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CNN Live Saturday

Robert Blackwell Plans To Resign From White House Position; Yasser Arafat Remains Stable In Paris; Thousands Flee As U.S., Iraqi Forces Plan Assault On Falluja

Aired November 06, 2004 - 12:00   ET

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

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


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: It is 12:00 p.m. on the East coast, 9:00 a.m. out West. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at CNN's global headquarters. Ahead this hour in Iraq, new deadly attacks rock Samarra as U.S. forces south of there prepare to go in to Falluja. We're live from Baghdad.
Also, supporters stand vigil while Yasser Arafat clings to life. We're live in both Paris and Ramallah.

And this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT DILORETO, HURRICANE SURVIVOR: I've turned to Melanie and said, "This is worse than a nightmare," and I was trying to find a word that meant -- you know, what is -- what's a word that means worse than a nightmare? And her answer to me was "our reality."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: In the eye of a storm, their parents learn their newborn daughter has a life-threatening heart defect. Their story later this hour, but first a look at the top stories now in the news.

Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, remains in poor condition in a French hospital. Senior Palestinian officials are publicly trying to give the impression that he'll recover and return to leadership; behind the scenes, talk of the reshuffling that could occur in a post- Arafat era.

A Bush administration official, key in the war in Iraq, is stepping down. Robert Blackwell has been credited with reshaping policy by working to establish an interim government in Iraq and focusing on ending the U.S.-led occupation.

In Washington state, lava is pushing up inside mount Saint Helens. Scientists say a 340 foot protrusion has risen inside the volcano's crater. The protrusion glows red at night and is the size of a 30-story building. They believe a more explosive eruption remains possible at any time.

Our top story, Iraq: Officials think ago many as 200,000 people have fled Falluja as U.S. Marines, Army and Iraqi forces surround the city. U.S. air strikes continued hitting insurgent positions in and around the city, believed to be the headquarters of Abu Musab al- Zarqawi's network. Karl Penhaul is embedded with the U.S. troops and tells us that what could be the biggest operation for U.S. Marines since Vietnam. He is on the phone with us now -- Karl.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. A number of developments to bring you up to date. But certainly, as you make mentioned there, the Marines certainly are viewing this as their biggest confrontation since Kuwait City in 1968 in Vietnam. Kuwait City, like Falluja, was an urban warfare scenario and that could get bloody and it could get dirty very quickly according to U.S. Marine commanders, here. They've been telling us, this evening, that one of their biggest fears isn't from the conventional threat of bullets from assault riffles, rockets, or mortars, but really from booby-traps they believe that the insurgents have had much time to rig them -- rig the city with booby-traps. Those could be in the form of suicide car bombs, but they also fear entire buildings could be rigged with explosives.

Now, over the course of the last few days, we've seen U.S. Marines train alongside Iraqi security -- security forces, soldiers from the new Iraqi army. Now, according to some of the U.S. Marines helping with some of that training, they say that the Iraqi soldiers are keying to going in and fight in Falluja, but they lack some of the leadership skills. A lack of leadership skills has come to the fore, because in the last few hours, we've been told by a battalion commander here that one of the Iraqi company commanders has deserted from the U.S. Marine camp. That Iraqi captain, a company commander, had, in fact, been given a full brief, a full update of how the U.S. battle plan for fighting Falluja would take place.

So this is seen as a huge security breech, although it did say U.S. Marine commanders say they don't believe that that Iraqi captain is headed into Falluja. He has no known ties with that (UNINTELLIGIBLE). He is, in fact, a Kurd and they expect he may have headed home, though, they think this won't, for the time being, change their battle plan -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And, Karl, the coalition launched a major campaign to try to get as many residents out of Falluja as possible before this plan were to take place, so far, some 200,000 people. Where have most of these residents gone?

PENHAUL: It's difficult to say exactly where they have gone. They've been filtering out over a couple of weeks and months, in fact, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the Marines first tried to take Falluja, back in April and May, some of the residents left then for good, others filtered back and have filtered out again since (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to the tribal areas in the western desert close to Syria. Others may have filtered back to Baghdad. But there is still concern, because latest estimates suggest 50,000 civilians are still left inside Falluja. U.S. military intelligence analysts say that the insurgents there are probably holding some of those civilians as human shields, in fact, won't let them leave. As you're remember, back in April and May, one of the things that stopped the Marine (UNINTELLIGIBLE) on that occasion was concern in Washington about the growing civilian casualty toll -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Karl Penhaul, thanks very much for joining us on the telephone from Falluja along with U.S. forces there.

Continuing our look from Iraq, a strike by insurgents in the al- Anbar province wounds 20 U.S. Marines, this as U.S. forces prepare for that major offensive that Karl was talking about, in Falluja just west of Baghdad. Senior international correspondent Nic Robertson has an update now from Baghdad -- Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well Fredricka, the deadliest strikes today have happened 60 miles north of Baghdad in the town of Samarra. At 9:30 this morning, a vehicle-born explosives detonated outside the mayor's office in that town. At almost at the same time in an apparently coordinated attack, three mortars were fired at a police station in the town there, three policemen were killed, six others were injured. There was a report of small arms fired at the same time. In the town of Samarra today, 34 people have been killed in both of those attacks and dozen of others injured.

Also, another vehicle-born explosive was detonated by Iraqi troops on patrol with U.S. troops on petrol with U.S. troops on the streets of Samarra. No U.S. casualties, but one Iraqi soldier was injured and four civilians at the scene were also injured. Samarra was supposed to be a model town cleaned out of insurgents by the coalition about a month ago. 3,000 U.S. troops from the 1st Infantry Division, backed up by 2,000 Iraqi troops went into the town about a month ago, and according to the commander of the 1st Infantry Division, at the time, he said he saw Samarra as being a model for other towns in Iraq. Today, insurgents appear to have targeted Samarra. Twenty Marines, as you say, injured west of Baghdad, about 60 miles west of Baghdad, close to the town of Ramadi.

It is not clear, at this time, extent of the injuries the Marines have suffered. They were on a convoy close to the town of Ramadi when an explosive device went off by their convoy injuring 20 of them.

And also today from south of Baghdad, 12 Iraqi civilians found dead, killed close to the town of Latirfir (PH). That particular town notable to the coalition for its sort of lawlessness, for killings of Iraqis, but this particular situation, 12 Iraqis killed apparently very much at the same time, that does stand out -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Nic, how much credence is there to the notion that some of the insurgency leadership that may have been in places like Falluja have left on the eve of this planned assault, gone to places like Samarra where they are able to kind of regather and perhaps even intensify their recruitment?

