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Spiraling Violence in Iraq; Growing Manhunt Near Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Aired November 12, 2006 - 22:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. NANCY PELOSI (D), CALIFORNIA: Democrats are ready to lead, prepared to govern, and absolutely willing to work in a bipartisan way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: She says she'll govern from the center, but will the president get there first?

Also, he gave to his country, now his country is finally giving back.

Plus, one man says there's a big beastie in Wisconsin. Could it be Bigfoot? What's the reaction from town folk?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think at 1:00 in the morning, if he was out on the road by himself...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: And shall we dance? Waltzing just might be better for your heart than a treadmill.

Welcome to the NEWSROOM, your connection to the world, the Web, and what's happening right now. I'm Carol Lin. You've been busy today, so let's get you plugged in.

Starting with the headlines. Political change Iraq style. Sources close to Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki say an overhaul of the Iraqi Cabinet may be coming. The prime minister reportedly believes not everyone in his government is, and I'm quoting here, "singing from the same song sheet."

Pullout from Iraq sooner or later? President Bush meets tomorrow with the bipartisan Iraq study group to go over options, especially now that Congress is under new management. Senior Democrat Senator Harry Reid says the president has nothing to lose by just hearing them out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The study group is a group of people who are spending time trying to help the president come up with new ideas. (INAUDIBLE). Nothing's written in stone. I think the president should listen very closely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Lebanon's political troubles deepen today. The prime minister wants to start a tribunal to try suspects in his predecessor's assassination, but the president says he doesn't have the authority. It's also one day after a handful of cabinet members quit. A collapse of the Lebanese government would seriously destabilize an already shaky Middle East.

It's the first day of his trip to the United States. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has arrived in Washington. He'll talk mostly about Iran with President Bush tomorrow. And then, he's off to the West coast to address Jewish groups.

Officers down. A growing manhunt near Fort Lauderdale, Florida right now for two suspects in the killing of a sheriff's deputy. Another suspect is already in custody. The deputy was shot dead during a routine traffic stop. Another deputy was wounded.

SHANON COOK, CNN ANCHOR: And hi, I'm Shanon Cook. Coming up in our world wrap, things aren't so sweet north of the border. Hershey recalls some of its products in Canada. I'll be back in about 20 minutes to tell you why.

LIN: And now it's your turn to choose the news. Is there a particular story that you want to hear more about? All you have to do is e-mail us at weekends@CNN.com or send us your video or web cam suggestion at CNN.com/exchange. We're going to get you the answer within the hour.

Our top story now. Spiraling violence in Iraq. A humbling election for the White House in the United States. And both are triggering new calls to bring the troops home.

Here's CNN's White House correspondent Ed Henry on a big meeting tomorrow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY (voice over): In a sign of the new pressure President Bush will face from a Democratic Congress, the incoming chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee is demanding a dramatic shift in Iraq policy.

LEVIN: We need to begin a phased redeployment of forces from Iraq in four to six months.

HENRY: A move supported by the new Senate majority leader.

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MINORITY LEADER: We would have to start redeployment in the next few months. So the exact time doesn't matter, but we're going to have to do it. It's important that we get the Iraq -- change -- the course of the war in Iraq change as soon as possible. HENRY: The White House is still rejecting any fixed timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops. But chief of staff Josh Bolten says the president is ready for a course adjustment.

JOSH BOLTEN, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: Nobody can be happy with the situation in Iraq right now. Everybody has been working hard. But what we have been doing has not worked well enough or fast enough. So it's clearly time to put fresh eyes on the problem.

HENRY: Those fresh eyes are most likely to come from the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, co-chaired by Republican James Baker and Democrat Lee Hamilton, who will consult with the president and his national security team at the White House Monday, and then soon deliver a bipartisan report.

BOLTEN: We're looking forward to the recommendations of the Baker- Hamilton bipartisan Iraq Study Group, and we're looking forward to a dialogue with bipartisan leaders in Congress.

HENRY: There has win wide speculation that Robert Gates, a former member of the Iraq Study Group, was tapped to replace Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in order to implement the commission's findings. But former Defense Secretary William Cohen notes Gates and Baker were not always on the same page during their time together in the first Bush administration.

