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CNN LIVE SATURDAY

Daylight Savings Time Ends Tonight; Interview with Dr. Bill Lloyd; Hurricane Season Drives Building Materials Prices Skyhigh

Aired October 29, 2005 - 16:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Terror in New Delhi. Explosions ripped through the Indian capital within minutes of each other. We'll have a report straight ahead.
JJ RAMBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm J.J. Ramberg in Miami. We're five days after Wilma struck, finding gas to fill up your tank is still a problem.

WHITFIELD: Plus, if you have plans to build or renovate, you can also plan on shelling out more cash. Costs are skyrocketing, and you can thank this year's record hurricane season.

Hello. And welcome to CNN LIVE SATURDAY. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. All that and more after a check of the headlines.

An insurgent attack targets Iraqi civilians in Hwaider, a Shiite town north of Baghdad. Iraqi officials say 20 people were killed when a truck packed with explosives blew up in a crowded market. 30 people were wounded.

In southern India, a deadly train derailment. At least 102 were killed today when a passenger train jumped the tracks and plunged into a rain swollen reservoir. Officials say the train over the resevoir had been literally washed away by floodwaters. There could be even more victims stuck in several cars that are submerged.

And Hurricane Beta is lashing two Colombian islands in the Caribbean. The category one storm hit the islands of San Andreas and Provedencia today bringing torrential rain. Beta is now headed for Central America. Forecasters say the storm could strengthen before heading to its likely target of Nicaragua tomorrow morning.

We begin with a wave of terror in India. A string of almost simultaneous explosions tore through crowded markets in New Delhi today, killing at least 55 people and wounding more than 150. In the aftermath, charred bodies, smoking debris and confusion. Thousands have flooded the markets ahead of the Hindu Diwali festival or the festivals of lights, as it's more commonly called. Our Ram Ramgopal has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAM RAMGOPAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Security here in New Delhi has been tightened as authorities take stock of the situation. The focus is now shifting to a forensic investigation as police comb through the wreckage to discover what explosive was used to, the kind of devices, how it was delivered.

Officials are saying at this point that they believe that this was certainly a coordinated attack, but they're not going beyond that. They're not saying which group could be responsible. The home minister of India who is responsible for internal security appealed for calm. He asked the people of Delhi, and indeed in other cities to remain on the lookout for perhaps more of such devices. But he also said that he did not want to comment on which group could be responsible.

The prime minister of India also cutting short a visit to the eastern city of Calcutta, coming back to the capital tonight, said that he would clearly believe that this was a terrorist attack. But he said the people of India would not be -- would not bow to terrorism, in his words.

In the hospitals, a large number of wounded have been rushed to emergency wards. Doctors there are describing it as critical injuries in many instances. At the same time, they do believe that some of the death toll could rise in the coming hours as some of these wounded come perhaps to their injuries.

At the same time, in the capital of New Delhi tonight, a sense of sadness and shock.

Ram Ramgopal, CNN, New Delhi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: India's neighbor and long-time nuclear rival Pakistan is denouncing the attacks as barbaric. A Pakistani official says it's too soon to determine if Pakistani militants are linked to the explosions. But promises to help with India's investigation if they are.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TASNIM ASLAM, PAKISTAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESWOMAN: We have strongly condemned the terrorist attacks in New Delhi which have resulted in the loss of a number of innocent lives. The attack in a crowded marketplace is no doubt an act of terrorism. The people and the government of Pakistan are shocked by this barbaric act, And we express deep sympathy for the families of the victims.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Today's violence comes as India and Pakistan mull over an unprecedented step. They're considering opening their disputed Kashmir border to help the victims of the recent massive south Asia earthquake.

Back in this country, the attorney for Vice President Dick Cheney's former top aide, Lewis "Scooter" Libby is no doubt developing his defense plans. Libby's indictment yesterday in the CIA leak investigation added annother headache in what has been a very challenging week for the Bush administration. Coving every aspect of this story are Elaine Quijano is at the White House. Our Bill Schneider has in-depth political analysis. And our David Ensor examines the fallout of outing CIA operative Valerie Plame.

Let's begin with Elaine Quijano at White House -- Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Fredricka.

