'm at a loss. I don't know what to take.
ARRAF: In one of the boxes there's a dove, recovering from a broken wing. She's named him Mel, after one of her favorite movie stars.
DEWITT: Let's see if Mel can fly. Let's do a test run here.
Go ahead.
He's going to go for the window. Watch this. I hope he doesn't crash. There. Kind of. That was kind of a flutter.
ARRAF: He's not quite ready yet.
Much of the past year and a half is too raw and real to be packed away.
DEWITT: Soldier's blood, it's still on there. You know what's sad? Is like when I look at spots like that spot, and some of these other little spots, it's like I know which soldier it was.
ARRAF: It's impossible to go through this and not have changed. DEWITT: I think that I'm going to be in traffic one day, and someone next to me is going to be saying how terrible it is to be in traffic. And I'm like man, it's like nobody's shooting at you. This is a pretty good thing. So I may have a different perspective.
ARRAF: Lisa and the soldiers live in an abandoned Iraqi army barracks that they've tried to fix up.
In this world, small lings like this makeshift bed, are a big deal.
DEWITT: This is plywood. I got this from the previous person who was in this room or in that room. And then I had this fine one inch or half an inch of styrofoam, duct taped down.
ARRAF: On her window is a fragile link to home.
DEWITT: My mom sent me these. This is dried flowers that she ironed in wax paper for me from Georgia.
ARRAF: From the stained wall, she takes down the map where she traced her route from Kuwait.
Dewitt, 42, and separated from her husband, was to have gone home last year but was persuaded by the battalion commander to stay. She says she's a firm believer that God puts you where you're need.
DEWITT: It smells just like every other soldier in this battalion. I want to go home. I can see it. It's just right there. I'm almost there.
ARRAF: In Iraq, there are memories that will follow her home: lives saved, lives lost.
DEWITT: In Fallujah, the alpha company XO, he was alive. We resuscitated. You know, we kept him alive. It was so hard to turn him over to Bravo surgical and to have the surgeon and the emergency physician there, look at his abdominal wound and look at me and just tell me that he's not going to survive this. This is not a survivable injury. You know, and I knew that, but you pour out your blood, heart, sweat and tears on this individual, and -- those are hard.
ARRAF: In Fallujah, they were treating soldiers as the aid station was attacked. Protecting their patients with their bodies as rockets fell around them.
DEWITT: These are young people who raise their right hand, put on the uniform, know the risk, and come to serve their country. And it's such an honor to be able to treat them. These are heroes, every one of them.
ARRAF: Lisa says her grandmother, who died at the age of 100, gave her some advice just before she passed away.
DEWITT: She said, Lisa, live in the now. Don't think about the future too much. Don't dwell on the past. You can't change it if you want to. You can't relive it. Just live in the now and that's what I'm trying to do.
ARRAF: She says she'll go home for about six months and then hopes to be redeployed to Afghanistan.
When she leaves she has to let the bird go when she leaves.
DEWITT: All right. Here he goes. God, I hope he flies.
ARRAF: She doesn't know whether he'll be safe. But like her, he's going home. Jane Arraf, CNN, near Maqtudia (ph), Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ASHLEY SMITH, HELD HOSTAGE BY BRIAN NICHOLS: Throughout my time with Mr. Nichols, I continued to rely on my faith in God. God has helped me through tough times before, and he'll help me now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: That is former hostage Ashley Smith, describing how her Christian faith helped her survive the ordeal with Atlanta shooting spree suspect Brian Nichols.
Being vocal about your religious beliefs is more commonplace these days. But as Tom Foreman reports, some conservative Christians aren't just talking about their faith, they're taking action to turn their beliefs into law.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Another day, another time, the case of Terri Schiavo could have been one family's private struggle. Instead, faith-based political groups have elevated it to a national cause. Groups like the one Wendy Wright works for, Concerned Women for America.
WENDY WRIGHT, CONCERNED WOMEN FOR AMERICA: We need to live out our faith not just within our homes and in our churches, but we need to be impacting our culture, whether it's through the arts...
FOREMAN: Do you worry, though, this might be imposing your faith on people who don't share it?
WRIGHT: You know, people's views are constantly being imposed on the rest of us through politics.
FOREMAN: The number of active Christians in America is conservatively estimated at 163 million, or 55 percent of the population, down 6 percent from 30 years ago.
(on camera): But the political activism of Christians, and other communities of faith, by many accounts, is at unprecedented levels: lobbying Congress, pressuring the courts, leaning on the media.
(voice-over): The National Council of Churches urges its 100,000 congregations to pray for good things, but work to make them happen.
Bob Edgar is the leader and a former Congressman.
BOB EDGAR, NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CHURCHES: And I think it is important for the faith community to stand up and to speak more clearly than it has in the past.
FOREMAN: Some faith-based efforts are undeniably good. Catholic relief services alone raised almost $112 million for tsunami relief. That's not much less than the annual payroll for the Boston Red Sox.
SMITH: I continue to rely on my faith in god.
FOREMAN: Ashley Smith says she put her faith into action, convincing the armed fugitive who held her hostage to let her go.
However, when faith-based initiatives are closely tied to hot political and social debates: abortion, gay marriage, stem cell research, many moderate faith groups grow wary of hard-core conservatives.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In many cases, I think they misspeak on behalf of God's will.
