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State of Emergency in Pakistan; Report Finds Holes in Border Security; Search for Illinois Woman

Aired November 06, 2007 - 09:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Hi there, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.

Watch events come in to the NEWSROOM live on Tuesday morning, November 6th.

Here's what's on the rundown.

Thousands of protesters now jailed by the Pakistani government as a key opposition figure steps up for role today. I talk with a man who knows Benazir Bhutto in just a few minutes.

And born with four arms and four legs. Today, doctors try to fix nature's mistake. Our medical correspondent shows us how.

And a lightning bolt through the head. They thought she was dead. But she's not.

Shock of a lifetime, in the NEWSROOM.

A key U.S. ally in turmoil and no sign of Pakistan's sweeping crackdown will end anytime soon. Monitoring developments for us this morning, CNN's Isha Sesay at our International Update Desk.

Good morning to you, Isha.

And first, CNN's Emily Chang will set the stage for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EMILY CHANG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): More violence on the streets of Pakistan as police beat, kicked and arrested lawyers outside courthouses in Lahore, Islamabad and other cities. The country's judicial system is now on lockdown with one in four lawyers in custody or detained in their homes and no courts open to free them.

There's no word when the state of emergency will be lifted. The Pakistani cabinet is meeting today to discuss when elections will be held.

PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, PAKISTANI PRESIDENT: I can assure you there will be harmony. There will be harmony, confidence will come back into government, into law enforcement agencies.

CHANG: A spokesperson for former prime minister and political rival Benazir Bhutto called President Pervez Musharraf's declaration an act of terror. Critics say he is desperate for power.

MARIA KUUSISTO, SOUTH ASIA ANALYST: I think that what Musharraf didn't sort of plan would be the follow-up from the state of emergency. And he is now sort of waiting and seeing what will happen in the streets, how the politicians will react.

CHANG: President Bush condemned Musharraf's actions but emphasized he remains an ally.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: At the same time, we want to continue working with him to fight these terrorists and extremists.

CHANG: For now, holding cells across Pakistan are bursting with political prisoners, and the world watches to see what happens next.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: And Emily Chang joining us now to tell us a little bit more about this.

CHANG: Emily, we're wondering, what has been the international response to the latest events now in Pakistan?

CHANG: Well, Heidi, lately, the U.S. and the U.K. have said they are reviewing their aid to Pakistan. Again, Pakistan is a vital ally to the West in the war on terrorism. And the U.S. and the U.K. have given Pakistan billions and billions of dollars over the last several years to fight terrorism, but right now those aid packages are being reviewed.

The Dutch government has already frozen its aid to Pakistan. And the U.N. has come out criticizing the state of emergency and calling for the release of all political prisoners.

But Western leaders have come out saying there is really not a lot they can do in this situation but put pressure on Musharraf's regime. It really is up to President Musharraf to decide what to do next, and he hasn't given really any indication of when this state of emergency will be lifted. We are told it will be in place as long as it is necessary -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Yes, but what does that mean? All right. Good point.

Emily Chang, thanks so much for that.

And our International Update Desk now closely watching dispatches and video feeds streaming out of Pakistan. It's a big job. This hour, CNN's Isha Sesay is on the job for us.

Good morning to you, Isha.

ISHA SESAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.

We have got every angle of the story covered for you. I'll be working with the entire team here at the international desk throughout the day monitoring the story, watching closely all media outlets, newspapers and Web sites coming out of Pakistan.

Now, we know there in Pakistan the people can only see state-run TV. The government is trying to impose a media blackout, as it were. So you can only see state-run TV, but we can, of course, monitor all the other outlets there in the region, there in Pakistan. We will be watching it closely to tell you how they are covering the story.

A point to bring to you, Heidi. We spoke to our producer there in Pakistan a little earlier on, and he was keen to stress to us that the government is trying to get media outlets to censor themselves. Those who fail to do so face up to three years in prison or a million rupee fine.

So that is the situation there.

We are, of course, following, as I say, Web sites and newspapers, and monitoring all types of reaction internationally, as well as there on the ground in Pakistan. So anything you need to know, come here and we'll have it for you.

COLLINS: All right. Terrific.