ROBERTSON: Well, there certainly is a belief among some Iraqis that elements that have been -- insurgency elements, anti-Iraqi government, anti-coalition elements that have been in Falluja, have taken up residents, perhaps not in Samarra, but perhaps towns south of Falluja and towns just north of Baghdad. There was a killing of a mayor of a small town just north of Baghdad. Today there was speculation that that might have been because some of the insurgents from Falluja had moved to his town. He was renowned for making alcohol, something the sort of hard-line Islamic -- some of the hard- line Islamic elements that are believed to have been inside Falluja are against. Again, this is not supported by hard evidence, but this is a sort of speculation that there is, among Iraqis, that they see the insurgency member from Falluja spreading out to other towns, perhaps Samarra, perhaps some of these other towns, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Nic Robertson, from Baghdad. Thanks so much for that update.

We'll find out more about the situation near Falluja in the 2:00 p.m. Eastern hour when I interview a lieutenant with the U.S. Marines preparing for the planned assault.

Well, President Bush is enjoying some post-election rest at Camp David. But, two administration officials already have resigned. White House correspondent Dana Bash has the White House reaction to that -- Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. Well certainly, the president is getting a little bit of post-election rest. As you said, he is at Camp David and you certainly would think when an incumbent wins, there is a -- there should be should be a lot of post- election rest, but he is at Camp David this weekend trying to think about who exactly in his cabinet, which of the top lieutenants he will likely have to replace. And as you mentioned, a senior administration official says one of his point people on Iraq -- actually, "the" point person on Iraq in his national security council, Robert Blackwell, did tell his colleagues that he is planning on resigning and leaving in the next couple of weeks, that he had already planned to do so after the election and he's following through with that now.

The State Department's coordinator for counter terrorism, Mr. Cofer Black, is another, actually was the first, to say he was resigning. He did that also late this week. And many believe that Cofer Black's boss, Secretary of State Colin Powell, would be among the first to say goodbye as well, but some in the administration think that changes in the Palestinian leadership makes it so that perhaps the secretary of state will want to wait and participate if there is any movement to take place on the Mideast peace process. Now, that is up, obviously, on the national security front.

Now on the domestic front, John Ashcroft tops the list of people of cabinet members that is likely to leave soon, that has certainly been the thought for some time. Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge has told associates he also plans to leave shortly after the election. But, administration officials, this week, said that the president and the chief of staff are hoping that these departures, if and when they take place, are done so in a staggered way, because the administration, the president made clear, this week, he has an aggressive domestic and also legislative agenda through Congress, so they would want to be able to do that and also have to deal with senate confirmsations, because there certainly will be a lot to deal with Congress -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well Dana, once the cabinet matter is settled, and let's talk a little more about that agenda and what, perhaps, President Bush has spelled out in his radio address that he hopes to focus on in the next four years.

BASH: He talked -- you're right, he talked in his radio address some of the things we heard him discuss in his victory speech and his press conference. He wants to tackle medical liability reform, he wants to tackle social security reform, putting some -- privatizing accounts for younger Americans; he talked about going for tax reform, which is really a huge thing to try to tackle. But he also talked about reaching across party lines.

So those -- going for those issues, which in many cases are very much physically different from what Democrats believe in, it's going to be interesting to see how they do that and still reach out across party lines, particularly when you saw the democratic leader in the House, Nancy Pelosi, also had a radio address today saying she wants to work across party lines, too, but she also made clear that they're going to dig in on Social Security reform, for example, and they say they do not support any kind of privatization, so right there, already, they're going to see a clash -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Dana Bash at the White House. Thanks so much.

Election 2004 is now in the history books, but how successful were the efforts to get out the youth vote? We'll ask someone from MTV.

And U.S. Troops in Iraq: This woman might as well be Mrs. Santa Claus. We'll tell you how she's trying to comfort America's heroes in harm's way. This is CNN LIVE SATURDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Checking some stories making headlines across America, now. Juries in the Scott Peterson double murder trial have the weekend off sequestered in a hotel. They'll resume their deliberations Monday when they'll expect the boat that prosecutors allege Peterson used to dump the body of his pregnant wife in the San Francisco Bay. Yesterday, the jury wrapped up its third day of deliberations without reaching a verdict.

Outside Washington, D.C., six U.S. Air force servicemen missing in action from the Vietnam War were buried yesterday at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. Their remains were identified through DNA testing. All six were on a military plane that went down over Louse 38 years ago. Their remains were recovered in 1995 by a team of American specialists.

In Saint Louis, it's payday for Mojave Aerospace Ventures. The team is getting a $10 million check for the Ansari X prize. Their rocket plane called "Spaceship One" captured the prize by breaking through the earth's atmosphere twice within two weeks. The prize was found by -- founded rather, by a Saint Louis-based group hoping to sponsor spark private space travel and tourism.

For most people, Hurricane Ivan is now a very distance memory, but for one couple with a newborn, it was a terrifying nightmare they aren't likely to forget. CNN medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Like many other families living on Florida's panhandle, the Diloreto's were worried about the one, two, three punch of this year's hurricane season. But, Scott and Melanie were a little different. They had just given birth to Macey, only eleven days before Hurricane Ivan, the third major hurricane of the 2004 season was to hit Florida. And like other families, they made plans to evacuate.

MELANIE DILORETO, HURRICANE SURVIVOR: At the time, we hadn't been told that we had to leave when we decide to evacuate, but just because of having the new baby, we didn't want to take any chances.

GUPTA: So, Scott and Melanie drove to the closest place with an open hotel room, Montgomery, Alabama, but the damage from the storm would soon become the least of their worries.

SCOTT DILORETO, HURRICANE SURVIVOR: I turned to Melanie and said "This is worse than a nightmare," and I was trying to find a word that meant -- you know, what is -- what's the word that means worse than a nightmare, and her answer to me was, "our reality."

M. DILORETO: We got word Hurricane Ivan was going to head up to Montgomery on Wednesday. Thursday afternoon, Macey stopped eating, I guess it was probably Thursday morning, she had stopped eating, started vomiting.

GUPTA: So, Scott and Melanie braved the winds and the rain and took her to the closest emergency room.

S. DILORETO: They did an echogram on her heart and it was -- it was operating at five percent of the normal.

GUPTA: Macey was born with a heart defect known as aortic corotation, where the main artery that supplies the body with blood can be almost completely blocked. But the hospital in Alabama had lost power and doctors felt that Macey's condition needed the attention of experts at Children's Health Care of Atlanta, the only way to get there in time, a helicopter.

S. DILORETO: The helicopter came over to pick up Melanie and Macey and I had to say goodbye to them while they flew over to Children's Hospital.

ANDY BURNHART, FLIGHT PARAMEDIC: We were able to make her heart work a little easier, just make her a little more comfortable for the ride back.

GUPTA: After she arrived in Atlanta at only three weeks old, Macey underwent open heart surgery to fix her condition. And the surgery was successful.

(on camera): Macey is doing well and returned to Texas with mom and grandma while Scott returned to Pensacola to see what he could reclaim from their hurricane damaged home.

M. DILORETO: Our perception is completely changed on what the devastation of what a hurricane can bring, just based on her condition being in the hospital, we didn't even have time to think about our house.

GUPTA (voice-over): Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Courting the youth vote: Big names worked hard to turn out big numbers on Tuesday. Did they get the results they wanted? We'll take a closer look.