As you know, even before the indictment, this was a White House already dealing with a number of different challenges, namely that failed Supreme Court nomination of Harriet Miers and also a grim threshold passed in the Iraq war, more than 2000 Americans dead. Well yesterday, White House officials expressing a mixture of sadness and relief at the same time over the results of the CIA leak investigation so far.

Sadness, of course, that Scooter Libby, the vice president's now former chief of staff and former national security adviser had been indicted. At the same time, there was relief here at the White House as well that the president's own political adviser Karl Rove was not indicted. But Rove's lawyers says he remains under investigation.

Nevertheless, President Bush is eager to show that his administration is focused on moving ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Special Counsel Fitzgerald's investigation and ongoing legal proceedings are serious. And now the proceedings -- the process moves into a new phase. In our system, each individual is presumed innocent and entitled to due process and a fair trial. While we're all saddened by today's news, we remain wholly focused on the issues and opportunities facing this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Now, the president also says that he will be naming someone to the Supreme Court pretty soon. And on the front, it was interesting to note that accompanying President Bush to Camp David this weekend was his White House counsel Harriet Miers who, of course, withdrew her name from consideration amid intense opposition from conservatives.

But the White House clearly anxious to put this week behind them and pivot to other issues. Today, in fact, in the president weekly radio address, the president focused on Iraq, making no mention of Scooter Libby or Harriet Miers.

Mr. Bush will return to the White House tomorrow. And Fredricka, aides are saying that he could make an announcement on his Supreme Court nomination within a matter of days -- Fredricka.

All right, Elaine Quijano at White House thank you. The special counsel in the case says a CIA officer's identity must be protected not just for the agent, but for the nation's security. CNN national security correspondent David Ensor explains why outing Valerie Plame matters.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 42-year-old Valerie Plame Wilson whose husband has referred to her as Jane Bond is clearly now the most famous female spy in America.

Exposing her as an CIA undercover officer did damage the U.S. intelligence, U.S. officials say. They refused to be more specific.

MICHAEL SCHEUER, FORMER CIA ANALYST: To have someone exposed deliberately, and on top of that for a political reason, I think, yes, it probably sent a chill throughout the clandestine service.

ENSOR: What made it worse is that she was not just an undercover officer, she spent part of her 20 year career as a knock: a spy nonofficial cover, that is without the protection of diplomatic status. She was working, officials say, to recruit foreigners who knew about murky international deals involving weapons of mass destruction.

But potential foreign agents, potential spies, have now seen a CIA offficer apparently betrayed by officials in her own government.

JAMES MARCINKOWSKI, FORMER CIA OFFICER: The issue here is, how are you going to tell that agent that their identity is going to be protected when this government can't even protect the home team.

ENSOR: And if any other CIA officers used the same cover as Plame, their work is in jeopardy, too. That cover was Brewster Jennings Associates, an energy consulting firm, a front company that apparently had no real address.

Knocks are harder to train, can remain under cover longer than conventional spies, and can go places and meet people that other CIA officers cannot. Some of them, like Plame, use loose cover, a false job. Others, under deep cover, use false names as well, complete fictional identies with forged documents, even disguises.

But knocks are also much more vulnerable than regular spies. Intelligence sources developed by a CIA undercover officer are immediately in question if that officer is exposed.

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: The consequences for the U.S. government can range from embarrassment to having to pull a source out of an area because they have become jeopardized by this knowledge.

ENSOR: After her name appeared in Robert Novak's newspaper column, at least two foreign governments arc reportedly assigned their spy catchers to figure out whether Plame had ever worked on their soil. And if so, what she had done there. (on camera): And that is where the most damage was likely done. Other nations tracking down Valerie Plame Wilson's contacts, sources and shutting them down.

David Ensor, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Conversations between Vice President Cheney and Libby are likely to come under increased scrutiny as the case proceeds. And that has the potential to be politically damaging to the White House.

Let's bring in our CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider in Washington. Good to see you, Bill.

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

WHITFIELD: Well, of course, the next phase is will there be a trial or is it likely that Scooter Libby will offer a plea deal -- or take a plea deal?

