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CNN LIVE SATURDAY

The 15-year-old Florida Student Accused of Waving a Pellet Gun at Police has Died; Black Market For Goods and Services Thriving in Iraq; Nic Robertson Analysis of Attack Aimed at Zawahiri, Dead Or Alive, It Will Impact Al Qaeda Operations, Pakistani Politics; Voodoo Makes A Comeback in New Orleans; The Power of Oprah, She Comes To James Frey's Defense

Aired January 14, 2006 - 17:00   ET

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

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: A tragic end for a disturbed eighth grader. The 15-year-old Florida student accused of waving a pellet gun at police has died. We're going to have much more on this story.
And Pakistan says a missile strike did not kill top al Qaeda terrorist Ayman el-Zawahiri. But 18 people did die in the attack, including children. And now Pakistan wants an investigation.

And are ground zero rescue workers dying needlessly? I'm going to look at the medical problems that are coming to light more than four years later.

Hello and welcome to CNN LIVE SATURDAY.

I'm Carol Lin.

Now, a check of the day's headlines.

A possible blow to the trial of Saddam Hussein. An Iraqi court official says persuading judge Rizgar Amin will ask to step down tomorrow. Now, his reasons aren't known, but people involved in the trial have been gunned down.

The federal Centers for Disease Control is urging physicians to use Tamiflu and Relenza on flu patients. Two other drugs used to combat the flu are not working this season. The government says the dominant strain of flu is resistant to Amantidine and Rimantidine.

And the FBI nabs a reputed Chicago mob boss. Joey "The Clown" Lombardo has been on the lam since April, when he and 13 others were indicted in connection with a series of unsolved murders.

Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.

To our top story now. Neighbors say he went to school Friday saying he hoped he would die. Well, today that tragic wish became all too real. Friends and family are mourning a Florida eighth grader who was shot after confronting police.

CNN's J.J. Ramberg is in his hometown of Longwood -- J.J. you've been working on this developing story all afternoon.

J.J. RAMBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol.

We certainly have. And it was just confirmed by Christopher Penley's brother, Teak Penley (ph), that he, indeed, died earlier today. The Associated Press also confirmed this from a family spokesperson, Kelly Swofford.

Now, this is a story that started yesterday around 9:30 in the morning, when Chris Penley came to his middle school -- he's an eighth grader -- wielding what we now know was a pellet gun. But at the time, nobody knew what it was. Many people thought it was a real gun. It was painted to look like a real gun.

He took one student hostage. He was waving his gun. Earlier today, we got some exclusive footage from our affiliate here, WKMG. They had an interview with that student who was taken hostage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAURICE COTEY, STUDENT: And then everyone ran out of the classroom except for me and this one girl. And we were walking and he said, "You, stay." So the girl, she ran out of the classroom. And he told me to get up against the blackboard. And I did. And he put the gun to my back. And then we -- then I told him, "Please don't shoot me, please don't shoot me."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAMBERG: That was an interview with Maurice Cotey, who spoke yesterday to KMG with his mother by his side. And that was a very frightening experience, as you just heard from that student, for many of the students at the school and many of the teachers and law enforcement.

The incident ended yesterday when Christopher Penley was cornered into an alcove of the school. And then it's reported by the sheriff that he says Christopher Penley aimed his gun at SWAT team officers who were trying to talk to him and the SWAT team then shot him. And now we know the tragic end to that is that he died today -- Carol.

LIN: J.J. any idea what happened to this little boy? Did he have a history of mental illness? Were there other problems?

RAMBERG: As of right now, we haven't heard of any history of mental illness or other problems. Some of his friends and neighbors were interviewed. Some of them said that he was depressed, that he had said before that he hated his life. But many people were very surprised, of course, that something like this happened.

LIN: J.J. thank you very much.

Later on tonight, I'm going to be talking with Maurice Cotey, the little boy who told his story there and how he was backed into a corner and how he tried to grab Christopher Penley's gun.

In the meantime, right now we want to move on to outrage in Pakistan. The country is condemning a deadly U.S. air strike in its -- right near its border with Afghanistan. The target, one of the most wanted men in the war on terror.

CNN's senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre, with more details -- Jamie, what literally happened? Do we know whether Zawahiri is dead or alive right now?

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we don't know for sure and, Carol, even with the best intelligence, it's difficult to kill an individual on the ground with an air strike. And in this case, there are some serious questions about how good the intelligence was.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

MCINTYRE (voice-over): What began as what the CIA apparently believed was a good shot at taking out Osama bin Laden's chief deputy, may be turning into an embarrassing example of the limitations of targeting individuals from the air. At least 18 people died Friday morning in what knowledgeable sources tell CNN was a CIA ordered air strike in northwestern Pakistan.

