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Pakistan's Crackdown; Terrorists Recruit Kids; Obama vs. Colbert?; No More Words; Minding Your Business

Aired November 06, 2007 - 10:00   ET

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

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Recruited by al Qaeda to carry out suicide attacks. One country uncovers stunning evidence of junior terrorists.
The law of supply and demand turning human tissue into big business. Kidneys for sale on Tuesday, November 6th. You are in the NEWSROOM.

A key U.S. ally in turmoil. Its claims of democracy in doubt. Pakistan's crackdown and the international outcry. Monitoring all the latest developments is CNN's Leone Lakhani. She is on the phone now from Islamabad this morning.

Leone, the prime minister's been meeting with his cabinet this morning. Any news that's come out of those meetings?

LEONE LAKHANI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, we believe one of the issues that's been on the table is whether the elections, the parliamentary elections that were planned for January 15th, will be held as planned. There are lots of reports coming up that those elections will be delayed. But there is no definite decision at the moment.

As you know, the government is under a lot of pressure from the international community, including George Bush and Condi Rice, to carry on with those elections as planned. The U.S. ambassador in Pakistan today, as well, issued a statement asking them to ensure that they would stick with the plans of the election. But nothing has been declared yet. There's no immediate decision yet.

COLLINS: What will the choices be should that election go through or actually happen in January? Who will the people have to choose from?

LAKHANI: Well, that is one of the issues. That is exactly why. At the moment, with the state of emergency, it's very difficult to tell, you know, who will be able to stand. There's no definite decision at the moment. Opposition leader, Benazir Bhutto, has just flown into town in Islamabad. She's supposed to be meeting with other opposition leaders tomorrow to discuss a joint strategy.

But one of those key issues is exactly that. We don't know who exactly will be able to stand if there is any kind of election because of the state of emergency. So most people do expect those elections to be delayed. COLLINS: Yes, you know, and I want to make sure that we don't miss characterize the support for Benazir Bhutto. Maybe you can shed some light on it. Obviously she is leading the PKK, the, you know, group that is the opposition, obviously. But is there really a uniform opposition? It sounds like there are several groups that think a lot of different things.

LAKHANI: Yes. Well Benazir Bhutto is the leader of the people's party in Pakistan. At the moment, there isn't actually a unified opposition and that is one of the problems. Miss Bhutto returned to the country just a few weeks ago after a self-imposed exile. And she came -- she received a huge, huge -- a lot of support in her constituency in Karachi.

But at the moment, there isn't a proper, unified opposition. There is opposition, though. In the past few months, Mr. Musharraf support has dwindled because of all the problems that Pakistan has been facing.

COLLINS: What about the mood on the street of people. Obviously we're looking at video right now that I'm not sure you can see, but of people protesting. We just spoke with a college student at Lahore University. Lots of protests going on on campus among students. How are people feeling?

LAKHANI: Well, the protests have been, on Monday in particular, there are quite a huge number of protests around the courthouses and across the country. In particular, Lahore got a bit violent. One of our producers (INAUDIBLE) was caught up in all of that and he shared his very harrowing experience there. But so far the demonstrations have been surrounding the court areas and they have been carried out by critics of the administration.

If you walk around the streets in the rest of the city, it seems like life is normal. Shops are open. Schools are -- people are going to school. People are going to work. But there is a sense of uneasiness because no one really knows what's going to happen next. And they're still trying to get to grips with what exactly the state of emergency means and what it will imply.

COLLINS: Yes, that's got to be the worst, the feeling of instability there. Well, we certainly appreciate the time. Leone Lakhani, our CNN producer there.

Appreciate it, Leone.

And lawyers define the government crackdown and vowing now to protect the democracy. Also joining that challenge, Pakistan's college students that we spoke about just a moment ago. In fact, the view inside that movement now. I talked with i-Reporter Zahra Sabri in Lahore just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHRA SABRI, I-REPORTER: We had around 500 people gathering yesterday. And the faculty and mostly students gathered yesterday, on Monday afternoon, and they had speeches condemning the state of emergency. As you know, we've been on get news channels in Pakistan on TV (INAUDIBLE) and we've been trying to just get our news from the Internet. And when we look around our campus, shouting slogans in protest against the state of emergency. It's a show of solidarity. And just planning to do something on the street. It's dangerous for us, yes. Mostly our parents won't like it either. But this is our time. We are very ashamed if in 10 years we still had martial law and we didn't do anything to fight it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: We are always looking to hear from citizen journalists. So if you want to contribute on this or any other story, just go to cnn.com and click on i-Report.

