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High Stakes in Iowa; Missing Hiker Update

Aired January 03, 2008 - 14:00   ET

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

ROB MARCIANO, CNN ANCHOR: Well, they call it black gold for a reason, though black platinum may be more like it. Oil spends another day at near or above the triple-digit mark.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: It's a mystery on Blood Mountain. A Georgia woman goes for a hike on New Year's Day and vanishes. We expect to hear more from police this hour.

Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.

MARCIANO: And I'm Rob Marciano, in today for Don Lemon.

And you're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

We're standing by for another news conference here in Georgia on the search for a missing hiker in the frigid hills of north Georgia. Already today we've learned of one ominous lead in the search for the 24-year-old known as Meredith Emerson. She was last seen New Year's Day on Blood Mountain with her black Lab Ella. It now appears she may have met up with a stranger named late this morning as a person of interest.

Authorities say he's a white man, about 50 to 60 years old, with bad or no teeth at all. He's said to have a dark reddish retriever that answers to the name of "Danny". Friends say Meredith knows karate, she knows hiking, and knows how to fend off for herself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PEGGY BAILEY, FAMILY SPOKESWOMAN: Let me tell you something, Meredith Emerson could do anything. She is feisty. She is strong. She is tiny and petite 120 pounds, but let me tell you, I have every hope that if anybody could -- she can run those mountains.

She's a strong person. If anybody can survive this, she can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: The mountains are being searched by professionals and volunteers, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is on the case.

PHILLIPS: It's decision day in Iowa. Just hours from now caucus-goers will line up behind their favorite presidential candidate and get the ball officially rolling on this year's nominating process. Between now and then, a last-minute scramble. The CNN Election Express in Des Moines is to bring you up-to-the- minute coverage from the best political team on television.

And after months spent shaking hands and traveling from town to town, it all comes down to what Iowa voters think. Our Candy Crowley, still in Des Moines.

Candy, well, can we assume that we're getting voters to the caucuses? It's probably priority one today.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You can assume that, and you can also assume that it's really out of the candidates' hands right now.

They're mostly kind of laying low today. This is now about the telephone calls they make from headquarters, the number of people that they contact by door to door saying you're coming, right? Remember, it starts at this time. You have to be there before the doors close.

How can we help you? Do you need a ride? I mean, that's what it's coming down to. It is so personal at this level. It is not just about who these caucus-goers will stand up for. It is about things so simple as knocking on a door.

PHILLIPS: And is Iowa a must win for any of these candidates?

CROWLEY: Always, but the question is, can they go on? Obviously the top tier of the Democratic race, they can go on. John Edwards has matching federal funds. He could go on. You know, Barack Obama has a lot of money. Hillary Clinton has a lot of money. They could all sustain a loss. What it comes down to really for these candidates is, is it worth going on? And that's really kind of a gut feeling. We will see some people fall off because they didn't win. My judgment is, in the top tier, there might be some questions depending on who wins or loses on the Democratic side.

On the Republican side, I think Mike Huckabee is fueled by some passion. Even if he comes in second he's likely to go on. Mitt Romney, if he loses, is going to be injured. I mean, there's no doubt about that. He would go into New Hampshire wounded, where he's facing a very stiff challenge from John McCain.

So, whoever loses will come out of here maimed, but they could go on if they wanted to. It's the gut check that matters.

PHILLIPS: You know, there are so many young people involved. Everybody has been talking about these first time caucus-goers, Candy. People that were never even involved or even cared about it are going out for the first time.

Everybody has a different opinion on why that's happening. A lot of people is saying, well, everyone is sick of the war in Iraq. People are tired about health care.

What do you think? What are folks telling you? What are you learning? CROWLEY: I think it's all of that, but I don't think you can discount history on the Democratic side, where we expect they will have a much larger turnout than on the Republican side. But what do you have here? You have a woman who has a real chance at becoming president. You have an African-American who has a real chance at becoming president on down the line. You have Bill Richardson, a Latino.