FOREMAN: But this much they almost all agree on one thing, the increased faith in public life is still growing. And faith communities want to keep it that way.
Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: That's all the time we have for this hour. But coming up at 7:00 eastern on "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS," the story of Ashley Smith and how she helped to bring an alleged killer to justice.
At 8:00, "CNN PRESENTS: THE TWO MARIES."
And at 9:00 Eastern, CNN will bring you complete coverage as lawmakers debate a bill to keep Terri Schiavo alive. Please join me then.
Up next, "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS."
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired March 20, 2005 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead this hour, the emotional tug of war surrounding Terri Schiavo. Tonight, word of an agreement on Capital Hill.
Also...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK LUNSFORD, JESSICA LUNSFORD'S FATHER: We have to make some changes. This is too close to home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: A father who must now plan his 9-year-old daughter's funeral, urges parents and lawmakers to help keep children safe.
And then, on the front lines with Dr. Lisa, her memories of the men and women she saved. And those she could not.
It is March 20, and you're watching CNN LIVE SUNDAY.
Good evening from CNN's global headquarters in Atlanta. I'm Carol Lin. And here's what's happening right now in the news.
The nation's lawmakers are in a political battle in the Terri Schiavo case, and we have lots of developments in the last hour. The House will reconvene 3 hours from now to debate a bill that could save Schiavo's life. The Senate already approved legislation earlier that would take the case out of the Florida state courts and send it to a federal judge. We are going to have extensive live coverage of the case in just one minute.
In the meantime, the family of Jessica Lunsford has been told details of her death. Sources tell CNN the family was told the suspect did not kill the 9-year-old girl until a day or two after kidnapping her. The suspect in the kidnapping and killing made his first court appearance today. John Couey is being held without bail. We've got a live report coming up.
Gas prices are at a record high. A national survey says it will cost you an average of $2.10 for a gallon of regular gas. The Lundberg Survey says that is up nearly 13 cents over the past two weeks.
But right now, I'm going to begin with the latest hour's developments in what has been a frenzied day of activity to keep Terri Schiavo alive. The Senate passed an emergency bill today that would allow federal courts to decide the brain damaged woman's fate. The House is expected to take up the debate tonight, which could result in Schiavo's feeding tube being reinserted.
Our correspondents are monitoring the story on two fronts. Bob Franken is in Pinellas Park, Florida.
But first, let's go to Capital Hill and Joe Johns with more on today's rare legislative session. Joe, what have you heard just in the last hour?
JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Carol, as said, the Senate has now passed that legislation that would allow the feeding tube of Terri Schiavo to be put back into place. It would also give her parents the right to sue in federal court.
Now, the legislation, of course, is in the court of the House of Representatives. House majority leader Tom DeLay saying just a little while ago in a news conference carried on CNN that he does intend to see this legislation passed tonight, early this morning. It is expected to hit the floor around 9:00 p.m. Eastern time. We expect three hours of debate, and a vote on the legislation sometime after midnight.
DeLay was also continuing to put pressure on a handful of Democrats, who are, so far, objecting to what is called unanimous consent, which would effectively allow this legislation to be passed much quicker.
Let's hear what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. TOM DELAY, (R) TEXAS: The few remaining objecting House Democrats have so far, cost Mrs. Schiavo two meals already today, and now we hope to -- and no fluids, and now we hope to resolve this in time for her to get some food and water tonight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: Earlier today, those few Democrats he was speaking of apparently had very strong feelings on this case, suggesting that in their view, the Congress should not get involved in the Schiavo case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN-SHULTZ, (D) FLORIDA: We are members of Congress. We're not doctors. We're not medical experts. We're not bioethicists. We're members of Congress. When I ran for Congress, I didn't ask my constituents for the right to make life or death decisions and they don't want me to make them. That's the bottom line.
I can't get into those kinds of questions. We don't know. We're not God and we're not Terri Schiavo's husband, sister, brother, uncle or cousin. We're members of Congress. We make laws and we uphold the law, and we swore to protect the constitution. And we are thumbing our nose at the constitution if this goes forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: It's just not clear how many Democrats hold that position. It has been suggested that only a few, in fact, do.
Still, there are some political considerations here. Among them, the fact that a political memo has been circulated around Capitol Hill, apparently written by a Republican but unsigned, indicating that some Republicans may see a benefit by exciting their political base and pushing this issue.
Today, Senate majority leader Bill Frist distanced himself from that memo. A number of other Republicans also doing the same thing. In fact, Tom DeLay saying if anyone on his staff had written such a memo, they'd be fired.
Carol, back to you.
LIN: Joe, I know you don't have an exact head count, but what is your sense about this? Do you think this is going to be a done deal tonight?
JOHNS: Well, it's very hard to say, but a lot of people on the Republican side are predicting that it will, in fact, be a done deal.
The thing you have to realize, is that they need 217 people in the chamber, or at the Capitol, in order to go forward with a vote. Two-thirds of those, according to the rules, would have to vote in favor of this, in order to pass it.