SCHNEIDER: Well, a lot of people don't think there will be a trial for one very simple reason, the defense for Mr. Libby would be very likely to call Vice President Richard Cheney to testify on behalf of his former chief of staff. If that's the case, it could be uncomfortable, perhaps embarrassing.

Mr. Libby may not want to do that. She spent much of his career protecting Dick Cheney. And now is accused, indicted, for lying on behalf of his boss. And it may be that he chooses not to expose his boss in that way, takes a plea bargain, which could involve a prison sentence.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Because the maximum, if he were found guilty of these five counts, we're talking about 30 years and $1.5 million in fines.

SCHNEIDER: That would be the maximum. But usually a plea bargain involves some deal where a less than maximum -- sometimes far less than maximum sentence is imposed.

WHITFIELD: All right. And how can this White House rebound? We're talking about flipping approval ratings for the president. We're talking about this ongoing investigation. Harriet Miers withdrawing her name as Supreme Court nominee. You have to wonder if the president can expect that he has some support from the conservative base or Republicans as a whole?

SCHNEIDER: Yeah. Well, that was the big shock, that conservatives defied this president on his nomination of Harriet Miers and they were in open revolt against him. That is what happens when a president's popularity goes down.

In this country, politicians are independent political entrepreneurs. They're all in business for themselves. And if they think a president is unpopular, they'll go their own way, which is what happened on the Miers nomination.

What this president needs to do is to create an impression, in fact, create the fact of a fresh start. And that usually means acknowledging misstakes, something this president has been reluctant to do. And also perhaps cleaning house at the White House and changing a lot of the team, the personnel, as President Reagan did after Iran-Contra.

WHITFIELD: Is this a case where we see that this Bush White House just might take that patt, even though it has demonstrate in so many ways a sense of loyalty? But this go-around since so much is at stake, might we see an about-face in their approach of doing business?

SCHNEIDER: We might. But there are no indications of it right now. That's not usually the way this president operates, which is why it would be a welcome surprise to a lot of people to see this president essentially get a fresh start.

WHITFIELD: Americans will show their anger or disappointment how, when it comes down to midterm elections? Or does it mean waiting as far as the 2008 presidential elections?

SCHNEIDER: Midterm elections are a year away. And in politics a year is an eternity. Right now the number that matters is the president's job approval rating, which is already in the low 40s. It has once or twice dipped below 40 percent. It lifted a little bit last weekend because Americans seem to be impressed by the constitutional referendum in Iraq and hopeful that perhaps Iraqis can elect their government and we might begin to see the possibility of an American withdrawal. That, plus the trial of Saddam Hussein, which reminded a lot of Americans what the war was about in the first place.

But the latest news, 2000 military deaths in Iraq, Harriet Miers, the indictment of the vice president's chief of staff, all of that may bring numbers down again. And as I like to put it, the president's job approval rating in Washington is like the Dow Jones Industrial Index in New York, it really tells you who has power and what's going on.

WHITFIELD: Bill Schneider in Washington, thanks so much.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

WHITFIELD: Unmasking a covert CIA operative is not only illegal, it's dangerous. In an interview with CBS's "60 Minutes," Valerie Plame's husband, Joe Wilson says specific threats have been made against his wife. The former U.S. ambassador would not go into detail about those threats, but he says the couple has had to discuss her security with several government agencies since then.

And she's also had to do damage control, protecting her contacts since her cover has been blown. That according to Joe Wilson.

And our Wolf Blitzer goes one-on-one with the former ambassador, Joe Wilson, about the CIA leak investigation in THE SITUATION ROOM. Look for that interview Monday at a special time, 7:00 p.m. Eastern. CNN.com has launched a special report detailing the CIA leak probe. For a timeline of the investigation, a look at key players, a profile of Scooter Libby and full text of the indictment log onto CNN.com/CIAleak.

Long lines and short tempers: five days after Wilma hit, why people can't get gas in Florida. We'll go live to Miami.

Building costs: why they're going up after a record hurricane season.

And shorter days: how that affects your body? Dr. Bill Lloyd is here this hour on CNN LIVE SATURDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Still struggling in south Florida five days after Hurricane Wilma hit. Again today, cars are lined up at gas stations, Behind the wheel, residents desperate to get their lives back to normal. For the latest developments there, let's go to CNN's JJ Ramberg who is live in Miami -- JJ?