And later, buy your popcorn and pack your bags. We'll take you to some of the big screens greatest getaways. This is CNN LIVE SATURDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, some high school student in Colorado found a way to have a voice in the political process. About 70 students staged an all-night sit in at the Boulder High School Library, demanding to speak with political leaders. The students say they're worried about a possible draft, the national debt, and the environment. The principal allowed the students to stay overnight Thursday as long as they made it to class on Friday, which they did, after talking to officials from both political parties.

Well, John Kerry hoped young Americans would turn out in high numbers to give him the edge in the race for the White House. They did turn out, but it wasn't enough for the Kerry team. Early estimates show 20 million voters between the ages of 18 and 29 cast ballots on Tuesday. That's up nine percent over the turn out in 2000. Ian Row is with MTV's Choose or Lose campaign, he joins us from New York today.

And, how are you, Ian?

IAN ROW, MTV'S "CHOOSE OR LOSE": I'm -- we're great.

WHITFIELD: All right.

ROW: Those numbers demonstrate young people came out in great numbers this year.

WHITFIELD: Well, was the expectations perhaps just too high that one candidate, however, might benefit the most?

ROW: Well, there was never an expectation that one candidate or the other had the youth vote. I mean, most people don't realize four years ago, amongst 18 to 29 year olds, 48 percent voted for Gore, and 46 percent voted for Bush, so it's a bit of a myth that any one candidate has -- has the vote.

You know, four years ago, nearly 17.6 million 18 to 30 year olds voted, and we, all year long, set a very ambitious goal for young people, 20 million -- 20 million to vote and as you see, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) are actually nearly 21 million, 18 to 29-year-olds close voted. Which means that we far exceeded that goal for 18 to 30- year-olds, So we're really exited about that.

WHITFIELD: Hmm. Of those numbers though, does it appear that of those numbers, the Republican Party benefited the most in terms of having the majority of the youth vote as opposed in 2000 it was the Democrats?

ROW: Well, what's interesting that over the course of the year, throughout our polling, it was about a third, a third, a third. A third Bush, a third Kerry and a third undecided. And toward the end of the campaign, we definitely noticed that young, undecided voters were gravitating toward Senator Kerry and we think in part because Senator Kerry made himself available. He gave five interviews to MTV to speak directly to the issues that young people are concerned about. And President Bush didn't do any interviews, and that was the first time in the entire history of "Choose or Lose," since 1992 that a presidential candidate has not come on the air, including President Bush in 2000, who came on twice. And our audience certainly noticed that Senator Kerry came on that frequently.

WHITFIELD: Is it your feeling that members in either party are kind of missing the point, that really more credit needs to be given to the young people for getting registered in great numbers and for actually turning out and not voting as one big monolith, but voting as individuals?

ROW: Absolutely. And today I saw an editorial which said, "Young people voted in record numbers. What's wrong with young people?" You know, it's just -- there's this constant criticism of young people.

Yes, there was a surge in youth voting and there was a surge in voting in other age demographics, but somehow young people are now being criticized for not voting in numbers even bigger than they did. So, we should really be celebrating the fact young people came out -- you know, despite all of the conventional wisdom against them.

And the same concerns that they had throughout the year, when more than 30 million viewers were watching our "Choose or Lose" programming on the issues about the war, about education, about the economy, those are the same concerns that they have today.

So, in that piece you just showed of young people protesting at their school, our audience is still engaged, and now more than ever, they'd really like to have an interactive dialogue with the president to talk about the issues they're still concerned about.

WHITFIELD: So, in the past you've heard of young voters who speak of their apathy because they feel like their vote really doesn't make a difference. So, for those young voters who did turn out, who perhaps feel like -- you know, they were throwing their support behind either Nader or Kerry, their candidate didn't win. How do you capture those voters so they don't lose the desire come next election time, they're still as motivated and excited about casting their ballots?

ROW: Absolutely. Well first of all, we give them a huge thank you and congratulations to let them know no matter who they vote for they personally won because they're part of the political process. You know, we tell stories of a kid, 25-year-old Christ Herzfeld, who recently came back from the war and he had joined the military to pay for school and suddenly found himself dodging bullets in Iraq. But, when he tells our audience that he didn't vote in 2000, no matter how you feel about the war, that has a huge impact, because our audience sees that here's someone that looks just like me and he didn't have a voice in a decision that was made by the president of the United States. And so we continue to send this message that you've got to be engaged and it's not just four years from now. Every year, we take on social issues where we encourage our audience to take action on issues that they're most concerned about.

WHITFIELD: All right. Ian Row, president of MTV's "Choose or Lose." Your campaign is not over, instead it's intensifying. That's always good to hear.

ROW: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Thanks a lot, Ian.

ROW: Great.

WHITFIELD: Well coming up, Yasser Arafat's health and what it means politically for the Middle East. We'll have a live update on Arafat's condition from Paris.

Plus the latest from Ramallah, where security officials are working to keep the peace there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Bottom of the hour, and "Now in the News": Insurgents in a volatile Iraqi city are stepping up their attacks. Officials say at least 34 people were killed earlier today in the city of Samarra north of Baghdad. Thousands of American and Iraqi forces battled militants in Samarra just last month.

American forces are keeping a close watch on another city in Iraq, west of Baghdad, they're preparing for an all-out assault on the rebel stronghold of Fallluja. U.S. Marines say they believe about 3,000 hard core insurgents are dug in throughout Falluja.

American warplanes have bombed rebel targets over the last few days to soften up positions ahead of the expected assault.

In this country, days after the U.S. presidential race, reports of vandalism at the Republican Party headquarters in North Carolina. Authorities say the suspects caused some smoke damage in the Raleigh office. Windows were also broken and posters with political messages were scattered. Police say several suspects have been detained, but so far no charges have been filed. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is still clinging to life this weekend. He remains critically ill in a French hospital and doctors are keeping him in a coma to prevent him from moving. For the latest on Arafat's condition, her is CNN's Fionnuala Sweeny in Paris - Fionnuala?

FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, what we're hearing is sources are telling CNN that Yasser Arafat was induced into a light coma Wednesday evening following a deterioration in his health in order to immobilize him, as you say.

Apparently he has inflamed organs and it would be very damaging to him if he were able to move.

Other sources telling CNN that the president is in critical condition, that he is unconscious and that his condition is stable.

The last official word we had from the hospital was this time yesterday evening when we were told that his condition had not deteriorated; it remained the same as it had the day before. Here we are this evening outside the hospital, unlikely to expect or anticipating any word from the hospital as to Yasser Arafat's state of health.

Here just further, down the road to my left, is a demonstration taking place of some 200 Palestinian supporters and well wishers. They have been here for the last 48 hours or so, since news first broke of the deterioration in Yasser Arafat's health -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Fionnuala Sweeney. Thanks so much for that update from Paris.

Arafat supporters are keeping up hopes their 75-year-old leader will pull through his health crisis, but privately, Palestinian leaders are weighing the prospects of life after Arafat. CNN's Michael Holmes is with us now, from Ramallah, in the West Bank, to tell us what the mood is there -- Michael?

