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CNN Live Saturday

Two Miners Trapped in Underground Fire in West Virginia; Whale Trapped in River Thames Dies; New Tapes Released by al Qaeda; Renaissance Drawing up For Sale

Aired January 21, 2006 - 14:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Unfolding this hour, the fate two of miners trapped by an underground fire in West Virginia. The late word, smoke from the fire is making it tough for rescuers trying to reach the miners in time.
And take a look at this, a man trapped inside a burning car. A quick thinking news photographer springs into action. We'll show you how it all ended.

And a race against time in London to save a whale which took a wrong turn.

Welcome to CNN LIVE SATURDAY. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. A busy hour straight ahead. Let's get started with other headlines now in the news.

This hour, we expect an update on former president Gerald Ford's condition and when he might be leaving a California hospital. He was admitted a week ago after coming down with pneumonia. Ford's chief of staff says he's still doing well.

Commuters in New York are hoping there won't be a repeat of last month's crippling transit strike. Members of the transit union rejected the proposal that ended that three-day walkout. The deal was rejected by just seven votes. Union leaders now say they're ready to meet with city transit authorities as soon as possible.

An American delegation hopes to persuade Japan to lift its new ban on U.S. beef. The ban is in place after Japanese inspectors found a backbone in a shipment of veal. The bone is considered a mad cow hazard. Japan says it wants assurances U.S. inspection standards are reliable.

We begin in Melville, West Virginia, where a familiar story is again unfolding. Two miners remain trapped in a coal mine. They're now moving on more than 40 hours. And a short time ago we learned that a fire is making it difficult for rescuers to try to get to the miners. Also efforts to contact the miners have so far been futile. CNN's national correspondent Bob Franken is near the mine and has the very latest. Bob?

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Fredricka, this has been kind of a roller coaster, and as a matter of fact the roller coaster moved up just a little bit at the most recent briefing when the people who have been leading the rescue operation -- emphasize it's still a rescue operation. They say they've been able to contain the fires to a great degree. They say that carbon monoxide levels in the mine are much lower than they thought they would be at this particular point, and that means that the rescue operation can really resume and perhaps, according to the officials, make some progress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We made somewhat of a ventilation change out here, so we'd have pressure drops this way in order for this 10 head gate to be ventilated out with the exception of the inmost entry, be ventilated out with clean air. And that's going to give us the most rapid rate of advancement that we've been able to have since we've been here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FRANKEN: And they're talking about advancing into the areas where it's most likely that these two miners would possibly have gone first they had had to, to escape the smoke and try and come up with some place where they could breathe.

Now, they identified the two miners. One of them is a man who has 20 years experience, his name is Don Bragg. He and his wife have two children. And then there is Ellery Elvis Hatfield, certainly a famous last name around here. He is a miner with a similar amount of experience, about 20 years. He and his wife have four children.

The families are continuing to stay together and give each other comfort and strength at the church up the street. The governor spends an all of lot of time with them, says that they are thanking everybody for all their concerns. The governor also says that when all of this is resolved, he is going to come up with an announcement suggesting some changes that need to be made, in his mind, in some of the mines so this kind of circumstance doesn't happen again.

But that will be after this crisis is resolved, one way or the other. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: And Bob, the governor emphasizing, as well as the mining experts there that they had a few different teams that are focusing on different things. They had the teams focusing on trying to put out this fire, as well as drilling holes in order to allow some of the air to escape, and perhaps even douse it with water and the other mission of the crews that are working on trying to contact or get some kind of communication going, to find out if those two miners are okay.

FRANKEN: Well, those are the rescue crews that had to stand off to the side, while the firefighting efforts were going on, those are the ones now that can be more actively engaged and make their way through different passageways, where they're going to be able to see better and where they're going to not be in less (ph) danger.

But one other point. The fire has done quite a bit of damage and it's caused a cave-in of some roofs. That is an ever-present danger, something the rescuers have to be very careful about. So this is very delicate, very touch and go, a very dangerous circumstance and a very dangerous environment.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks very much, Bob Franken in Melville.