So what you have is some history here, so there are lots of people I meet that just think it's exciting, that you get this sense that which ever way it goes, America may be turning a page, both in how the White House looks and what a leader looks like, and in terms of policy going forward.

So I think that there is some history at play here, and I don't think you can discount that Barack Obama has really ignited people that are 29 and below. I mean, they are not counting entirely on that age group, but they really feel that his message of it's time to turn the page, kind of, I'm the new generation, we need to move forward, that has really had some resonance inside the Barack Obama campaign.

On the other hand, Hillary Clinton's appeal has been largely to older women, people, some of them, who were born before women could vote, who say, oh, I'm going to vote for -- you know, I want to see a woman in the White House. So the history of that really drives a lot of this enthusiasm, as well as Democrats' desire to win the White House.

PHILLIPS: That is such a point well made, Candy. Even if Richardson or Clinton or Obama, either one of them or none of them become president, it's the issue of diversity and that Americans are appreciating diversity, they're getting involved because of diversity, and that's something we have never seen in a presidential election. It's been the good old white boy network.

CROWLEY: It has, and it's just interesting, and it adds to kind of the flavor of all of this, because any time, whether you're a journalist or whether you're a voter, any time something looks new, any time there's the prospect of something new, again, whether it's policy or whether it's just the shape of the race and what the race looks like, that really excites voters. And I think to a certain extent it certainly has galvanized voters here in Iowa.

PHILLIPS: Candy Crowley, great to see you.

CROWLEY: Good to see you.

PHILLIPS: Results from the Iowa caucuses will be changing minute by minute, county by county tonight. You can track them yourself and stay up to the second at cnnpolitics.com, your one-stop shop for the Iowa caucuses.

And if you're caucusing in Iowa this evening, we want to know what it's like. Take your cameras, send us photos, videos, all from the inside. Just go to cnnpolitics.com. We're going to air some of the best I-Reports during our special coverage tonight, 8:00 a.m. Eastern.

MARCIANO: We want to take you back to the scene of the north Georgia hills, where a woman missing since January 1st. Let's listen in to this news conference.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You want me to yell, scream, squeak?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe we ought to move it back the way we were because the mikes are pointing that way.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is the wind too loud?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the generator over there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What if I stand in front of the generator and the mike?

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There you go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That helps.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's done it before.

MARCIANO: OK. So they are having some technical difficulties there, but I'm told that before we went to her live, that they were describing a car that they found near the trail head there, so there may be more evidence now being uncovered at the scene there, where Meredith Emerson was report missing on January 1st.

She's a 24-year-old, a graduate of the University of Georgia. There's her Labrador who she was last seen with, hiking with as well. Let's try to listen again.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The white male, we have actually gotten more information on this white male that's of interest. He is actually -- from what we've gathered, he's a 60-year-old white male. He is 5'10. He is 160 pounds. He has silver/gray hair, and he is possibly in a 2000, 2001, that style of a minivan, white in color. Actually was seen in the area yesterday morning.

And the dog is actually a reddish in color large breed dog. We can't tell if it's actually an Irish Setter or a Lab, and the dog answers to the name of "Dandy," not "Danny". It's Dandy or Dandie. That is the update that we have got. We're still following up on lots of leads.

If this gentleman actually recognizes himself from the description, please contact us. We need information from you. For him to call 760-439-6038, which is our dispatch, and get in touch with one of the investigators or somebody from the sheriff's office.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With all the descriptions, those are the same height and weight from every description that we've gotten so far. They all coincide together. The weight has been right on from the beginning.

QUESTION: What is distinguishing about him? Is it his teeth are rotted or out, or what?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He is probably -- from what we've been -- having described in descriptions from witnesses that have seen him, he either has very bad, bad teeth or he has no teeth. And that's just from the eyewitnesses that have given us the description. All of the descriptions that all of the eyewitnesses have given are all working together on the same thing as the one that was seen with her and the dog.