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, indeed, that is the case. Nobody, on the record anyway, wants to preempt the Palestinian president's death to openly planning for a successor or successors, neither do they want to seem to be openly planning where he might be buried. They see that as unseemly.

Behind the scenes, however, talks are taking place on both those issues. In a more public sense, we saw the Palestinian prime minister this day go to Gaza, a rare trip there by him. He left Ramallah, traveled there for what turned out to be an extraordinary meeting. It was a meeting of a variety of factions, all of the major security forces -- and there are several in Gaza -- who were in attendance.

And perhaps more interestingly also representatives from groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, all called together to try to bring about a scene of unity among all Palestinian groups as this crisis unfolds. First time all these groups have come together since this crisis began. It was described by many there as a very positive meeting and here is what the prime minister, Ahmed Qorei had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AHMED QOREI, PALESTINIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): It was a very important meeting. It may be the first of its kind where the government, the legislative council, and heads of security forces have met with the leaders of national and Islamic movements.

It was held under the banner in faithfulness to the leading brother, President Arafat. May god bring him back healthy soon. That he will continue leading this march.

We discussed a number of fundamental issues, which effect all of our people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, Gaza, of course, is a place where in recent weeks and months we have seen various armed groups fighting with some of those security officers in the streets of Gaza. It's a place many feel in the wake of Arafat's demise, should that happen, that a power vacuum could lead to more armed clashes as various groups struggle for power.

As a result of this meeting, Fredricka, a couple of things were agreed to. First, security patrols by those security forces, joint patrols, significantly, too, by these groups who don't always see eye- to-eye themselves and have different bosses on the ground.

Also, there was a letter announcing the formation of what's been called a follow-up committee that has all the groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad saying they want a say in any major policy decisions taken by the Palestinian Authority in Yasser Arafat's absence -- Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: And, Michael, what are ordinary Palestinians saying and thinking out loud?

HOLMES: Initially, you do get a sense -- well, people will tell you they don't want to discuss Yasser Arafat dying, because they say, A, he is not dead yet and B, we hope he gets better and comes back again.

In the last couple of days there has been more acceptance on the streets of the reality that maybe, maybe he may not be coming back. Then, what surfaces is the fear of what may follow, whether there will be a transition to some sort of cooperative, collaborative government in the interim until elections hopefully can be held. Or whether there would be some sort of battle for ascendancy among the various groups.

A lot of people on the streets are very concerned where it may go if he should die -- Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right, Michael Holmes, in Ramallah. Thanks so much for that update. As Yasser Arafat under goes treatment in France, violence continued in his homeland. There are reports of three Palestinian deaths today in the West Bank. Palestinian medical sources say a teenager died after being shot in the head in Jenin. And two members of an Islamic militant group were killed when their car exploded in another West Bank town.

Yasser Arafat's health problems raise new questions and concerns about the peace process in the Middle East overall. It's an issue that's likely to be a serious concern for President Bush in his second term. CNN's Guy Raz reports from Jerusalem.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: God bless his soul.

GUY RAZ, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The subdued reaction of an American president wrongly informed that Yasser Arafat had died.

But Arafat's condition has, once again, thrust the Israeli/Palestinian conflict to the top of President Bush's foreign policy agenda.

BUSH: The Middle East peace is a very important part of a peaceful world. I have been working on Middle Eastern peace ever since I have been the president.

RAZ: A second Bush term, combined with the possibility of a new Palestinian leadership may resurrect the faltering Middle East peace process.

SHARON PERS, FMR. ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: It's going to come to something quite inviting, a new opportunity.

RAZ: Former Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmood Abbas (ph) is no stranger to President Bush. The two have met before. Abbas, also know as Abu Mazin, has been closely linked to the peace process.

Abbas is now running the Palestinian Liberation Organization in Arafat's absence and has been involved in the Palestinian struggle since its inception.

ALI JURBAWI, PALESTINIAN ANALYST: The Palestinians are willing to work with the new administration, provided that the terms of the political settlement are not determined only and solely in Televiv.

RAZ: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has refused to deal with Yasser Arafat, so too, the Bush administration. In the past taking its cue from Sharon.

JURBAWI: With Mr. Arafat, or after Mr. Arafat, the question lies with Mr. Sharon, if he wants to insist the settlement should only be under Israeli conditions, I don't think he would have a political settlement. RAZ: Israel plans to pull out its settlement in Gaza by the end of next year. The process was to take place without Palestinian input. Now in a possible post-Arafat era, speculation is that Israel will be forced to coordinate that move with his successors.

And who might they be? Aside from Mahmoud Abbas, current Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei is a likely possibility. So is Marwan Barghouti (ph), one of the most popular Palestinian leaders, but now serving a jail sentence in Israel.

(on camera): But no matter who takes over in the interim, the road to Jerusalem may ultimately run through Washington. Europe and the Arab League both see resolving the Palestinian/Israeli crisis is key to Middle East stability. The White House now has to decide whether it shares that is view. Guy Raz, CNN, Jerusalem.

When CNN LIVE SATURDAY continues, find out what to do when the playground bully winds up in your office.

Later, movie-style vacations. Turning those big screen sets into real life travel destinations.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Time for our weekly visit from "The Ethics Guy". Today we look at office bullies and parking lot temptations. Joining us from New York, professional ethicists, Bruce Weinstein, also known as "The Ethics Guy".

Good to see you this Saturday.

BRUCE WEINSTEIN, THE ETHICS GUY: You too, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Let's begin with this letter from someone who wants to know what to do about the office bully. It reads: "We have in our group someone who can easily be described as classic office bully. This person has through the years made numerous verbal threats to approximately 15 different co-workers. Three of the workers in our group have confided that they feel that their life is threatened by this very same person. Our management knows about this problem, but refuses to openly acknowledge the problem and refuses to deal with it directly."

What should they do?

WEINSTEIN: Fredricka, all of us have a moral right not to be harassed. We have a right to be left alone. We have a right to be protected from assaults. In the workplace, what this means, is that our employer has an ethical responsibility to protect us from harm.

WHITFIELD: But it looks like their manager is not doing anything. What are their options?

WEINSTEIN: The good news is in any hierarchical situation, which is how most companies are run, we do have recourse. Now almost certainly this company has a violence in the workplace policy that directs employees who are threatened by other employees in how to respond to the assault.

Most likely the employee who has been assaulted will be instructed to report the problem to his or her supervisor. And if that doesn't meet with result, to go to his or her supervisor and on and on up the food chain, so to speak.

WHITFIELD: Find the owner.

WEINSTEIN: Until we get to human resources.

Now, there may be a legal claim. I'm not a legal analyst. This is ethic advice, if you will, not legal advice. But almost certainly any legal claim would not be valid until one has exhausted all of the means for grievance.

WHITFIELD: And it seems like they have power in numbers if they have about 15 people who have very similar complaints. It should be able to go somewhere.