Still now word on the fate of missing journalist Jill Carroll. Kidnappers abducted her January 7th in Baghdad and they are demanding that U.S. forces free all women in their custody. CNN's Michael Holmes reports from the Iraqi capital.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ORRESPONDENT: It is four days since the tape of Jill Carroll was aired on the al Jazeera television network, more than two weeks since she was kidnapped, after trying to get an interview with a senior Sunni politician. Today no word on Jill Carroll's fate. But we are told there has been plenty of activity in Baghdad with talks between various groups going on, religious and political. Also more calls for Jill Carroll to be released. The latest from the Council on Islamic delegations, specifically flying here to Baghdad, a spokesmen saying releasing Carroll would show to the world that Muslims are a caring people.

Now the Iraqi Justice Ministry is reiterating its position that the release of six Iraqi women held by the U.S. on suspicion of insurgent- related activity should go ahead. Now, the U.S. said it is going through normal procedures related to processing the women's cases but nothing is going to be done as a result of the kidnapers' demand that all Iraqi women prisoners held by the U.S. be freed. Michael Holmes, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEWOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: U.S. officials say a newly released audiotape from al Qaeda's number two man Ayman al Zawahiri doesn't prove that he is alive, since he could have made it at any time. The tape surfaced yesterday, just one day after the release of a new taped message from Osama bin Laden. Last Friday, a CIA missile struck a home Pakistan, where senior al Qaeda members were believed to be attending a dinner. So far, no evidence al Zawahiri was among them. Pakistan's president today told a senior American official the United States must not repeat such air strikes.

The release of two tapes, of the two tapes rather, is refocusing attention on al Qaeda's public relations strategy, how media-savvy are the organization's leaders? CNN's Nic Robertson finds out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even from the beginning, back when he was fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan, there was often a camera nearby. When bin Laden did TV interviews, he gave his first to CNN, it was 1997. And Peter Bergen was there.

PETER BERGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He seems to enjoy the public limelight and he's been doing that now for two decades. So I think this is a group that does have a media strategy.

ROBERTSON: From the time when bin Laden declared war on America in 1998, in an elaborated orchestrated news conference, until 9/11, his appearances were often followed by attacks.

Since 9/11, the messages sometimes seemed to be made for different reasons. To let the world know he is alive. Such as this one, which appeared after the siege of to Tora Bora in December, 2001, when U.S. bombers targeted bin Laden as he fled Afghanistan. Now comes the latest message from bin Laden, after 13 months of silence.

JAMES WOOLSEY, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: He waits until there's some particular reason to issue something like this, and I think there is a reasonably good chance, yes, that something's being planned.

ROBERTSON: The threat of an attack, but also, a political message, aimed at America, and his own Islamic audience, from a man who has spent the months of silence studying the U.S., shaping his rhetoric. Bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al Zawahiri, have released now fewer than 34 messages. Increasingly exploiting events in the news, and splits in public opinion.

BERGEN: I think he has a misunderstanding about the American public. The American public doesn't care what bin Laden has to say. They've made their decisions about this guy, that he's a bad guy, he's killed a lot of Americans.

ROBERTSON (on camera): Bin Laden it seems has sharpened his message but missing his target audience. It doesn't mean though, he won't make good on his threat. Nic Robertson, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Straight ahead a rescue team in Great Britain tries to save the life of a wandering whale. We'll have the latest.

And we'll tell but this fiery crash in St. Louis and the television cameraman who saved the day by rescuing the person inside.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The race to save a wayward whale goes on this hour in England. The five-ton mammal lost its way in the open sea, took a wrong turn and then ended up swimming all the way into the heart of London. The latest on the rescue efforts from CNN's Jim Boulden in the British capital.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM BOULDEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Cautious optimism has been replaced with pessimism. As the whale continues down the River Thames, we're told its health has deteriorated rapidly. The trip itself has caused a great deal of stress and many of the rescuers who were cautiously optimistic that his health was good enough are worried that he may not survive the trip. They have two options, we are told. One, they could release the whale early into the Thames and hope that it reaches open waters. The other option, they could put the animal down.

Earlier in the day there was jubilation along the River Thames as onlookers watched rescuers go into the water at low tide and assess the health of the whale.