Among the dead, women and children, but according to a Pakistani intelligence official, apparently not the intended target, Al Qaeda's number two, Ayman el-Zawahiri.

Once that became clear, Pakistan filed a formal complaint with the U.S. ambassador, protesting the use of force within Pakistan's border.

SHAIKH RASHID AHMAD, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING MINISTER: We deeply regret that civilian lives have been lost in an incident in Bajur Agency. While this act is highly condemnable, we have been for a long time striving to rid all of our tribal areas of foreign intruders.

MCINTYRE: This is the third time in two months the U.S. has pulled the trigger inside Pakistan. On December 3rd, intelligence sources say the CIA sent missiles into a house in North Waziristan, an area where sympathy for al Qaeda is known to be high. U.S. officials privately claim the CIA had killed a reputed top al Qaeda planner, Hamza Rabia, even though Pakistan's government officially maintained Rabia died in a bomb making accident.

Last Saturday, U.S. helicopters reportedly attacked a house in the same ungoverned tribal area, killing eight people. The Pakistan leader lodged a protest with the U.S. military in Afghanistan, who denied operating in the area.

If it's confirmed innocent civilians were killed this time, experts say Pakistan may be under pressure to reel in the CIA to show its sovereignty is intact.

PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: My guess is, is that probably the CIA will decide, on a case by case basis, if it's worth doing something or not. And public apologies will be made. But I don't think the agency is going to suddenly say OK, we never going to go after high level members of al Qaeda if there's a risk of killing civilians.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

MCINTYRE: And experts also caution that it's too soon to say that there weren't any -- wasn't anyone connected with al Qaeda among the dead in that air strike. And do U.S. officials want to wait for the results of DNA test before they conclude whether or not Ayman el- Zawahiri was, in fact, there or not.

LIN: Jamie, does the United States, before making these kinds of strikes on Pakistani territory, does the military have to consult with the Pakistani government? Or can the U.S. fire missiles any time it wants to?

MCINTYRE: Well, that's a very sensitive subject and obviously there's coordination with the Pakistani government. But that's not something that either side wants to talk about publicly. It's interesting, when it's a success, it's a little easier to get information or someone to acknowledge the U.S. had a role.

LIN: Sure.

MCINTYRE: When it doesn't work out so well, then nobody wants to talk about it.

LIN: Right. Well, because then how is the United States going to be able to monitor the DNA testing of those remains?

MCINTYRE: Well, I'm not clear exactly how the DNA testing is going to be done. Some reports have suggested it might be done by the United States because it has better technology. But it's not clear to me where they get the DNA samples to match these things to. And it's one of those things that, again, they just don't talk about, so we don't have a lot of details about how it's being done.

LIN: Jamie, thank you very much, live from the Pentagon.

Now, coming up, you've seen him many times on al Qaeda videotapes, but who is Ayman el-Zawahiri? Well, our senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson, is going to be here to explain in just a bit.

In the meantime, if you are a cell phone user -- and who isn't these days -- we've got some news for you. There is a chance that your privacy is under attack right now.

Here's the story from Washington from CNN's Louise Schiavone.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

LOUISE SCHIAVONE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What if every step you took, every call you made, could be traced, was being traced? Not impossible through 21st century cell phone technology. MARC ROTENBERG, ELECTRONIC PRIVACY INFORMATION CENTER: And you can track people in real time using the cell location information or even with GPS. You can obtain information about people's -- the numbers that they called on the Internet through businesses that now make that information available.

SCHIAVONE: Seriously, check out one company that for $110 proclaims "give us the phone number and we will send you the calls made from the cell number."

The Electronic Privacy Information Center has identified 40 of these services. Top Senate Democrat Harry Reid calls it "a remarkable assault on the privacy rights of Americans." In a letter Friday to the Federal Communications Commission requesting "the Commission immediately begin an investigation into how online data brokers are obtaining Americans' private phone records."

Democrat Ed Markey, top Democrat on the House Telecommunications Subcommittee, has made a similar request, simply calling the practice "illegally."

ORIN KERR, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: Whenever a cell phone is on, it's connecting to towers. It's sending out signals. And cell phone providers have this information.

So the question is, given that the technology creates this information, what should we do with it and who should have access to it when?

SCHIAVONE: More and more, through many GPS navigators embedded in cell phones, an individual's location can be pinpointed sometimes to within five feet. Police say it can save lives.