An unwelcome record for U.S. troops in Iraq. Roadside bomb attacks have killed five soldiers. The deaths now make 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 we must point out, last month had the fewest troop deaths since March of 2006 and the number of wounded troops has also dropped. And the death toll since the war began in 2003 stands at 3,857.

Are the borders really secure? An internal government report now says illegal immigrants are using regular, guarded, border entry points to sneak into the U.S. One person familiar with the report says as many as 21,000 people came across that way just last year. The report lists border agent under staffing as one problem, but also says some agents just aren't doing their jobs.

An apology from the nation's top immigration official and an investigation by the Department of Homeland Security, all over a Halloween costume. An Immigration and Custom Enforcement employee went to a fund raising party dressed in prison stripes with dreadlocks and dark-faced makeup. Julie Myers, head of ICE, has issued this statement 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." Myers hosted the costume party in question. She was also a judge in the costume contest. The unnamed employee in the prison outfit won for originality.

A missing woman's case, but her family fears it might be more. An Illinois mother of two disappeared more than a week ago. Stacy Peterson's husband, a police sergeant, suggests she left him for another man. But her family says she was afraid of her husband and had been talking about divorce. Peterson's aunt spoke a short time ago on CNN's "America Morning."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CANDACE AIKIN, MISSING WOMAN'S AUNT: When I saw her in October, like 5-11, I stayed at their home. She was pretty confused and I have never seen her like that. She was very, very full of stress and just not happy in her marriage at all. Everything was magnified. Her life was full of chaos, actually. (END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Investigators say they have found no evidence of wrongdoing in the case and say that Peterson's husband is cooperating.

Getting pretty chilly and windy in parts of the country. Meteorologist Rob Marciano is live in the severe weather center now.

Winter, winter, finally here?

(WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: Police in Florida looking for a misbehaving photographer this morning. Here's the surveillance video now from a Florida Wal-Mart. Watch that bald guy walking behind the 13-year-old girl. She's stopping for deodorant, but he's shopping for a cheap thrill. You can see him point his camera phone up the girl's skirt. He clicks, says a quick, "thanks sweetheart," and calmly walked away.

Terrorists recruiting kids. A major concern for the British. Is the next stop U.S. shore? Talk about it in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Heidi Collins.

Daddy's home from Iraq and his little girl is tickled pink.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not like I was (INAUDIBLE). I'm really surprised. I'm so happy my daddy is here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Could she be any cuter? The surprise reunion coming up in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Italian police say they are 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.

A worry for the west. Terrorists are going after a new generation now to carry out their terrible acts of violence. CNN's Paula Newton explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): British authorities were blunt after terrorists set off a bomb at Glasgow's airport this past summer. They said they had never heard of the suspects, never had any clue of the kind of plot that was unfolding. Now, the head of Britain's security service, MI-5, warns the more they learn, the more anxious they become about the terror threat. Jonathan Evans claims in a speech, "there remain a steady flow of new recruits to the extremist cause." Something he calls an uncomfortable truth. "At least 2,000 people" in Britain today "pose a direct threat to national security," he says, more than originally thought and they're getting younger and younger. He warns right now terrorists are methodically recruiting children, "radicalizing, indoctrinating and grooming young, vulnerable people to carry out acts of terrorism." And that's what most worries Scotland Yard's top anti-terror cop.

PETER CLARKE, MET POLICE ANTI-TERROR CHIEF: Of all the things I've seen over the past few years, one of the most worrying has been the speed and apparent ease with which young men can be turned into suicidal terrorists.