There were some two dozen rescuers and experts in the water that literally were able to walk in and touch the whale and assess the health of the whale. And it was decided that the whale was healthy enough to try to make this trip. So it was pushed down the Thames and literally hoisted onto a barge, an historic scene as no one has ever seen a whale in living memory on the Thames and a whale weighing several tons was hoisted into the barge, and then they made -- ferried it down the river, past the Houses of Parliament, past the City of London, hoping against hope that they can make open waters in time to save this whale, but as we're told now, it is a race against time. Jim Boulden, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And now we're just getting word in that race against time now has been lost. The whale, the bottle-nosed whale that was on board that barge the British authorities were trying to get out to the channel, to the open sea apparently that whale, sadly, has succumbed to the very stressful situation it was under and has died. And of course, when we get more information, we'll be able to bring that on to you but that information now coming from the London Port Authority.

A St. Louis man is in recovery at a hospital today. He's alive because of the quick work of some brave rescuers. Corey Abernathy's (ph) car burst into flames yesterday after he lost control of the vehicle, and it struck a building. Photographer Bobby Hughes with CNN affiliate KTVI in St. Louis arrived on the scene shortly after the accident. He was joined by other rescuers who dragged Abernathy away from the burning vehicle to safety.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOBBY HUGHES, PHOTOGRAPHER/RESCUER: They said that, you know that, one person had gotten out of the vehicle but there was still somebody inside, so I approached and I couldn't see in the vehicle, and then there were a couple of small explosions from under the engine, so I backed off a little bit, and then I saw a man's head pop up from a passenger window, and he collapsed and fell outside the vehicle, so I ran around, didn't even realize I had my camera still rolling, and noticed he was on fire, and instincts said get him away from the car so I just kind of incorporated everybody that was there that helped get him away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Abernathy's relatives have thanked Hughes and other rescuers and they credit them with saving his life.

Well, many think of music when they think of New Orleans, but with so many musicians displaced, can the Big Easy hold onto its rapidly disappearing musical culture? (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, all of Great Britain and much of the world had been mesmerized by a stranded bottle-nosed whale that was caught in the River Thames. Well, after very, very tough efforts to try and get that whale from the River Thames and out into the channel, and then out into the great blue sea, well, the London Port Authority now reports that while transporting that whale onboard a barge, it has, sadly, died.

Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco is in Atlanta this afternoon. It's the latest stop of her Finding Our Folk tour. She plans to meet with some of those who fled Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. They will talk about ways to rebuild their ravaged communities. Up to 10,000 evacuees are living in Georgia. Similar open house sessions are being held in 28 other cities.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin has been talking time, this time in an exclusive interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper. Nagin says you really have to see New Orleans to appreciate the scale of devastation. Here's a portion of that interview, conducted yesterday, in New Orleans.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAYOR RAY NAGIN, NEW ORLEANS: You know, to me, people have two perceptions of New Orleans right now, around the country. Either they perceive to us still be full of water, or, you know, still dealing with the immediate aftermath, or they think we're okay. And you know, it's just very difficult. We had two senators -- a group of senators come down the other day and they were blown away when they saw all of the work that we still have to do.

COOPER: That's one of the things I find odd and sort of frustrating. It must be incredibly frustrating for you. You see the senators and these congresspeople come down here and all say the same thing, I had no idea it was this bad, but where is the disconnect?

NAGIN: The disconnect, I think, is, you know, TV and you've been doing a great job of covering, this but until you actually come down here and you see the scope, I don't think the TV can really define the scope of the challenge. When you go from block to block and section to section and really town to town, to see the total devastation, you have to see it up front and personal.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And you can watch ANDERSON COOPER 360 here on CNN weeknights at 10:00 Eastern.

Meanwhile the Crescent City searches for its soul, while praying for a future. CNN's Sean Callebs has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New Orleans is searching for its soul. Swept away with the homes, neighborhoods, and the thousands and thousands who fled, were some of the most talented and unique artists in the world. Who better to lead the effort to restore music and culture than New Orleans native Wynton Marsalis, a jazz genius with enough Grammies, nine, to use them as doorstops.

WINTON MARSALIS, JAZZ MUSICIAN: I feel in no other city on earth has the range of culture that we have.

CALLEBS: Marsalis is on the Commission to Bring New Orleans Back. Among the panel's goals, bringing back jobs, establishing a jazz center, and teaching children here about the city's artistic history.

MARSALIS: So that we know who we are. Many times, in the United States that's the problem we have as a country. We don't know who we are because our arts are all kind of jumbled up and our arts exist to tell us and teach news a benign way.