In fact, we were talking earlier before the show about, you know, what people on the ground there are doing. Just the citizens of Pakistan. Actually, some of them calling home to try to get accurate information.

SESAY: Indeed, Heidi, because, as I say, this virtual blackout that is trying to be imposed is, you know, obviously restricting the flow of information. But people in Pakistan are trying to work to get around that.

Our producer told us people are phoning abroad, they're phoning relatives in the U.S. and the U.K., for instance. They're also checking Web sites. They're doing everything they can.

They're not just sitting back and saying there's no information going through and we'll take that as it were, we'll deal with it. They are fighting to get through the cordons and find out what exactly is happening in their country -- Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. Very good. Isha Sesay, we will come back to you as soon as more information coming in from what you're watching.

Thanks so much, Isha.

Meanwhile, now, a veteran reporter, 17 wars, dozens of countries. We're going to be talking to the man with a direct line into Pakistan's crisis.

That's coming up right here in the NEWSROOM. So don't miss that.

And new developments this morning. This picture just in of a suspect in a police killing. John Lewis (ph) arrested at a Miami homeless shelter this morning, accused in a crime several states away. We showed you the surveillance video last week of an armed robbery at a Philadelphia doughnut shop. A police officer was shot after interrupting the robbery. Investigators tracked the suspect to Florida after hearing he took a bus there.

A news conference on the arrest is about to begin. You see the folks filing in there to those microphones. We are going to be following that for you, bring you any information just as soon as we get it.

Holes in the border. Thousands of people are coming in illegally without breaking a sweat.

Here is Homeland Security Correspondent Jeanne Meserve.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Illegal aliens don't have to climb over fences or swim rivers to get into the U.S. sometimes they can ride or walk right through an official U.S. border crossing. According to a new Government Accountability Office report, customs and border protection acknowledges "several thousand inadmissible aliens and other violators" entered the U.S. through ports of entry last year. According to a source who has seen an unredacted version of the report, the number is 21,000.

RICHARD STANA, GOVT. ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE: If the agents and the officers at the border are not doing their job, we're all a little less secure.

MESERVE: When GAO investigators arrived at one port of entry there were no CBP officers at the inspection booth. At other locations officers didn't ask for travel documents. And according to the report, "alien smuggling organizations have trained operatives to take advantage of these weaknesses." The report says a CBP staffing shortage hurts its ability to carry out inspections and use new facilities and equipment intended to help fight terrorism, but the GAO also found more mundane explanations.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Either agents aren't paying attention, they're not focused. They're complacent. It's because supervisors aren't demanding that the agents do their job and ask the right questions and look at the right documents.

MESERVE: Customs and Border Protection says at busy ports of entry it has to balance security and commerce.

JAYSON AHERN, CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION: Today there is currently not a requirement, either statutorily or regulatory, requiring everyone to have a document coming across the border. So no, they're not all being checked.

MESERVE: That means the bad guys can get in potentially? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That means potentially there is that vulnerability.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Jeanne Meserve joining us now live from Washington.

Jeanne, it really begs the question, has Customs and Border Protection really taken some corrective action here?

MESERVE: Well, Heidi, as a result of its own earlier investigations in the summer of 2006, CBP did issue new policies and procedures to tighten up security at ports of entry. But months later, the GAO found many of the same weaknesses persist. CBP says it will do more -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Meanwhile, there's another controversy, true, going on this morning surrounding the Halloween party thrown by the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement? What is that one all about?

MESERVE: Well, the secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, says he will conduct inquiry after some employees were offended by a Halloween costume at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement Halloween fund-raising party last week.

A man dressed in a striped prison outfit, dreadlocks and darkening skin makeup was cited for originality by a panel of judges, which included the head of ICE, Julie Myers. Myers has since sent a member to all ICE employees saying, "It is now clear that, however unintended, a few of the costumes were inappropriate and offensive. I and the senior management at ICE deeply regret that this happened."

Also, one or more photos of Myers with the costumed man were deleted from an official photographer's camera. An ICE spokeswoman says the costumed employee was wearing what she described as a skin bronzer intended to "make him look African-American." The spokeswoman claims most people in the room didn't even realize he was wearing makeup, but others clearly did realize it and found it offensive -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Originality? That is what he won the award for?