NEWTON: That is the profile of school boys, like Mohamed Erfan Raja (ph), convicted this year of trying to train as a terrorist. He was recruited on the Internet, planned to go to Pakistan for terrorist training and wrote a letter to his worried parents saying others "would rejoice at the decision of their son."

It's something MI-5 admits it's beginning to come to grips with, but it's just not able to cover every potential threat.

BOB AYERS, SECURITY ANALYST: Can't have it both ways. If you have much better intelligence that allows you with greater precision to find the terrorists, then where is the subsequent action to roll of those terrorists up.

NEWTON: This was a candid speech by a secretive spy service that now says it intelligence just won't be enough to fight the extremists, especially the young recruits that now seem so easily manipulated.

Paula Newton, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: An interesting story to tell you a little bit more about by way of politics. In fact our CNN political producer, Peter Hamby, is on the phone to help us out with this one.

And, Peter, we've been talking for a while here about Steven Colbert actually trying to be a candidate for president. And now new news about Obama supporters. What's going on here?

PETER HAMBY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Heidi.

Well, the news is, is that two of Obama's most high profile supporters in the state, former state superintendent of school, Annette Tenenbaum (ph), and a state representative named Bacardi Sellars (ph), placed a number of phone calls to the people who were in charge of deciding who gets to actually be on the Democratic ballot. Now these are not staffers for the campaign, but they are very high- profile volunteers and they, over the last week, placed several phone calls to members of the Democratic Party executive council here in South Carolina.

COLLINS: Well, I'm curious, and it's a good distinction to make there, Peter, about these not being people who actually are staff members of Obama. But I wonder -- were they really nervous? I mean if, in fact, this did happen, were they really nervous about the potential running of Steven Colbert. I mean he's just a funny guy, isn't he?

HAMBY: He's just a funny guy. But the phone calls do raise an interesting question because, you, if you talk to political scientists and a number of observers here in South Carolina, they will say that, you know, Steven Colbert's viewership is made up of younger college- educated voters than college kids.

COLLINS: Ah, the younger voter.

HAMBY: Exactly. And that's a crucial demographic for Barack Obama. And he's working very, very, very hard here in South Carolina to win those voters over. The conventional wisdom being that, you know, his main competitor, Senator Hillary Clinton, is pursuing sort of older voters who know her. The Obama campaign is trying to register new, younger voters. So the notion of having Steven Colbert in the race, who, you know, had one of the largest rallies I've seen here in South Carolina last weekend, may have raised some concerns for the Obama campaign.

COLLINS: Yes, and, you know, it's a very different situation, obviously. But maybe a little bit of a parallel like a Ross Perot sort of spoiler in all of this.

HAMBY: Right.

COLLINS: All right. Well, we appreciate it. Peter Hamby, CNN's political producer. We're watching that story for you throughout the day as well.

And now trouble in TV land. The writers strike already pulling the plug on some of your very favorite shows. We'll have an update in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Entertainment writers still on strike, manning picket lines instead of their laptops. CNN's Kareen Wynter is in Los Angeles now this morning.

All right. So, Kareen, how long are we going to be watching reruns? Last night was incredibly disappointing.

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know what, Heidi, let's put it this way, you may want to just sit back and get comfortable here. It may take quite some time. Also, you know, no official talks are scheduled, although we're told some back channel negotiations may be going on. And so this is really such a great example of how just, you know, a day into the strike, yesterday we saw this. The late night talk shows going into dark, airing reruns and viewers being impacted in a huge way.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Live from New York, it's "Saturday Night!"

WYNTER, (voice over): "Saturday Night Live" won't be live this weekend. The Writers Guild strike has brought production to a halt. Head writer Seth Meyers would usually be working on putting the show together, but he's on the picket line.

SETH MEYERS, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": I think I speak for all the writers out here. All of us would rather be going to work this week. We all love our jobs. We all know how lucky we are to have jobs in television writing. But, you know, it's just about fair compensation.

WYNTER: The union says its members want more money, as studios distribute TV shows and movies on computers, cell phones and MP3 players.

DAVE SCHIFF, WRITER: The future of TV is not going to look like what it's been for the last 30 years.

WYNTER: On the flip side, the president of the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers says that during Sunday's pre-strike negotiation, the Guild wasn't willing to budge on most of its major demands.