WILLIAM COHEN, FMR. DEFENSE SECRETARY: We ought to be careful about having too much irrational exuberance about the Baker commission coming forward with a consensus. It seems to me based on recent reports there is still some division in terms of how they should proceed.

HENRY (on camera): The White House is also trying to tamp down speculation that the Iraq study group will find a panacea, with one senior official declaring, "if there was a rifle shot solution, we would have already pulled the trigger."

Ed Henry, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Yet there were several blasts across Baghdad, which killed dozens of people within just a few hours. The deadliest happened at the Iraq national police headquarters. Two suicide bombers targeted recruits outside the main gates and at least 35 people were killed. A number of car bombs also exploded across the city. And the Iraqi death toll isn't the only one growing. Four British troops and three U.S. soldiers also died this weekend in Iraq.

Now under pressure to curb the violence, Iraq's prime minister is calling for a cabinet reshuffle. Iraqi sources say Nuri al Maliki made the request during a closed door session of parliament. Afterward, he told reporters the existing cabinet was not his choice. It was already formed before he became prime minister in April. A Kurdish member is says al Maliki is running out of time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAHMOUD OTHMAN, IRAQI PARLIAMENT MEMBER: By the end of this year, you know, nothing changes and things deteriorate as they are doing - they are deteriorating by the day, I think unfortunately we may reach a point where we couldn't do much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: And believe me, the al Maliki government has been facing mounting criticism from the United States.

Now one of the most prominent critics of the war in Iraq wants a prominent role in the new Congress. And Democratic Congressman John Murtha is getting some high profile support. His office says likely House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will back him for the post of Majority Leader. Murtha's rival for the job, Congressman Steny Hauer, Pelosi's current deputy.

Now we want to hear from you. Tonight's last call, will a Democratic Congress bring troops home sooner? Give us a call at 1- 800-807-2620. We're going to air some of your responses later this hour.

He served and then he served again. Now one soldier puts his message of change to music.

Also, a dream of one became a dream to all. The next step begins tomorrow.

And a myth or a monster? Big foot is back. Stay with us. See it right here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: It's been 43 years since Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his "I have a dream" speech from the national mall. And now his legacy is getting a monumental addition. Tomorrow, Washington will break ground for the MLK, Jr. National Memorial.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.: One day right now in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: The King Memorial will sit near the Lincoln Memorial, where the Reverend King uttered his history changing words.

Now President Clinton authorized the memorial eight years ago. It will cost $100 million. So far, $63 million has been raised by the Memorial's Foundation. It will include a crescent shaped stone wall covered with excerpts from King's speeches and a 30-foot tall likeness of King, called the "stone of hope". Planners hope the four-acre site will be a place of contemplation and reflection for visitors when it's completed in 2008.

Well, joining me by telephone tonight is the Reverend Joseph Lowery, who led the Montgomery bus boycott and the march from Selma to Montgomery. He's co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. And reverend, it is such a pleasure to have you the day before this memorial is unveiled. I'm wondering what your thoughts are on this eve?

JOSEPH LOWERY, REV., CIVIL RIGHTS LEADER: Well I'm very excited about it. It's not only a reminder of an historic American struggle in the past, but it's a promise for the future. It reminds us of our national commitment to racial justice, to equal opportunity, to human dignity, and to world peace. And it should stir up new levels of hope for that kind of future for our country.

LIN: You knew the man, Reverend Lowery. You once called him, what, you described him as a scholar, a crusader, and a prophet, a man who even predicted, by your own memory, his own death, that he would not live to be the age of 40. And he was assassinated when he was 39. I'm wondering what you think he would think of this memorial, and the attention to be paid to it, and the moments that should be spent by that memorial.

LOWERY: Well, I think he'd be astounded at all the attention.

LIN: Really?

LOWERY: That his leadership and his work has gotten. He was a very humble fellow. He could walk with kings and with the poorest and the simple people like me and be at home in both places. So he'd be astounded at the attention.

But I think he'd be very pleased that it's a stone of hope as they're going to call part of this memorial. He'd be very pleased at his life symbolizes the efficacy of nonviolence. And I think he'd be ecstatic that people will be reminded here, that while we've come a long, long way in the struggle for human dignity, world peace, and justice, that we've still got a long, long way to go.