CHIEF MARY ANN VIVERETTE, INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CHIEFS OF POLICE: A lot of times when we have hostage negotiations involved, a lot of the hostage takers are using cell phones. We need to know where those people are when they're actually committing that crime. We've had cases where they've said they were in the house and we've later determined that they were in the woods behind the house.

SCHIAVONE: The challenge for lawmakers now is to balance legitimate law enforcement needs with privacy rights.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

SCHIAVONE: Carol, so far Congress hasn't settled the question of how cell phone locator information gathered by law enforcement can be used. Experts say the law is unclear and the courts are divided -- Carol.

LIN: Louise, any way that consumers can know whether somebody has tapped into their cell phone records?

SCHIAVONE: What you need to do when you have a cell phone is check with your provider. Make sure that you know what their policy is and make them certain that you do not want your information shared with anyone except upon your request. And you can also request a password to lock in your private information.

LIN: All right, so we have some control over this then, right, as consumers?

SCHIAVONE: Theoretically, you do.

LIN: OK, thanks very much, Louise Schiavone.

Well, some South Carolina residents are cleaning up today. Last night, a suspected tornado with winds up to 110 miles per hour ripped through a mobile home park near Manning, injuring nine people. More than two dozen homes were damaged or destroyed.

And the winds are suspected of killing an Alabama woman. She was killed Friday when high winds are suspected of pushing her chimney over.

Now, shredded insulation, damaged gutters and a whole lot more littering yards in Gastonia, North Carolina today. A handful of homes were declared uninhabitable after a fast moving storm system swept through last night. More than a dozen others were damaged. A fire official suspects the winds whipped into a tornado, which cut power to thousands of residents.

And believe it or not, there are more trouble spots today.

Meteorologist Monica McNeal has a check of today's forecast -- Monica.

MONICA MCNEAL, METEOROLOGIST: All right, Carol, well, we don't have to worry about the tornadoes or the severe weather, but we've got some blustery winds out there. You'd better hold onto your hat.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LIN: Well, Alaska's Mount Augustine volcano keeps rumbling. And officials say there could be more eruptions over the next few days. The volcano, 180 miles southwest of Anchorage, erupted early today and five times yesterday. Alaska Airlines canceled 28 flights just as a precaution. Ash is coating some communities, but no major damage is reported.

Now, what is it like for a woman to be covering the war in Iraq? Well, straight ahead, the story of a CNN photographer and the challenges she faces in bringing these images to us every day.

And later, will the spirits come back to New Orleans? Just a few voodoo priests remain in the city, but the faithful believe more will return. That and much more straight ahead in this hour of CNN LIVE SATURDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Checking the stories now making "News Across America," three suspected members of the Earth Liberation Front are under arrest in California. The FBI says they're accused of plotting to blow up Forest Service facilities, cell phone towers and power generators. They were arrested at a shopping center yesterday.

And the jailed Kennedy cousin convicted of killing a teenaged neighbor is maintaining his innocence. In a one page note released by his attorney yesterday, Michael Skakel wrote, and I'm quoting here, "I am innocent. I did not murder Martha."

The Connecticut Supreme Court yesterday upheld Skakel's conviction for the 1975 murder of Martha Moxley. He is now serving 20 years to life.

And actress Shelley Winters has died. Her publicist says the 85- year-old actress died today of heart failure at the Rehabilitation Center of Beverly Hills in California. She was hospitalized in October after suffering a heart attack. Winters won Oscars for her roles in "The Diary of Anne Frank" and "A Patch of Blue."

Wildfires in -- firefighters in New Orleans are letting a smoking scrap yard fire burn itself out. The blaze erupted late Thursday in the city's Lower 9th Ward. It's not clear yet what caused it. It's burned through huge piles of debris left from hurricane Katrina's massive flooding. No one was hurt.

And a former New York City police detective died this month. He was only 34 years old. While active on the force, James Zadroga spent hundreds of hours in the rubble at ground zero. His union says Zadroga's death is directly tied to toxins from the rubble of the World Trade Center.

Now, that much isn't certain yet. But beyond question, many people who worked at the site are having health problems today.

So joining me now from New York, Dr. Jacqueline Moline.

She is director of a medical screening program for people who worked at ground zero.

Good afternoon, Dr. Moline.

DR. JACQUELINE MOLINE, WTC MEDICAL SCREENING PROGRAM, MT. SINAI SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Good afternoon.

LIN: You know, this story about this police officer was so heartrending. You know, some reports have him with bone fragments -- bone fragments from people he didn't even know, people who died, and parts of rubble inside his lungs.

You have actually done a study of some of the rescue workers who worked at ground zero.

What have you found?