JAY LENO, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": I thought I had another two years. All right.

WYNTER: And, as expected, the strike is putting late night television shows, like "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," into rerun mode. And while Leno might not be on set, he's keeping busy, supporting the writers by delivering food to the picket lines.

LENO: When you look at the bodies of these men and women, they don't get that way eating tofu. This is what writers live on -- doughnuts.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WYNTER: And, Heidi, the entertainment industry generates billions of dollars each year. So you can just imagine the longer this takes, the financial implications that this could have. Not just for, you know, the studios and the writers, but also some other industries being affected by this. A ripple effect, so to speak. When it comes to limousine drivers or caters or party planners, there's a ripple effect that we're already seeing here within the L.A. economy.

Heidi.

COLLINS: All right. CNN's Kareen Wynter for us in Los Angeles. I think we'll be watching this one for a while.

Thanks, Kareen.

Also watching these numbers for you today, as always. Right now Dow Jones Industrial average up about 36 points or so -- 13,580 is the number. But perhaps the other number, as we also watch the Nasdaq go up about three points or so, that we are watching today is oil. And, boy oh boy, the prices of oil continue to climb. Its record climb towards $100 as barrel, in fact. Crude prices are hitting a new high in trading this morning. Ali Velshi has been watching it all morning long. He's "Minding Your Business" now.

And, Ali, I know that you've had a little bit of trouble keeping your barrel updated.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm going to have to -- these are magnetic numbers.

COLLINS: That's a good thing.

VELSHI: I suppose we should get into 2007 and get real numbers because I have changed this five times in the last five minutes. $96.78 is the high that oil is trading at right now. This isn't even overnight. This isn't electronic. This is the real trading on the floor of the NYMEX. $96.70 now. It has come off a few cents, but it has really shot up about 97 cents since the last settle.

Now here's the thing, Heidi. We're actually going to get -- there's so much of the money that is traded in oil is related to speculation about what might happen in the Middle East or whatever the case is. We are tomorrow expecting the U.S. oil supplies, the oil inventories report. That's a real number. That actually should actually affect the price of oil. That's tomorrow and we're already seeing this move upward in the price of oil.

So definitely a lot of concern about the fact that we're heading to 100 and fairly rapidly. What happens at that point is anybody's guess. Does everybody kind of get exhausted and say, all right, fine, we've got $100, let's pull this thing back down? Because most people don't think that oil fundamentally should be anywhere close to these numbers. But bottom line is, someone is prepared to pay this money for oil and that's why it's being traded at these levels.

COLLINS: Yes, and someone's prepared to take a profit I'm sure too.

VELSHI: Yes, absolutely.

COLLINS: Well, hey, can't they just -- I don't know, it's probably a really high level idea, but can't they just make more oil?

VELSHI: Well the interesting thing about this is that these prices you actually do see more oil being made because, as you go further and deeper into more remote areas, it becomes more expensive to produce oil, to get oil out of the ground. But when you're making that kind of profit, if you are an oil producer, it's worth it at these prices. So, in fact, you probably -- you do see a correlation between higher oil prices and more oil being produced because there's money to be made on it.

However, because most people who study this don't think that oil hangs around in the 90s over the next few years. They pull it back to $80, then $70 and really, over the long term, $50 to $60, a lot of people aren't making the investment just yet because you can't just decide that you're going to start looking for oil somewhere remote in the world. That's a big commitment. It takes as lot of time to build out the infrastructure.

So for this point, what you're going to feel as your going to fill the gas tanks and home heating oil. And as we discussed a little earlier, in things like air fares and anything that gets delivered.

COLLINS: Yes. No question about that. Delivered. Yikes! Holiday season coming up. It's going to be tough.

VELSHI: Yes, that's right.

COLLINS: All right, Ali, thanks so much, "Minding Your Business."

VELSHI: No problem.

COLLINS: So did you gas up your car today? It's pretty painful. Gas prices just above $3 now. So we asked some of you how the rising costs are affecting your family. The answer, not very surprising at all. In fact, 63 percent of people polled say gas prices are causing financial hardship.