MESERVE: That's what they tell us.

COLLINS: All right.

Jeanne Meserve, thanks so much for that.

And just want to remind our viewers, CNN "Security Watch" keeps you up to date on safety. So stay tuned day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

Italian police say they're holding 20 people suspected of recruiting suicide bombers for Iraq and Afghanistan. Eleven of those arrests coming in northern Italy. The rest throughout Europe. Police say they uncovered al Qaeda manuals, bomb switches and poison. An unwelcome record for U.S. troops in Iraq. Roadside bomb attacks have killed five soldiers. The deaths now makes this year the deadliest yet for troops in Iraq.

With two months left in the year, 854 service members have been killed. That compares to 849 killed in 2004. But important to point out, last month had the fewest troop deaths since March of 2006, and the number of wounded troops has dropped. The death toll since the war begins in 2003 now stands at 3,857.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: A police sergeant's wife missing since last week. Today, friends and family are getting help in their search.

CNN's Keith Oppenheim is in Bolingbrook, Illinois, this morning with the very latest now.

Keith, good morning to you.

What are family members saying about this case now?

KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi. And family members of Stacy Peterson are expressing a lot of suspicion about her husband, the police sergeant, Drew Peterson.

First of all, we are at a church where a volunteer group is going to be using this as kind of a command center today to continue with the searches for Stacy Peterson. Stacy Peterson is 23 years old. Her husband, Drew, 53 years old. He is a police sergeant, and they have been married for four years.

It was a week ago last Sunday, nine days ago, when she was last seen, when she doesn't show up for an appointment with her sister. Her husband Drew does not believe that she is missing. He has told the media that he believes that she has left with another man. But Stacy Peterson's family discounts that and so do her friends.

In fact, in one e-mail to a friend, Stacy Peterson wrote, "I am finding the relationship I am in is controlling, manipulative and somewhat abusive."

And now you're going to hear from her aunt, Candace Aikin, who spoke on "LARRY KING LIVE" last night. And she described the relationship this way...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CANDACE AIKIN, STACY PETERSON'S AUNT: When I was there in October, she said that she was afraid because he was following her around 24/7. Even inside the house, he was very obsessed and stalking her, even inside her house.

(END VIDEO CLIP) OPPENHEIM: There is a little more to the story, Heidi, and that's because local prosecuting attorneys are looking into the background, into old police files, specifically about how the third wife of Drew Peterson died. Her name was Kathleen Savio (ph). She died in 2004 and drowned in a bathtub, and her family is quite suspicious about Drew Peterson, too. So at least the local prosecutor is trying to possibly see if there's a connection between what happened to the third wife and to his current wife, Stacy Peterson.

In the meantime, police are looking. They're using tracking dogs. They're using infrared sensors in airplanes. And volunteer groups here are trying to find Stacy, but no sign of her. And keep in mind this is a mother of two children, who her family says just would not leave her kids like this.

Back to you.

COLLINS: Wow. It's quite a story, Keith.

Is there any evidence, as far as you know right now, that Stacy Peterson may have had a relationship with another man?

OPPENHEIM: None, other than the fact that her husband is saying that's why she left, but nothing else to support it. And I should emphasize, by the way, that he is not officially a suspect in this case, and this case is not a criminal investigation. It's a missing persons case, at least for now.

COLLINS: All right. Well, Keith Oppenheim, we know you're following the story for us. Thanks so much, live from Bolingbrook, Illinois, this morning.

Thanks.

In India right now, doctors are operating on a little girl born with four arms and four legs. A very risky procedure.

Here to talk more about it now is CNN Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.

This is just an incredibly story.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, it's incredible and incredibly rare, I should add.

COLLINS: Yes.

COHEN: It's incredible and incredibly rare.

Two-year-old Lakshmi was born in India with, as you said, four arms, four legs. Also four kidneys, two abdominal cavities and two chest cavities.

COLLINS: Wow.

COHEN: That's according to a British newspaper. And also two spines.

So what they're trying to do right now is a surgery to get rid of what she doesn't need and keep what she does. And this is so rare. It's really hard to say exactly how well they will do in that surgery.