So with members of Congress spread out all over the country, all over the world, the word went out, something like 12, 14 hours ago that they might be expected back here for a midnight vote. The question is, how many people they can get here, and whether they can get the numbers they need to pass the bill and send it to the president's desk.
LIN: All right, Joe Johns, thanks very much, live on Capitol Hill with less than six hours to go before that vote.
No less than the Senate majority leader says Terri Schiavo's husband is barring her parents from seeing their daughter now. Several of Schiavo's family members were turned away at the hospice in Pinellas Park, Florida. Our Bob Franken is there.
Bob, is that true? Is Michael Schiavo at his wife's bedside? Or what's the reasoning behind this?
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well first of all, he was for quite awhile this afternoon inside the hospice room. And during that period, according to Michael Schiavo, to avoid any awkward moments, he asked that the blood relatives the family that is fighting him so hard about connecting or disconnecting the nutrition tube to Terri Schiavo that they not be allowed inside to visit her. He is the guardian and was able to enforce that later in the day. However, that changed.
As I said this is a family battle that has become a national political battle, a battle with life and death as the stakes here. And it looks like now that the Congress, according to what we just heard from Joe Johns, is on its way to possibly passing this legislation. The family, the blood family is now optimistic this could happen tonight.
And as we heard that the feeding and the hydration, that is to say the liquids that she's given, could be resumed sometime overnight. And that, of course, was the scenario that is very optimistic and the one that was laid out by the Schindler family, that is the parents -- of the family lawyer for them, laid out a very rosy scenario.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID GIBBS, SCHINDLER FAMILY ATTORNEY: We are anticipating that if everything proceeds forward as is currently planned, that she will start being hydrated and receiving food later tonight.
Lots of things continue to move. We received a phone call, and we haven't yet been able to confirm it, but it appears that the Senate has just passed the bill, and you may have the word on that, and so we are very pleased about that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRANKEN: What they would envision would be that if this was passed overnight and President Bush signed it into law, that that lawyer would then go to the federal court, where clerks would be ready to take the petition. Then it would be a matter of when a federal judge would decide to take action, and what action that would be.
But the scenario that everybody has operated on is that sometime overnight or whenever this legislation is passed, the initial legal steps would have it that the nutrition tube would be reconnected.
But this is a story that has many, many obstacles ahead of it yet. And we'll have to see how it plays out. At the moment, Terri Schiavo has now been going without any nutrition since Friday -- Carol.
LIN: All right. Thanks very much, Bob Franken.
Still a question if a federal judge would even accept this. We'll see what happens. Lots of constitutional tests ahead.
In the meantime, President Bush jumped on Air Force One today, returning from his vacation early so that he can in Washington to sign the bill when or even if it passes the House. And I'll go live to the White House in 20 minutes.
And also, remember you can log onto CNN.com to view a timeline of the Terri Schiavo case, and read the Florida Supreme Court opinion. Just go to CNN.com/law. In the meantime, the story of what happened to Jessica Lunsford, after she was taken from her home, is just beginning to unfold. CNN national correspondent Susan Candiotti joins me live by telephone from Florida.
Susan, you're learning much more about that fateful night of February 23.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Yes, Carol. The difficult new details to pass on to you. Law enforcement sources tell CNN the youngster, 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford, was not killed immediately. Convicted sex offender John Couey, who allegedly confessed to murder, might have held her hostage more than a day, possibly two. However, according to investigative sources, because of Couey's drug haze during that period, quote "his timelines were all over the place."
Law enforcement sources tell CNN there are indications Jessica was sexually assaulted. It's not yet clear whether the little girl was held the entire time at the house where Couey was staying. From that house, you can see Jessica Lunsford's home, where soon after she was reported missing, the sheriff set up a mobile command center.
Sources tell CNN, after Couey got into the Lunsford house the night of February 23, he made his way to her bedroom, put his hand over Jessica's mouth, and told her to be quiet, and forced her out of the house.
Sources say Couey told investigators he buried the little girl behind his sister's home. Her remains were recovered overnight Friday, following his alleged confession at a jail in Augusta, Georgia. But was anyone else home with Couey at the time Jessica was there? That remains unclear.
If you recall three people, including Couey's half sister, were arrested and charged Saturday with obstructing police which beholding information that Couey knew he was wanted. The sheriff said he doesn't know whether these three people knew the little girl was murdered. Investigators are awaiting test results from evidence collected in that home.
The family has been made aware, Jessica Lunsford's family, aware of additional details of her death. The sheriff told them this afternoon.
Remember Couey is being called a suspect, who is not yet charged in this case.
LIN: Susan, this is a no-brainer. I mean he's allegedly confessed to it and now you know more details of the crime. So, why haven't they gone ahead and charged him?
CANDIOTTI: Investigators and the sheriff themselves have said they're taking their time in putting this case together. They said they want to make sure that they have all of their Ts crossed, their Is dotted before they file charges. And they don't have to rush it, they have at least a few weeks to do so.
LIN: All right, thank you very much. Susan Candiotti, joining us by telephone on this breaking case.
In the meantime, we go to Homosassa Springs, Florida. Sarah Dorsey is standing by there.
Sara, you have got a special guest with some reaction to these latest and gruesome details.
SARA DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I do, Carol. It's been a terrible week for the Lunsford family. And through it all Mark Lunsford, Jessica's father, has been gracious to us.