MOLINE: Well, we have an ongoing medical monitoring program. And we've seen in the program about 15,000 people to date. We've seen people who have respiratory problems. They have asthma. Their airways are more reactive than they used to be. They're having persistent problems with sinuses, with nasal irritation. They're also having psychological problems that have persisted.

Some people have had series pulmonary problems. It's really impacted their ability to work, play with their families, recreational activities, their overall quality of life.

Unfortunately, some people have been so affected that they're out of work because they can't continue to work in their physically demanding jobs.

LIN: And when you say psychological problems, what specifically do you mean?

MOLINE: Well, we know about 20 percent of our patients have had symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Many people have anxiety. They now have panic attacks. They never used to. Some have depression. There have also been some people who have had difficulty with alcohol.

All of these are new since their exposures at the World Trade Center.

LIN: And that might not be surprising. But the sheer number of people, the percentage of people, some 40 to 50 percent of the group that you studied are suffering these effects?

MOLINE: Right. Well, it's not just the sheer numbers, the 40 to 50 percent. But we're four-and-a-half years out from the event and people are still suffering. We're seeing people that haven't gotten back to normal. Thankfully, many people have gotten better, but it's -- thousands of people have been affected and remain affected.

LIN: And what's being done for them?

MOLINE: Well, there are some medical treatment programs that are available through the generosity of philanthropic organizations. The American Red Cross has provided funding for medical treatment progress in the New York Metropolitan Area and actually nationwide, as well, for those responders.

LIN: Is it enough? Is it enough?

MOLINE: It's not enough. We have people who are unable to get the care they need. Many people lost their jobs and with that their health insurance. So they're falling through the cracks. And we're hoping that recent congressional appropriations will allow us to expand the treatment program and certainly continue it, which it's scheduled to -- the funding is scheduled to expire in 2007.

LIN: You know that 34-year-old police officer we were telling our audience about, he had a 4-year-old daughter who is now parentless because the mother died from black lung disease and the father has now passed away. So, so many more victims than even the ones that you are monitoring, huh?

MOLINE: It's truly a tragedy. This family has been affected so profoundly. The police officer was affected very early on and now he's no longer with us. We've seen the tremendous impact that the World Trade Center has had on so many of us in the New York area, so many families, so many workers, so many volunteers.

LIN: Right.

MOLINE: It's just -- and unfortunately the health problems are persisting.

LIN: Yes, well, Dr. Moline, let us not forget those people who risked their lives to save so many.

Thank you.

MOLINE: We certainly should not.

Thank you.

LIN: Thank you very much.

Now, you can buy anything and everything on the black market, even in Iraq. So we are going to tell you what is for sale on the streets of Baghdad straight ahead.

And later, why Mrs. Bush is traveling to Liberia this week. That and much more still ahead on CNN LIVE SATURDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: She has seen Iraq transformed by war, from a dictatorship to the fledgling democracy. And she has helped bring those images to u.

CNN's Baghdad video correspondent, Arwa Damon, joins me now with more insights about working and covering the evolving story that is Iraq -- Arwa, it's so great to see you in person.

ARWA DAMON, BAGHDAD VIDEO CORRESPONDENT: Thank you.

LIN: And we describe you in so many different ways -- correspondent, producer, videographer. You kind of do it all out there, don't you?

DAMON: I do. I do. And especially now more so. And whenever you're out there, though, the challenges are so different. But it's always so fulfilling in so many ways. And, you know, you're out there doing the thing bit, filming bit, producing bit, trying to get someone to open up to you to really tell you their story so that you can get to the heart of what the issues really are there.

LIN: And you can do that. You're fluent in Arabic.

DAMON: I am. I am fluent in Arabic. My mother is Syrian. And that opens so many doors. It's really inexplicable to be able to speak with the Iraqi people, to be able to, for example, on a military offensive, as they're clearing homes, be able to ask the family what their reaction is, to be able to chat with them afterward. To the moments where, for example, in Husayba, Western Anbar Province, where there was an operation a few months ago. We went through, we held up in a house with the Marines. The Marines were on the roof actually firing at -- insurgents were firing at them. And I was downstairs with the family drinking tea and trying to get their reaction. I was just chatting with them.

And they come to me and they also ask a lot of questions because I speak Arabic. I can act as a liaison between them and the U.S. forces...

LIN: What do they want to know?

DAMON: Sometimes they want to know why, why is this happening to us? And that, I think, is the hardest question to ever really try to answer, because...

LIN: They don't see the U.S. forces as a liberating forces?