And if this memorial can help stimulate and inspire us to complete the task, to finish the unfinished task, Martin would be greatly satisfied about it.

Reverend Lowery, what do you think Dr. King would believe would be the conclusion of his legacy? Is there ever going to be an end to injustice to racism?

LOWERY: Well, I think when you talk about an end, I don't know, as long as you have human beings, we're going to have human weaknesses, but we've come a long way.

The national commitment in law, you know, we won that struggle. There are no more laws that compel us to segregate. There are laws now that forbid segregation and discrimination. So we're making progress. And growth, the possibility of growth is the great hope of the human experience. And Martin would be -- he would commend us for saying that here is a symbol of our hope, here's a symbol of our commitment. And no matter about hour successes or failures, we must always maintain and sustain the commitment. That's the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.

LIN: Reverend Joseph Lowery, we are going to enjoy the unveiling, the ceremony, and the tribute to such an amazing man. Martin Luther King, Jr. Appreciate the time, reverend.

LOWERY: Thank you.

LIN: Now it just so happens that CNN's Soledad O'Brien will be co-hosting the groundbreaking ceremony in Washington. So stay tuned to CNN for live coverage throughout tomorrow.

Now many U.S. veterans are also being remembered this weekend, but not all of their families have closure. We're going to look at some MIA mysteries. That story, next.

COOK: And hi, I'm Shanon Cook. Coming up in world headlines, there's nothing sheepish about these animals. I'll tell you why they've flocked to the streets of Spain in protest. CNN NEWSROOM will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Veteran's Day weekend, a nation salutes its war dead, but some Americans are still wondering what happened to their loved ones, even those missing for nearly 60 years since the Cold War shot down over what was then the Soviet Union. CNN's Ryan Chilcote has their story from Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hunting for the remains of dozens of American servicemen shot down by the Soviets during the Cold War is a daunting task. Even when an American team excavates a crash site in the Russian far east that appears almost certainly be one of their own, you can't be sure an American crew was on board.

The U.S. gave the Soviet Union, then an ally, planes during World War II. The U.S.-Russian Joint Commission on POWs and MIAs was established immediately after the fall of the Soviet Union in an era of warm relations.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It says the U.S. government.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: U.S. government?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, U.S. government.

CHILCOTE: As the former Cold War adversary's relationship chilled in recent years, the job for American search teams got much more challenging.

GEN. ROBERT FOGLESONG (RET.), CO-CHAIR< U.S.-RUSSIA-COMM.: In -- for the first 12 years of this commission, things percolated along pretty quickly. There was a lot of progress made. And then for about the last two years or so, since April 2004, it's kind of gone into neutral is the best way to describe it.

CHILCOTE: Neutral or maybe reverse. This month, the U.S. lost access to Soviet pilots reports about their dog fights with American pilots during the Korean War, reports that provided help in clarifying the fates of hundreds of American POWs.

Lieutenant Colonel Michael O'Hara and his colleagues are still allowed to view declassified files from the gulag, the infamous system of Soviet labor camps. The head of the commission believes, but cannot prove, hundreds of American POWs from Korea and Vietnam were secretly transferred to the camps before being executed. But there too, after scanning thousands of pages of material, leads are hard to come by.

LT. COL. MICHAEL O'HARA, U.S. ARMY: Here's an example of something that's marked top secret, but what you won't find in here is any of those names of prisoners of war. That's what we need to get to.

CHILCOTE: That requires cooperation. And officially, the Russian side of the POW/MIA commission doesn't even exist, stuck in a process of bureaucratic reform for the last two years.

(on camera): That makes it hard to find anyone to talk to. We ourselves spent more than a week and a half trying to contact a Russian member of the commission, but no one even answered the phone.

Privately, members of the U.S. side of the Commission are beginning to wonder if Russia really wants to help the United States find its missing.

(voice-over): From her home in West Virginia, Pat Lively Dickenson has been following the Commission's work closely. Her brother Jack was on an air reconnaissance flight in the Soviet Far East, when he went missing 55 years ago this week. She blames her government for failing her in its dealings with Russia.

PAT LIVELY DICKINSON, SISTER OF MIA SOLDIER: I really don't feel that they have pressed the Russians hard enough at this point to get them to reciprocate.

CHILCOTE: And U.S. intelligence reports she says have been useless. Almost everything censored.