A police sergeant's wife vanishes, leaving two young children behind. Her family's suspicions ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Breaking news we want to get to you right away. The Senate Judiciary Committee has voted to send Michael Mukasey's nomination for attorney general to the full senate. That vote was 11 to 8. So once again, the nomination for Michael Mukasey as attorney general will now go on to the full senate. That vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee was 11 to 8. We'll follow it for you.

Good morning once again everybody, 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 four lawyers in the country now jailed. 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)

VOICE OF AYESHA TAMMY HAQ, LAWYER: I'm hiding from the military obviously. There's been a huge crackdown. Anyone who is out, anyone who is protesting against Musharraf is being arrested, so I'm trying to stay out of jail. It's all this brutalism, violently brutal and they seem to enjoy themselves, they seem to actually take pleasure in what they are doing, really shocking.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Pakistan's chief justice has been thrown off the bench, but he's not remaining silent. He vows Pakistan's constitution will be restored and says quote, "There will be no dictatorship." I want to take a moment now to get over to the international desk to Isha Sesay. She has been following all the details coming out now from Pakistan about these upcoming elections. We did hear just a few minutes ago Isha that there is certainly still talk of these elections taking place as scheduled in January.

ISHA SESAY: That's right Heidi. A short time ago we got a press release from the government of Pakistan. This release which I'm holding here coming to us after the prime minister addressed a cabinet meeting, a federal cabinet meeting in Islamabad earlier on today. According to the statement the prime minister is emphasizing that this declaration of the state of emergency will in no way slow down the democratic process or delay those parliamentary elections scheduled for January. As you were saying, Heidi, much concern that these elections could be delayed for up to a year. That has been a speculation and some muttering of that coming out of the government yesterday but according to this press release that we are receiving here at CNN a short time ago the prime minister saying that will not be the case. In fact he was keen to stress that the reasons for this declaration of a state of emergency was you know due to the extraordinary security situation. I'm quoting now. He says it's intended to address the actual no security situation prevailing in the country especially in the federally administered tribal areas. Other points of interest in this press release, the cabinet fully endorsing the actions of the president and the chief of army staff of course in reference to President General Pervez Musharraf. They say they express confidence that it will put the democratic process on track and in fact interestingly enough facilitate the holding of general elections and an early transition to full democracy. While there may be a course of unison coming out of the cabinet that is not the case Heidi on the blogosphere. We are monitoring that for you and as you can imagine this story lighting it all up, lots being written.

I want to share with you some blogs, some comments that are being posted. This one by Josie posted on the Pakistani net. This is what Josie is saying. "These are distressing time but this is not a time to be depressed. How very true since yesterday when I saw pictures, TV footage of Pakistani lawyers being beaten up and still standing up to face the full brutal force," he says "I've been reminded about the stories of freedom struggle against the British empire." Now also comments posted by Navid on Pakistaniet, Navid saying, "We need to stand up to face this crisis unitedly and Musharraf should realize that we do not need him." In contrast Nina says, "If Musharraf steps down then who will lead us? I don't see any leader capable of running the country right now." Interesting a mixture of opinion there on the blogosphere. Also as we've been telling you all day here at the international desk, monitoring all the news outlets that are coming out of Pakistan. You can only see state-run television right now there in the country and Pakistani TV. Well, if you have a look at it, it's business as usual. We have been watching it for a couple of hours, Heidi, it's talk shows, even a cooking program, but very little to give you some sense of the crisis in Pakistan at this point in time.

We're also monitoring Geo TV which has taken a very different view focusing heavily on the situation in Pakistan. You're seeing pictures right now. They have a clock, a countdown since the state of emergency was declared. We're watching that, as well. We're also watching Aj TV which it claims to be Pakistan's premier channel, but due to this black-out in Pakistan right now, they're now actually streaming online. You see pictures of Benazir Bhutto there. So we're keeping an eye on all that is happening, all that's coming out of Pakistan. We will of course bring it to you. But as always, we want to hear from the viewers, wherever you are. We want to get your views, your perspective on this crisis in Pakistan at this point in time. So please send us your e-mails. Send us your photos. All you have to do, click on to cnn.com, click on the i-Report logo and follow the simple instructions from there. We'll be here at the international desk throughout the day to bring you the very latest on the crisis in Pakistan. Back to you Heidi.