RAMBERG: Hi there, Fredricka. Well, getting back to normal has been proving quite difficult for a lot of people. Residents here in Miami are pretty dependent on their cars, so a lot of them had to rearrange many parts of their lives just to deal with how scarce gas is here.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVE LEHMAN, MIAMI RESIDENT: You can't do what you want to do, that's for sure.

RAMBERG (voice-over): Dave Lehman has lived in Miami for 43 years. He says all week he's missed out on things he's wanted or need to do just because he couldn't get on them. Last Tuesday he had to skip a doctor's appointment.

LEHMAN: I called and said if they wanted to see me, they better send me a five gallon can of gas.

RAMBERG: This ICU nurse has barely driven her car since Wilma struck on Monday not wanting to risk an empty gas tank.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've been trying to use my car just to go to work and saving the gas as much as I can.

RAMBERG: She has three-quarters of a tank by the time she made it to this station but she's taking no chances.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm filling it up because I'm afraid we're going to have the problem for a while. So, make sure my gas is -- my tank is full.

RAMBERG: Arthur Ables usually visits his daughter every day to help her run errands and take care of her five children. She lives just 20 minutes away, but he's only had enough gas to go see her twice since the storm.

UNIDNETIFIED MALE: So, I tried to talk to them and let them know that we can't, because we don't have the gas. We don't know how long we would be able to get to their house.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RAMBERG: Now, the people you just saw interviewed, Fredricak, were the people we spoke to early morning. They were the lucky once, this line moved pretty quickly and there were never more than 20 cars in line. But by 9:30 this morning, this gas station was out of gas -- Fredricka.

WHTIFIELD: All right. That smarts. Thanks so much, JJ Ramberg.

This week has been a tough one for tens of thousands of Floridians whose lives have been impacted by Hurricane Wilma. CNN's Rusty Dornin takes a look now at how the region has been coping overall.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, guys, let's go.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): While waiting for gas in hollywood, Florida, Matt Campbell is nearly running on empty. There's about 30 cars ahead of him and he's been here since 7:30 this morning.

MATT CAMPBELL, FLORIDA RESIDENT: About 5 1/2 hours now.

DORNIN: And what are you trying to get?

CAMPBELL: Gas for our restaurant.

DORNIN: Campbell manages this restaurant across town where owner Thomas Franco is struggling to keep the doors open.

(on camera): How tough is it to get the business up and running?

THOMAS FRANCO, RESTAURANT OWENER: We can't. We try our best. Right now, all we're doing is pizza. We have a generator out back, one refridgerator and and a pizza oven.

DORNIN: But it's one day at a time, right?

FRANCO: One day at a time.

DORNIN (voice-over): Across town, Crystal Carlton cooks with propane, is out ice and now has to throw all her food out. But she has plenty of time to figure out what to do for her family's next meal.

(on camera): You're not working, right?

CRYSTAL CARLTON, FLORIDA RESIDENT: Right. I mean, we worked at a local hotel. And we closed down the hotel, because we don't have any power, we can't take guests in. So there is nothing to do. We ran out of gas. We had generators, but we can't get gas any where. So, it's a kind of a desperate time right now.

DORNIN (voice-over): Two blocks away, Princess Sacasa is also out of a job until the lights come back on. Besides the power, the water here is not safe to drink.

This is ridiculous. You have to go outside to get something.

DORNIN (on camera): Boil your water.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just to boil some water.

DORNIN (voice-over): So the family bought a new device in the back yard to heat food and boil water.

(on camera): It's not just that the power is out, it's affecting a lot more of your life.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Exactly. Like yesterday my mom got into an accident due to the light, the street lights being out.

DORNIN: Carlton is looking for a signal that normalcy will soon return. If not, she has a plan.

CARLTON: Probably consider, you know, going on the plane and living with my mom in New York for a little while until we can get to a real life, because this isn't a real life.

DORNIN: But it is life for her and more than a million others like her in south Florida who are still powerless.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Wilma is gone, but we're keeping an eye on yet another hurricane. Ahead, what damage Beta has done and where the storm might be going next.