There's a chance the crash site the U.S. team excavated last month is her brother's. She's provided a DNA sample, for her a sign of hope.

DICKINSON: That's the whole idea of this search, every search for 13 years, to find the fate of Jack and his fellow crewmen. CHILCOTE: And a reminder for her government there are families still waiting.

Ryan Chilcote, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Time to check the other stories making news around the world. Bangladesh brought to a standstill. Shanon Cook, taking a look at a lot of those headlines.

COOK: Great to have you over here in this part of - this lonely part of the newsroom, by the way. Thank you very much, Carol.

There's actually a ban on rallies in Bangladesh's capital, but that certainly didn't stop hordes of people from turning out today. Check out these crowds. Thousands marched in the streets of Daka (ph) to demand the removal of election officials before a January vote. Protesters accuse these officials of favoring the governing party. And people jammed the streets. And they even blocked railway lines, which paralyzed much of the country. Bangladeshi authorities say they'll send in troops to try and keep order.

Meanwhile in Spain, protesters flocked to this demonstration, and I mean literally. 700 sheep crammed and rammed the streets of downtown Madrid. They even went past Mcdonalds and Starbucks.

But what are they bleating about? Well, this is actually an annual protest calling for greater protection of grazing routes, which are threatened by urban sprawl. And of course the demonstrations were arranged by farmers, not the shaggy sheep themselves.

In Canada, Hershey has recalled some of its chocolate bars and baking products over fears they may be taunted by salmonella. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and chocolate chips were among the items being recalled. Hershey says there have been no reported illnesses. The salmonella was discovered at the Hershey plant in Smiths Falls, Ontario. It's been closed. It was closed Friday. The affected products carry dates from October 15th to November 10th and were only sold across Canada.

All right, Larry King may not just be dancing to charm the lady here. He went for a bit of a cha-cha-cha on his show "LARRY KING LIVE" recently. He also could actually be dancing his way to a stronger heart, believe it or not.

Italian researchers say that waltzing improves heart function and also quality of life among patients with heart disease. They say the waltz, which we're not seeing here -- although -- no, this is still the cha-cha-cha. But they say that the waltz could be just as effective as say cycling or walking on the treadmill. The theory being, Carol, that you know, often patients simply lose interest in those traditional forms of exercise, whereas waltzing, it's romantic and it's nice, and it's supposed to keep them going and doing, keep them interested.

LIN: Is it also because it's rhythmic, too?

COOK: Yes. And also it's a slow subtle dance. In these patients, it's better for them to not be doing sort of really hardcore aerobics.

And it's also a universal dance. You know, everybody around the world sort of knows how to waltz a little bit and can do it. Different from the cha-cha-cha that we saw Larry trying to do.

LIN: Right.

COOK: More complicated.

LIN: One two three, one two three.

COOK: Yes.

LIN: Right?

COOK: we could demonstrate, however, I'm not a waltzing...

LIN: And it would start rumors.

COOK: It really would.

LIN: We don't want to go there. OK.

COOK: Let's just end things now.

LIN: Thanks, Shanon.

COOK: Thank you.

LIN: Now in the meantime, things are still pretty busy on the weather front. So Jacqui, no dancing to the stars in the Northwest and the Northeast?

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: No, but it might be a good activity to do indoors because you've got to do something inside, because the weather has just been incredibly awful across the Northwest. You've been seeing more severe conditions than those of you in the northeast, but you've got some travel headaches of your own.

So look at the hodgepodge of weather we have here across the Northwest. We have flood advisories around the Seattle area. We've got wind advisories along the coastal areas. And all the blue and the red that you see here is where we have winter storm warnings or snow advisories.

This storm has already dumped up to 12 inches of snowfall in the western slopes of the cascades. And the center of low pressure still offshore here. So we're still looking at another 12 to 24 hours.

What does that mean? That means, well, another one to two feet of snow on top of what you've already had. Incredible wind gust reports. Cape Blanco, Oregon, 88 miles per hour. That's a hurricane force wind gust. Portland, this was recorded in the Fremont bridge. 53 miles per hour.

We'll show you our forecast animation of expected rainfall totals. The good news is the heaviest amounts are snow in the mountains. So this will not be nearly the flood event that what you've been seeing over the last couple of weeks.