COLLINS: Yes. In fact, has this ever been done before? How does something like this happen in the first place? There was -- there was another body, wasn't there?

COHEN: There was. This is very odd.

We've all heard about conjoined twins.

COLLINS: Sure.

COHEN: Well, when Lakshmi's mother was pregnant, there was another baby in her womb at the time. So technically Lakshmi is an ischiopagus conjoined twin. That baby at some point in the pregnancy stopped developing, but the remnants of that body remained, and that body somehow melded into Lakshmi's body.

So what you're seeing is the remnants of her conjoined twin. He never fully developed.

COLLINS: Oh, it's sad, too.

COHEN: Oh, it's just awful. You just hope they can do well for this child.

COLLINS: Yes. Now, what are the risks? I mean, what's the next step?

COHEN: There are probably so many risks we couldn't even -- we couldn't even list them.

COLLINS: Yes.

COHEN: It's so unusual, because what...

COLLINS: To fuse the spine, right?

COHEN: Well, what they really have to do here is they have to figure out which of her legs is she not going to need and which ones does she need? What are the dominant ones? Which ones should they remove? Which should they keep?

COLLINS: And they're all functioning, right?

COHEN: In some way, shape or form. But you want to figure out, which are the two that are functioning the best?

COLLINS: Right.

COHEN: Now, as far as the spine goes, we were just on the phone with a CNN affiliate reporter who has an exclusive on this story. And he was -- he's right there in the hospital. And he says that they did manage to untwist the spines, so they did separate the spines.

Now they have to separate the rest of the body parts that they need to separate. And it's going to -- the surgery will continue into the night.

I mean, there's so many different things you have to think about here. You have to think about bleeding, you have to think about, am I taking anything away from her that she needs from her body to live on? I mean, there's a lot of different risky things we're talking about here.

COLLINS: Well, I would imagine that internally those are the most serious issues.

COHEN: Right. Right. The spine sounds like it would be the most serious one, and apparently they finished that and it's going well.

COLLINS: Yes. Yes.

All right. Well, we will definitely be following this story.

Thanks so much.

COHEN: Thank you.

COLLINS: CNN Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.

Sky high oil prices driving up air fares now, and just in time for the holiday travel season, wouldn't you know. We're "Minding Your Business" coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: All right. So lets cheek out the numbers on the Big Board opening board this morning.

(BELL RINGING)

COLLINS: There it is, right on cue, live. We're going to get these numbers for you in just a minute. It always takes a little while for us to check them out but it will be interesting to watch today specifically because of what we were just talking about with Ali Velshi and extremely high oil prices right now.

So we'll see what sort of an effect that has on the market but we do know yesterday the Dow Jones industrial averages close 51 points to the negative, rest to that 1553 as it close so we'll watch it for you.

Meanwhile, a woman wakes from a coma and finds out what knocked her out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He said that I had had been struck by lightning that I had died. I looked at him and I said me yes?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: She said what? Lightning bolt through the head. Tell the story in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

Live in the CNN NEWSROOM with Heidi Collins.

COLLINS: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Heidi Collins. Tony Harris is off today.

Clashes in Pakistan. Some say no justice. These pictures say no peace. The government intensifying its crackdown on critics, one of every four lawyers now in jail. Many judges detained in their homes. Their crime? Protesting the government's emergency rule. The move suspended the constitution and crippled both the courts and the media. Last night on CNN's "Out in the Open" we spoke to one Pakistani lawyer who is in hiding.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AYESHA TAMMY HAO, LAWYER: (INAUDIBLE) huge crackdown and anyone who is out, anyone who is protesting against -- against General Musharraf is being directed so I'm trying to stay out of jail. It's brutal, it's violently brutal and they seem to enjoy themselves. They seem to actually take pleasure in what they're doing. Very shocking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Pakistan's chief justice has been thrown off the bench but he is not remaining silent. He vows Pakistan's constitution will be restored and says, quote, "There will be no dictatorship."

And now a veteran journalist who has covered the world, today, he serves as a critical link to Pakistan's Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Arnaud De Borchgrave is in Washington for us this morning. It's nice to see you again.

ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Thank you.

COLLINS: You know, as we look at your resume, it's pretty amazing. 17 wars, stories in 90 different countries. You would be a good person to characterize for us this crisis in Pakistan.

DE BORCHGRAVE: I think it's the most dangerous crisis in the world today. Given the fact that Pakistan is one of the eight nuclear powers in the world and it seems to be spinning out of control. Also, the fact that the army and the federally administered tribal areas which are essential to what we're doing in Afghanistan. The army in that part of Pakistan has virtually collapsed. They feel they're fighting America's war that President Musharraf is taking orders from the United States and they are now trying to create a frontier call but hundreds of those actually gave up without even fighting and were in Taliban hands until yesterday when there was an exchange of prisoners between the Taliban and the Pakistani army. That is how serious the situation is up there.

COLLINS: I know that you are a friend of Benazir Bhutto's and when I ask you about her, is it not fair to say also that the people -- some people of Pakistan anyway also feel that she has a relationship with the United States, that they are not necessarily in favor of?

DE BORCHGRAVE: That's correct. The story has been around, that there was a deal between Benazir Bhutto and President Musharraf. The deal was broken by the United States. This would allow Benazir to run in the elections in January if they are held on schedule and her PPP or Pakistan People Party would most likely get a majority in which case she could become prime minister for the third time. But that requires a change in the constitution which prevents people from being prime minister three times, so that was all part of the deal.

Plus the fact that Musharraf had said that he would take off his uniform as soon as he was confirmed by the supreme court, but the supreme court was about to say that he was not, that his election was not valid because a majority of the people of the assembly members did not vote in it so it still has a few, seems to me a few crisis to go before we get things back on track.

COLLINS: Yes. I think you're absolutely right there. I know that you have spoken or at least e-mailed recently with Benazir Bhutto. In fact, I want to put on the screen for a moment, something that she sent to you on Saturday. Just a couple of days ago.

She says this. "There is no move toward democracy. It's either back to dictatorship like in 1991 or back to a rigged election, in her opinion 2002, or Musharraf is replaced with a pliant interim government for two years run from behind the scene by the same military hardliners".

If, in fact, she is positioning herself to be the leader of this country, what would be different for the people of Pakistan?

DE BORCHGRAVE: I think it would be back to democracy. It's not always worked, as you know in Pakistan. The Pakistan is 60 years old and military dictatorships have ruled for over half that period. So, it's not a given if elections are held and she becomes prime minister that this is going to work out, especially if Musharraf stays on as president without a uniform, because I don't see how Benazir Bhutto is going to be listened to by the army and by the ISI, the all powerful interservices intelligence agency. That will be a story to come.

What she would like to do is try to broaden the election campaign and the federally administered tribal areas to include other parties besides MMA which is the coalition of six political religious parties and which is opposite part of the problem in Pakistan today. COLLINS: I guess there is a difference is there not, between, you know, people listening to you and then people choosing independently to follow you. Does she have that?

DE BORCHGRAVE: She has a great deal of popularity but, obviously, a lot of people are out to kill her. You've got the pro- Taliban people, pro-al Qaeda people; you've got the MMA coalition of six religious parties who would like to see her dead. They had even on television mullahs in certain parts of Pakistan saying that the Jihads would kill her and she escaped, as you know, it was a miracle that she wasn't killed the other day when 140 people were killed and over 400 wounded.

COLLINS: Yes, so I guess the final question quickly for you is, what then will she be able to do?

DE BORCHGRAVE: Well, I think she -- if she can get things back on track, she will become prime minister and it will be a very challenging assignment to see if she can work with President Musharraf as a civilian.

COLLINS: We certainly appreciate your time here, as always.

DE BORCHGRAVE: My pleasure, Heidi, thank you.

COLLINS: Arnaud De Borchgrave, thank you.

And next hour, the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting to give Michael Mukasey the green light to be the next attorney general. His nomination then goes to the full senate. It has been in jeopardy. But, two key Democrats now say they will join Republicans and vote in favor of Mukasey. The senators had expressed doubt when Mukasey refused to publicly denounce waterboarding as torture. That's an integration technique that simulates drowning. So, what do Americans think about waterboarding?