QUESTION: Are these coming from other hikers, these descriptions?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They are. They're coming from other hikers that were in the area on the trail that day and that were actually in that area throughout the day.

QUESTION: What's the course of action for the remainder of the day?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right now we have several teams that are actually in the wood line that are on the trail. We do have other teams that are coming in, and we'll be doing trails throughout up until probably dusk, and then at that time we'll pull all of the teams out.

QUESTION: Is there anything else going on as far as investigating relationships or anything in her background or anything else that might be unrelated to hiking or this person of interest that you're looking into?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: GBI is actually assisting us in that investigation right now, so that's an unlimited resource that we have right now. What they are is -- we are following up on everything. We are following up about her life, about her friends.

MARCIANO: New information coming out of that news conference in the north Georgia mountains where Meredith Emerson was last seen on January 1st hiking with her dog. The gentleman who is of interest is said to be a 60 year old, 5'10, 160 pounds, with silver/gray hair.

Also new information coming to you from the CNN NEWSROOM is that the car they suspect he may have been driving or associated with him, a 2000 or 2001 minivan, sort of white in color. And he also had a dog with reddish -- a dark reddish dog named Dandy. That is the person of interest.

And we'll continue to monitor this story out of north Georgia.

PHILLIPS: Crisis in Kenya. More churches battle to the ground, riot police battle with protesters, and that violence sparked by the country's disputed presidential election. We're going to check in with our international desk for a live report.

And with or without writers, late night returns. Letterman, Leno, O'Brien doing what they do best. We're going to have the highlights.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARCIANO: In the frigid north Georgia mountains, a potentially sinister turn, the story of this missioning hiker. Twenty-four-year- old Meredith Emerson, she was last seen New Year's Day on what's called Blood Mountain, just south of the small town of Blairsville.

CNN's Rusty Dornin has been reporting on this all day long, and there's been new information coming out seemingly nonstop.

What do you know now?

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, now apparently they are saying there is a person of interest, a man described as 60 years old, silver/gray hair, about 160 pounds, badly weathered. And they're saying he either has some teeth or doesn't have any, and that he had a red -- big red dog on the trail, and some witnesses say they saw him talking to her on the trail sometime on New Year's Day.

Now, they are also saying that the latest is that they have identified his car. And his car is apparently -- they saw someone describing looking as he did driving a white minivan with Georgia plates.

Now, this young won woman went out on New Year's Day. She new the trails, she had her dog with her, little black Labrador Retriever. All they have found is a leash and a water bottle. And her friends say she was a karate expert, she was very athletic, and they even say she 120 pounds of pure tough.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BAILEY: Let me tell you something, Meredith Emerson could do anything. She is feisty. She is strong. She is tiny and petite, 120 pounds, but let me tell you, I have every hope that if anybody could -- she can run those mountains.

She's a strong person. If anybody can survive this, she can. She's got her dog.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DORNIN: Some of the witnesses say there was a baton that was found nearby.

MARCIANO: Right. Like a police baton? DORNIN: A police baton, but the police really aren't going that far. They are saying he had some kind of a sheath on his leg, not saying what was inside.

Now, they're saying the teams are going to be out tonight until dusk. And let's do put up the hotline just in case someone here in Georgia who knows this description of this person of interest.

It is 760-439-6038. Anyone who has any information about this minivan or of this person of interest is really encouraged to call.

MARCIANO: Boy, when you talk about the description of this guy, none or bad teeth, you know, scruffy, weathered.

DORNIN: Right.

MARCIANO: And with a sheath. I mean, it's all these connotations that you dream up as a nightmare.

DORNIN: I have to tell you, as a hiker, it is every woman's sort of primitive nightmare of somebody you might meet on the trail. I mean, it may turn out this man had nothing to do with it, but certainly if I saw somebody like that on the trail, I know I would probably turn around and run the other way.