COLLINS: All right, very good. So much to talk about on this. We appreciate it Isha Sesay, we know you'll be watching it closely.

Also we want to get back to the breaking news we just told you about a couple of minutes ago. The senate judiciary committee has voted to send Michael Mukasey's nomination for attorney general on to the full senate. What's it all mean? Well CNN's Kelli Arena is at our DC bureau now with more on this. All right, so this may happen Kelli next week, is that what we're looking at?

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, we are hearing next week. We don't have a firm date yet. But you know what, what we can tell you is that we fully expect Michael Mukasey to be confirmed as the next attorney general. As you know, Heidi, he hit a little rough spot there when he refused to call the practice of water boarding torture. That is when a detainee made to believe that he's drowning. Democrats were up in arms over this. But senators Charles Schumer and Dianne Feinstein both gave him their support last week. Said, look, despite his comments we think this is the best we're going to do here. We're going to vote for him. As expected they did and he at least passed the senate judiciary committee by an 11 to 8 vote. Heidi?

COLLINS: All right, CNN's Kelli Arena. We know you'll be watching it into next week for us. Thanks so much, Kelli.

A lot of people don't really even know he's in the race but others are giving him a whole lot of money. I'm talking about Ron Paul. The GOP presidential hopeful set a one-day fund raising record among Republican candidates. He hauled in more than $4.2 million yesterday. The amazing outpouring of support came through an internet campaign. Donors were asked to give specifically on November 5th. Paul is a Texas congressman with a libertarian tilt. He's been getting attention for his firm stance on getting out of Iraq. Want the most up to the minute political news anywhere available. CNNpolitics.com is your one stop shop. Get behind the scene details from CNN's best political team on television and see why it's the internet's premier destination for political news, cnnpolitics.com.

Illegal immigrants driving legally. Several states allow it, CNN's Ed Lavendera visited one to find out why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Fernando Vazquez can't legally drive the streets of Santa Fe, at least not yet. In New Mexico this illegal immigrant can show his Mexican passport and the paperwork to get a license begins. He says it's very helpful to get a driver's license so I can drive to work. New Mexico is one of several states where illegal immigrants can get a driver's license.

KEN ORTIZ, DIR., MOTOR VEHICLE DIVISION: Brings them out of the shadow. I feel that they are probably more likely to report a crime, less likely to flee the scene of an accident or a crime because we know who they are.

LAVANDERA (on camera): State officials here in New Mexico say they don't know for sure how many illegal immigrants have been given driver licenses, but in the last four years 34,000 people have applied for a license using an identification other than a social security number.

(Voice-over): New Mexico says illegal immigrants can use a foreign passport and two forms of proof that they live in the state. Motor vehicle employees can also tap into a Mexican government database to verify someone's identity. New Mexico is the only state that can do this. Fernando's picture popped up in seconds.

ORTIZ: We're verifying the card with the issuing agency, Mexican consulate, verifying the name, the photo, date of birth, and the consulate of which we accept all match.

LAVANDERA: Officials here say they are not in the business of proving citizenship. They just want to make sure people are who they say they are. Ed Lavandera, CNN, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Home from Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Daddy!

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: I can show these all day long. Daddy's girl gets a big surprise.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: Well you just can't beat this. A routine day at school turns out to be the surprise of a lifetime for an 8-year-old Florida girl. Ashley Townsend of our affiliate station WJXT reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Daddy!

ASHLEY TOWNSEND, WJXT REPORTER (voice-over): This daddy's girl has reason to smile. Her father Navy Senior Chief Terry Doss surprised his daughter with an unexpected visit in her Fishmore elementary classroom. Terian had no idea he was coming.

TERRY DOSS, NAVY SENIOR CHIEF: I called her like every other day or so and talked to her. And she still thinks I'm in Iraq right now.

TOWNSEND: After months of just phone calls and e-mails, Terian says giving her dad a hug was indescribable.