A new poll by the CNN opinion research corporation found almost 70 percent consider it torture. 58 percent say the government should not use the technique to get information from terror suspects. 40 percent of those polls say waterboarding should be used.

South of the border, people are under water and having to be rescued. Meteorologist Rob Marciano is in the severe weather center now with a look at this. Hi there, Rob.

(WEATHER REPORT)

Here is a look now at the most clicked on videos on cnn.com. Talk Show Host Jay Leno handing out doughnuts to striking writers in Burbank, California. He says he supports them.

And an elaborate birthday party in honor of a Thai king. More than 2000 oarsmen powered royal barges to kick off a month of celebrations. But the man of the hour was not there. He is actually down in the hospital. Beautiful pictures, though. And age isn't slowing down. This window washer. We told you the story here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Bill Palmer (ph) is 84 years old. And has been washing windows in Maine for 25 years.

And when you're not watching CNN on television, you can always stay informed at any time. Just go to cnn.com.

Living illegally but driving legally. Find out why one state believes its okay to give driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: We want to get you back to our top story now this morning in the NEWSROOM. Pakistan under emergency rule. Lawyers define the government crackdown and vowing to protect democracy. Also, joining that challenge, Pakistan's college students with a view now from inside that movement. I-reporter Zahra Sabri. She is on the phone from Lahore. Thanks you for being with us, Zahra. I wonder if you can tell us a little bit more about exactly what the students there are protesting.

ZAHRA SABRI, I-REPORTER: Yes. Basically, (INAUDIBLE). The ways that government has dealt with the situation. We think the government is acting a bit paranoid because what they see is that we can't possibly see how human rights activists and people who have a good record as philanthropist and honest analyst can be danger to the country at this particular point. We've been seeing that people like Raynham, people like (INAUDIBLE) and some members of the faculty who are pretty harmless, so to speak, has been detained without judge. This is (INAUDIBLE) that were protesting against.

Also, I think - in Pakistan and becoming quite embarrassing for us as a country. The nation to see the way the Pakistani politics (INAUDIBLE) and how -- we don't have not much say in politics but things are really coming to a head right now.

COLLINS: If you say that you don't really have much say in politics, does it feel like a democracy? Obviously, not right now, but prior to that?

SABRI: Prior to that, we must admit that democracy hasn't been very -- implemented properly in Pakistan for the past 60 years. It's been not consistent. But at a certain point, each government become (INAUDIBLE) and I think in the new system, we do have the option of voting people out. But hear here, if President Musharraf seems to be dwindling in eyes of the public in general cynicism on occasion (INAUDIBLE) festival after Ramadan, the markets were full of people window shopping and not buying much because the economy is such that -- not really happening of the economic load that's happening in the country and there aren't many buyers and things are becoming quite dice for people. And we can really see that.

COLLINS: Yes, as we look at the video that you shot with your cell phone there, you know, these groups of young people walking through the streets. What is it exactly that young people like yourself want? Are you together in thinking that Benazir Bhutto is the answer, or is it an entirely different political figure that we may not even know much about here?

SABRI: One thing that I want to clarify, they are not walking in the streets, they are walking on campus. We have quite a few apprehension of walking in the street right now but you see because (INAUDIBLE) high court when they went to demonstrate on the street.

COLLINS: I see.

SABRI: The other part of your question? I'm sorry? The other part of your question about Benazir Bhutto. Well, I must say that we are actually not wanting her to come back either and see her, the deal that is -- seems to be negotiating between her and Musharraf as somewhat of an imposition. Because what we would really like to see are new faces in politics. These people are corrupt. I don't think President Musharraf have any right to drop the charges against her without (INAUDIBLE). Their corruption against us. She looted the nation. We really don't want her either. Perhaps, someone new. Some independent faces. These dynastic arrangements are very, very hard for us to follow.

COLLINS: Well, we certainly appreciate the firsthand view and very interesting to hear from a younger person involved in the student protests. We also appreciate your I-reporting very much. Zahra Sabri, thank you again.