DAMON: They do and they don't. It's really not that simple. It's not that black and white. It's not a yes or a no. A lot of times in the more recent operations we saw in Anbar Province, there's a recognition that there is an insurgency force that they are living under intimidation. They want help. They want to be able to live their lives. But also the problem is when the U.S. forces come in, the firefighting breaks out. And then the rules that they have under the insurgents, they know how to stay out of trouble with the insurgents that are present there.

When the U.S. forces come in, all of a sudden they're caught in the crossfire. And that, to them, in some cases, is more frightening than the entire intimidation campaign, because it's so unpredictable.

LIN: What is it like for you as a woman to work in a war zone? And you must get that question so often. I mean here you are, you're young, you're beautiful, you know, it's not the kind of profile of someone in the middle of a mess.

DAMON: It's definitely interesting, although I do have to say, when you're actually in combat, to be completely honest, when the bullets are flying, you're not really aware of being a woman.

LIN: Are they aware of you, though? I mean you get embedded with U.S. forces, you travel with men in fighting form, basically.

I mean do they feel comfortable with you? Do they see you as a woman, as a distraction?

DAMON: You need to establish yourself. You need to prove yourself, I think, as a female more than the men do, who are doing the same thing that you are. But once you've established that respect, it really doesn't matter. And the only time that you are really aware of being a woman -- and this is talking about combat, when you're in combat is actually when, you know, nature calls. And then you're looking for a way to salvage a little bit of dignity so that you can go about your business. Outside of combat, it does make a difference, actually, I think, for the guys, the troops who are there, because they view you as a female, as someone who will be maybe a little bit more compassionate. And they're always trying to be so tough and so strong for each other and they kind of, you know, come up to me sometimes and they just talk from their hearts. And they're just talking as a person and you don't get that so much with the men who are there, the male reporters who are there.

LIN: I'm sure it must be a relief, you know, for them to be able to talk with somebody because of the stress and knowing that you know what life is like in America and they can, you know, have a taste of some friendship outside of a war zone.

DAMON: Absolutely. Absolutely.

LIN: Oh, there's so much more I wish I could ask you, but top of the mind, thank you very much.

You've got a well deserved vacation coming up.

DAMON: Yes, I do.

LIN: And then back to the war zone?

DAMON: Yes, that's right. At the end of the month.

LIN: All right, well, we really enjoy your reporting.

Thank you.

DAMON: Thank you. Thanks a lot.

LIN: All right, in the meantime, despite the insurgent attacks, revolving power outages and intermittent sewage and water problems, one thing, a few thing that Arwa deals with, one of the things that is actually thriving in Iraq is the black market.

Our Michael Holmes takes us inside.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a city with a dearth of electricity, patchy medical care and precious little security, you want an Xbox? No problem. In fact, in Baghdad today, just about anything you want, you can find. Just don't expect it to be the real thing.

OSAMA KHATAN, SHOPKEEPER (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): We only have black markets here in Iraq, and we're doing good.

HOLMES: Video game stores are, indeed, doing good. Sales of PlayStation games, Xbox games and the like are brisk at a dollar apiece, every one of them are fake. The real thing could cost an Iraqi a half a month's salary. KHATAN (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Even the copies that we get from Asia, they are copies, because the originals are so expensive, too expensive for Iraqis.

HOLMES: Perhaps the biggest black market item, gasoline. Prices through the roof in this oil rich country. Supplies low, due partly to the insurgency, and so the ubiquitous gas cues.

(on camera): In order to stop cues like this at gas stations, they brought in a system. Even numbered license plates one day, odd the next. Seems sensible, but it just started another black market in fake license plates.

(voice-over): Which brings us to Ali Jasim, the black market gas seller. Like hundreds of others, he gets his gas, often watered down and marked way up, and sold to desperate customers who don't want or can't afford to spend six hours at a gas station.

ALI JASIM, BACK MARKET GAS SELLER: I don't like doing this, but I have to. I have no other job. And besides, the government doesn't help us. If I go to apply for a job, even the police force, you have to bribe them, $600, $700. Getting a job is a black market.

HOLMES: It's all over -- from guns, the latest movies, to clothing, to out of date medicine to -- no, it's not real Nike, something the store owner, Mohammed, doesn't even hide.

MOHAMMAD KADTHAM, STORE OWNER (through translator): We have Nike, fake. We have Puma, fake. It's all fake from China, Syria, Reeboks, Adidas.

HOLMES: The customers, not deceived happy even.

ALI MAJID, CUSTOMER (through translator): We know it's all fake. But this is best for us. We have this stuff, and for cheap.

HOLMES: The bottom line for black marketers, it's just business. And most Iraqis can't afford the real thing anyway, even if they could get it. We ask Osama Katan what would know in he decide to go legitimate

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): There would be no business at all.