WEINSTEIN: It's very important to take note of this, to have written evidence of the problem, to let other people know about the problem, so that one is not alone. But the bottom line, from an ethical perspective is that our employer has a right to protect us from harm, from bullies.

WHITFIELD: So, put the pressure on management to do something?

WEINSTEIN: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: All right, here is another e-mail. This one from Ray Wicoff in Gilbert, Arizona, "In the grocery store parking lot on my way to my car I notice a pack of soda in the bottom of a cart. I figure it has been paid for. Is it OK to take it, since it doesn't deprive the store owner who has probably received his money. My son actually did this."

WEINSTEIN: It is not right to take a six-pack of soda that you see in a shopping cart, simply because it does not belong to you. The technical term for taking something that doesn't belong to us, is theft or as Gomer Pyle's grandmother once put it in an episode, ill- gotten gains.

Ill-gotten gains. That is what this amounts to. Certainly, if the person who noticed their soda missing from his or her shopping bag, later on when back to the store and found out that it was missing, he or she would have to buy another six pack.

The right thing to do would return to the soda to the store and let them know if it's not claimed in a day or two, ask them whether they can have it. It's simply wrong to take something that doesn't belong to us.

WHITFIELD: Right.

WEINSTEIN: You know, Fredricka, there are a lot of difficult ethical problems in the world. This isn't one of them. This is pretty...

WHITFIELD: Isn't it amazing that people find that is a question they need to ask?

WEINSTEIN: I know. And for this fellow, Ray, from Arizona, to right that his son actually did this, it seems to me what Ray might want to consider is reprimanding his son for taking something that didn't belong to him.

WHITFIELD: Right. If it's not yours, don't touch it.

WEINSTEIN: Exactly. It's not that hard.

WHITFIELD: As simple as that.

All right, well, thanks very much for clarifying it for those of us who perhaps find it rather difficult to make those decisions.

Thanks, Bruce.

WEINSTEIN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: If you have an ethics question, e-mail your dilemma to ethics@cnn.com and join us next week for another visit from "The Ethics Guy".

Coming up, going on location for your next vacation, perhaps? We will show you the hottest spots for big screen movie makers, and how to make them part of your next vacation.

And this ...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wish you could have seen the look on my fellow comrade faces as your packages were being passed out.

WHITFIELD: A special thank you to troops in Iraq.

Well, movies can offer stunning locations filled with spectacular scenery. Here is a great example, the new movie, "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason" filmed in London. It might be a place you want to check out. Ever thought about going to one of those big screen settings for a vacation?

The November issue of "Travel + Leisure" magazine can point you in the right direction. It outlines sites made famous by films. Nilou Notamed is a senior editor at "Travel + Leisure" and she joins us now from New York.

Good to see you, Nyla.

NYLA NOTAMED, SR. EDITOR, "TRAVEL+LEISURE": Hi, Fredricka. How are you?

WHITFIELD: Pretty good. Besides shopping, we know London is a great place to go, but some of us want life to kind of imitate art. So, why should we go to London?

NOTAMED: Especially if you're a little sick of politics in the U.S. right now, this might be the perfect time to head to London.

And follow our favorite singleton and find her footsteps whether in Hyde Park, Primrose Park, the new movie "Edge of Reason" has London as a back drop. It's a great way to rediscover a city you may know, or discover a city for the first time, based on what you saw in the movie.

WHITFIELD: Maybe you want to stick with Europe or maybe head south and check out Rome, perhaps a tour down Fillini film memory lane.

MOTAMED: I know Fillini memorabilia, definitely, "La Dolce Vita" ingrained Rome in everyone's mind. So did "Roman Holiday". I think rent a Vespa, go to Rome, and just tool around. And go to the Trevi Fountain (ph), don't go in the water.

WHITFIELD: That's risky, renting a Vespa. You have to know how to drive in that town.

MOTAMED: Go slow. It's better than a car. It is definitely better than walking.

WHITFIELD: Oh, I kind of felt nervous even walking there.

MOTAMED: Those cobblestones are rough on your shoes. I think a Vespa might be a better call.

WHITFIELD: Maybe you want to stay state side, Napa Valley, or something to that extent seems intriguing enough, Santa Barbara.

MOTAMED: If you're into wine, Santa Barbara, is a burgeoning wine region. There's a great new movie called "Sideways" that is just out. The director is an Angelino and he decided this is a great area that he loves. It is really beautiful. Why not base his whole movie there.

These two guys, it's kind of a buddy film about guys having a middle age life crisis. What's great is they go to all these wineries and discover about the wine in Santa Barbara.

What's wonderful is Santa Barbara County has put out a new map where you can follow the steps of the movie. So you don't have to go at it alone.

WHITFIELD: Not necessarily Napa, or Sonoma, but Santa Barbara.

MOTAMED: A new one.

WHITFIELD: All right, that sounds good. Well, the Bahamas, "After The Sun Set", a movie coming out soon. Perhaps it might inspire a lot of folks to head to the tropics.

MOTAMED: Head to the beach, is what I say. That is what Selma Hayek, she is on our cover this month, talking about three months she stayed in Bahamas filming "After Sunset" And most of the films is set all around the island, it is set in a large part on Atlantis, which is an aquatic themed resort, kind of a Vegas style, everything goes kind of place.

WHITFIELD: You won't get a deal, are you? Aren't we heading into peak season?

MOTAMED: You're absolutely right, Fredricka. We still have a little bit of time. November is still shoulder season. You could get deals right now.

WHITFIELD: Maybe you want to get on a plane and travel for a really long time, because "Lord of the Rings" inspires you. New Zealand always a beautiful place, but gosh it takes so long to get there.

MOTAMED: It does take a long time. The key is getting an upgrade going business class. It makes a big difference.

I would recommend if people are into the trilogy and if they are crazy about "The Lord of The Rings", and can't get enough of Gandalf, why not go on a day tour of 18 of the sites from the movie. And Wanaka Tours (ph) has set up this great idea. I think it is lovely.

First, they actually set you up so you can see what you would look like as a hobbit. They take a little photo of you in miniature and then take you to all these great sites you loved in the movie. It's amazing to me the movie is not as much CGI as you would think. It's really, really real.

WHITFIELD: All right, that sounds like fun.

Nilou Motamed, thanks so much, with "Travel + Leisure" magazine.

MOTAMED: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Coming up, one woman's mission to bring the holidays to the troops in Iraq a few months early.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Across the country, people have come up with creative ways to show gratitude for U.S. troops fighting in Iraq. CNN's Denise Belgrave met one Georgia woman who brings new meaning boosting troop moral.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DENISE BELGRAVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): For troops in Iraq, she's the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, Santa Clause all wrapped up in one.

GLORIA RUCKS, DAVE & GLORIA'S BARBER SHOP: If I can help them in anyway, I will do everything I can do to do it, so they will feel like we love them and they haven't been forgotten. A very emotional project, I cry nearly every day.