But apparently she was seen talking to him, and actually the dogs ran up the trail, up the mountain. They were seen -- and the two of them went right up behind the dogs, is what one of the witnesses said.

MARCIANO: Well, you know, maybe, to be optimistic, he'll come forward with some information.

DORNIN: That's what they are hoping.

MARCIANO: You know, two cold nights, too, that's the scary thing.

DORNIN: Into the teens.

MARCIANO: Yes.

DORNIN: And there was snow. Her car was covered with snow. Apparently she was dressed for the weather, and it was a lovely day on New Year's Day up there, but it was very cold. As I said, into the teens.

MARCIANO: Right.

Rusty Dornin, thanks for that information.

All right. Well, some thunderous applause. Let's talk about it.

A standing ovation for a man convicted of rape almost 27 years ago in Texas. From day one, Charles Chapman (ph) has sworn he never raped his neighbor, who twice picked him out of a lineup as her attacker. His lawyers say recent DNA testing cleared Chapman beyond any shadow of a doubt, and today a judge has freed him to go home.

We'll be talking with Chapman live here in the NEWSROOM next hour.

And the San Francisco Zoo is opening for business today with a few additions and some subtractions. There are now signs advising visitors how to behave around wild animals. Absent today, well, the big cats, the tigers and the lions. They are being kept from the public right now.

On Christmas day, I'm sure you've heard, a 300-pound-plus pound tiger escaped its enclosure and mauled a teenager to death. Zoo officials are modifying the tiger habitat while investigators keep trying to figure out exactly what happened.

PHILLIPS: Well, what happened to her was unbelievably heartbreaking. Her fighting spirit infectious.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On CNN I think, oh, my God, I'm very famous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: How her life has changed since you first heard her story right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Wondering why you should care about the Iowa caucuses?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Listen up. You care because those folks in Iowa may actually choose your next president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: Iowa caucuses 101. Get your notepad out because class is about to begin and thank goodness, I'm not teaching it because I still can't grasp the concept.

Hello, everybody. I'm Rob Marciano at the CNN Worldwide Headquarters in Atlanta. Don Lemon has the day off.

PHILLIPS: And I'm Kyra Phillips. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

The Iowa caucuses are now just hours away, but you probably know that even if you don't live anywhere near Iowa. What you may not know is that the arcane caucus rules, which by the way differ between the parties, why should you know or care?

CNN's Jeffrey Toobin explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOOBIN (voice-over): Imagine an election with no secret ballot, no all-day voting, the age requirement, only 17 and finally, you can vote for more than one candidate. If that sounds unAmerican, it's actually how the Iowa Democratic caucuses operate, and listen up, you care because those folks in Iowa may actually choose your next president.

In fact, the rules here are so strange that the campaigns in Iowa run training sessions on how to vote. Step 1, stand up and be counted.

CHELSEA WALISER, MOCK CAUCUS ORGANIZER: And what you'll do is then you will get up out of your seat and you'll go walk to the corner or space by the wall designated for the candidate of your choice. Okay, ready, go.

TOOBIN (on camera): At Obama's Iowa rehearsal caucus, they practice without candidates. Instead, they use winter activities. We've got ice skating here, drinking hot cocoa, snowboarding, building snowmen and, of course, snowball fights.

(voice-over): After the first round, anyone who's standing for a candidate or activity in this case that doesn't meet the threshold of 15 percent of the room, is out of luck.

(on camera): Turns out on this night, not enough snowboarders, very sad, so what happens now? If the snowboarders want their votes to count at all, they have to pick a new candidate before the second and final tally.

WALISER: Each group that is viable gets to send one ambassador over to the snowboarding group and try to persuade them to join your group.

TOOBIN: Now, it's let's make a deal. The other groups all send someone over to the snowboarders to say come on, join our side, a little arm-twisting.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ice skating, you feel free, you feel free, you can go on one foot, two feet, you can twirl around.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, I like that one.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do too.