HOLMES: Michael Holmes, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR, CNN LIVE SATURDAY: And we've been following the latest headlines for you as well. A Florida family is mourning the loss of their 15-year-old son today. The teen was shot by police Friday after he allegedly used a modified pellet gun to threaten police and students at a middle school. A family spokeswoman says the boy died from his injuries today.

And the presiding judge in the trial of Saddam Hussein wants to quit. Judge Rizgar Amin (ph) reportedly wants to remain with the tribunal trying the deposed dictator, but not in the crosshairs of so much controversy.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that has nation has the right to pursue its nuclear ambitions. Ahmadinejad calls the U.S. and other Western nations bullies, who have a medieval view the world.

And it's been quite a trip for the Stardust spacecraft. It has traveled through the solar system racking up nearly 3 billion miles. It's headed home now. Stardust will deliver a sample canister the star dust its been collecting for the past seven years, tomorrow. It's supposed to parachute back to the planet shortly after 5:00 a.m. Eastern.

Now the United States launches a deadly attack targeting Al Qaeda. Straight ahead, Nic Robertson is going to tell us why Pakistan is upset and wants an investigation.

And later, news out today from the CDC. The medicine you may be taking to fight the flu may not be helping you at all. Those details are just ahead. CNN LIVE SATURDAY will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: A key U.S. ally in the war on terror is fuming today; 18 people are dead in Pakistan after an air strike. U.S. sources say it targeted Al Qaeda's No. 2 man, but Pakistan says he was not killed.

So who exactly is Ayman Al-Zawahiri? And how will the attack impact U.S./Pakistani relations? CNN Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson is here to tackle some of these questions. Good to have you in town after many journeys.

Who is this man? Why do we care about him?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: The No. 2 to Osama bin Laden, often credited with giving the sort of political directions to Al Qaeda, a lot of inspiration through his regular video messages to Al Qaeda supporters throughout the world.

He's really seen as perhaps guiding Osama bin Laden to the point, he borders Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda to be a world wide ideology. So he's sort of critical, if you will, to the ideology, to what they should be thinking about and in the direction they should be heading. Perhaps not to the day-to-day operations though.

LIN: What do you make of the timing of this strike?

ROBERTSON: It's interesting, because it comes a week after the most recent videotaped statement after Ayman Al-Zawahiri. There have been five in the last year. People often ask the question, why is he able to make the statements, if he's one the most hunted-for man in the world? How come he gets these messages out?

Perhaps now the trail has been hot enough by these messages. Hot enough for intelligent officials to perhaps get some way down that trail; perhaps why this attack has come so soon after this tape. We don't that though.

LIN: Right now, Jamie McIntyre is reporting from the Pentagon, possibly bad information went about because there were women and children killed in this attack and Pakistanis saying, no Zawahiri's not dead.

ROBERTSON: Possibly bad information, caused by confusion. Who knows exactly why, or bad intelligent sources. But this was the time of a religious feast and festival in Pakistan. People would have been traveling from village to village. Larger numbers of people than normal traveling around. Perhaps this gave intelligent officials bad information. Perhaps somebody, again, gave erroneous information, meaning to -- or perhaps not meaning to, who knows.

LIN: So does this mean he is harder to catch next time or easier? Because obviously civilians paid a price for being anymore near this man.

ROBERTSON: You know, I think we can read it both ways. Number one, Zawahiri's smart, and he will learn something from this. Perhaps he will learn about a person who may have set him up. Perhaps he was in the vicinity. Perhaps he'll know somebody who now cannot be trusted in his inner circle.

Perhaps it will make it easier it catch him because villagers in Pakistan will say, hey, look, if this guy comes our direction, there's a price it pay. If we see him showing up, we will turn him in, or tell him to stay away. And the numbers of places he has to go to hide, if they diminish, that makes him harder to catch.

LIN: So Pakistan is upset about this. I mean they want an investigation. Does the United States typically consult Pakistan before making an air strike on Pakistani soil?

ROBERTSON: People familiar with the way that the CIA operates say this would be unlikely. Now a Pakistani opposition politician has been complaining quite vociferously in the last few hours, saying, look, Pakistani villagers heard this aircraft in the area for the last three days.

Now the Pakistani government initially said didn't know where the attack came from, didn't know what attacks were about. The opposition is saying, Pakistani government's not doing enough to protect its people.

There is a political price to pay in Pakistan. Particularly by President Musharraf, and he is a key U.S. ally. So how much consultation goes on when these aircraft are flying and the government of Pakistan must know that it's happening because it's happening over its territory.