A man's wife taking a shocking jolt. Look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One bolt. Crack. Just got her. Right on the top of her head.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Wow. Incredibly, the woman is not dead. You got to stick around to hear her story coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: If you've ever been accused of taking your life for granted you should watch this. A story of a woman struck by lightning you will not believe. Allison Uton (ph) of affiliate KTVB reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLISON UTON (ph), AFFILIATE KTVB: October 1st, 2007, storm clouds roll into Hidden Springs.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Laura looked up at the sky and she says you know there is a big black cloud over there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Out of nowhere, just one bolt. Crack. It just got her. Right on the top of her head.

UTON: 39-year-old Lara Eustermann is directly hit.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a nightmare. It's a nightmare.

CALLER: 911.

DISPATCHER: Yes.

CALLER: My daughter. She's just been struck by lightning.

UTON: Her heart stops.

DISPATCHER: Can you start CPR?

CALLER: Yes, I have but I think she's gone. My baby's gone.

UTON: For two weeks, this mother of four clings to life in the Intensive Care Unit and then a medical miracle.

LARA EUSTERMANN, SURVIVED LIGHTNING STRIKE: Well, I took my lottery ticket.

UTON: Lara Eustermann defied the odds. She doesn't remember the lightning strike nor the week preceding it. She does remember waking up from her coma two weeks later.

EUSTERMANN: My husband talked to me and he said that I had been struck by lightning, that I had died, that my mother had brought me back to life. And that I had been hospitalized for a couple of weeks. I looked at him and I said "B.S." and then he showed me my legs and stuff like that. And then it sort of made sense.

UTON: The electrical force left its mark from head-to-toe inside and out. Laura legs are burns and her head is healing from what is believed to be the exit wound where lightning left her body. Beyond the surface scars, there is deeper damage.

EUSTERMANN: I can move everything on my body, but I can't use it appropriately, so it's mostly muscle weakness, I think. My nerves don't -- aren't sending the right message to my muscles.

UTON: Lara is technically a quadriplegic. She has to retrain her muscles, nerves and brain to communicate again, an agonizingly slow and painful process.

EUSTERMANN: It's the hardest thing I've ever done in my life!

UTON: But life is the operative word there, something neither Lara nor her family takes for granted.

EUSTERMANN: Tah-dah! I'm up!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you feel like you can hold yourself up there?

EUSTERMANN: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good.

KATHY LARSEN, DAUGHTER STRUCK BY LIGHTNING: It's wonderful to see the progress that she's making. It's great.

EUSTERMANN: Wow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's cool, huh?

EUSTERMANN: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. You want to go back down?

EUSTERMANN: Yes.

LARSEN: We're really so grateful that Lara is really back with us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

UTON: Lara's mother is credited for saving her life in the midst of chaos with Lara's two youngest boys at her side, Kathy Larson performed CPR on her dying daughter.

EUSTERMANN: I'm so thankful to my mother. She gave me life twice.

LARSEN: Well, certainly it was helpful that I was there. But, I can't help but feel but there was a lot of divine providence involved.

EUSTERMANN: I believe there is a reason I'm still here. I'm not sure what it is yet.

UTON: But Lara is sure about one thing, that she will struggle and strain through the pain of therapy trying to regain the physical being she once was, trying to get well and get home to relish what was once considered the little things in life and is now seen as the very essence of life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you ready to call it good?

EUSTERMANN: Oh, yes, it's good. Good, good, good. The worst part is not being at home and hearing stories about, although it's great, neighbors and friends taking my kids to the zoo and to the park and I can't be there. I'm grateful to them all, but I want to be me. Hi, Griffin. Hi, baby. How are you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good.

EUSTERMANN: Hi, baby. The best part to the story is that I realize how much I miss that and that I need to slow down my life, which I'll be doing. I'm just going to be mom for a while. Instead of trying to be everything else.

UTON: Allison Uton, Idaho's news channel 7.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Terrific story. And now home from Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Daddy! It's daddy!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: And I think they're trying to make me cry here. Daddy's girl gets a big surprise.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. Stay informed all day in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Here's what's on the rundown. Crackdown, uninterrupted. Thousands of government critics now jailed under Pakistan's sweeping emergency rule.

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The law of supply and demands. Turning human tissue into big business.

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