CALLEBS: Among those who scattered in the wind following Katrina, 11,000 of the city's artists. The commission says only about 10 percent of the musicians in New Orleans remain.

MARSALIS: I feel bad, because our people are spread out around the country, and we're being told that the most important thing is to build a levee. That's important, but that's not the most important thing. The most important thing is to figure out how to take care of our people, wherever they are.

(MUSIC)

MARSALIS: Among those in need of help, Jeff Chaz, who bills himself as the Bourbon Street bluesman. Like thousands, Chaz fled as the storm approached. He came back to devastation. Lots of his friends still haven't.

JEFF CHAZ, NEW ORLEANS MUSICIAN: I don't se hardly any of them. Most of them are gone, and if you do see any of them, they don't have time to talk, you know? You know, cause they got to get up in the morning and work on their house or something.

CALLEBS: For a decade, the 55-year-old made a living here, but in the wake of the storm, a vicious cycle. Tourists aren't here. Because of that, many blues bars are still closed. With no audience, he doesn't have steady work.

(MUSIC)

CALLEBS: Chaz goes through wild owe motional swings from deep depression to motion of elation, especially when crowing about bringing New Orleans back.

CHAZ: Hell, yes, it's worth rebuilding. My God, we are the cradle of music civilization here in the United States.

We want our artists, our whole culture and community back and we want that to be a priority.

CALLRBS: And that, he says, will help recharge the city's pulse and make New Orleans feel alive again. Sean Callebs, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And the latest on the lost whale in London, after such great efforts to try save it, sad news that it didn't make it. In the meantime, when we come back we're going to talk to a marine expert to talk about all of the challenges that faced that crew.

(FLU REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look now at stories making news. Rescuers are making progress in the search for two West Virginia miners trapped by an underground fire. Officials say lower carbon monoxide levels indicate the fire is under control. Rescue teams have now moved in to search for the men.

Still no word on the fate of kidnapped American reporter Jill Carroll. Her captors are demanding the release of all women prisoners held by the U.S. in Iraq. Meanwhile, an American Muslim group has arrived in Baghdad to plead for Carroll's release.

And efforts to save a stranded whale in England's Thames River have failed. London's port authority officials are announcing a short while ago that the creature, the mammal died while being transported down the Thames to the English Channel.

And Ray Davis is with me now to talk more about the failed effort in Great Britain to save the wayward whale. Ray Davis is with the Georgia aquarium here in Atlanta. Good to see you, ray.

RAY DAVIS, GEORGIA AQUARIUM: Nice to be here.

WHITFIELD: Well, you know it really did look hopeful for a moment, when you had all these teams of people around the whale trying to make sure it didn't try to get itself on the embankment, it seemed to wanted to beach itself, get it on the barge, and then out to the open sea, but it just didn't work. Did you kind of see this coming, that it was under too much stress in order to really make it?

WHITFIELD: It's one of those things that characteristic of strandings, it's hard not to get very emotionally tied to the situation. But in the reality, when you look at these events, there tends to be a high mortality rate, and there's a great effort that's needed to do the right rescue for these animals, and it's easy to second guess whether you should have done it earlier or later.

DAVIS: One of the great things here is that they tried to move the animal without lifting it and trying to get it to swim out to sea. Think about it, this whale is open ocean animal. It likes to swim to great depths to grab food, squid and things at great depths. And to find it in shore and then of all things in a river, it's very atypical.

WHITFIELD: That's one of the great mysteries isn't it, about the whole beaching, whales beaching themselves or dolphins? There's been this conventional wisdom that it's happening because these animals know that they're not well, and they really are looking for a place to die. So when you hear about a whale of this scale, to make its way into a shallow depth of the Thames River, do you immediately start to think, you know what, it knew it probably wasn't well and it was looking for a place to die or was just as simple as being disoriented?

DAVIS: That's one of the things that you see characteristically with whale strandings, is that the animal is not feeling well is moving inshore, moves into shallower water. Whales have to think to breathe. Through this whole stress of being sick, whatever it happens to be that's going on.

In this group, if you look at it, just being alone with this particular species, not uncommon. They occur in pods of groups of one to four animals. It's not something that you see hundreds at a time. To think about this, you have to be careful that you don't become too anthropormophic and tied to it, so you can get the real story.