LIN: Right, but it's happening in territory that the government doesn't have really much control over, it's wild tribal territory.

ROBERTSON: This particular area is still quite a residential area. It's not as remote as some of those tribal areas. And again this is what opposition politicians are saying. But look, the Pakistani government probably knew the operations were going on in this area in some form. Very unlikely they would have known the target, the timing, the intentions, a lot of the specific details.

But the way that the U.S. military and the Pakistani government and the Afghan government have been operating over last year or so, along that border area, is there is an ongoing war against these big terror suspects. And they know there are operations at time to time. Of course, the Pakistani government is not going to say -- and not going to tell its people -- it's allowing U.S. military to operate in its territory.

LIN: Right. Of course not, a very fine line, both sides are walking. Nic, thank you very much. We'll be talking more about the hunt for the man, and what happens next in the next hour. Thank you.

ROBERTSON: Right, thank you.

LIN: In the meantime, it's been in New Orleans since the 1700s, but did Hurricane Katrina push voodoo out of the city for good? That story straight ahead.

And later the, power of Oprah Winfrey. If she likes it, sells. CNN LIVE SATURDAY will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Want to bring you some pictures, just in to the CNN Center. They're a live picture actually, out of Palo Pinto, Texas. This is the suburb outside of Dallas where a fire is burning right now. So far no homes are threatened. It looks like a pretty rural area but there is a school nearby. And we may be looking at it right now. We will keep an eye on this situation.

We've been covering fires on and off for the last month as unusually high temperatures in parts of Texas and Oklahoma were happening this winter. It's temperatures up in the '70s out there right now.

In the meantime, voodoo has long been associated with New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina dealt a huge blow. But not even Katrina could wipe it out for good. CNN's Sean Callebs reports voodoo is now making a slow, but steady comeback in the Crescent City.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The storm didn't carry away the signs. The voodoo symbols are everywhere here. But many voodoo practitioners were uprooted by Hurricane Katrina.

BRANDI KELLEY, OWNER, VOODOO AUTHENTICA: There's a lot that's heartbreaking about New Orleans, losing the voodoo flavor. Our drummers, our dancer, our practioners, shop owners -- you name it, they are scattered to the winds right now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Segula Agua!

CROWD: Segula Agua!

CALLEBS: This was voodoo in better times. An annual festival, a means to celebrate what its followers consider a religion. A belief based on a cult of ancestors and communication with spirits, where mystical ceremonies beckon those spirits to clean people of evil, or in which chants and potions are used to harm their enemies.

In New Orleans, the voodoo spirits also attracted a lot of tourists. Now the streets here are still largely vacant. Tourism and interest in voodoo is creeping back into the French Quarter only slowly.

GUSS ARVANTI, CHICAGO TOURIST: Want to check out the voodoo culture, something new to me. So I just want to check it out because I know New Orleans is very famous for that, extremely famous.

CALLEBS: Voodoo came to New Orleans via the slave trade, from West Africa through Haiti. It has thrived in this city since 1700s and produce some powerful practioners.

This plain white gravesite marks the resting plays of Marie Leveaux (ph), considered the queen of voodoo in this region. Ina Fandrich is a college professor who studies history and the practice of voodoo.

INA FANDRICH, VOODOO SCHOLAR: In New Orleans the word voodoo and Marie Leveaux (ph) has become synonymous. She was a very, very, very highly blessed spirit.

CALLEBS: She says Leveaux (ph) was believed to have especially strong communication with the spirit world. Today, she is still revered by people like Dr. Elmer Glover, one of the few voodoo priests still in New Orleans. He says he's a sorcerer and magician trained in Africa and Haiti.

(SINGING)

This is a religious ceremony. At times, voodoo priests kill animals like roosters or goats, but not here. The priest is performing a cleansing ritual to purge my soul of evil.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How you feel?

CALLEBS (on camera): Relaxed.

(Voice over): Glover says he's just the portal for the spirits to infuse people like me.

(On camera): What does it mean?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It means whenever negativity you had around -- your heaviness is cleared away. It has loosened itself up and its dissipated.

CALLEBS: What will this mean for me? What's --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You will have super success, super prosperity, super happiness, super happiness, super love. Whatever you want, you'll have it.

CALLEBS: Why doesn't everybody come by and do this then?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They'll be coming by after they see you!

(LAUGHTER)

CALLEBS (voice over): Another comment practioners have heard again and again, if voodoo is so powerful, why didn't the priests stop Katrina?

KELLEY: They say why didn't do you some ritual to make this hurricane, you know, not hit? And we say, the rituals were done. The hurricane didn't hit us. The levees did.