And just a short time ago, Mark, you heard from the sheriff with some not so good news about your daughter and the details. What's your reaction to what the sheriff had to tell you?
MARK LUNSFORD, JESSICA LUNSFORD'S FATHER: It's actually it was relieving, because I don't have to wonder. And I mean -- and I can just go on with my efforts to, you know, change the law -- try to change the laws about things down here.
DORSEY: Well, let's talk about that. What do you want to see done? This was a convicted sex offender living in your neighborhood, not registered. You couldn't have looked him up to see if he was here. What do you want changed? What would you like to see happen?
LUNSFORD: I want to see everything changed. I mean, this shouldn't have happened. It shouldn't have happened this way. I mean, he lived across the street from me. And to know that my daughter was over there, and he took her life in front of my face, and there was nothing I could do about it. And I hope that -- I've got some attorneys working on some papers to get people to sign, and as soon as I get that together, that's what we'll do.
There's a man from here in Homosassa, he's already started a petition and he needs your support. This is his effort to help me, and I just want everybody to help him out as much as they can.
DORSEY: Well, hopefully you can get that started. You know, it has to be unbelievable to you as a parent to know that some man just walked in your house and took your child. What do you have to say to this man who is now sitting in jail only one town over?
LUNSFORD: I can only hope that Couey's watching. And all my life, I've done nothing but raised kids, and work. And this was my last job with Jessie, to raise her, and you took that away from me, Couey. And my father was lenient when he has hope that God has mercy on your soul. I don't feel that way. I hope you rot in hell. And I hope you get the death penalty. And I hope you can find it somewhere in you to be a man and stand up and take your punishment.
DORSEY: Wow, Mark. You know, just coming to your house today to talk to you all, to talk to your family, to give you our sympathy and our best regards, you can still see the crime tape up. Is that hard for you to have to look out your door and still see that?
LUNSFORD: No, it just reminds me that I got to keep going. That I got to keep trying. We got to go to Tallahassee. We got to take as many signatures as we can. I mean, everybody's signature.
And I can't do it without the people's support. I wouldn't have been able to get as far as I've gotten without people's support. And this is what I'm doing for Jessie, and there should be a law for Jessie.
DORSEY: Well, we'll do our best to get your message out. Thank you so much for joining us. And our deepest sympathies go out to you and your family.
LUNSFORD: Well, and I appreciate you guys. You guys have been real lenient and easy with us and sympathetic with what's going on with us. And I can't tell you how much I appreciate you.
DORSEY: Well thank you and good luck to you.
LUNSFORD: Thank you.
DORSEY: Carol, we'll send it in back to you.
LIN: All right. Thanks very much, Sarah, for that. And we wish that family all the best.
In the meantime, we are covering some historic changes overseas. On the heels of an historic handover of the West Bank, much of the credit is being given to new Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas. So, straight ahead tonight a look at his first two months in office.
And also...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. LISA: September 11 definitely pushed it to the forefront of my mind that I'm an emergency physician. I have a skill that I can give back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Caring for the sick in combat. She's known as Dr. Lisa. Later, why she left civilian life for the front lines in Iraq.
And we'll return to our top story, such renewed focus by Congress for Terri Schiavo. And is the proposed House bill even constitutional? I'll be back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: International news right now. Israel's handover of a West Bank town to the Palestinians may not happen tomorrow as originally planned. Palestinian security officials say there's a disagreement over the issue of control of the city of Tulkarem prompting a delay. Israel's military will only say the two sides will talk about it possibly tomorrow. The handover is the latest step in a series of goodwill gestures between the two sides.
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is getting a lot of credit. CNN's Guy Raz reports from Jerusalem.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUY RAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The rhetoric of revolution was never Mahmoud Abbas's strong suit, but the quiet achievements he's made in just two months could be called revolutionary. His latest success, persuading militant groups to halt attacks against Israel.
MAHMOUD ABBAS, PRES. PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY (through translator): This is an important Palestinian success. All the factions agreed to an unlimited period of calm.
RAZ: The city of Jericho, under Israeli military control for the past four years, is now back in the hands of Palestinian police. Palestinian soldiers, under Abbas' command, are now deployed in Gaza and parts of the West Bank.
And Israel has started to release some Palestinian prisoners from jail. Small steps perhaps, but a strategic method that is so far working.
ABBAS (through translator): What concerns us at the moment are the achievements on the ground: the Israelis have withdrawn from Jericho, hopefully Kalkilia and other cities will follow. Then we'll focus our energy on resolving the problem of recently expelled and wanted Palestinians.
RAZ: Abbas shuns the revolutionary talk of his predecessor Yasser Arafat. Nation building, even for a nation still without a state, is top priority.
HANAN ASHRAWI, PALESTINIAN LEGISLATOR: The whole interest now, the whole momentum is for change, for reform, for efficiency, and of course, for negotiated peace and a just peace.
RIAD MALKI, POLITICAL ANALYST: When you look at this, you see that we are setting the pace for something so serious, so important, the transformation has started already.
RAZ: It explains, perhaps, why world leaders are lining up to meet Abbas and help him.