TOOBIN: The snowboarders decide ice skating is their second choice and they all make the switch.

(voice-over): Understanding that the persuasion period and how to win over second choice voters is so important, candidates have Web videos to explain it.

JOHN EDWARDS, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Don't just go to the caucus, bring your friends.

TOOBIN: And even highlighted on the stump.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you hit that floor and work it and try to get them and it's like a fun game. It's like monopoly. You go over say hey, well, your man isn't going to make it. Come over here, maybe I'll loan you that snow shovel or ...

TOOBIN (on camera): Because the rules are so complicated, organization is key. You need to get your supporters to the caucus locations by 7:00 sharp, or they can't vote, and this is Iowa in the wintertime. Sometimes, the weather is a factor.

(voice-over): By comparison, the Republican caucuses are pretty simple, though the campaigns, here at Fred Thompson's, are also training their supporters. It's a secret ballot and there's no viability threshold. Every vote counts. The complicated rules make for one sure thing, that the results here are very hard to predict.

(on camera): So after all this, who wins? Well, that's not simple either. The party keeps the popular vote totals at the caucuses a secret. They only announce the percentage of delegates each candidate will receive at the State Party Convention later in 2008. And there's more, of course. The caucus rules are 72 pages long.

Jeffrey Toobin, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, if you want to see what your favorite candidate is saying on the trail, tune into CNN.com. Our Web site will stream campaign events as they come into CNN all day.

MARCIANO: An update now on a story that touched so many of us. You may remember the New Orleans woman tragically burned whose fighting spirit raised our spirits. Reporter Bill Capo of affiliate WWL introduced us to her and he says that her spirits have been lifted by your response.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL CAPO, WWL REPORTER (voice-over): For five years since a fire left her terribly scarred and forced her to endure more surgery than she can count, 37-year-old Hien Dinhgenschor has lived quietly with her parents, often embarrassed to appear in public because of the stares she received from strangers.

But in the last two weeks, she says that attitude is gone and that strangers now greet her like a friend.

HIEN DINHGENSCHOR, BURN VICTIM: I am feeling that I am not alone in this world. I am feeling that everybody accepts the way I look.

DINHGENSCHOR: That's you?

CHARLIE BROWN, NEW ORLEANS EMS PARAMEDIC: That's me. How are you? It's so good to see you. CAPO: Hien's life changed when a wish was granted a week before Christmas and she got to meet New Orleans paramedic Charlie Brown, who cared for her the night she was burned and when she begged to die, Charlie gave her the courage to live.

DINHGENSCHOR: You are my hero.

BROWN: Oh, thank you.

DINHGENSCHOR: Yes.

BROWN: You're going to be fine.

DINHGENSCHOR: Thank you so much, Charlie Brown.

CAPO: She was burned so badly, doctors thought she would not survive after her husband tied her to a chair, poured gasoline over her and set her on fire in 2003. He is now in jail.

At first, Hien was reluctant to appear on television, and when she asked people to stop staring and greet her with smiles, the reaction she received left her stunned and thrilled.

DINHGENSCHOR: I'm finding people more friendly to me and people more friendly to each other. I just feel the whole world around me, they just become more friendly and it's great (ph).

CAPO: The quiet woman has disappeared and Hien is now vibrant, laughing and her recovery has amazed the paramedic who encouraged her to live.

BROWN: She is such a beautiful person. I mean, just fun to be with. She's called me a couple of times, she called me to wish me merry Christmas and she's just joking and having such a good time.

CAPO: And when the first eyewitness news report was rebroadcast on CNN, Hien and Charlie realized their story was being seen not only in New Orleans, but all over America.

DINHGENSCHOR: On CNN, I'm thinking oh, my gosh, I'm very famous.

BROWN: Relatives, friends, people I don't even know just walk up to me, hey, you're the guy that was on the TV, you were great and it's just a wonderful feeling.

CAPO (on camera): Hien has a mission to help others, so she's taking college courses to train as an occupational therapy assistant, but she had no idea that just being on television would help her change the lives of others, like a former cancer patient she met.

DINHGENSCHOR: I have cancer 10 years ago, I want to be like you, don't give up. You know, I feel so happy. I think oh, my god, how I embrace people. I never know that.

CAPO (voice-over): Hien will show you pictures of the way she looked before, but says they don't matter anymore, that what she sees in the mirror now does.

DINHGENSCHOR: Look at me now and accept the way I look now, the way I looked before is over, even I change a lot, but it's still me. I am here and I am never going to change that.

CAPO: And Hien's New Year's resolutions? To not complain and to be a better person.

DINHGENSCHOR: I'm going to get straight A next year, and I want to make people more smile.

CAPO: Look in Hien's eyes and you can see the difference a simple smile can make.

I'm Bill Capo in New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, a house of worship burns to the ground. Nothing is sacred in a country awash in chaos. Kenya unravels, and we're going to have the latest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: And leading our political ticker today, months after his campaign appeared to be on the rocks, Senator John McCain surges to the top of the Republican race in a new poll in New Hampshire. He leads the WBZ/Franklin Pierce poll with 37 percent. Mitt Romney is second with 31 percent. In yesterday's CNN/WMUR poll, McCain and Romney were tied in New Hampshire at 29 percent.

On the Democratic side, Senator Hillary Clinton is in the lead with 32 percent, Senator Barack Obama right behind her with 28 percent and in third place, John Edwards with 19 percent.

Will the Iowa caucuses unravel Republican Fred Thompson's campaign? Well, Republican officials close to Thompson tell the political Web site, politico.com, that they expect the former Tennessee senator to drop out of the race if he finishes poorly in Iowa. Here's what Thompson had to say on CNN's "American Morning."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRED THOMPSON, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Any speculation as to what I may or may not do is just totally that. I mean, it's obviously some other campaign that thought it was to their advantage to put that out. I've never said that, I've never implied that, in public or in private and you should take that for what it's worth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Thompson got a late start in the race for the Republican nomination, officially declaring as a candidate in September.

Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, gets a sharp rebuke from a man who is a thorn in the side of the president. On his Web site, filmmaker, Michael Moore, blasts Senator Clinton over Iraq. He says, "Nothing has disappointed me more than the disastrous, premeditated vote by Senator Clinton to send us to war in Iraq." Moore is also critical of Barack Obama's chances. He says, if there's a way to blow the election, the Democrats will do it with gusto.

Results from the Iowa caucuses will be changing minute by minute, county by county tonight. You can track them yourselves. Stay with up to the minute coverage here, cnnpolitics.com, your one-stop shop for the Iowa caucuses.

MARCIANO: Late night laughs for the new year. You're going to get a front row seat for the return of the network funny men. And they look different.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARCIANO: Well, the government of Kenya is confirming more than 300 people dead in a week long wave of violence. Many of those people were burned, hacked, beaten over presidential election that government opponents say was stolen by the incumbent. We've asked our colleague, Jim Clancy, to sit in with us. He's an anchor and veteran Africa correspondent at CNN International.

You know Jim, when Americans think of Kenya, we think of beautiful beaches, vacation safaris, a country that, in Africa, relatively peaceful. Give us some perspective as to what's going on.

JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: The reason we think of it that way, Rob, is because that's the way it is. It's been a bastion of democracy and freedom. Its economy, a powerhouse for east Africa, and it is not a case where Kenya is about to fall off the cliff. It's a case of where two politicians, desperately wanting to seize power, to hold on to power, are pushing Kenya off the edge, and we are talking about the current president right now, Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga, the opposition leader.