CALLEBS: So the levee broke. The people, the practitioners may have left but --

KELLEY: The voodoo spirits are here. They've been here the whole time. They're not going anywhere, and they're strong and they'll see us through this.

CALLEBS: If and when those people who left come back, the ancient spirits will be waiting. Sean Callebs, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Well, she's not using voodoo but Oprah Winfrey certainly has a hold on the American public. From her book club to her favorite things, she tells viewers what to read, what to eat, what to wear. Straight ahead, we'll examine the power that is Oprah.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Fact or fiction? More debate about author James Frey's book, "A Million Little Pieces". Some dispute the memoir's validity, as a cautionary tale about addiction and redemption, especially those who trace the paper trail of Frey's brushes with the law and say his story doesn't add up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM BASTONE, THESMOKINGGUN.COM: But fact is he promoted this thing at every turn as the truth, and he did it because at the core of that -- the reason he did it -- is there was a financial motivation. And there are a lot of people -- Oprah can say that it's a tale redemption, that's fine.

But ask yourself a question, if he lied and fabricated the portions of the book, for which a contemporaneous paper trail exists, why would you possibly think that the rest of the book, for which you have to rely solely on his word, is true? Why would anyone possibly think that the only fake stuff is the stuff that you have -- that there are documents attached to, and the real stuff is the stuff that you have to rely on James Frey to be telling you the truth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Well, whether Frey's book is fact or fiction, or something in between, one thing is for sure, it's back on the bestseller's list. And what caused the turnaround? In one word, Oprah. Here's CNN's Heidi Collins.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OPRAH WINFREY, CALL TO "LARRY KING LIVE": We support the book because we recognize that there have been thousands and hundreds of thousands of people whose lives have been changed by this book.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): That was Oprah Winfrey saving the bacon, the book, and maybe the career of author James Frey.

OPRAH WINFREY, TALK SHOW HOST: Our next book is -- "A Million Little Pieces."

COLLINS: Of course, it was Oprah who started the book's juggernaut back in September when she chose it as a selection for her book club, and sent it soaring to the top of Amazon's bestseller list. It's still there. There's a reason why "Forbes" magazine named the daytime diva the most powerful celebrity in the world.

LOLA OGUNNAIKE, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": She's able to move commerce, she's able to move the culture and she's able to tug at American women and men's heartstrings.

COLLINS: She tugs at heartstrings and tells them what to read. "A Million Little Pieces" is the 56th book Oprah's pitched to her public since she started the book club in 1996, making household names out of often-obscure authors.

In 2000 she chose "Gap Creek" by Robert Morgan. Within a month the book sold 650,000 copies. With her stamp of approval, she makes best selling authors out of new writers.

OGUNNAIKE: If you're a no-name author and she puts your book in her book club, you are going to be on the bestsellers list.

COLLINS: And she gives new life to old classics. Her choice of the 1875 Tolstoy novel, "Anna Karenina", forced the publisher of a new translation to rush 1 million extra copies into print.

OPRAH: There ain't nothing wrong with a little bit of bling.

COLLINS: It's not just books, but bling that Oprah turns into bestsellers. Every year she showers her audience with her favorite stuff, from diamond watches to iPods, from Burberry coats, to laptop computers.

And they all start selling like hot cakes. Something she hasn't given away yet.

OGUNNAIKE: People trust her opinion. People believe in her taste. And they know that she is not going to BS them. If she believes in something, and she likes something, she'll go all out for that thing or that person.

OPRAH: I'm going to change, with your help, the laws in this country, state by state by state by state.

COLLINS: Oprah may have the power to push products, but she's also got the power to put away the bad guys. She recently featured the FBI's most wanted child molesters on her show; 48 hours later, two pedophiles were behind bars.

OPRAH: I know that it resonates with millions of other people who have read this book.

COLLINS: And with a few minutes on "Larry King Live" Oprah turned a PR nightmare into a book selling bonanza. James Frey has found himself a powerful friend. Heidi Collins, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Larry King has an exclusive interview with author James Frey tonight. The show begins at 9:00 p.m. Eastern. And Oprah calls in with a message of support. I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Good evening, I'm Carol Lin. Ahead this hour, a Florida school standoff, a police shooting, and the hostage who witnessed it all. Tonight, we are going to hear what he has to say.

Also, dead or alive: The U.S. takes aim at Osama bin Laden's right-hand man. But the strike has left more questions than answers.

And the stars will be out in Hollywood, on Monday, for the Golden Globes, we're live with a preview. This is CNN LIVE SATURDAY.

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