TERIAN DOSS, DAD SURPRISED HER AT SCHOOL: It felt like I was, oh, I'm really surprised. I'm so happy my daddy is here.

TOWNSEND: Doss says the walk down the hallway was a long one. Senior Chief Doss says he was so nervous walking to his daughter's classroom after nearly a year of not seeing her.

TERIAN DOSS: What do you want for Christmas? How is Iraq?

TOWNSEND: All day long Terian's classmates have been busy writing letters to send to her dad overseas. Little did she know she would have the chance to read her let to him in person.

TERIAN DOSS: My class wants to thank you for protecting our country. I can't wait to see you and give you a big fat hug and kiss.

TOWNSEND: After a morning filled with surprises it was class dismissed for the Doss family. Terian got to leave a little early to catch up with her hero.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: You got to love it. Well oil prices are flying high and now so are air fares. Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with the numbers and the reaction from consumers. You know what Susan, you know I love you but it's hard to follow a story like the one we just had on about the little girl.

SUSAN LISOVICZ: I know. That one is really sweet, though. I mean it actually has a sweet ending, doesn't it?

COLLINS: Yes, we like that. This story however you're about to tell us, not so sweet.

LISOVICZ: This is just a bitter story, Heidi. I don't know how to make it go down any easier. Oil prices hitting another record this morning. I know Ali and you were talking about it earlier this hour approaching $97 per barrel. So it's no surprise that airlines are getting squeezed. The Wall Street Journal says the price of jet fuel is up 40 percent this year alone. And of course fuel is the airline's leading expense at this point. American Airline raised air fares $20 last week, many competitors soon following. That hike was bigger than the typical $5 to $10 increase. The Journal says so far demand has remained steady and that even at these levels air fares are more than 10 percent lower than they were at their peak in the year 2000. I'm not sure it feels that way to a lot of us.

COLLINS: No, it probably doesn't, but I do remember that year. I know you had these two separate groups too. You have people who are vacationing and so forth and then you have the business traveler. It begs the question how long can the airlines really keep raising ticket prices before at least the recreational travelers stop flying.

LISOVICZ: It's a very good question and I think everybody's watching it very closely when consumers rein in on their spending and in this case on their flying. One of the most important things airlines did Heidi, after 9/11 was eliminate what is known in the industry as excess capacity. And anyone who has flown in recent years has experienced it, sadly firsthand. The flights are packed. That empty middle seat, forget it. So that makes it easier to raise fares, it's much harder to raise fares when there's not much demand. Rising air fares just one of the problem for us flyers. This year has also been the worst year for flight delays since the government started tracking this information 13 years ago. And the worst of all and Heidi I know you've experienced this firsthand is right here in the New York-Philly area, delays are up 23 percent here. So just bring a big fat book, your iPod, lots of other busy work, your knitting, whatever. Airline stocks trading a bit lower today on those higher fuel prices. The rest of the market is flat after an early rally fizzled out. Checking the numbers, the Dow industrials are still on the plus side, though, up 6-1/2 points, the NASDAQ down six points or a fifth of one percent. It's actually a quiet day other than the fact that oil is in the stratosphere. Heidi, back to you.

COLLINS: Yeah, a little bit of good news apparently though about those flight delays, apparently today getting a little bit better at least from what we're hearing.

LISOVICZ: That's right and New York is particularly rough. So that -- there are signs of improvement.

COLLINS: I'll believe it when I see it. I'm bringing the book and the knitting, both just in case. Susan Lisovicz, thank you, we'll check in a little bit later on, appreciate it.

LISOVICZ: You got it.

COLLINS: Here's a look now at the three most popular stories on cnn.com this hour. The U.S. immigration chief apologizes for an offensive costume at her party. Julie Myers hosting a fundraising party and originally praised a prisoner costume with dreadlocks and dark skin makeup.

A mandatory grounding of some Air Force F-15's has expanded, it now covers the combat missions over Afghanistan. This comes after a crash in Missouri last week.

Also popular on cnn.com, government watchdogs have found thousands of people who shouldn't have been admitted to the United States were mistakenly allowed in. Remember, when you're not watching CNN on television you can stay informed any time just go to cnn.com.