(on camera): Mahmoud Abbas is proof that a lot can be achieved in two months. After his election in January, Israeli military officials released a pessimistic outlook for 2005. But in the past few days, that report had to be revised. Military officials are now calling 2005 the year of profound optimism.
Guy Raz, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE) LIN: And right here in the United States, first there were the steroid hearings on Major League Baseball, and now Congress is convening on Terri Schiavo. So which came first, congressional concern or the newspaper headlines? CNN's political analyst Carlos Watson has a theory. He's going to join me, next.
Also, checking in now on the most popular story this hour on CNN.com. Shark tears man in half. Authorities are hunting Sunday for a 20-foot shark that tore a man in half, as he snorkeled off Australia's West Coast. Click on to CNN.com for more details.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: On one side, a passionate plea for life. On the other, a passionate plea for death. And now both houses of Congress are involved in the life of Terri Schiavo.
Are lawmakers setting a dangerous precedent? Here to talk about the Schiavo legislation and a lot more, CNN political analyst Carlos Watson, joining me live from Mountain View, California.
Carlos, it's been such an exciting day watching all of this congressional action back and forth. I'm just wondering, are you even surprised that it got to a compromise bill in the Schiavo case?
CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: There's still a little bit more to go. But I'm surprised, like a lot of people. Maybe the thing that stands out the most is not that an issue of life would come before Congress, or not that the state of Florida would once again play a prominent role in a national political story, but really the amount of bipartisan cooperation here.
You've got Senate Harry Reid, leader of the Democrats, working very closely with the Senate and the House Republicans. You've got people like Steny Hoyer, a House Democrat also working closely.
And I think the big question to watch for, Carol, is whether or not some of the cooperation that you're seeing, maybe unexpectedly in the Schiavo case, will spill over to issues like the budget and even the big debates over judges. You know, some in the Senate want to employ what some Democrats call the nuclear option which would say get rid of the filibuster and not allow 41 or more senators to block legislation.
LIN: But what's the incentive for the Democrats here? I mean, when you hear the Republicans banding about phrases like the culture of life, I mean that is a buzz word for the right to life movement and attacks on Roe V. Wade. It seems like the Democrats are now piling on in the Schiavo case.
I think there are a number of interesting cross-cutting issues here. I mean, certainly, over the last several years the president's election, the election of a number of members of Congress has probably moved the needle at least a little bit on the question of so-called life issues and raised their prominence. I think that's one thing going on. But another thing that's going on here is that you've got...
LIN: But you're saying that they're caving in? I mean, they're caving in.
WATSON: I don't know if they'd say it as caving in. Again, someone like Harry Reid has been pro-life and pro-life for a long time. So, this is probably keeping him where he is. I the thing, Carol, I think that stand out here is that you've got family dynamics involved. And I think some people not only see it as a question of the culture of life, but I think people also see questions here of parental involvement, the husband's role, the husband's new family. And I think and all of those have become part of the conversation as well.
LIN: All right. Well, you know, you think about Schiavo. We saw a professional baseball players testifying on Capitol Hill. Next I wouldn't be surprised to see Amber Frey. I mean, I'm not sure if I'm reading the latest newspaper headlines or watching C-SPAN.
WATSON: Clearly Congress is dipping into the headlines. I mean, this is a year a lot of big, not necessarily sexy items like bankruptcy and class action and energy changes, environmental and even Social Security was supposed to take up the ledger, but now we obviously have seen the baseball steroids hearing, among others.
I think it's an interesting place for Congress to go. You've got ESPN, in addition to CNN and others running the hearings for some 11 hours on and off. And I think one of the interesting things is, while no legislation is likely to come out of this, and while, frankly, baseball, may not, despite the hope of some, ultimately really change their policy in the near term on steroids, this was probably a pretty significant teaching moment. Meaning that there are probably tens of millions of parents around the country who now know more about steroids, know more of the warning signs than they otherwise would have.
And certainly if you hadn't had six big leaders like Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire up there and had the coverage, it wouldn't have happened.
And what do I think this means long term, Carol? I wouldn't be surprised to see another one, two or three major hearings planned over the next year, whether that's on video games or other so-called headline issues.
LIN: Wow. Well, you know what, it's gotten record number of people talking about living wills and making sure that your wishes are known in terms of the Schiavo case.
WATSON: Big teaching moment.
LIN: You bet, big teaching moment and a moment with you. Thanks very much, Carlos.
WATSON: Good to see you. LIN: All right. In the meantime, President Bush back in Washington, cutting a trip to his Crawford ranch short, eager, eager to sign emergency legislation for Terri Schiavo. A live report from the White House up next.
Plus, is the proposed congressional bill constitutional? And what precedence could it be setting for the future? I'm going to put those questions to a constitutional law professor.
And later tonight, from Terri Schiavo to gay marriage, a closer look at the growing influence of faith in public life.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: We're at the half hour. So, let's get back to our top story, the battle over Terri Schiavo. Her mother pleaded before reporters today for the public to back congressional intervention in her daughter's case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARY SCHINDLER, TERRI SCHIAVO'S MOTHER: I'm pleading with the moms and the dads to call their Congressmen and help them pass this bill for Terri. It's very, very important. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: President Bush cuts short his stay at his Texas ranch and came back to Washington early to stand by in case he's needed to sign the Schiavo bill.
Our Dana Bash has more on that part of the story, live from the White House, just returning from Crawford, Texas -- Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. Well, the president arrived here about two hours ago, after deciding last night in Texas that he believes in this case, even hours matter, and he wanted to be here at the White House, ready to sign this legislation as soon as it gets to his desk.
We don't think at that this point that's going to happen until late tonight, probably after midnight. But the question is, why is he so eager? He says, because when there is doubt, you should err on the side of life.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BASH (voice-over): Listen to how on conservative politicians are describing their quest to keep Terri Schiavo alive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It has to do with the culture of life.
SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: The society that is built on a culture of life.
BASH: Culture of life is a catch phrase for abortion opponent. Now Terri Schiavo is exhibit A of an evolving movement and a broadening debate over how to define right to life.
WENDY WRIGHT, CONCERNED WOMEN FOR AMERICA: This case is really mobilizing people and helping them to understand that the attack on the culture of life extends beyond abortion.
BASH: From researching stem cells to cloning to ventilators and feeding tubes, with each scientific development new questions about when life starts, when it ends and who decides.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We must strive to build a culture of life. Medical research can help us reach that goal by developing treatments and cures that save lives and help people overcome disabilities.
BASH: Some religious conservatives want the definition of life as broad as possible. For them, Schiavo is a rallying cry.
In phone calls and on Web sites, groups urge activists to call lawmakers. G.O.P. leaders, wading in unchartered waters to change Schiavo's fate, insist they're following the spirit of the constitution not politics.
REP. TOM DELAY, (R) TEXAS: This is about Terri and her life and her family that wants to take care of her. It has nothing to do with politics. And it's disgusting to even suggest it.
BASH: But Republican talking points circulating in the Senate suggest some do see a potential upside against Democrats on the ballot next year. "This is a great political issue because Senator Nelson of Florida has already refused to become a co-sponsor and this is a tough issue for Democrats," a G.O.P. memo says.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. How are you you? You look so pretty.
MARTHA BURK, NATL. COUNCIL OF WOMEN'S ORGS: I think the Democrats are moving toward the right culturally. I think they are trying to look like junior Republicans. And in some cases, like this one, we see it most starkly.
BASH: Democrats stung from a series of electoral losses among social conservatives are by in large biting their tongues on the Schiavo matter.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: But some Democrats are criticizing Congress and the president for what they say is overreaching, even abusing their power. The White House response to that by saying that this is a complex, even extraordinary case. And again, that the president believes that all life should be kept up, should be sustained, even in the case of people with disabilities -- Carol.
LIN: So Dana, if -- if the bill passes the House tonight, what are the plans that the president has for signing it?
BASH: Well, what we're saying the the White House at this point is because they expect it to be so late that the president is going to sign it here at the White House, perhaps even in the residence. Perhaps he won't come back to the oval office to do so. And that they'll simply call reporters, tell them that he's done it and put out a statement.
We asked whether or not we'd be able to get in TV cameras. And of course, the president certainly created a little bit of a spectacle by coming back, cutting his trip short to Texas, but the White House says tonight is that they won't do that because they don't want him to be in the spotlight on this.
LIN: All right, Dana Bash live at the White House, thank you.
BASH: Thank you.
LIN: Well, the Schiavo case has mobilized people on both sides of the often volatile right to die debate. And many questioned whether lawmakers are overstepping their bounds with emergency legislation in this case. And some wonder if such action is even unconstitutional.
Mary Cheh is a constitutional law professor at George Washington University. She's with me tonight.
Professor Cheh, I mean, you would presume that members of Congress understand what the constitution is about and what it says about the separation of powers. So is it legal for Congress to pass a law that is specific to one case?
MARY CHEH, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: Yes, and they've done it in the past, with respect to certain issues, for example, immigration issues, separate bills for separate people. The law that they're about to pass is, on its face, technically constitutional, because what it does is uses Congress's power to set the jurisdiction of the federal courts.
Congress is allowed to say what kind of cases federal courts can hear. They can hear cases involving federal law, and they've said that they're opening the courts to hear a case involving a constitutional issue, a federal matter, about whether Terri Schiavo's constitutional rights have been violated.
LIN: Wait a second, Professor Cheh let me interrupt you here. Because it appears on the face of it to me that the bill specifically reads for the relief of the parents of Teresa Marie Schiavo.
If this bill passes isn't it essentially -- it's tantamount to Congress telling a federal judge, you can take this case, you will take this case and you already know how we, the Congress, stand on this case. I mean, isn't that where the separation of powers is interfered with?
CHEH: Well, let me tell you what I think their primary problems are. After there's jurisdiction for a judge to accept the petition by the parents, the biggest question, the biggest next question is whether this bill, which it purports to do, can give the parents standing to raise the constitutional rights of Terri Schiavo. Under the law...
LIN: But she's never had an attorney representing her. She's only been represented by her husband, actually.
CHEH: That's right. But under the law of Florida, and under the law of all states, there are rules about who represents the interest of a person who can't represent his or her own interest. And there's an elaborate procedure, and they make sure that the person is someone who in law can represent those interests and who doesn't have a conflict. And the Florida laws have said that, in this case, is her husband.
If Congress can give the parents the right to raise her rights now, there's no reason why Congress couldn't give it next time to an uncle or to a cousin or maybe to somebody else, maybe to a next friend, that kind of thing. So the first question is, whether they can even give these rights to the parents to go into court if there is jurisdiction for a federal court to hear it.
LIN: Well, can a federal judge refuse to hear the case?
CHEH: Well see, here's the problem and here is the cynicism of this particular piece of legislation. What they've done is they've created jurisdiction for the court to accept a petition. Even if the judge ultimately throws it out, and probably will -- even if a judge ultimately throws it out, at least temporarily, the judge has to consider whether, and on what grounds to throw it out. And because it involves a matter of life and death, naturally, the parents will ask, when they file their petition for there to be an order having the tube reinserted to preserve the status quo, until we see what the judge is going to do.
LIN: But once again, a temporary solution. So Congress potentially has created a dynamic where they're leading these parents down the garden path.
CHEH: Well, it would seem so. And that's why it's very cynical, it's a dangerous precedent. And at the end of the day, they're just using, I think, this woman as an instrument for their own political ends. I mean, that's the only way I think it can be fairly read.
LIN: Because at this point, to what end would this bring this family I mean, really? And we've got to leave it there, unfortunately, Professor Cheh.
CHEH: Sure.
LIN: We'll see what happens. The House debate begins at 9:00, with a vote at 12:01.
CHEH: OK.
LIN: Thank you.
CNN is, of course, going to bring you complete coverage as the House lawmakers debate the bill to keep Terri Schiavo alive. The debate, once again, 9:00 p.m. Eastern. So please, make sure to tune in and join us then.
In the meantime, spring is finally here but it may usher in strong storms for the week ahead. So CNN meteorologist Orelon Sidney joins me live from the weather center with that forecast -- Orelon.
(WEATHER REPORT)
LIN: And what a relief to be talking about stormy weather rather than stormy relations tonight, Orelon.
ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's so true.
LIN: All right. Thank so much for the preview.
SIDNEY: You're welcome.
LIN: Well, in the meantime, we've got a heartwarming story coming up. She has seen the very worst of war: the wounded and the gravely ill, victims of battle on the front lines. So why would this former civilian decide to become a combat surgeon, putting herself on the front lines? Her amazing story is straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Well the U.S. military campaign in Iraq has just entered its third year. And the first American fatality of that new year came today, when a U.S. soldier died in a roadside bombing near Kirkuk.
Caring for NEVILLE: e dying and wounded in Iraq is a grueling and emotionally taxing job. So, in our continuing series of personal stories from the front lines, we're going to introduce to you a military doctor who is getting ready to come home after a life altering experience in Iraq. Here's CNN's Jane Arraf.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After 16 months here, Major Lisa Dewitt lowers one last American flag. The soldiers treated with the same care she treats her patients at this forward operating base that's been her home for most of the past year and a half.
Lisa is from the Florida Army National Guard. New to the Army and new to these ceremonies. Two years ago she was heading the residency program at Mt. Sinai in Miami Beach.
MAJ. LISA DEWITT, U.S. ARMY: I can't say it's all because of September 11, but September 11 definitely pushed it to the forefront of my mind that I'm an emergency physician, I have a skill that I can give back.
ARRAF: She's been at this remote outpost in central Iraq since.
DEWITT: OK. Sounds good. I'm just going to listen to your heart.
ARRAF: Lisa is one of fewer than 10 women on this base of 850 infantrymen. She gets to do things that few women do.
DEWITT: It's fun. I love shooting weapons.
ARRAF: She says she's been fortunate, she's never had to shoot at anyone. But she's come under attack a dozen times.
DEWITT: I mean, it certainly is not every mission that we go on. I'm pretty lucky. The last mission I was with them this vehicle, not this vehicle but side of it (ph) got hit.
ARRAF: At this Iraqi clinic where she's dropped in to say good- bye, she's known as Doctor Lisa. The father of an Iraqi girl she's treated comes by.
DEWITT: This young lady, 17 years old. She was struck by a stray bullet. Insurgents were shooting at the polling site, and a stray bullet came into her back yard, and it hit her in her eye and it landed on her neck.
ARRAF: Lisa said she hadn't thought Tasan Abdullah (ph) would live.
DEWITT: Can you close your eyes? Close?
ARRAF: She lost her eye, but she's doing well.
DEWITT: It looks great. When she gets the fake eye, the prosthetic eye, tell the family that she will be beautiful again.
ARRAF: Back at the base, Lisa packs up her life in cardboard boxes.
DEWITT: I'm at a loss. I don't know what to take.
ARRAF: In one of the boxes there's a dove, recovering from a broken wing. She's named him Mel, after one of her favorite movie stars.
DEWITT: Let's see if Mel can fly. Let's do a test run here.
Go ahead.
He's going to go for the window. Watch this. I hope he doesn't crash. There. Kind of. That was kind of a flutter.
ARRAF: He's not quite ready yet.
Much of the past year and a half is too raw and real to be packed away.
DEWITT: Soldier's blood, it's still on there. You know what's sad? Is like when I look at spots like that spot, and some of these other little spots, it's like I know which soldier it was.
ARRAF: It's impossible to go through this and not have changed. DEWITT: I think that I'm going to be in traffic one day, and someone next to me is going to be saying how terrible it is to be in traffic. And I'm like man, it's like nobody's shooting at you. This is a pretty good thing. So I may have a different perspective.
ARRAF: Lisa and the soldiers live in an abandoned Iraqi army barracks that they've tried to fix up.
In this world, small lings like this makeshift bed, are a big deal.
DEWITT: This is plywood. I got this from the previous person who was in this room or in that room. And then I had this fine one inch or half an inch of styrofoam, duct taped down.
ARRAF: On her window is a fragile link to home.
DEWITT: My mom sent me these. This is dried flowers that she ironed in wax paper for me from Georgia.
ARRAF: From the stained wall, she takes down the map where she traced her route from Kuwait.
Dewitt, 42, and separated from her husband, was to have gone home last year but was persuaded by the battalion commander to stay. She says she's a firm believer that God puts you where you're need.
DEWITT: It smells just like every other soldier in this battalion. I want to go home. I can see it. It's just right there. I'm almost there.
ARRAF: In Iraq, there are memories that will follow her home: lives saved, lives lost.
DEWITT: In Fallujah, the alpha company XO, he was alive. We resuscitated. You know, we kept him alive. It was so hard to turn him over to Bravo surgical and to have the surgeon and the emergency physician there, look at his abdominal wound and look at me and just tell me that he's not going to survive this. This is not a survivable injury. You know, and I knew that, but you pour out your blood, heart, sweat and tears on this individual, and -- those are hard.
ARRAF: In Fallujah, they were treating soldiers as the aid station was attacked. Protecting their patients with their bodies as rockets fell around them.
DEWITT: These are young people who raise their right hand, put on the uniform, know the risk, and come to serve their country. And it's such an honor to be able to treat them. These are heroes, every one of them.
ARRAF: Lisa says her grandmother, who died at the age of 100, gave her some advice just before she passed away.
DEWITT: She said, Lisa, live in the now. Don't think about the future too much. Don't dwell on the past. You can't change it if you want to. You can't relive it. Just live in the now and that's what I'm trying to do.
ARRAF: She says she'll go home for about six months and then hopes to be redeployed to Afghanistan.
When she leaves she has to let the bird go when she leaves.
DEWITT: All right. Here he goes. God, I hope he flies.
ARRAF: She doesn't know whether he'll be safe. But like her, he's going home. Jane Arraf, CNN, near Maqtudia (ph), Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ASHLEY SMITH, HELD HOSTAGE BY BRIAN NICHOLS: Throughout my time with Mr. Nichols, I continued to rely on my faith in God. God has helped me through tough times before, and he'll help me now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: That is former hostage Ashley Smith, describing how her Christian faith helped her survive the ordeal with Atlanta shooting spree suspect Brian Nichols.
Being vocal about your religious beliefs is more commonplace these days. But as Tom Foreman reports, some conservative Christians aren't just talking about their faith, they're taking action to turn their beliefs into law.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Another day, another time, the case of Terri Schiavo could have been one family's private struggle. Instead, faith-based political groups have elevated it to a national cause. Groups like the one Wendy Wright works for, Concerned Women for America.
WENDY WRIGHT, CONCERNED WOMEN FOR AMERICA: We need to live out our faith not just within our homes and in our churches, but we need to be impacting our culture, whether it's through the arts...
FOREMAN: Do you worry, though, this might be imposing your faith on people who don't share it?
WRIGHT: You know, people's views are constantly being imposed on the rest of us through politics.
FOREMAN: The number of active Christians in America is conservatively estimated at 163 million, or 55 percent of the population, down 6 percent from 30 years ago.
(on camera): But the political activism of Christians, and other communities of faith, by many accounts, is at unprecedented levels: lobbying Congress, pressuring the courts, leaning on the media.
(voice-over): The National Council of Churches urges its 100,000 congregations to pray for good things, but work to make them happen.
Bob Edgar is the leader and a former Congressman.
BOB EDGAR, NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CHURCHES: And I think it is important for the faith community to stand up and to speak more clearly than it has in the past.
FOREMAN: Some faith-based efforts are undeniably good. Catholic relief services alone raised almost $112 million for tsunami relief. That's not much less than the annual payroll for the Boston Red Sox.
SMITH: I continue to rely on my faith in god.
FOREMAN: Ashley Smith says she put her faith into action, convincing the armed fugitive who held her hostage to let her go.
However, when faith-based initiatives are closely tied to hot political and social debates: abortion, gay marriage, stem cell research, many moderate faith groups grow wary of hard-core conservatives.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In many cases, I think they misspeak on behalf of God's will.
FOREMAN: But this much they almost all agree on one thing, the increased faith in public life is still growing. And faith communities want to keep it that way.
Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: That's all the time we have for this hour. But coming up at 7:00 eastern on "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS," the story of Ashley Smith and how she helped to bring an alleged killer to justice.
At 8:00, "CNN PRESENTS: THE TWO MARIES."
And at 9:00 Eastern, CNN will bring you complete coverage as lawmakers debate a bill to keep Terri Schiavo alive. Please join me then.
Up next, "PEOPLE IN THE NEWS."
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