Right now, these two guys are pushing their followers, largely based on ethnic or tribal lines, right to the brink. Why does Kenya matter? Why is U.S. sending a diplomat in there right now? Well, they have very good reason to be concerned about what's going on here as we look at situation as it develops. We're covering it, we've got two correspondents there, Paula Newton and David McKenzie. They are covering it minute by minute keeping us updated on what's going on. The latest that we're getting in right now is that neither side is willing to talk to the other without, of course, somebody giving some ground. That's just not happening.

Why does the U.S. care? All you need to do is take a look at map. Follow me over here. You see, Kenya in east Africa, right next to it a failed state, Somalia. On the other side of it, another failing state, Sudan. Darfur crisis over here, destabilizing Chad, Ethiopia and Eritrea spurning, literally, years of efforts by the international community to solve their problems. Now they once again are returning to a war footing. All of this area is destabilized, and the U.S. has great interest in what goes on here. Just think back. Al Qaeda is trying persistently to establish some kind of a foothold in Africa. Kenya is a target. Go back to 1998, the embassy bombing there, the U.S. embassy, some 200 people were killed. More than 200, more than 4,000 others were wounded. That, not the only terror attack launched by al Qaeda. So the U.S. has a strong interest here. Now take to the streets today, take a look at what's going on in Kenya today, and you see the followers of these two politicians, really as night was falling, the homes were going up, once again, in flames.

We had more than 100 victims in a church fire, some really gruesome violence going on, some hackings and other things and Africans are frankly concerned that this bastion of stability is on the edge. The question now, what will Kenya's own political leaders do? The attorney general there is saying, these guys have to sit down, they have to make some compromises and they need to do it sooner rather than later.

Back to you, Rob.

MARCIANO: Jim, has this been boiling, percolating for quite some time? It seems like it's just happened overnight?

CLANCY: Well, it happened, it was all keyed around the election. Now the election commission admits that the vote count was going very slowly there. Both sides -- the polls before the election showed that the opposition leader, Odinga, was going to win. In fact, his party taking over the Parliament very clearly.

But then suddenly, the electoral commission announced that the actual winner was the incumbent, Mr. Kibaki, and here's the problem. They say now that they were pushed. So, there's people that are saying at the very least we have to have a recount of this vote and what we need to do is have these leaders get together and agree on some kind of power-sharing agreement, perhaps to hold the vote again a year from now, Rob.

MARCIANO: Certainly a developing story, one that CNN International and your colleagues, Jim Clancy you along with them, keeping us up to date.

Thank you very much for that.

PHILLIPS: A dying voter's mission in Iowa.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATHY STANGL, DYING IOWA VOTER: One person can make a difference, one -- that every day, every decision you make in your life, is important and you can make a difference and you can make a change.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: We're going to have more on Kathy Stangl's story and her effort to change the nation's health care system. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Hollywood writers are still on strike, but the late night talk shows are back on the air. "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" A.J. Hammer is here to give us all the latest entertainment news.

A.J., all the late night hosts they're on. How did their first night back go at work?

A.J. HAMMER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, you saw there was extra facial hair involved with a couple of them.

PHILLIPS: Competition of the beards. What's up with that?

HAMMER: They had the hiatus and I guess they got used to not shaving, that's what I do when I don't have to work. And the first night went pretty well for them. Only a couple of shows were actually back at full speed and David Letterman, one of the gentlemen with the extra facial hair, may find himself in the best position.

He returned with the blessing of the writers guild. His production company Worldwide Pants which also produces The "Late, Late Show" with Craig Ferguson reached an agreement with the Writers Guild, so they're back on the air with full staff. Then you look at a show like "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno, they came back without their writers.

Leno had to write his own monologue for last night's show, and he filled time with a audience question and answer period. Leno along with Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Kimmel who were the other hosts to cross picket lines are going to have to fill time every night without their writes. They may also have some trouble booking guests, because guests don't want to cross the picket lines.

There may not be a whole lot of celebrities who are willing to cross the Writers Guild right now. The late night talk shows of course have been dark ever since The Writers Guild of America went on strike more than eight weeks ago. And while the host did express their support for the writers on their shows last night, Kyra they did say that they had to cross the picket lines.