Kidneys for sale. A thriving business for the poor in the Philippines. We'll tell you the story, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Desperate times call for desperate measures, like selling body parts. One government wants to make a legitimate business of it. CNN's Hugh Riminton explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HUGH RIMINTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the desperate shanties of the Philippines, the scars are the strange epidemic. Like so many others here these men have sold a kidney.

RICKY VILLEGAS, SOLD KIDNEY: I just did it because, you know, my family needs the money, says Ricky Villegas. And I didn't have a job so I just gave my kidney away.

RIMINTON (on camera): Each received about 2,000 U.S. dollars, eight times his annual income. It is illegal to sell a kidney in the Philippines but it is not illegal to donate one. Nor is it against the law to receive a gift from the grateful recipient. It is that loophole fault a thriving trade in human tissue. One village official has told us that in these few streets alone, hundreds of people, most of them men, have already sold a kidney.

(Voice-over): Agents, illegal middle men, broker the deals for around $1,000 for each donor they find but the donors we found are still poor. Leo he built a house with his money but it burned down, no insurance in these streets. Fire also claimed Ricky Villegas' kidney cash before he even recovered from the operation. Troy Ibanez was 19 when he sold his kidney to help his sick mother. His share of the money was gone he says in three months. The recipients of their kidneys were foreigners. In two cases Chinese, the other a Saudi. Some Philippine officials want to change the law now to make it easier not harder for people from around the world to get hold of their people's organs. Do you believe there is a black market in kidneys for foreigners?

DR. REYNALDO LESACA, PHILIPPINE NATL. KIDNEY INST.: Yes, that's precisely the reason why we have come up with this program.

RIMINTON: Dr. Reynaldo Lesaca is the head of HOPE, the human organ preservation effort at the Philippine National Kidney Institute. He's drafting a new law that could be in effect early next year making healthy, human kidneys an official Philippine export. You think at the end of it, it will free up, make simpler the process by which Filipinos can donate kidneys?

LESACA: I believe so. I believe so.

RIMINTON: It becomes an accepted part of the economy.

LESACA: That's correct. That's correct.

RIMINTON: With the rich world aging, but with many young poor Filipinos the confronting question is this, are children being raised for little more purpose here that as incubators of organs marked for sale. Dr. Lesaca says medical ethicists here approve but there are many others around the world where selling an organ is almost always illegal who oppose the move. Lesaca insists his main concern is for the donors.

LESACA: We're giving better or more donor protection, which in the past you were right has been a big problem. Pushed aside, exploited, not taken care of.

RIMINTON: All three of these men now tell me they have regrets about selling their kidney.

VILLEGAS: I tell people it is a sin against god says Ricky Villegas.

LEO COKER, SOLD KIDNEY: It is karma says Leo, something is given to you by god and you sell it, that's why we lost everything.

RIMINTON: Hugh Riminton, CNN, Manila.

(END OF VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Well you hope not very many people use their cell phone this way but a candid camera catches a cell phone photographer behaving badly. Perhaps you can help police catch him.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Nabbed, a terror group suspected of recruiting suicide bombers for Iraq and Afghanistan. The story at the top of the hour.

A massive mud slide in Mexico. Survivors watched helplessly as friends and family were swept away. At least 16 people are now missing. Some of them thought to be buried alive under mud and debris.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTHA SANCHEZ, MUDSLIDE SURVIVOR: It was like an earthquake and the land came down and it broke the earth and dragged my family. Nine members of my family. My grandparents, father, mother, little brother, now it is not even possible to see my house.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Next door in Tabasco flood waters have still not receded one week after the rivers overflowed. Eighty percent of that state is still submerged. At least 20,000 people remain on their roofs still waiting for rescue. The U.S. is promising aid.

You're with CNN, hello everybody, I'm Heidi Collins. It is Tuesday, the 6th of November, here's what's on the rundown now. Pakistan hauling more protesters to jail today. The prime minister suggesting the state of emergency will be short term.

A little girl undergoing perhaps 40 hours of grueling surgery. She was born with four arms and four legs.

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