In the northeastern corridor, we've been dealing with low pressure offshore here. This has been bringing about 1 to 2 inches of rainfall. And travel delays pretty incredible all day long, Carol. We'll show you the forecast travel delays for tomorrow as well, coming up a little later in the show.

LIN: OK. It's going to be a busy Monday morning. Thanks, Jacqui. We'll see you then.

Meantime, Democrats take center stage but will they lean left? Nancy Pelosi's fine line of diplomacy in our next half hour.

But first, from the war zone, to the sound studio, how the war changed one soldier, one singing soldier next.

And don't forget tonight's last call. Will a Democratic Congress bring troops home sooner? You might disagree, you might agree. Give us a call at 1-800-807-2620.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: The NEWSROOM is where you can find the headlines tonight and tomorrow.

And President Bush meets tomorrow with the bipartisan Iraq Study Group. Democrats, including the incoming chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, are already making plans for when they officially take control of Congress.

Here's Senator Carl Levin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CARL LEVIN (D), MICHIGAN: The first order of business I believe is to join hopefully with some Republicans who I think now will emerge to press the administration to change course in Iraq by telling the Iraqis that our presence there is not open-ended and that, as a matter of fact, we need to begin a phased redeployment of forces from Iraq in four to six months.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Not everyone agrees with the Democrats' call for a phased pullout, of course. CNN's military analyst says the U.S. should at least send a message to Iraq's prime minister.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, I don't think you should do it openly. That gives power to the -- our adversaries, thinking that we have lost resolve, we have lost will, we're desperate. I think, though, with Maliki it should be told to him that we can't continue on as is and that he has to start doing some things a little more aggressively.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Small steps in the search for Mideast peace. According to The Associated Press, the Hamas-led Palestinian government has agreed to attend an international conference with Israel. It would be the first time Hamas has signaled it would even consider peace talks with the Israelis.

And another milestone for Gerald Ford. The only U.S. president who was never elected is now the longest living U.S. president at the age of 93.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops turning attention away from sex abuse scandals, hoping to focus on social issues such as poverty and the homeless. It begins its national meeting tomorrow in Baltimore.

And the weekend box office was good for "Borat" again. The comedy raked in an estimated $29 million this weekend. The second straight week it's been on top. "The Santa Clause 3" and "Flushed Away" held on to the second and third spots.

And now it's your turn to choose the news. Just 30 minutes ago we asked you to send us your questions regarding stories you haven't seen covered in the media. Well, Habib Wani wants an undate on the situation in Kashmir, the disputed territory between nuclear rivals India and Pakistan.

Well, Habib, a man held by the Indian army told reporters yesterday that he is responsible for Friday's attack on a mosque in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The man says he threw a grenade inside the mosque.

Five people were killed, 30 others were wounded. It was not clear if the public confession was real or coerced. The suspect, who said he now regrets the attack, said he was paid about $20.

Well, ask anyone who has seen combat. The soldier who goes off to battle returns home a much different person. And Iraq is no different.

One former Marine used his love of music to help him through the current conflict. His music now gives voice to his questions about life, death and war.

Here's CNN's Randi Kaye.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSH HISLE, IRAQ VETERAN (SINGING): Stop screaming freedom...

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Lyrics like these...

HISLE (SINGING): Will a thousand more dead make you be aware?

KAYE: ... can only come from experience.

Just what you'd expect combat to be. Whizzing rounds and, you know, loud explosions and just fire, and round after round.

KAYE: Josh was a marksman with Marine Company Fox 25 out of Camp Pendleton. His unit was one of the first to invade Iraq.

HISLE: We were excited. You know? We were writing a page in history and, you know, we didn't care if we died. The Marine Corps trains you that way.

KAYE: A showman even in a war zone, Hisle entertained his fellow troops just hours before they crossed the border into Iraq...

HISLE (SINGING): Well, we're lucky to be alive. Which one of you tankers brought that damn 45?

(APPLAUSE)

KAYE: ... winning their talent contest.

HISLE: They had some big spotlights, a small P.A. system. Insane. It was a sea of Marines, and we rocked out a couple songs. And they were screaming. It was really cool.

KAYE: At this point, Hisle had no idea how much he would lean on his guitar as the violence escalated.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get down!