PHILLIPS: Well, what's forcing these guys to resume the shows?

HAMMER: Well, basically the hosts all said if they didn't come back the rest of their staff would be laid off and they didn't want to see that happen. And as we're now seeing the strike is also impacting the start of Hollywood's awards season. The Golden Globes are supposed to be broadcast on the 13th.

They has hoped to reach an agreement with the writers in the same way that Letterman's company did but those talks have broken off, so the WGA says they will be picketing the awards show. And the actors' union is supporting the writers and advised all their members do not attend the show even if you're nominated for an award.

Now the Globes are obviously known as one of the best Hollywood parties around during award season. Kyra we know this will definitely put a damper on those festivities.

PHILLIPS: Well, the entertainment world. It's not just the writers strike we're talking about. We've always got to hear a Britney Spears question in there, don't we?

HAMMER: Yes, but we just can't leave Britney alone no matter who the heck asks us to.

PHILLIPS: Believe me I can, but your job, unfortunately, has to talk about it. This is what I do. As her custody battle continues Britney may have to find herself a new attorney that's because her current law firm, Trope and Trope have asked the judge to allow them to withdraw from representing Britney Spears.

They say there's been this breakdown in communication with the pop star and that makes representing her, quote, "impossible". Spears and her ex-husband Kevin Federline have been fighting over the custody of their two sons. And to her lawyers point Spears reportedly blew off a scheduled deposition again yesterday.

Now coming up tonight on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT," another one we can't leave alone, Lindsay Lohan and her big slip. Startling news about her battle to stay sober. What is the real story behind the out of rehab star caught drinking again? We've got that story tonight on TV's most provocative entertainment news show, it's "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." We'll look forward to you joining us at 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on "HEADLINE NEWS."

PHILLIPS: A.J. Hammer, good to see you.

HAMMER: Thanks, Kyra.

MARCIANO: Well what better place than a hospital to be treated for a heart attack, right? Well, how about a casino? Don't bet against that. We're going to tell you why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARCIANO: Well, every second counts for a patient in cardiac arrest, but a new study suggests hospitals often don't deliver life- saving defibrillation within the recommended two minutes. In fact, one scary headline says that you stand a better chance in a casino than a hospital.

CNN's Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has the story.

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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It is sort of a scary headline, but let me just back up for a second. When you think about cardiac arrest one of two things are usually happening, either the heart is beating too fast, or it's beating in some sort of abnormal rhythm. Second thing, as we know, is that you can apply some electricity to the heart from a defibrillator and actually shock that heart back into a normal rhythm or normal heartbeat. We also know that it's best if that defibrillation takes place within two minutes. What the study really talks about is people that are in casinos or airports or some sort of public place, about half of those people or a little bit more than half survive a cardiac arrest because of quick application of defibrillators, and in hospitals it's only about 30 percent, and that's obviously -- number is too low.

Only about 30 percent of people get that defibrillation between two and six minutes in hospitals. So, why is this happening? I mean, obviously it's not intentional, but it really has to do with a couple of things.

One is that in casinos and airports, there's simply a lot of people around. They see somebody fall, they see somebody have a problem and they can immediately try and give help. In a hospital, even though it is a hospital you may be the only patient in a room unless a nurse happens to wonder around, or unless you on some sort of monitoring -- cardiac monitoring no one may know that you actually had a cardiac arrest.

Also, keep in mind that patients in hospitals are often sicker, so they're starting off in a baseline that may be a little bit more debilitated than people in casinos or airports. Also want to point out that it may be important for everyone to checkout the new CPR guidelines.

Besides defibrillation, obviously cardio pulmonary resuscitation something that can be performed, those guidelines changed recently. In a nutshell, it focuses more on chess compression than mouth to mouth. That's not true for all cases, go ahead and take a look at them at the American Heart Association's Web site it could save somebody's life. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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