Plus, paying tribute to Rosa Parks when CNN LIVE SATURDAY returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The body of rosa parks is to lie in honor beginning tomorrow evening at the U.S. Capitol Building today. And right now, this live picture you're seeing, the body is being viewed in Montgomery, Alabama where Parks helped ignite the civil rights movement by refusing to give up her bus seat to a white passenger. Parks died Monday at the age of 92. She'll be the first woman ever to lie in honor at the U.S. Capitol.

Other news across America now. The mother of teenaged murder suspect Scott Dyleski has been released from jail in Contra Costa County, California. She had been charged as an accessory to murder in the death of Pamela Vitale, the wife of defense attorney Daniel Horowitz. The charge was dropped when Esther Fielding agreed to testify truthfully at her son's trial.

D.C. Councilman and former Mayro Marion Berry apparently did not file a proper tax return. Berry has pleaded guilty to charges that he failed to pay taxes on more than a half million dollars. He could be sentenced to up to a year-and-a-half in prison.

And it may be a seriously bad marketing approach to holiday spirits, Seriously Bad Elf is a British Imported beer with a holiday appeal, but liquor control officials in Connecticut don't like the label. One, shows a grouchy looking elf with a sling-shot firing Christmas ornaments at Santa's sleigh.

Hurricane effeect: if you have plans to renovate or rebuild, be prepared. This record storm season is going to hit you in the pocketbook. We'll explain.

Plus, Daylight Savings Time is coming to an end, and just because you know it's darker earlier does, your body? Our Dr. Bill Lloyd explains straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: And here are the latest developments. No claim OF responsibility for what the Indian government says was a terrorist attack on New Delhi. A string of explosions killed at least 55 people and wounded 155. Two of the strikes occurred at marketplace full of shoppers getting ready for a festival.

About half of the U.S. marines stationed in Okinawa, Japan will be transferred to the island of Guam. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced the agreement with Japanese counterparts, saying it will reduce the impact of the U.s. military on local communities. Okinawans have long complained of crime associated with the U.S. Marine base.

And Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby is due in court within days on charges of lying during the investigation of who leaked the name of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame. Libby resigned yesterday. Two sources close to the investigation tell CNN that the president's adviser, Karl Rove is anonymously identified in the indictment.

Two months after Hurricane Katrina flooded much of New Orleans, dozens of police department employees will have to find new jobs. The department has fired 45 officers and six civilian employees. They're accused of leaving their post either just before or just after the hurricane struck.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUPT. WARREN RILEY, NEW ORLEANS POLICE DEPT: It was obvious that during the crisis, during the time when we needed police officers the most, when our citizens counted on us and we counted on our fellow officers to be there during the most challenging time in the history of New Orleans in modern time, anyway, those officers were not there. And not only were they not there, they have not returned since that time.

So, it will be very difficult for them to function in our current operation. We need to be able to count on them. And they weren't there, so they were terminated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: More than a dozen officers who were under investigation for abandonment have resigned and other cases are still being reviewed.

Another controversy surrounding Hurricane Katrina, this battle is over who should rebuild the Gulf coast reason. Officials in Louisiana say government contractors are not giving construction jobs to local residents. Instead, many of those jobs are going to out of state workers, and in some case illegal immigrants. Reporting from New Orleans CNN's Ed Lavandera.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's 10:00 p.m. and dozens of illegal immigrants have been fired from their jobs. And they're quickly moving out of New Orleans. Only Efrain Sanchez explains what happened.

He says they took us out because we didn't have papers. When we started the job, they didn't ask for IDs. We built their houses, I hurt my finger and they did nothing for me.

Ironically, these undocumented workers spent the last few weeks building temporary housing units for the government on the grounds of a U.S. naval station. Sanchez says he was paid $8 an hour, slept in a tent and says he is now leaving New Orleans without much to show for it.

He says we are waiting for our bosses to pay us, but they tell us it's impossible because the checks are coming from a different company in Florida.

New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin says most contractors aren't spending government money the right way.

MAY. RAY NAGIN, NEW ORLEANS: We have been working with the contractors to basically say you must hire local workers.