KAYE: Just hours after the talent show, his unit fought its way towards Baghdad.

(on camera): You believed in this mission.

HISLE: Absolutely.

KAYE: Wholeheartedly?

HISLE: Yes, I did.

KAYE (voice over): Hisle returned home from his first tour of duty to marry his high school sweetheart. They had a son. But just two weeks after Holland (ph) was born, Hisle was called back to Iraq. This time it would be different.

(on camera): When did it turn for you?

HISLE: I'd say in Ramadi it turned for me. We were getting blown up from roadside bombs (INAUDIBLE). It was insanity. And we couldn't control it. We couldn't stop it. And people there, they wanted us to leave.

KAYE: Do you know if you ever killed one?

HISLE: Absolutely.

KAYE: You did?

HISLE: Yes.

KAYE: How many?

HISLE: I don't know. I don't know.

KAYE: Dozens?

HISLE: I guess. I didn't keep count.

KAYE: How does that affect you? How do you live with that?

HISLE: It's really -- you don't think about it. Like I said, it's another...

KAYE: How could you not think about it?

HISLE: You just do it and then it's done.

KAYE: How did you change while you were there?

HISLE: I guess my change was, I just didn't feel the cause anymore. I just didn't see it anymore. My heart wasn't there. I just wanted to go home.

KAYE (voice over): Hisle lost himself in his music.

HISLE: I played every day. Every time I got a chance I would sit out and play (INAUDIBLE). I wrote a lot of great songs over there.

KAYE (on camera): So the music was really your outlet?

HISLE: I could complain all day with my guitar and no one -- no one had anything to say about it.

KAYE (voice over): Freelance journalist Mike Soray (ph) was embedded with Fox 25 and interviewed Hisle in Ramadi.

HISLE: This time, yes, I'm definitely watching my own ass a little bit more because I want my kid to have a dad.

KAYE: Soray (ph) saw how Hisle and his unit changed from one tour to the next.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once you got into the war, you could see he and the others became far more reflective and far more sensitive to the emotional and personal loss involved in war. As a result of that, you could see Josh's music change quite dramatically. He was more focused on writing folk songs really about love and loss, writing about his family, writing about things he missed, and his fear of not coming home alive.

HISLE (SINGING): I'm sick of calling this potential (ph).

KAYE (on camera): Is there an anti-war theme in your music today?

HISLE: There is slightly. I mean, I don't want to -- I don't want to be pinholed as an antiwar political guy, because, you know, any Marine over there, any soldier over there, for that matter at all, is in my heart. But it's bring 'em home music, it's get them back here, get them back to their families music.

KAYE (voice over): For Hisle it's been a musical catharsis of love, of loss, of what he says is regret about what he did in the war.

HISLE (SINGING): Then let me die a traitor's death...

KAYE: He wrote this song, "Traitor's Death," after a massive firefight in the desert left him once again questioning why he was there.

(on camera): Who's the traitor in that?

HISLE: I'm saying, if I'm wrong, then call me a traitor. I'm going to say this is wrong. And if you don't think I'm right, then kill me, traitor's death style. Whatever -- I don't care.

(SINGING): And these days I never will forget...

KAYE (voice over): Today, Hisle is trying to launch a music career. He has a lot to say, and he believes if things don't improve in Iraq soon, there will be plenty of people that will want to sing along.

HISLE (SINGING): So rock out to the sound of my regret.

(APPLAUSE)

KAYE: Randi Kaye, CNN, Cincinnati.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: So what really happens when war veterans come home? Well, tomorrow night, Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta take an in-depth look at life after war. "Coming Home," Monday at 10:00 p.m. Eastern. It's an unforgettable "ANDERSON COOPER 360."

Now, last night we told you about a little Iraqi girl and the U.S. military man who consoled her after insurgents attacked her family and shot her in the head. Well, tonight we're getting more news about -- from a viewer about this little girl.

Now, here you can see Chief Master Sergeant John Gebhardt cradling the child at a military hospital in Iraq. Nurses say days after her head surgery she was sobbing uncontrollably. They say Gebhardt was the only person who could calm her enough to fall asleep.

Well, I spoke to him last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF MASTER SGT. JOHN GEBHARDT, U.S. AIR FORCE: She had quite a traumatic injury. Though you can see part of the staples on one side of her head, there are equally as many on the other side, if not more.

It was a pretty horrific injury, and I imagine it's just the human contact that made her calm down a little bit more. And the nurses there had plenty of work to do on their own, and it's one small thing I and other people could do to alleviate some of their -- their heroic duties they perform every day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Well, tonight, a viewer sent this picture in to CNN's I- Report. She tells us her husband, whom you see on the right, was the medic who operated on the girl.

She's apparently named Fatima (ph). And the man on the left is Fatima's (ph) cousin. Our viewer says that the girl is now out of the hospital and reunited with a family member.

Now, if you have stories or pictures, send them to CNN's I- Report. You, the viewer, can be our eyes and ears. And if you capture a great picture or video on your camera or cell phone, send it to us. Just log on to CNN.com, or you can punch ireport@cnn.com right on your cell phone. Your I-Report is your chance to share what you witness.

Well, yucky weather hitting both sides of the country. Coming up, we're going to check Monday's travel delays.

And then, big, furry and being seen across the country. The return of Bigfoot, that's next in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: All right. Earlier, Jacqui Jeras was talking about some pretty nasty weather out there.

And Jacqui, you're talking about some delays at airports maybe for people who are traveling tomorrow?

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, unbelievable.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LIN: All right. Now a story that might be called close encounters of a furry kind. A Wisconsin man is making a monster claim. He says he saw something hairy and scary in the woods. Something he couldn't explain.

Mike Miller from our affiliate WISN has the story. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE MILLER, REPORTER, WISN (voice over): Steve Krueger was out here doing his job. He contracts with the DNR to remove dead dear from the roadsides. He had just put a carcass in the back of his truck and climbed into his cab when this happened...

STEVEN KRUEGER, SAW MYSTERY CREATURE: I felt the truck shake. I looked in the rearview mirror, and I saw a -- it was a large black figure -- a furry figure reaching into the back of the truck. At that point in time, I just threw the truck into drive, gunned it to get out of there, because it scared the dickens out of me.

MILLER (on camera): Krueger told me he was reluctant to report his sighting at first because he knows it sounds unbelievable, but he wanted police and the public to know that there's something out here that could be dangerous.

(voice over): At nearby Cabela's Outfitters hunters are skeptical.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think at 1:00 in the morning if he was out on the road by himself...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About the only thing that matches that description would be a bear or a gorilla. And we don't have gorillas around here. So...

MILLER: Krueger told me he was not drinking on the job. He's seen black bears before, and whatever he saw had much longer, pointier ears.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Generally, there's not that many of them around here. And plus, with a truck sitting there with somebody in it, with a motor running, it's an animal that's not normally near people.

MILLER (on camera): A black bear wouldn't come up to a truck?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, they're too elusive. They're very elusive.

KRUEGER: I never said it was a Bigfoot or a yeti, or anything on that sort. It was -- it was some sort of animal that was large. Whatever it was, it was there.

MILLER (voice over): Near Holy Hill in Washington County, Mike Miller, WISN 12 News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: All right. They're serious creatures -- or at least people who see them seem to be in abundance in Wisconsin.

According to the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization -- and yes, there is one -- there have been 35 reported sightings of the big guy there just between June and September of this year. The same organization says U.S. sightings of Bigfoot date back to pre-Columbian times.

All right. Right in the present day, many -- many thought a Democratic Congress would be fiction, but it isn't now. Next, a hard look at the challenges facing the woman who's posed to take charge.

Keep it right here in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: This week, the talk will continue about how incoming House speaker Nancy Pelosi will get along with President Bush. Pelosi's daughter Alexandra has known the president since she produced a documentary on his 2000 campaign.

Now, in the new "TIME" magazine she writes, "On any occasion that I have seen them together in private, they have appeared to be the best of 'frenemies' -- that's campaign trail speak for politicians who keep friends close and their enemies closer."

Well, on one occasion she says, "George was in the White House, and he told me, 'You ought to be proud of your mom.' Well, at the time she was fighting her heart out on the House floor against the Iraq war."

So let's just say that the president and the House speaker get along. Now the question is, can the Democrats get along with each other? The party's left wing is ready to take charge of the House, but Democrats owe their new majority to a freshman class full of political moderates.

CNN's Gary Nurenberg has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): After the Tuesday night election elation, the presumptive speaker of the House put it simply to CNN's Wolf Blitzer.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), MINORITY LEADER: The campaign, as I said, is over. We're ready to lead, prepared to govern, and look forward to working with them.

NURENBERG: Ready and willing. But able?

JOSEPHINE HEARN, "THE HILL" NEWSPAPER: I think she is going to face some tough tests.

NURENBERG: Josephine Hearn covers Congress for "The Hill" newspaper and knows Pelosi's Democratic majority is divided.

HEARN: She has the liberals of which she is one, and the conservative blue dogs, which often are not on the same page.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you a Nancy Pelosi Democrat? HEATH SHULER (D), NORTH CAROLINA CONGRESSMAN-ELECT: You know, I don't like to classify...

NURENBERG: Heath Shuler opposes abortion rights, pro-gun, won in a conservative North Carolina district by convincing voters...

SHULER: You know, he's not like some of the national Democrats. You know? He is one of us.

NURENBERG: Pelosi says she will govern from the center.

HEARN: The Democrats are cognizant of the fact that they are now taking over the moderate territory and that they can't listen to the most liberal factions in the caucus.

RICHARD GEPHARDT (D), FMR. CONGRESSMAN: Our new speaker, Newt Gingrich.

NURENBERG: But old-line liberals who have been out of power since the Republican revolution of 1994 are likely to push Pelosi left.

HEARN: It will be the central test in her speakership, is whether she can hold the together.

NURENBERG (on camera): Because there is someone else in town who has experience keeping moderate and conservative Democrats happy. Someone who was governor of Texas when the legislature was run by Democrats like that.

RICH GALEN, REPUBLICAN COLUMNIST: The president knows how to reach out to them, knows how to talk the language, knows how to give them the things that they need to be successful.

NURENBERG (voice over): So if congressional Democratic leaders can't walk that fine line balancing competing demands of liberals and conservatives in their party...

GALEN: They may find that the White House has effectively undermined their authority with a significant number of their caucuses and been able to work with them around what we suspect will be the liberal wing of each the House and the Senate.

NURENBERG: A reminder the election was so last week.

GALEN: In Washington, politics never ends. Politics goes on forever.

NURENBERG: Something the speaker-to-be knows very well.

Gary Nurenberg, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Stay with CNN, the best political team on television. You certainly did on Election Day. More viewers came to CNN than to any other cable news channel on that day. And you also made CNN.com the number one news site.

Now, as the countdown to 2008 begins, stay with CNN and the best political team on television.

And here's where you choose the news by just e-mailing us.

Ruben wrote in to ask if there's anything to report on the nuclear dispute with North Korea.

Well, Ruben, you'll recall North Korea led the news and shocked the world last month when it detonated a nuclear device that triggered U.N. sanctions and the worst rift between North Korea and the West in years. Well, now it seems like North Korea may be willing to return to negotiations. The question is, when?

A Japanese newspaper this weekend reported that U.S. and North Korean officials may hold some sort of preliminary talks as early as next week. A State Department spokesman says there is no such plan.

Well, stay with CNN. We're going to definitely break any new developments regarding North Korea.

And thanks, Ruben, for your question.

A check of the hour's headlines next after the break. But first, your responses to our last call question. Will a Democratic Congress bring troops home sooner? Here's what you had to say.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Mike, from Blue Ridge Georgia, and the Democratic Party can't do anything but complain.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is (INAUDIBLE) calling you from Columbia, South Carolina. I would hope that a Democratic Congress would get the troops back. We're not going to withdraw totally en masse, but I think it's going to -- it's going to bring the troops home quicker.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Andy Hall (ph), Columbia, South Carolina. I think the troops will come home when the two parties cooperate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Richard from Newark, New Jersey. Yes, I think a Democratic Congress will bring home the troops because that's been their goal, and it seems like the people of America have spoken. And I think that slowly the troops will be coming home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is Robert in Alexandria, Virginia. I hope the Democrats bring them home. That's why I voted Democratic in this election. Hopefully they get the message.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is Web (ph). I'm calling from Spokane. And I would say no, they've not given any suggestions as to what we should do, and so I don't see them doing anything different.

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