WHITFIELD: Hard not to.

DAVIS: It's easy to get tied up in it. You want to be able to take a look at this. They'll do the findings here, look at the animal and see if they can determine what was wrong with it.

WHITFIELD: You encourage that, they really should take it a step further and try to figure out what happened.

DAVIS: Which is characteristic with all these strandings. They'll try determine if they figure out what it was that caused the situation to happen.

WHITFIELD: Ray Davis with the Georgia aquarium, thanks so much. Good to see you.

DAVIS: Good to see up.

WHITFIELD: Market jitters. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled more than 200 points yesterday afternoon. The massive selloff was triggered by disappointing earnings from General Electric and Citigroup, as well as warnings from Yahoo!, Intel and Apple. The index sank 213 points or 1.96 percent, putting it in the red for the first time this year. The tech heavy Nasdaq slid 2.35 percent and the Broader S&P Index lost 1.83 percent.

President Bush is talking about economic growth, as he gets ready to lay out his plans for the year ahead. Mr. Bush's State of the Union address is just ten days away. To Washington now and CNN White House Correspondent Elaine Quijano.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon to you, Fredricka. That's right, all this month President Bush has been essentially outlining his priorities for 2006. Today in his radio address Mr. Bush focused on the economy, which he said is strong.

It's essentially the same message that the president delivered earlier this week, when he visited a small business in Northern Virginia. Mr. Bush believes small businesses play a pivotal role in creating jobs and growing the economy.

Today, he also said tax cuts are essential, and repeated a familiar call to Congress.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To keep our economy growing and our small business sector strong we need to ensure that you keep more of what you earn, so Congress needs to make the tax cuts permanent.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Now, Democrats say that the president's economic policies don't do enough to address the needs of middle class families. They point to one example, they say, that is hitting Americans very hard, the high energy costs and especially home heating bills.

Now, President Bush, who is spending the weekend at Camp David, insists that energy independence is a priority for his administration.

Look for the president to tout the economy once again when he delivers the State of the Union address on January 31st, and while aides say, Fredricka, that it's still too early to preview any specifics, it's very likely that the president will discuss Iraq, and also U.S. efforts to rebuild the Gulf Coast. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: Then, Elaine, I understand as early as this week, given that the president has kind of been on the defensive for a long haul in the domestic surveillance program, he has a new campaign launched this week.

QUIJANO: That's exactly right. On Wednesday, President Bush will travel to the headquarters of the National Security Agency. As you mentioned the president has been facing a lot of criticism for the domestic surveillance program that was made public last month.

Now, there have, in fact, been calls in Congress for Congressional hearings and that's exactly what's going to be happening February 6th. The Senate Judiciary Committee headed by a Republican, Senator Arlen Specter, is going to be taking a look at the question of the legality of this program.

The president has defended it as legal and necessary, but the White House very much on the offensive, ahead of those hearings. The president and other top administration officials, Fredricka, will be out next week essentially explaining its rationale.

WHITFIELD: Elaine Quijano at the White House, thanks so much.

Now an update on the health of former president Gerald Ford. CNN's Dan Simon is in Rancho Mirage at the hospital there where the former president is still being hospitalized. What is the latest, Dan?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, we just got another update and he's still in the hospital still battling pneumonia. According to his long time press aide, he is making improvements. He was brought in a week ago and he's been getting antibiotics.

We're told that he has a healthy appetite, and that he's receiving visitors. We're told that Mrs. Ford has been here along with two of their children. Not so long before he came to the hospital, we're told that he was basically doing his daily regimen.

We're told that he's an avid swimmer and still continues to swim to this day, and just before he came to the hospital, he was seen at church recently, and he appeared to be healthy and strong there. So we're hoping for the best for this former president, who is 92 years old. Getting up there in age, but we're told he is making improvements, and perhaps could leave the hospital as early as today, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: We're all hopeful of that. Thanks so much, Dan Simon.

Controversial rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court on assisted suicide and abortion. Find out what our legal analysts have to say about the court's latest moves next on the CNN LIVE SATURDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN.COM: The U.S. Senate is expected to take up the confirmation of Judge Samuel Alito as the newest Supreme Court Justice next week. At CNN.com a SPECIAL REPORT.

The 55-year-old New Jersey native and Yale law school graduate is likely to be confirmed to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. A growing number of Democratic senators have expressed that they would not vote to confirm Alito. Democratic leaders have not ruled out a possible filibuster. Senate sources say it is unlikely.

As of now, none of the 55 Republican senators have said they are opposed to Alito's nomination which means that he could be confirmed with GOP votes alone.

This gallery highlights portions of what each senator on the Judiciary Committee said during the hearings, and check out this pundit scorecard to find out how experts graded Alito's performance. And you can let us know what you think by grading him yourself. It is online at CNN.com/supremecourt. For the dotcomdesk, I'm Veronica De La Cruz.

WHITFIELD: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled this week on two controversial issues: New Hampshire's parental notification law on abortion, and Oregon's law governing physician-assisted suicides. We're going to take a look at those rulings.

We're joined now by New York criminal defense attorney Richard Herman -- good to see you, Richard. RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Good to see you.

WHITFIELD: And civil rights attorney and law professor Avery Friedman. Good to see you as well, Avery ...

AVERY FRIEDMAN, LAW PROFESSOR: Hi, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: ... joining us from Pittsburgh.

FRIEDMAN: Yes ...

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: OK, well, let's begin with the Oregon case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on assisted suicide case in Oregon. And you have to wonder if this ruling will set in any way some precedence for how doctors, patients, that relationship will be treated across the country -- Richard.

HERMAN: Well, you know, Fredricka, this was a beautiful decision by the Supreme Court. Ashcroft on the eve of leaving office, decides on his own to attack an Oregon state statute concerning the practice of medicine by physicians. It's outrageous that he did this.

The Supreme Court blasted him for doing it. They rejected his approach but, interestingly, in this decision, Justice Roberts, who during his confirmation proceedings was asked about, like a Terri Schiavo situation, and how would you lean, and his position was, I'm just going to leave it.

Let these people alone, let them be, basically do what they want. Here he was at the center, in a 6-3 majority decision. That's a little disturbing. That's what comes out of this case.

WHITFIELD: Avery, what did you learn about the new Supreme Court bench from this ruling? Anything?

FRIEDMAN: Well, I don't think -- yes, Chief Justice Roberts hooking up with the dissent was no surprise to me. But I think what was very powerful, Fredricka, was that the majority, speaking through Justice Kennedy, said that the departure on the part of the executive branch, the president, the administration, was a radical one and that's a very serious word.

In other words, the interference with the wholly sacrosanct relationship between a patient and a doctor during those terminal times is something that really is no business of the federal government.

So while the liberal branch, if you will, which ordinarily looks for a larger role in the federal government, did a switcherooo here, what we saw a 6-3, protecting the personal rights of people who are terminally ill.

WHITFIELD: Yes, go ahead. HERMAN: I'm sorry, Fredricka. Basically, Ashcroft tried to utilize the Federal Controlled Substance Act and based on that, he said that to help someone commit physician-assisted suicide is not a legitimate practice in medicine and that's what was rejected by the Supreme Court.

FRIEDMAN: And that's what the dissent said, of course, that they said that the role of a doctor should not be part of one's way to end a life. I mean, philosophically we understand the argument but in order to make that work, it would require the federal government to somehow intervene between the doctor and the patient, and the majority said, that's not going to work.

WHITFIELD: Right so, Avery, you see it as, you know, this decision in part really putting the federal government in place, the U.S. Justice Department saying there are boundaries here. And the tone was set that the boundaries are being put in place particularly for the government, more so than between patient and doctor relations, as it applies to assisted suicide.

FRIEDMAN: Yes, you just said it like a law professor, that's exactly right.

WHITFIELD: Really? Where's my degree?

FRIEDMAN: What has happened here is there is no role for the federal government in this very sacrosanct relationship between patient and doctor.

HERMAN: And, Fredricka, very quickly, this statute, what it said was if you have -- if two doctors confirm that you have six months left to live, and there's no other way you're going to stay alive, and if you still have clear thoughts and are able to think for yourself, you can then adopt or ask these doctors to help give you medication to end your life. That's what this statute is.

WHITFIELD: All right, let's now talk about the New Hampshire case, the Supreme Court refusing to strike down this New Hampshire law that requires minors to notify their parents before an abortion. Was there an extenuating circumstance, Avery? Why would the court rule the way they did?

FRIEDMAN: Oh, I think, Fredricka, the court did exactly what it was supposed to do. This was a unanimous decision, speaking for the court Justice O'Connor, and she said you know what? We don't have to throw the entire law out.

I mean, there is a role for parents when it comes to minors. But what the Supreme Court had a problem with and the reason they sent it back was it failed again to deal with the importance of the role between the doctor and the patient.

If the doctor feels that that child, that young woman who's pregnant, life could be in danger, the idea of first going back to the parents for permission is inappropriate, and so again, it's completely consistent. The majority unanimously agreed that the case goes back to deal with the issue of making sure doctors don't go to jail for assisting a pregnant, young woman.

WHITFIELD: So I wonder what, Richard, this says about parental involvement laws as a whole, and their constitutionality. Anything?

HERMAN: I think it validates the parental notification for women 17 years and younger. I think that's the message it sends, but Avery just really capped it off perfect. You know, it was a unanimous Supreme Court decision and I concur with his description just now. It's right on point there.

FRIEDMAN: There we go.

WHITFIELD: All right. I like that, we're ending on a very happy note between you two gentlemen.

HERMAN: Just for today, though.

WHITFIELD: OK.

FRIEDMAN: Just for today is right.

WHITFIELD: OK, next weekend we'll go back to the old thing.

FRIEDMAN: You got it.

HERMAN: I'm sure that's true.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much. Avery Friedman and Richard Herman, thanks so much, gentlemen. Always good to see you.

Straight ahead, dolphins left homeless by Katrina find a new home.

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WHITFIELD: Art lovers heads up. If you have a few extra million dollars to spare, a nice drawing by Italian master Michelangelo is about to go on the block. It's a rare drawing indeed and it's expected to draw a good deal of interest. Delia Gallagher has more from New York.

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DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN FAITH & VALUES CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He was the pope's painter and architect, the artist of the Sistine Chapel, the designer of St. Peter's Dome in the Vatican. He was Michelangelo Buonarroti, and the work he completed in the 1500s made him one of the most cherished artists in history. In Florence, he carved David out of solid marble.

WILLIAM O'REILLY, CHRISTIE'S: He is fundamentally the Renaissance man. He was a fabulous draftsman, but he was also a great sculptor famously with the David, a great painter both for easel paintings and for frescoes.

GALLAGHER: Frescoes like the Sistine Chapel ceiling of Rome. WILLIAM O'REILLY, CHRISTIES: He is fundamentally the renaissance man. He was a fabulous draftsman but

Like Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo also completed hundreds of drawings, but incredibly he burned most of them in what experts say may have been an attempt to keep his designs from being stolen.

WILLIAM O'REILLY, CHRISTIE'S: He was just worried they were so close to his inspiration, that he didn't want someone else to see them.

GALLAGHER: Michelangelo's surviving drawings can be seen in museums. just a handful are known to be in private hands. This male torso is one of they will and for sale. Christie's Auction House expects it to sell for three to four million dollars.

O'REILLY: He draws a male figure as though it were an anatomical model. You can see where the bones go and where the muscles are joined onto each other.

GALLAGHER: This drawing stayed in Michelangelo's family home through the 1800s, until a British family bought it. In the 1970s, the current owner acquired it.

(on camera): This can be easily hung in a house and kept in good condition. It doesn't require specific air quality control in

O'REILLY: You have to be a little bit careful because it's one of the great relics of the renaissance. As long as you don't hang it directly next to a window in a full sunlight, there's absolutely no reason why you can't hang it on the wall and admire it.

GALLAGHER: Admire it, if you can afford it. Delia Gallagher, CNN, New York.

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WHITFIELD: Now out of London, that bottle-nosed whale that was stranded there in the River Thames has, sadly, died during its transport out to sea.

Our Jim Boulden has been keeping close watch on this watch of the whale for many, many hours. He now joins us from London. Jim, what happened?

JIM BOULDEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we have confirmed that the whale died about 50 minutes ago east of London. It was heading into the wider area of the estuary, still several hours away from open water, but we have been told that it had convulsions and it did die.

In fact, we have been told by one of the men on the boat that the vet at that moment was considering putting the whale down, when it died. And sadly, the trip proved to be far too stressful for this whale. The whale had been through an enormous ordeal over the last two days. It had been swimming of course in the Thames, which is sometimes is not very deep at all, and it's used to swimming in very deep water. It obviously was disoriented. It had abrasions and cuts and they are telling us they've turned around and they are heading back into London now and there will be an autopsy and they will allow the experts to examine the body, so we can find out why in fact, if they can find out why, that whale came to the Thames yesterday to begin with.

WHITFIELD: All right, so sad. Jim Boulden, thanks so much for that update.

More than a dozen bottle-nosed dolphins were forced from their home by Hurricane Katrina now have new digs. After months of uncertainly, the marine mammals have a bright future in the sunny Bahamas. Here's CNN's Gary Tuchman.

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GARY TUCHMAN (voice-over): What you're witnessing here is a happy reunion. Sixteen dolphins swept from their home by Hurricane Katrina, at last have a new home. And this one's in paradise -- on Paradise Island, to be precise.

TERI CORBETT, MARINE MAMMAL TRAINING, ATLANTIS: A day in the life of a dolphin, hopefully will be fun. Our theory of working and working with the animals is nothing but having fun.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got it.

TUCHMAN: But the future didn't always appear so bright for these bottle-nose dolphins. With Katrina bearing down on the Gulf Coast, some of them were moved from the marine life oceanarium in Gulfport, Mississippi, to a nearby hotel swimming pool. Eight of them, though, were left behind and swept to sea on August 29, when the storm moved in and the oceanarium was destroyed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Looks like him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, look at him. Yes, yes, he's upside down. He's a bigger fighter.

TUCHMAN: Their trainers were afraid the mammals, trained to do tricks for tourists, but not to fend for themselves in the wild, would starve.

Are these like your children?

CORBETT: Oh yes, yes. Yes, there are babies.

TUCHMAN: Finally, on September 10, they were spotted in the gulf. And we were there when the dramatic rescue work began. Trainers blue whistles and banged on buckets to attract the dolphins' attention. And it worked. The dolphins did flips, so their trainers could see them. And within days they were rounded up and on the road to recovery. For a while, they were placed in the same hotel pool as their mates, and already up for a game of catch.

(on camera): It's late at night and these dolphins are still quite active. We asked the trainer -- nice toss -- I'm all soaking wet. We asked the trainer if these dolphins, Jacki (ph) and Toni, nice throw.

(voice-over): Soon, though, the dolphins were again separated, sent to temporary shelters in Mississippi, Florida, Maryland and New Jersey. But not anymore. Sixteen of the 17 dolphins saved from the storm have a new home. One of them, Tessie (ph), has an infection that's keeping her in Florida. But she's set to join her friends when she's feeling better.

DR. PAM GORVETT, MARINE MAMMAL VETERINARIAN, ATLANTIS: Since arriving to Atlantis, the dolphins are in stable condition and appear to be doing well. They began to eat immediately. They've also been very interactive and playful and we're encouraged by this behavior.

TUCHMAN: For 17 orphans of Katrina's wrath, a new life and a happy ending. Gary Tuchman, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: That's a happy ending.

Much more ahead on CNN LIVE SATURDAY. at 4:00 eastern, find out why January 24th is not just another regular Tuesday.

Also ahead, stay tuned for "CNN PRESENTS: Homicide in Hollenbeck."

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WHITFIELD: Hello, I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN Center in Atlanta. "CNN PRESENTS: Homicide in Hollenbeck" is straight ahead. First a check of the headlines in the news.

Rescuers say they are making progress in their search for two West Virginia miners trapped by an underground fire. Officials say lower carbon monoxide levels indicate the fire is under control. Rescue teams have now moved in to search for the men.

Still no word on the fate of kidnapped American reporter Jill Carroll. Her captors are demanding the release of all women prisoners held by the U.S. in Iraq. Meanwhile, an American Muslim group has arrived in Baghdad to plead for Carroll's life.

In Britain, a sad ending to a frantic effort to save the life of a wayward whale. Officials say just a short time ago the injured mammal died while on a barge heading to the open sea.

Earlier the whale had gotten lost in the English channel and swam all the way to central London in the River Thames. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN Center in Atlanta. More news at the bottom of the hour. "CNN PRESENTS: Homicide in Hollenbeck" begins right now.

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