LAVANDERA: Federal laws requiring a proof of identification have been suspended for companies rebuilding the Gulf Coast region. Government contractors say that's needed to get the jobs filled and the work done faster.

(on camera): It doesn't take long to see why the problem exists. We're on the main street that brings you into St. Bernard Parish, a place once lined with many businesses. For example, you have a mardi gras carnival mart here, a barber shop here. But everything is shut down. The only thing is government sponsored reconstruction jobs. (voice-over): There are signs of improvement. This chemical waste site is operated by an Environmental Protection Agency contractor. In just a few days Adrian Richard will be working here in the neighborhood he used to call home. He's training for a job that will pay him $22 an hour, plus $39 in per diem and a comfortable hotel room to livein . It's such a good deal that Richard wants to bring his family back.

ADRIAN RICHARD, NEW ORLEANS RESIDENT: I just want to, you know, get St. Bernard back on his feet so I can bring my family down and start my life over, that's all.

LAVANDERA: While politicians like to point to the Adrian Richards as a shining example of the reconstruction here, it's the plight of Efrain Sanchez that paints the more realistic picture of the rebuilding process.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Also anyone building or renovating a home is feeling is also impact of Hurricane Katrina. Prices for supplies have gone up across the board. CNN's Kathleen Koch has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN MEOMARTINO, HOMEOWNER: Well, the roof is 16-years-old and the house is 31-years-old.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So when the sky light started to leak, Susan Martino and her husband decided it was time to replace the roof on their Ellicott City, Maryland home. They thought it might cost double the $3600 they paid for a new roof in 1989.

MEOMARTINO: And it came in at $17,000. And I just about about dropped dead.

KOCH: Her builder blames Katrina for sending shingle prices soaring.

MEOMARTINO: It was $36 a package last year. And he just paid $60.

KOCH: Nationwide, shingles are up 10 percent since the hurricane. Plywood up 14 percent. A cheaper substitute, oriented strand board up 38 percent. Cement is up 13 percent over last year.

Images like these from Gulfport, Mississippi are being e-mailed out by some suppliers to brace builders for upcoming spikes in lumber prices.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE; We were told that in the upcoming months that we should expect increases in plywood prices and basic lumber prices could be anywhere from 30 to 100 percent increase, depending on the demand. KOCH (on camera): Building materials were already in tight supply before hurricane season because of the housing boom.

(voice-over): Now southern lumber mills have been damaged. 15 to 18 billion board feet of timber destroy. The port of New Orleans which handled 10 percent of the country's cement imports is not yet operating at full capacity. And demand from the Gulf Coast hasn't yet peaked since many areas have not yet moved from demolition to construction.

So more builders are adding clauses, making the contracts bottom line adjustable if material costs go up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The builders are members are going to protect themselves by putting escalator clauses in contracts. This is two years in a row now where you've had significant hurricane seasons that have led to rising prices that say up there.

KOCH: For homeowners like the Meomartinos, it means scaling back, eliminating plans to retile the kitchen and add leaf guards to the gutters.

MEOMARTINO: We had to cut something out, so no new floor and no leaf guards. But we're getting what we need.

KOCH: At a premium price.

Kathleen Koch, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The Colombian islands of San Andreas and Providencia are getting hammered by Hurricane Beta. The category one slammed the islands today with torrential rains and damaging winds. Beta in intensifying and heading toward the mainland of Central America, with an expected landfall in Nicaragua tomorrow.

And Bonnie Schneider already, there is an update, or at least one momentarily, right?

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOLOGIST: We just got it in, Fredricka.

This is the 5:00 advisory from the National Hurricane Center. Beta really has not changed very much in the past few hours. the movement is still to the west near five miles per hour. So a slow movement. Maximum winds are near 90 miles per hour, classifying Beta as a category one.

This storm is not as large as what we've seen with Wilma, what we've seen with Rita and Katrina. The storm center right now is about 100 miles of the coastline of Honduras and Nicaragua, but the maximum size of the storm is about 120 miles wide.

Not to minimize it by any means, it's already pounding the islands. And as it works it's way on shore, we are expecting possibly even further intensification, though it should come onshore as a category one, possibly a category two if we get some stronger winds.

This will be affecting much of Central America straight through the weekend. And unfortunately, it's going cause a lot of storm surge and mud slides. That will be a major problem

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Well, don't forget to set your clocks back. But you might need to remind your body that winter is upon us.

And what Harriet Miers had to endure, a lighter look at embattled former Supreme Court nominee straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)`

WHITFIELD: If you're awake early tomorrow, you'll notice an extra hour of daylight. But early tomorrow evening, it will be pitch- dark.

Daylight Savings Time ends tomorrow morning at 2:00 a.m. So tonight is the nice to set your clock back one hour before you go to bed. Spring forward, fall back, as they say.

Also, this is as good a time as any to check your smoke alarms. Those batteries don't last forever.

Well, it's barely been a month since summer departed the scene, but some of us already have had our first cases of the sniffles. There's no denying that colder weather is a strain on the body. But why?

Joining us now from Sacramento, California, Dr. Bill Lloyd. He has studied the effects of what experts now are calling seasonal affected disorder, or S.A.D. Good to see you, Dr. Bill.

Why is it that colder, darker temperatures and climates mean that we are less likely to be as healthy as usual?

DR. BILL LLOYD, UC DAVIS: It definitely does. We've got the calendar all wrong. Tomorrow is actually the beginning of winter, of hibernation season. We've got holidays coming up, shorter colder days and more and more excuses to exercise less and to eat more.

WHITFIELD: And so S.A.D., or seasonal affected disorder are most of us -- or many more of us more susceptible to it?

LLOY: They think maybe 10 percent of people are susceptible to the changes of sunlight that come with these shorter days. And many cases of major depression are made even worse. So it's something not to be taken lightly. And everyone should make it a point to get outdoors every day and get a little sun. At least 30 minutes of sunlight. And if you're trapped in a dark environment, you need to think about light therapy where you would use a light source that has at least 10,000 lux, LUX. That's now an ordinary light bulb. That's a special light unit that you can get.

Talk to a sleep disorder doctor if you think you have S.A.D. And they can hook you up with one of the indoor lighting units.

WHITFIELD: All right. Also, associated with winter, of course flu shots. Does that have any impact on our susceptibility to colds?

LLOYD: Oh, absolutely not. It's a totally different virus. But it's a powerful idea, and everyone should make their best effort to get that flu shot. In the meantime, you can protect yourself from the cold, of course, by staying away from people who have colds, frequently washing your hands.

Some people you know, they love that echinacea. I would pertend to -- or I would favor going with vitamin c instead as a healthier way to protect yourself from the cold virus.

WHITFIELD: And also being strong, trying to keep your immunity system up. Not everyone is going to afford or opt to go to the gym. So, what are some other ways to stay healthier, stay fit in the cold winter months?

LLOY: Certainly. You are going to want to supplement your life during the winter. And some of these supplements would include a pill you can take every day. Daily vitamins loaded with vitamin C and vitamin D. They are the sunshine vitamins that you are not going to get during the winter, particularly our diets tend to get away from those fresh produce and fresh vegetables. So think about taking a little more vitamin C and vitamin D.

As we mentioned earlier get plenty of sunlight. Some people like to take melatonin as a natural remedy for S.A.D. I would only caution you before you change any pills that you're taking, talk to your doctor. Will this interfere with medications that I'm already taking. Clear it with your doctor before hand.

You already mentioned about increase the amount of moisture in your life, that includes skin and hand moisturizers. And think about an indoor humidifier as well to raise the moisture in the air in your home. And, of course, more and more hand washing during the winter months to protect yourself and family members from getting the cold.

WHITFIELD: All great advice. Thanks so much, Dr. Bill Lloyd.

LLOYD: We'll talk again soon.

WHITFIELD: All right.

And straight ahead, more of CNN LIVE SATURDAY with Carol Lin.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: I love that Bill Lloyd.

WHITFIELD: I do too.

I love his energy.

LIN: Of course your child is not in school yet. So wait until little John goes to school, because keep...

None of that you can avoid.

WHITFIEDL: I know, I know.

LIN: He's going to get sick.

Anyway, coming up at 5:00 today, I'm going to have a debate about the Wal-Mart memo. Did you hear about that? We want to really get down to the bottom basics. Did this Wal-Mart executive actually say that the company should only hire young, healthy people and the change of benefits there for such a large company. What does that mean to people like and you me and the audience.

At 6:00 today, Carlos Watson, our political analyst has a fresh take on the White House criminal cases and what President Bush will have to do, interesting ideas on what he might have to do in order to get those poll numbers up and the American people's trust back.

WHITFIELD: Look forward to that. We know they are all strategizing right there at the White House, but this time at Camp David this weekend.

LIN: Right. Right.

All right, blockbust two hours straight ahead.

WHITFIELD: All right. We look forward to that.

Well, Harriet Miers is no longer a nominee for the Supreme Court. She stepped down on Thursday. Our Jeanne Moos reminds us, though, of some of the reason why in a rather comical way when CNN LIVE SATURDAY returns.

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WHITFIELD: Well, now that Harriet Miers has withdrawn her nomination to the supreme court, she won't have to endure days of tough questioning by U.S. senators. But what she has endured would make the most thick skinned among us a little weepy; ridiculed, caricatures and some pretty harsh jokes, here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.

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JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The president and cartoonists called her a pit bull in size six shoes. But the pit bull got eaten alive, insulted on the Web, lampooned on late-night TV.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you for being here on "Jeopardy" -- Ms. Miers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just don't ask me any legal questions.

BILL MAHER, "REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER": At least when Clinton talked about tapping the woman down the hall, he was just having sex with her.

MOOS: But the jabs from the right were what knocked her out. BAY BUCHANAN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: The president has made a terrible, terrible mistake.

ANN COULTER, CONSERVATIVE COMMENTATOR: We're talking about the Supreme Court. This is not a reward for, you know, best attendance at office of legal counsel meetings.

MOOS: Her qualifications, or lack thereof, were a lightning rod for ridicule. "I've never been a judge, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night."

As for the mutual admiration she and the president felt, her own words served as a self-inflicted, kill-two-birds-with-one-quote punch.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dear diary, George W. Bush is the most brilliant man I have ever met.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's the most brilliant man I ever met.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.

MOOS: And though we laughed, it wasn't without a tinge of guilt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel bad for her, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm sure she's very glad that it's over, because I feel pretty much, poor Harriet, too.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Capitol Hill is, you know, it's a contact sport up there. You float the balloon, and sometimes it gets shot at. And I mean that's one of the whole problems...

MOOS (on camera): She got machine-gunned.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She did.

MOOS (voice-over): One minute, it was Harriet Miers' dream come true, nominated to the Supreme Court. The next minute, supreme humiliation, with Harriet Miers look-alike contests pitting her against Darrin's mom from "Bewitched," comedian Amy Sedaris and even Alice Cooper.

And who among us could withstand a hairstyle retrospective?

But not everyone was saying there, but for the grace of God, go I. Not Nancy Grace, anyway.

NANCY GRACE, CNN HEADLINE NEWS: No, I don't feel sorry for her. She'll go write a book.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no pity for her, per se, I mean.

MOOS (on camera): See, I feel bad for her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But he kicks puppies, so, you know.

MOOS (voice-over): At least they didn't accuse Harriet Miers of doing that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She likes puppies, too.

MOOS: WIP, withdraw in peace, said one Web site. It's better to have been nominated and withdrawn than never to have been nominated at all. Bet Harriet Miers doesn't agree, thinking back to her happy nomination.

HARRIET MIERS, FORMER SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: I have a special note this morning for my mom. Thank you for your faith.

MOOS: Let's hope her 91-year-old mom wasn't surfing the net or watching TV.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This wasn't a choice based on friendship. We're not even that close.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bushy!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

MOOS: Wonder if she'll ever wear that blue suit again without feeling blue.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Still much more to come on CNN. Straight ahead, the latest controversy to hit Wal-Mart. Critics say an internal memo reveals a plan to discourage unhealthy people from applying for jobs there. Carol Lin takes a look at the accusation straight ahead on CNN LIVE Saturday.

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