BELGRAVE: Gloria Rucks, a barber by trade turned her tears into action by mobilizing her community to provide care packages to National Guard troops. She got help from Tim Markham's company, which designed special boxes for the project.

TIM MARKHAM, ROCK-TENN COMPANY: For what our soldiers are going through in Iraq. We see it in the paper every day. It's the least we can do.

BELGRAVE: And even though there was some skepticism at first, Rucks has seen even the weary turn a compassionate cheek.

RUCKS: The police came in, checked us out to make sure it wasn't a scam. Then they found out it wasn't. And they took a box to the police station, filled it up and brought it in.

BELGRAVE: Rucks says it's an enormous task soliciting thousands of dollars in contributions and packing hundreds of boxes, and making countless runs to the post office, but she says it's the thank you notes that keep her going.

RUCKS: "Dear David & Gloria: Thank you so much for your care package. It's awesome! I tried the Bumble Bee and crackers tonight. It was a gourmet meal.

Everything you sent will be used and enjoyed. Believe me. I wish you could have seen the look on my fellow comrades faces as your packages were being passed out. Christmas in August. Oh, yeah."

BELGRAVE: How much longer will she keep it up?

RUCKS: Till the last box back there is gone.

BELGRAVE (on camera): How many boxes do you have back there?

RUCKS: I started out with 1600. I've done 800 -- I've got 800 more to go.

BELGRAVE (on camera): These cards were made by the local Girl Scout troop and they're a good example of how Gloria Rucks project is not only serving the troops but is also fostering a strong sense of community in this Georgia suburb -- Denise Belgrave, CNN, Norcross, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Still so much more ahead on CNN SATURDAY. In a few moments "In The Money". At 2 Eastern, the latest on a series of violent attacks in Iraq on CNN LIVE SATURDAY. At 3 it is "Next @ CNN" with a look at how technology now allows people to create their own prescription eye glasses That is coming up after a quick check of today's top stories.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired November 6, 2004 - 12:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: It is 12:00 p.m. on the East coast, 9:00 a.m. out West. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at CNN's global headquarters. Ahead this hour in Iraq, new deadly attacks rock Samarra as U.S. forces south of there prepare to go in to Falluja. We're live from Baghdad.
Also, supporters stand vigil while Yasser Arafat clings to life. We're live in both Paris and Ramallah.

And this:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT DILORETO, HURRICANE SURVIVOR: I've turned to Melanie and said, "This is worse than a nightmare," and I was trying to find a word that meant -- you know, what is -- what's a word that means worse than a nightmare? And her answer to me was "our reality."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: In the eye of a storm, their parents learn their newborn daughter has a life-threatening heart defect. Their story later this hour, but first a look at the top stories now in the news.

Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, remains in poor condition in a French hospital. Senior Palestinian officials are publicly trying to give the impression that he'll recover and return to leadership; behind the scenes, talk of the reshuffling that could occur in a post- Arafat era.

A Bush administration official, key in the war in Iraq, is stepping down. Robert Blackwell has been credited with reshaping policy by working to establish an interim government in Iraq and focusing on ending the U.S.-led occupation.

In Washington state, lava is pushing up inside mount Saint Helens. Scientists say a 340 foot protrusion has risen inside the volcano's crater. The protrusion glows red at night and is the size of a 30-story building. They believe a more explosive eruption remains possible at any time.

Our top story, Iraq: Officials think ago many as 200,000 people have fled Falluja as U.S. Marines, Army and Iraqi forces surround the city. U.S. air strikes continued hitting insurgent positions in and around the city, believed to be the headquarters of Abu Musab al- Zarqawi's network. Karl Penhaul is embedded with the U.S. troops and tells us that what could be the biggest operation for U.S. Marines since Vietnam. He is on the phone with us now -- Karl.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. A number of developments to bring you up to date. But certainly, as you make mentioned there, the Marines certainly are viewing this as their biggest confrontation since Kuwait City in 1968 in Vietnam. Kuwait City, like Falluja, was an urban warfare scenario and that could get bloody and it could get dirty very quickly according to U.S. Marine commanders, here. They've been telling us, this evening, that one of their biggest fears isn't from the conventional threat of bullets from assault riffles, rockets, or mortars, but really from booby-traps they believe that the insurgents have had much time to rig them -- rig the city with booby-traps. Those could be in the form of suicide car bombs, but they also fear entire buildings could be rigged with explosives.

Now, over the course of the last few days, we've seen U.S. Marines train alongside Iraqi security -- security forces, soldiers from the new Iraqi army. Now, according to some of the U.S. Marines helping with some of that training, they say that the Iraqi soldiers are keying to going in and fight in Falluja, but they lack some of the leadership skills. A lack of leadership skills has come to the fore, because in the last few hours, we've been told by a battalion commander here that one of the Iraqi company commanders has deserted from the U.S. Marine camp. That Iraqi captain, a company commander, had, in fact, been given a full brief, a full update of how the U.S. battle plan for fighting Falluja would take place.

So this is seen as a huge security breech, although it did say U.S. Marine commanders say they don't believe that that Iraqi captain is headed into Falluja. He has no known ties with that (UNINTELLIGIBLE). He is, in fact, a Kurd and they expect he may have headed home, though, they think this won't, for the time being, change their battle plan -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And, Karl, the coalition launched a major campaign to try to get as many residents out of Falluja as possible before this plan were to take place, so far, some 200,000 people. Where have most of these residents gone?

PENHAUL: It's difficult to say exactly where they have gone. They've been filtering out over a couple of weeks and months, in fact, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the Marines first tried to take Falluja, back in April and May, some of the residents left then for good, others filtered back and have filtered out again since (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to the tribal areas in the western desert close to Syria. Others may have filtered back to Baghdad. But there is still concern, because latest estimates suggest 50,000 civilians are still left inside Falluja. U.S. military intelligence analysts say that the insurgents there are probably holding some of those civilians as human shields, in fact, won't let them leave. As you're remember, back in April and May, one of the things that stopped the Marine (UNINTELLIGIBLE) on that occasion was concern in Washington about the growing civilian casualty toll -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Karl Penhaul, thanks very much for joining us on the telephone from Falluja along with U.S. forces there.

Continuing our look from Iraq, a strike by insurgents in the al- Anbar province wounds 20 U.S. Marines, this as U.S. forces prepare for that major offensive that Karl was talking about, in Falluja just west of Baghdad. Senior international correspondent Nic Robertson has an update now from Baghdad -- Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well Fredricka, the deadliest strikes today have happened 60 miles north of Baghdad in the town of Samarra. At 9:30 this morning, a vehicle-born explosives detonated outside the mayor's office in that town. At almost at the same time in an apparently coordinated attack, three mortars were fired at a police station in the town there, three policemen were killed, six others were injured. There was a report of small arms fired at the same time. In the town of Samarra today, 34 people have been killed in both of those attacks and dozen of others injured.

Also, another vehicle-born explosive was detonated by Iraqi troops on patrol with U.S. troops on petrol with U.S. troops on the streets of Samarra. No U.S. casualties, but one Iraqi soldier was injured and four civilians at the scene were also injured. Samarra was supposed to be a model town cleaned out of insurgents by the coalition about a month ago. 3,000 U.S. troops from the 1st Infantry Division, backed up by 2,000 Iraqi troops went into the town about a month ago, and according to the commander of the 1st Infantry Division, at the time, he said he saw Samarra as being a model for other towns in Iraq. Today, insurgents appear to have targeted Samarra. Twenty Marines, as you say, injured west of Baghdad, about 60 miles west of Baghdad, close to the town of Ramadi.

It is not clear, at this time, extent of the injuries the Marines have suffered. They were on a convoy close to the town of Ramadi when an explosive device went off by their convoy injuring 20 of them.

And also today from south of Baghdad, 12 Iraqi civilians found dead, killed close to the town of Latirfir (PH). That particular town notable to the coalition for its sort of lawlessness, for killings of Iraqis, but this particular situation, 12 Iraqis killed apparently very much at the same time, that does stand out -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Nic, how much credence is there to the notion that some of the insurgency leadership that may have been in places like Falluja have left on the eve of this planned assault, gone to places like Samarra where they are able to kind of regather and perhaps even intensify their recruitment?

ROBERTSON: Well, there certainly is a belief among some Iraqis that elements that have been -- insurgency elements, anti-Iraqi government, anti-coalition elements that have been in Falluja, have taken up residents, perhaps not in Samarra, but perhaps towns south of Falluja and towns just north of Baghdad. There was a killing of a mayor of a small town just north of Baghdad. Today there was speculation that that might have been because some of the insurgents from Falluja had moved to his town. He was renowned for making alcohol, something the sort of hard-line Islamic -- some of the hard- line Islamic elements that are believed to have been inside Falluja are against. Again, this is not supported by hard evidence, but this is a sort of speculation that there is, among Iraqis, that they see the insurgency member from Falluja spreading out to other towns, perhaps Samarra, perhaps some of these other towns, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Nic Robertson, from Baghdad. Thanks so much for that update.

We'll find out more about the situation near Falluja in the 2:00 p.m. Eastern hour when I interview a lieutenant with the U.S. Marines preparing for the planned assault.

Well, President Bush is enjoying some post-election rest at Camp David. But, two administration officials already have resigned. White House correspondent Dana Bash has the White House reaction to that -- Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. Well certainly, the president is getting a little bit of post-election rest. As you said, he is at Camp David and you certainly would think when an incumbent wins, there is a -- there should be should be a lot of post- election rest, but he is at Camp David this weekend trying to think about who exactly in his cabinet, which of the top lieutenants he will likely have to replace. And as you mentioned, a senior administration official says one of his point people on Iraq -- actually, "the" point person on Iraq in his national security council, Robert Blackwell, did tell his colleagues that he is planning on resigning and leaving in the next couple of weeks, that he had already planned to do so after the election and he's following through with that now.

The State Department's coordinator for counter terrorism, Mr. Cofer Black, is another, actually was the first, to say he was resigning. He did that also late this week. And many believe that Cofer Black's boss, Secretary of State Colin Powell, would be among the first to say goodbye as well, but some in the administration think that changes in the Palestinian leadership makes it so that perhaps the secretary of state will want to wait and participate if there is any movement to take place on the Mideast peace process. Now, that is up, obviously, on the national security front.

Now on the domestic front, John Ashcroft tops the list of people of cabinet members that is likely to leave soon, that has certainly been the thought for some time. Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge has told associates he also plans to leave shortly after the election. But, administration officials, this week, said that the president and the chief of staff are hoping that these departures, if and when they take place, are done so in a staggered way, because the administration, the president made clear, this week, he has an aggressive domestic and also legislative agenda through Congress, so they would want to be able to do that and also have to deal with senate confirmsations, because there certainly will be a lot to deal with Congress -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well Dana, once the cabinet matter is settled, and let's talk a little more about that agenda and what, perhaps, President Bush has spelled out in his radio address that he hopes to focus on in the next four years.

BASH: He talked -- you're right, he talked in his radio address some of the things we heard him discuss in his victory speech and his press conference. He wants to tackle medical liability reform, he wants to tackle social security reform, putting some -- privatizing accounts for younger Americans; he talked about going for tax reform, which is really a huge thing to try to tackle. But he also talked about reaching across party lines.

So those -- going for those issues, which in many cases are very much physically different from what Democrats believe in, it's going to be interesting to see how they do that and still reach out across party lines, particularly when you saw the democratic leader in the House, Nancy Pelosi, also had a radio address today saying she wants to work across party lines, too, but she also made clear that they're going to dig in on Social Security reform, for example, and they say they do not support any kind of privatization, so right there, already, they're going to see a clash -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Dana Bash at the White House. Thanks so much.

Election 2004 is now in the history books, but how successful were the efforts to get out the youth vote? We'll ask someone from MTV.

And U.S. Troops in Iraq: This woman might as well be Mrs. Santa Claus. We'll tell you how she's trying to comfort America's heroes in harm's way. This is CNN LIVE SATURDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Checking some stories making headlines across America, now. Juries in the Scott Peterson double murder trial have the weekend off sequestered in a hotel. They'll resume their deliberations Monday when they'll expect the boat that prosecutors allege Peterson used to dump the body of his pregnant wife in the San Francisco Bay. Yesterday, the jury wrapped up its third day of deliberations without reaching a verdict.

Outside Washington, D.C., six U.S. Air force servicemen missing in action from the Vietnam War were buried yesterday at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. Their remains were identified through DNA testing. All six were on a military plane that went down over Louse 38 years ago. Their remains were recovered in 1995 by a team of American specialists.

In Saint Louis, it's payday for Mojave Aerospace Ventures. The team is getting a $10 million check for the Ansari X prize. Their rocket plane called "Spaceship One" captured the prize by breaking through the earth's atmosphere twice within two weeks. The prize was found by -- founded rather, by a Saint Louis-based group hoping to sponsor spark private space travel and tourism.

For most people, Hurricane Ivan is now a very distance memory, but for one couple with a newborn, it was a terrifying nightmare they aren't likely to forget. CNN medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Like many other families living on Florida's panhandle, the Diloreto's were worried about the one, two, three punch of this year's hurricane season. But, Scott and Melanie were a little different. They had just given birth to Macey, only eleven days before Hurricane Ivan, the third major hurricane of the 2004 season was to hit Florida. And like other families, they made plans to evacuate.

MELANIE DILORETO, HURRICANE SURVIVOR: At the time, we hadn't been told that we had to leave when we decide to evacuate, but just because of having the new baby, we didn't want to take any chances.

GUPTA: So, Scott and Melanie drove to the closest place with an open hotel room, Montgomery, Alabama, but the damage from the storm would soon become the least of their worries.

SCOTT DILORETO, HURRICANE SURVIVOR: I turned to Melanie and said "This is worse than a nightmare," and I was trying to find a word that meant -- you know, what is -- what's the word that means worse than a nightmare, and her answer to me was, "our reality."

M. DILORETO: We got word Hurricane Ivan was going to head up to Montgomery on Wednesday. Thursday afternoon, Macey stopped eating, I guess it was probably Thursday morning, she had stopped eating, started vomiting.

GUPTA: So, Scott and Melanie braved the winds and the rain and took her to the closest emergency room.

S. DILORETO: They did an echogram on her heart and it was -- it was operating at five percent of the normal.

GUPTA: Macey was born with a heart defect known as aortic corotation, where the main artery that supplies the body with blood can be almost completely blocked. But the hospital in Alabama had lost power and doctors felt that Macey's condition needed the attention of experts at Children's Health Care of Atlanta, the only way to get there in time, a helicopter.

S. DILORETO: The helicopter came over to pick up Melanie and Macey and I had to say goodbye to them while they flew over to Children's Hospital.

ANDY BURNHART, FLIGHT PARAMEDIC: We were able to make her heart work a little easier, just make her a little more comfortable for the ride back.

GUPTA: After she arrived in Atlanta at only three weeks old, Macey underwent open heart surgery to fix her condition. And the surgery was successful.

(on camera): Macey is doing well and returned to Texas with mom and grandma while Scott returned to Pensacola to see what he could reclaim from their hurricane damaged home.

M. DILORETO: Our perception is completely changed on what the devastation of what a hurricane can bring, just based on her condition being in the hospital, we didn't even have time to think about our house.

GUPTA (voice-over): Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Courting the youth vote: Big names worked hard to turn out big numbers on Tuesday. Did they get the results they wanted? We'll take a closer look.

And later, buy your popcorn and pack your bags. We'll take you to some of the big screens greatest getaways. This is CNN LIVE SATURDAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Well, some high school student in Colorado found a way to have a voice in the political process. About 70 students staged an all-night sit in at the Boulder High School Library, demanding to speak with political leaders. The students say they're worried about a possible draft, the national debt, and the environment. The principal allowed the students to stay overnight Thursday as long as they made it to class on Friday, which they did, after talking to officials from both political parties.

Well, John Kerry hoped young Americans would turn out in high numbers to give him the edge in the race for the White House. They did turn out, but it wasn't enough for the Kerry team. Early estimates show 20 million voters between the ages of 18 and 29 cast ballots on Tuesday. That's up nine percent over the turn out in 2000. Ian Row is with MTV's Choose or Lose campaign, he joins us from New York today.

And, how are you, Ian?

IAN ROW, MTV'S "CHOOSE OR LOSE": I'm -- we're great.

WHITFIELD: All right.

ROW: Those numbers demonstrate young people came out in great numbers this year.

WHITFIELD: Well, was the expectations perhaps just too high that one candidate, however, might benefit the most?

ROW: Well, there was never an expectation that one candidate or the other had the youth vote. I mean, most people don't realize four years ago, amongst 18 to 29 year olds, 48 percent voted for Gore, and 46 percent voted for Bush, so it's a bit of a myth that any one candidate has -- has the vote.

You know, four years ago, nearly 17.6 million 18 to 30 year olds voted, and we, all year long, set a very ambitious goal for young people, 20 million -- 20 million to vote and as you see, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) are actually nearly 21 million, 18 to 29-year-olds close voted. Which means that we far exceeded that goal for 18 to 30- year-olds, So we're really exited about that.

WHITFIELD: Hmm. Of those numbers though, does it appear that of those numbers, the Republican Party benefited the most in terms of having the majority of the youth vote as opposed in 2000 it was the Democrats?

ROW: Well, what's interesting that over the course of the year, throughout our polling, it was about a third, a third, a third. A third Bush, a third Kerry and a third undecided. And toward the end of the campaign, we definitely noticed that young, undecided voters were gravitating toward Senator Kerry and we think in part because Senator Kerry made himself available. He gave five interviews to MTV to speak directly to the issues that young people are concerned about. And President Bush didn't do any interviews, and that was the first time in the entire history of "Choose or Lose," since 1992 that a presidential candidate has not come on the air, including President Bush in 2000, who came on twice. And our audience certainly noticed that Senator Kerry came on that frequently.

WHITFIELD: Is it your feeling that members in either party are kind of missing the point, that really more credit needs to be given to the young people for getting registered in great numbers and for actually turning out and not voting as one big monolith, but voting as individuals?

ROW: Absolutely. And today I saw an editorial which said, "Young people voted in record numbers. What's wrong with young people?" You know, it's just -- there's this constant criticism of young people.

Yes, there was a surge in youth voting and there was a surge in voting in other age demographics, but somehow young people are now being criticized for not voting in numbers even bigger than they did. So, we should really be celebrating the fact young people came out -- you know, despite all of the conventional wisdom against them.

And the same concerns that they had throughout the year, when more than 30 million viewers were watching our "Choose or Lose" programming on the issues about the war, about education, about the economy, those are the same concerns that they have today.

So, in that piece you just showed of young people protesting at their school, our audience is still engaged, and now more than ever, they'd really like to have an interactive dialogue with the president to talk about the issues they're still concerned about.

WHITFIELD: So, in the past you've heard of young voters who speak of their apathy because they feel like their vote really doesn't make a difference. So, for those young voters who did turn out, who perhaps feel like -- you know, they were throwing their support behind either Nader or Kerry, their candidate didn't win. How do you capture those voters so they don't lose the desire come next election time, they're still as motivated and excited about casting their ballots?

ROW: Absolutely. Well first of all, we give them a huge thank you and congratulations to let them know no matter who they vote for they personally won because they're part of the political process. You know, we tell stories of a kid, 25-year-old Christ Herzfeld, who recently came back from the war and he had joined the military to pay for school and suddenly found himself dodging bullets in Iraq. But, when he tells our audience that he didn't vote in 2000, no matter how you feel about the war, that has a huge impact, because our audience sees that here's someone that looks just like me and he didn't have a voice in a decision that was made by the president of the United States. And so we continue to send this message that you've got to be engaged and it's not just four years from now. Every year, we take on social issues where we encourage our audience to take action on issues that they're most concerned about.

WHITFIELD: All right. Ian Row, president of MTV's "Choose or Lose." Your campaign is not over, instead it's intensifying. That's always good to hear.

ROW: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Thanks a lot, Ian.

ROW: Great.

WHITFIELD: Well coming up, Yasser Arafat's health and what it means politically for the Middle East. We'll have a live update on Arafat's condition from Paris.

Plus the latest from Ramallah, where security officials are working to keep the peace there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Bottom of the hour, and "Now in the News": Insurgents in a volatile Iraqi city are stepping up their attacks. Officials say at least 34 people were killed earlier today in the city of Samarra north of Baghdad. Thousands of American and Iraqi forces battled militants in Samarra just last month.

American forces are keeping a close watch on another city in Iraq, west of Baghdad, they're preparing for an all-out assault on the rebel stronghold of Fallluja. U.S. