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CNN Live Sunday

Interview with Carl Triplehorn; Harriet Miers Nomination Splitting Conservative Republicans

Aired October 09, 2005 - 18:00   ET

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

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Now, to our top story. They are digging with machines and spades or even just their bare hands in Pakistan, a day after a powerful earthquake. 20,000 people already are known dead. The countless who survived are still trapped in the rubble. The earthquake wiped out entire communities and changed the geography in some places. CNN's Satinder Bindra saw some of the devestation first hand from the air and from the ground. He is in Pakistani controlled Kashmir.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SATINDER BINDRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is all that remains of the town of Balakot (ph). Saturday's earthquake virtually wiped it off the map.

PRES. PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, PAKISTAN: Seventy-five percent of Balakot (ph), this small town, is gone.

BINDRA: Pakistan's northwest frontier province has suffered extensive damage. Roads remain inaccessible, blocked by landslides. Thousands are feared dead in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.

Survivors walk around in a daze mourning their dead. Others dig away furiously, hoping to find their loved ones.

(on camera): It's hard to imagine all of this happening in just a matter of minutes. This was once a school. And the principal says, 35 children were killed here.

(voice-over): The bodies of another 25 children are still under the rubble. Hundreds of people in this region have been injured. Many come to this makeshift government clinic where I mean Salamdin. His eldest daughter Jegaria (ph) was killed, but he managed to rescue her younger sister Shakina (ph who is being treated for a broken leg.

My younger daughter was injured early in the morning, he says. I couldn't pull her out until later in the day because there was a steel girder on her leg.

Many of these survivors are critical of the government's relief operation. They say thousands still need help. As and he meets these emotionally charged victims, the Pakistani president appeals for patience and calm.

MUSHARRAF: So for heaven's sake, bear with us. There are certain limitations. We are trying our best. BINDRA: Those who homes have been destroyed urgently need shelter, food and medicine. Over the next few days, the Pakistani government acknowledges its resources will be stretched.

Salamdin (ph) hasn't started thinking of future. Like tens of thousands here, he's reliving those frightening moments that changed his life forever.

Satinder Bindra, CNN, Muzaffarbad, Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: So cash, equipment and other U.S. help is on the way to the earthquake disaster area. President Bush offered his condolences to Pakistan today and promised swift assistance. Eight U.S. helicopters are expected to arrive in the country tomorrow morning. A C-17 military aircraft will also fly in blankets and tents and other aid. And the State Department has ordered more shipments of supplies.

Now, the earthquake spread devastation beyond Pakistan. There are fatalities in Afghanistan and hundreds of people are dead in Kashmir, the region separating Pakistan from its neighbor, India. CNN's Ram Ramgopal is in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAM RAMGOPAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): This town is close to the line of control that separates the Indian and Pakistani administered parts of Kashmir, but the town of URI is by no means the only one that has been so badly hit. Everywhere you look there are signs of destruction, entire buildings collapsed. There have been reports of deaths and injuries.

But there are also reports that are coming in from villages outside of this area in the mountains around the town of Uri. People telling us that the locals telling that is there have been reports of people who have been buryed in remote villages and where people have -- rescue officials have not been able to get to.

At this point, it's still not clear how badly damaged those remote villages are. But obviously, it will be a few days before the picture becomes entirely clearer.

All around us, we are seeing sign of relief arriving. There are certainly tent towns going -- almost tent camps coming up in this town of Uri. These are being set up by the military which has a strong presence here in the Indian administered part of Kashmir.

But certainly there appears to be, at this point, a certain lack of aid reaching the more remote areas. Local again telling us that the aid has been distribute mainly along this highway that goes along through the town of Uri.

Ram Ramgopal, Uri, Indian-administered Kashmir.

(END VIDEOTAPE) LIN: After seeing these devastating pictures, we know there are folks out there who want to help themselves. So, you can help the earthquake disaster leaf effort. For more information, please call 1- 800-4-UNICEF or visit the UNICEFUSA.org Web site.

Also, you can stay with CNN for continuing coverage for the earthquake in south Asia. We are going to have updates from the disaster zone throughout the day.

In the meantime, bad weather is hampering efforts to find hundreds of people killed by massive landslides in Guatemala. The slides, resulting from Hurricane Stan and seasonal rains have devastated communities. The hardest hit village was the one of Panabaj. CNN's Harris Whitbeck is there right now. He joins me by videophone.

Harris, what is the latest from where you are now?

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via videophone): Carol, as I stand by the shores of Lake Aticlan (ph), I can see pieces of broken furniture, pieces of destroyed buildings. And those are just some of the more visible effects of the torrential rains that have drenched large parts of Guatemala for the last week.

The town of Panabaj, which normally has a population of 5,000 people, the authorities there say they believe that up to a 1,000 inhabitants might be buried under a huge pile of mud that crashed down on this village last Thursday morning. They continue trying to rescue the dead. But authorities are now talking about declaring the entire village a burial ground and abandoning that effort.

The more immediate need is water, food and medical supplies. And villagers have not received that since the disaster struck. They are blaming local authorities, local bureaucracy for the fact that very little aid has gotten to them.

On a more general level, the government has made efforts to clear roadways opening up, opening up the roads that had been blocked by mudslides. But the continuing rains and low cloud cover are hampering that effort and also hampering relief flights that could be run into this area, particularly helicopters. The U.S. sent blackhawks and Chinook helicopters to run search and rescue and relief missions, but very little missions have actually taken place because of the weather condition.

LIN: Harris, we're looking at some pretty dramatic pictures of some rescue operations, but it seems pretty primitive. These people are up there, shoulder-to-shoulder, pulling on ropes to get try to get some of these people out. Why don't we see any more sophisticated equipment in the rescue operation?

WHITBECK: Because the access to these areas is very, very limited. It's limited because a lot of the roadways in the area were blocked by mudslides because of the weather. The weather as I said the weather's not allowing helicopters flights that might bring in heavier equipment that would allow -- that would make rescue efforts easier.

LIN: All right. Well, we can appreciate the situation just looking at picturings seeing some -- even chunks of a mountainside wash away as these people now trying to get food and try to survive this natural disaster. Harris Whitbeck, thank you very much.

We want to move from these two devestating natural disaster to one of fear of infection spriding from east to west. In Indonesia now, a 4-year-old boy has tested positive for bird flu. And if confirmed, it would make him the sixth Indonesian person infected.

Worldwide, 60 people have died from the virus since 2003. More than a hundred people across ten Asian countries have been infected with the deadly virus.

Now, there were reports of bird flu at poultry farms in Romania and Turkey this weekend. There is no confirmation that it's the same deadly H5N1 strain that can spread to humans. We are still working this story.

In the meantime, here at home, new trouble for the New Orleans Police Department. Take a look at these pictures, officers caught on tape, beating a man on bourbon street last night. How top brass have responded, next.

Plus, on alert in New York. New steps put in place today that the NYPD is taking to protect the city from terrorists. You're going to see a live report.

And later this hour, have you seen this? The battle royale in the Everglades between an alligate and a python. What this might signify about the future of the famous swamp.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: All right. First, reports of looting and officers abandoning their job during Katrina. Now more trouble for the New Orleans Police Department. Three of its officers are facing charges.

Last night, an officer was caught on tape repeatedly punching a man who was accused of being intoxicated. And then an Associated Press producer says an officer came up to him and ordered him to stop an A.P. cameraman from recording that incident.

The producer held up his credentials and after that the officer grabbed him, jabbed him in the stomach and told him to go home. A police spokeman says there's going to be a thorough investigation and says that the officers will be arrested and charged with simple battery.

Now, more news across America. Searchers in Nevada are frantically looking for a 7-year-old boy. He's been missing since early Saturday. They James Estes wandered away from a campsite in Max Canyon in Mt. Charlston.

And a rough start for some newlyweds in Virginia Beach, Virginia. 28 people were injured at a wedding reception when a deck collapsed. No one was hurt seriously, and it's not clear if the bride and groom were on the deck when it fell.

Now, it's a topic that is normally taboo, but today 75 churches here and around the world are meeting and talking about pornography, the brainchild of a California minister. National porn Sunday seeks to examine the effect of porn on marriages and families. And that is their website xxxchurch. More on this store at 10:00 tonight.

In the meantime, Save The Children, the organization that provides good deeds around the globe is now helping right here at home, aiding victims of Hurricane Katrina. So, straight ahead on CNN LIVE SUNDAY, how the group is helping life get back to normal for the children of the storm.

And the disaster that hit New Orleans and many cities around the country is asking, are we ready? Straight ahead, one city that believes it is.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: In the fight for Iraq, a roadside bomb claimed the life of a U.S. marine. U.S. military officials say the marine was on patrol in the town of Ramadi when his vehicle was hit by the bomb.

And Saddam Hussein's criminal trial is just ten days away. The former dictator is charged with ordering a massacre in the Iraqi village of Dujal (ph) in 1982. His trial will be held at the Iraqi special tribunal inside Baghdad's heavily secured green zone. A source close to the tribunal tells CNN, Saddam is expected to appear in court the first, but the source says cameras may be bared from the proceedings.

And every week, we like to bring you the more personal stories from the front lines. We usually focus on the effects of warfare and conflict. But today we put the spotlight on a very different kind of battlefield, the one left behind by Hurricane Katrina.

Now you know that the storm is long gone, but the trama from the disaster lingers, especially for children. And now an aid group found in a war zone is helping children along the Gulf Coast. Carl Triplehorn is with Save The Children.

Carl, good to see you. You actually had just gotten back from Banda Aceh, Indonesia after helping kids who had survived the tsunami there and then came straight to the Gulf Coast. How did the two situations compare for you in terms of how the kids are doing?

CARL TRIPLEHORN, SAVE THE CHILDREN: Unfortunately, they're tragically, tragically similar. As I was walking to the studio, I was thinking about I had just come out of the river center in Baton Rouge and there was a girl who I was watching there who looked almost identical to a girl who I had living next to me in Indonesia. I mean, just tragically similar, tragically similar stories. We're responding in the same ways in both situations. LIN: I've been reading your blog and a very personal story that you're telling of how you're dealing with these kids. You describe them as disoriented and detached. You have taught psychology. What is going on with these kids?

TRIPLEHORN: Well, they are disoriented, and they are detached from their communities. And one of the important things that has to happen in an immediate response following an emergency is support children to re-establish some normalcy. And that's one of the things which Save The Children actually does have a tool that we can use to assist children.

LIN: What do you mean, specifically?

TRIPLEHORN: It's a 15-session, very structured play activity that enables children to be able to express themselves, but also be able to identify their natural coping mechanisms. And point them to the future in looking at how they can start to plan for the future.

LIN: Give me a specific. Make it real for me. I'm looking at you working with some of these kids and I see smiles on your faces. What are you hearing from them?

TRIPLEHORN: What we do with the programs they sit in a circle, play with a parachute but they also begin to tell silent stories. They draw pictures. But more than that, they begin to establish trust in the group. And start the process what they've gone through.

LIN: Did some of these children watch some of their family members die?

TRIPLEHORN: I actually don't know, but I would assume some of them have. But that's why these programs are even more important to get in as early as possible.

LIN: You also wrote in your blog that a place like Jefferson Parish has 52,000 students and the parish doesn't even know where most of the students are. So how do you go on from there? What's happened since you wrote that?

TRIPLEHORN: Well, actually, the good news that is the parish has opened up their schools. The parents reported two weeks ago. The schools opened up last Monday. And I had a meeting with the parents -- the principals this Wednesday. And they were very excited to be back in school but they made comments about how the students were very, very glazed eyes in the classroom.

LIN: Right, right.

TRIPLEHORN: How the -- it was an interesting comment that some of the students were actually pushing their parents to register them because the parents themselves were dazed.

LIN: Right, right. I mean, you know, they're homeless. I mean, a lot of the kids don't have a place to live. They're living in a shelter. TRIPLEHORN: Right.

LIN: And school, althought it can be a haven -- I mean, you met with the Department of Education that came to visit. Do you think the federal government has a real grasp on what more these kids need? I mean it's one thing to got put them in a classroom, but there's a lot of time after that.

TRIPLEHORN: You're right. But I don't think anybody has a full grasp of all what all needs to be done. But it is immense. It's everything from afterschool activities to preschool activities for a lot of the single female-headed household. It's making sure you have teacher assistance in chas rooming taking care of the overcrowded classrooms. There's a lot to be done. And it's -- from Save the Children's point of view it's trying to make sure all of the needs are being addressed.

LIN: And it's hard. There's so many needs on the ground. So what, Karl in your personal experience, convinces you that these children can recover emotionally recover and lead a normal life?

TRIPLEHORN: From my work, working everywhere from Somalia, Sudan, Kosovo, Liberia, I found the children are incredibly resilient. That is something which most organizations have found as well. And it's just supporting them and having confidence in these children. They will bounce back. Very few of the children will actually need individualized psychological care.

But it's supporting them with normalized activities like school, like these psychosicoal activities I was talking about and ensuring that they have loving, caring parents with them. That's what will bring these children through.

LIN: Carl Triplehorn, your work is so valuable. And I know it means so much to these children. It's great seeing these pictures of these kids and smiles on their faces. Thank you.

TRIPLEHORN: Well, we're going to have muc more on how the youngest hurricane victims are coping in their new world. Please watch "CNN Presents: Children of the Storm" powerful stories of how kids are struggling to rebuild their lives in the wake of Katrina and Rita. That is coming up at 7:00, 4:00 Pacific.

Also want to to tell you about another step toward recovery in New Orleans: Trains are rolling down the tracks again. But are they going to bring anybody home? We're live, coming up.

And the lessons of Katrina. Cities around the country question their disaster plan. So next, one city's effort to be ready for the worst.

And the president's choice for the Supreme Court drawing fire from both sides of the aisle. CNN's senior political analyst Bill Schneider is going to will join me to talk about that and other difficulties piling up for the Bush White House. You're watching CNN LIVE SUNDAY. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Hundreds of police, extra police are patrolling New York subways and Yankee Stadium tonight. In about two hours, the Yankees square off against the Angels in the playoffs amid concern the city could be a terror target. CNN's Keith Oppenheim is live in Time's Square.

Keith, today was a big day, but so far so good. Nothing's happened?

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's true. And you know, Carol, if there ever was a time for New Yorkers to live up to their reputation for being tough in the face of possible danger, this may be it. But in a sea of somewhat confusing messages about the seriousness of a security threat on New York's subways, we're finding that commuters, tourists and residents are all taking the trains.

Earlier this afternoon, we went down into the Times Square station, and we found that ridership seemed to be about normal for a Sunday night. And city officials are hoping, and perhaps expecting that ridership will continue to be normal throughout the week.

The news of a terror threat, as you may recall, originated in Iraq. The information according to our sources that New York subways were to be targeted with explosive is possibly this past Friday or today, Sunday. And we spoke to one rider, a former New Yorker, now living in Hong Kong, and she expressed her sense of defiance to terrorists who would do anything to change the New York way of life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Only response I can have to have something to say about the situation would be -- the only response I can have for me would be to get on the subway. Because if I change what I do, than that gives empowerment to the people who are manipulating the situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

OPPENHEIM: Once a tough New Yorker, always a tough New Yorker, I guess. And earlier, Carol, you were talking about the ball game tonight. Baseball fans know that the game was rain-delayed last night. And it's Yankees versus Angels at Yankee Stadium tonight. What they may not know is there are increased security patrols at the ballpark, in part because of the security threat.

And the number one cop for New York City, Ray Kelly, is saying that he's got not going to back down, that he will continue to have fairly high security patrols at the subway stops, this despite the fact that there is different information coming from federal agencies, from the Department of Homeland Security, those officials casting doubt on the credibility of the subway security threat -- Carol.

LIN: All right. Keith, the day's not over yet. Let's see what happens. We're going to have more on this story throughout the night. Be sure to stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

Topping the news this hour, 20,000 people confirmed dead, certain to be more: that is the latest government figure in the south Asia earthquake zone.

Pakistan, India and Afghanistan: international aid supplies and equipment are arriving in Pakistan by the hour.

And Turkey responsed quickly to the bird flu. Poultry at two farms are being slaughtered after the country confirmed its first case of bird flu. A two-mile area has been quarantined and military police have set up road blocks.

If your willing to help smoke out terrorists, the FBI might not care what you've smoked. It's thinking about making it easier for those who have smoked marijuana to join the FBI, but not as special agents. Right now you can't work for the FBI if you've used pot in the past three years or more than 15 times ever, but who's counting?

Coming up at the top of the hour, a special "CNN Presents" you do not want to miss. They are the children of the storm. Kids uprooted by Hurricane Katrina showing remarkable resilience in new hopes, new schools and new lives. "That's Children of the Storm," a special edition of "CNN Presents."

Former President Bush is wrapping up a second day in the Gulf Coast. Mr. Bush, seen here yesterday, is touring hard-hit Louisiana and Mississippi, Alabama and Texas. He's taking suggestions on how to spend $100 million he and former President Clinton have raised to help hurricane victims.

In the meantime, it's pay back time for some of the looters who ransacked stores after Hurricane Katrina. Authorities have arrested at least six people in the Louisiana and mississippi. Police say, the break came when they spotted two men pretending to be FEMA contract workers towing a trailer with a stolen all-terrain vehicle. Altogether, authorities believe they have recovered about $100,000 worth of stolen goods.

In the meantime, AMTRAK in New Orleans, well, AMTRAK's city of New Orleans rolled in this weekend for the first time since Hurricane Katrina. So let's go to New orleans and to CNN's Lisa Sylvester. What was it like, Lisa?

LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPODNENT: Well Carol, I got to tell you, here in New Orleans, the word that we keep hearing over and over today is normalcy. Officials are very eager to get the city back to the way it was before Hurricane Katrina hit. And one way of doing that is by resuming train service to connect the city with other parts of the country.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All aboard! SYLVESTER (voice-over): The first two trains to leave New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina hit had fewer than 50 passengers on them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right this way, folks.

SYLVESTER: But the numbers didn't matter, only that the trains left on time. A sign of a city beginning to return to normal.

UNIDNETIIFED MALE: For me, it symbolizes hope and that New Orleans will be able to come back from this.

SYLVESTER: Wendy Holsenthal (ph) and her two children came to New Orleans to check on their battered house and in Slidell, Louisiana. They head to Jackson, Mississippi to stay with relatives.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This one loves trains. So, we have taken a fun trip, because we've had a hard month.

SYLVESTER: Normally, there are four routes operating in and out of New Orleans. Surface north to New York and to Chicago has been restored. But it will be months before trains roll east towards Mobile, Alabama or west towards Houston. AMTRAK officials are were eager to get even partial service running again.

JEROME LAMB, AMTRAK EMPLOYEE: We have more than 350 employees base heard in New Orleans. And by putting these two routes back in service we're able to recall more than 150 of them.

SYLVESTER: For some of these passengers, this is a one-way ticket. Willard Kelhammer (ph) has had I enough of hurricanes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got to give Louisiana up. 23 years been here, huh-uh. Got to go. Our roof looked for me on the house. We was renting it. I mean, it's a -- we lost everything. And it's kind of hard.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SYLVESTER: And we have also heard stories of people who are vowing to stay in the city.

Now, we should tell you though, that even though there is train service operating out of here, there are no taxis or buses out of this terminal. So AMTRAK officials are adivsing people to make sure that they make their own arrangements for service after -- once they arrive into the city -- Carol.

LIN: Lisa, thank you.

Cities across the country are reassessing their emergency plans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Richmond, Virginia, for example, a city that is no stranger to disaster, could serve as a valuable model for preparedness. So, we sent CNN's Kathleen Koch there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): August 2004, Tropical Storm Gaston duped 14 inches of rain on Richmond and officials found they had no way to get the word out to everyone in the path of the rushing water. But it was Hurricane Katrina that taught city leaders there and around the country a harder lesson.

BENJAMIN JOHNSON, RICHMOND EMERGENCY MANAGER: You will be primarily on your own until the federal government gets there. And we do know that we don't know how long that will be.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fire marshall has ordered a one-square mile radius in proximity to city hall be evacuated immediately.

KOCH: So, the city has created a reverse 911 system to call every phone within an affected area if an evacuation is needed.

BILL HOBGOOD, RICHMOND PUBLIC SAFETY: The quickest that you can possibly get a notification out to the poem people that are going to be affected, the chances are they you're going to save some lives.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE; This book tells you how do your homes. Tape your windows, doors.

KOCH: Richmond has printed emergency preparedness guides. Community leaders like Cora Hayes are eager to distribute, after what they saw happen in New Orleans.

CORA HAYES, FAIRFIELD COURT TENANT COUNCIL: The first thing that I thought of is I don't want our residents to to be in that predictment.

HAYES: Bed linens, other clothes for three to five days.

KOCH: Her neighbors are still haunted by the image of residents trapped in the battered city.

REV. MARY H. JONES, FAIRFAX COURT RESIDENT: I wake up at night thinking about that. That could happen to me.

KOCH; Richmond plans to use city and school buses to evacuate its needy citizens along newly designated evacuation routes. And it signed mutual aid agreements with four nearby cities to help one another in case of an emergency.

JOHNSON: In this, we're kind of cutting to the chase and saying, if we need help help, it's here, and you guys can bring it and vice versa. We will be able to bring help and assistance at a moments notice.

KOCH (on camera): In Washington, Congress will be evaluating what cities like Richmond are doing.

REP. MIKE MCCAUL, (R) TEXAS: We are going to be looking at plans across the country to see which ones work better, and which ones don't.

KOCH (voice-over): Because everyone's learned that once disaster strikes, it's too late.

Kathleen Koch, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers attended two church services today in her home state Of Texas. But some conservative Republicans say Miers' Christian background is not enough to win their support. They want to know more about her views, specifically where she stands on abortion. Sp. with the latest on the Miers debate, we're going to go live to the White House and CNN's Suzanne Malveaux -- Suzanne.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, Harriet Miers spent the weekend in Dallas, of course, to collect records on her accomplishments as well as her time in the Dallas city countil. All of this, of course, the big question now is whether or not Miers and the White House campaign can satify those conservatives who do not believe that she is qualified.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX (voice-over): While Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers was attending Sunday morning church services in Dallas, in Washington, conservatives were declaring all-out war over her nomination, directing much of their anger at the president.

PAT BUCHANAN, CONSERVATIVE COMMENTATOR: Much of the conservative movement is at war with their own president.

GARY BAUER, AMERICAN VALUES COALITION: The problem that we have is that when you make a mistake with a Supreme Court appointment, it's a 20-year mistake.

MALVEAUX: As some conservatives ratcheted up their rhetoric, calling for Miers to withdraw her nomination, others urged their fellow Republicans to cool down, saying Miers would be faithful to Mr. Bush's agenda.

RICHARD LAND, SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION: If someone is disloyal -- if someone betrays a trust in Texas, they're right down there with child molesters and ax murderers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think what the president wants a vote that reflects his point of view. You know, some of these great, brilliant scholars go off the reservation.

MALVEAUX: One of the first issues the Senate Judicial Committee will tackle is whether the White House provided anyone with information about how Miers might vote on hot button social issues like abortion, gay marriage and the roll of religion. Conservative activist James Dobson created a stir on his Wednesday radio broadcast when after being briefed about Miers by Mr. Bush's top political aide, Karl Rove, Dobson suggested he had special insights.

DR. JAMES DOBSON, CONSERVATIVE RADIO SHOW HOST: When you know some of the things that I know that I probably shouldn't know, that take me in this direction, you will understand why I have said with fear and trepidation why I have said that I believe Harriet Miers will be a good justice.

MALVEAUX: Since then, in meetings with Senate committee members, Miers has tried to clear up the controversy.

SEN. PATRICK LEAHY, (D) VERMONT: So we at least start with the fact that she says she has not told anybody or assured anybody how she would vote.

MALVEAUX: But senators say they are still considering calling on Dobson and Rove to testify before their committee.

SEN. ARLEN SPECTER, (R) JUDICIARY CHAIRMAN: If there were back room assurances and back room deals and if there is something which bears upon a precondition as to how a nominee is going to vote, I think that's a matter that ought to be known by the Judiciary Committee and the American people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: And of course it's considered that it's going to be quite difficult getting information. And it is widely anticipated that there's a going to be battle with the White House over releasing those documents -- Carol.

LIN: All right. More on that in just a moment. Thanks very much Suzanne. Because we're going to talk with our Bill Schneider. How will Miers win over Republicans who are suspicious about her conservative convictions? Political dilemas affecting the GOP and all sorts of business to talk about with CNN Political Analyast Bill Schnider.

Bill, good to see you.

BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good to see you, Carol.

LIN: Let's address that question first about Harriet Miers. What is the president going to have to do in order to satisfy some of her critics? There's some talk, perhaps, that he may have to give up or some of the private documents given that she was White House counsel for a number of years and so close with the president, perhaps the only record of her legal thinking?

SCHNEIDER: It's hard to see how the president can give up some of the documents without giving up just about all of those documents because the Democrats are going to say, well, you know we want to see the documents that we're interested in as well.

I think the important assurances are going to have to be given by the nominee, by Harriet Miers. Her hearings are going to be crucial. Far more crucial than John Roberts, because she has to convince the committee, particularly the Republicans on the committee, that she has deeply held constitutional convictions. Something that Roberts obviously did have. They're worried that if she doesn't have those kinds of convictions, once she gets on the court, she'll drift to the left, like Justice Souter did after he was named by the first President Bush. They want to know if she has reliable views, at least philosophy, about the constitution.

LIN: So, what does that mean in terms of the question about abortion? If they directly ask her what are your beliefs about abortion and Row versus Wade, is she going to have to answer specifically as John Roberts did not have to?

SCHNEIDER: No. She's going to say exactly what he said, that she's not going to address issues that are likely to come directly before the court. She can talk about her general judicial philosophy. She will not, Democratic nominees did not, John Roberts did not. They won't answer specific questions.

But what I said was, she has to elaborate her judicial philosophy. Because what she lacks that Roberts had was a kind of intellectual stature to convince members that what the president said was true. He said in this news conference on Tuesday, I can guarantee you that in the next 20 years she's not going to change her views or her philosophy. And Republicans are going to say, how do we know that?

LIN: Right. So, what are you looking for when the confimation hearings begin?

SCHNEIDER: We're going to be looking for her to give a reassuring performance to her critics, left and right, that she's a woman of intellectual standing. After all, she broke through a lot of barriers and became a leading attorney in Dallas and in Texas. She obviously has a lot going for her, but she has no record, no written record, no record of argumentation. She's going to have to make up for that in her hearings.

LIN: Right. And so far, no political base.

SCHNEIDER: That's right.

LIN: Let talk about Karl Rove. This is going -- close adviser to the president, testifying before a grand jury for the fourth time with no guarantee that he may be indicted in this whole investigation of who leaked the name of a CIA operative. What's the Republicans' reaction to what's going on here?

SCHNEIDER: Fear and trembling. They're worryed that Karl Rove or someone else high in the White House could be indicted. And that would of course be a terrible blow to the Bush White House which is suffering from blows on all sides: in Iraq, the reaction to hurricane katrina, anger over government spending, over his nomination of Miers, on every side things aren't going well. The last thing he needs is for someone high up in the White House to be indicted.

And Fitzgerald, the special prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerals seem to be casting a very broad net. Not just a narrow statute that you deliberately leaked the name of a CIA agent, or perhaps a conspiracy charge or an obstruction of justice charge. That could be just as serious.

LIN: Yeah, casting the net but tightening the noose. I mean, the fourth time before the grand jury. What -- does that indicate that the prosecutor has something very specific, perhaps damning to ask Karl Rove?

SCHNEIDER: It indicates to me, remember, Karl Rove volunteered to testify, that he's worried about an indictment. And he feels that it's less of a risk for him to testify and open himself up to all kinds of questions than to face an indictment. So, he wants to lay it all out there in front and make his case as elaborately as he can. It's a very risky move but the bigger risk is to get indicted.

LIN: Exciting times. Bill Schneider, thank you.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

LIN: In the meantime, former education secretary William Bennett remains unapologetic for his controversial comments linking crime and race. Many people were outraged when bennett said last month to reduce crime you could, quote, "abort every black baby in this country." He went on to say that would be, quote, "a ridiculous and morally reprehensible thing to do but your crime rate would go down."

Well, yesterday in Bakersfield, California, protesters gathered outside a business convention where Bennett was speaking. And inside, Bennett defend his remarks are blamed the media for the uproar.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM BENNETT, FRM. EDUCATION SECRETARY: Although, I cannot apologize for what I said and meant, which when understood in context ought not to be objectionable, I regret that people have misrepresented my views so that they have been the cause of hurt and controversy and confusion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: William Bennett says he was just sending up a bad argument in order to knock it down. And he claims the media took his comments out of context. It is the media's fault.

Well, this next story brings the idea of choking on your lunch to a whole new level. Ahead, snake versus alligator in the Florida Everglades with some disturbing results. And this incident has wildlife officials, you might say, pretty concerned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: If you've ever said to yourself, I can't believe I ate the whole thing, then maybe you can relate. A giant python in the Florida Everglades encountered a tempting meal he couldn't resist. And what happened next is a story you will only see John Zarrella tell so well.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's clearly a case where his eyes were bigger than his stomach. To the center and right of this photo are the hind legs and tail of a six-foot alligator, stuffed inside the belly of a beast that could be gaining supremacy in Florida's Everglades.

The beast, to the center and left of the photo, is what's left of a 12.5 foot Burmese python. The snake apparently won the fight but ultimately gorged itself to death.

SKIP SNOW, PARK BIOLOGIST: So you have your wild born, didn't buy it at a pet shop.

ZARRELLA: To park biologist Skip Snow and wildlife technician Lori Oberhoffer (ph) the tangle in the swamp is a growing concern. Alligators, the native, top of the food chain species here, may not be tough enough to control the python population.

SNOW: Once they get bigger, once they exceed the size of the native snakes -- seven, eight, nine feet, get sort of out of that range that our predators are comfortable with, if you will -- it's unlikely that they have much of a natural predator here.

ZARRELLA: Biologists say, pythons, which are not poisonous were first introduced into the park by people who had them as pets.

(on camera): Park biologists say that within the first two years of its life the Burmese python can grow to nine feet long and that, they say, is when people who keep them as pets decide they're much too difficult to handle.

(voice-over): In the past two years, Snow has documented more than 150 python captures. Before that, captures numbered only in the dozens. Last year, wildlife photographer Mike Mercier (ph) captured these images of another showdown between a giant python and an alligator. And it's images like these that are prompting park ranges to track, trap, and indicate this snake in the river of grass.

John Zarrella, CNN, in Everglades National Park.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: And we've got more on a different kind of sport. The folks who make millions on the field and in some cases even more off of it. Straight ahead on CNN LIVE SUNDAY NFL stars cashing in with commercials. What makes athletes so appealing to companies and their customers? Because we are going beyond the NFL, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Here we go. He won his only game of the season today, yet his name sites on tonight of the pole listing the ten most popular players in the National Football League. In fact, Brett Favre's name transcends sports. And he is a Madison Avenue darling.

The NFL endorsement game, the topic as we take you beyond the NFL.

Now, there's certainly money to be made off the football field. And joining me to talk about it from West Palm Beach, Florida is author of "When The Game Is On The Line" and CNN sports business analyst Rick Horrow. He's also a visiting expert on sports law at Harvard law school. Good to sigh you, Rick.

RICK HORROW, HARVARD: Good evening, Carol, how are you?

LIN: I'm doing just fine. So, before we look at game's most popular players, let's talk about the fallout from Hurricane Katrina, the Saints don't even have a home and we're not even sure if they'll ever return to the Superdome. so, what's happening right now?

HOWWOR: Well, first of all, from the NFL perspective they've sured dispeled the myth of greedy owners and overpaid athlete. About $20 million contributed to the Katrina relief effort.

As to the Saints, we don't know if the Superdome is going to be repaired or rebuilt. And in fact, the NFL has a 90-day natural disaster outclause for the New Orleans Saints. They've had a good game in San Antonio against the Buffalo, Bills a couple of weeks ago. They're selling out the Atlanta Falcons a couple weeks from now. So, we'll see what happens.

But they've got to hend to business. You know what today today? They lost to the Green Bay, Packers 52-3.

LIN: Ouch! A little distracted.

HORROW: Ouch.

LIN: All right. Getting down to business, some interesting things about the most popular players in the NFL. Some of them are getting very few corporate endorsements. You know, image can mean millions of dollars, right?

HORROW: Well, absoultely. The NFL in is a $6 billion industry and you win as a team, but you make money as an individual. You talked about Brett Favre, he hadn't played too well this year, but he's the favorite going into the season.

Peyton Manning, the Quarterback of the Colts, is number two, but number one in endorsements. New deals, by the way, with Reebok and Gatorade and DirectTV and Master Card, and a new one he just did with Sony. Then three, four and five are some of the top quarterbacks on these teams: Michael Vick, the Atlanta Falcons, Tom Brady of the New England Patriots, Donovan McNabb of the Philadelphia Eagles.

And by the way the top rookie is a kid out of Auburn who plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers named Carnell Williams. His nickname is Cadillac. So all you parents out there if you want some endorsement money for the NFL, name your kid Porsche, Subaru, Hyundai and the like.

LIN: YOu know, that'll get them more than an endorsement, a lot of grief in grade school, I think.

All right. Rick, so you were 1-2 in your picks last week. What do think for this week?

HORROW: Yeah, well, you know, you can't always be right. But this week it's Pittsburgh and San Diego. It's in San Diego. They won the last two weeks. Pittsburgh lost last week. So what do you do? You pick Pittsburgh. Uncertainty in the NFL. 75 percent of this year, the team that lost the first week won the next week. So my heart may be with San Diego, I'm going with Pittsburgh. We're going to break even as of this week, Carol.

LIN: All right. Rick, we'll keep our fingers crossed. Thanks so much.

HORROW: Talk to you next week.

LIN: All righty.

Well, comfort food becomes fast food at the Arkansas State Fair. New Yorker Ed Jarvis proved his love for grilled cheese Saturday, or at least his willingness to eat it. He stuffed down 19 sandwiches in ten minutes. Taking top honors. His nickname is Cookie, but perhaps now he can be called the big cheese. All six contestants managed to finish the contest without getting sick. We knew you'd want to know that. We'll be right back.

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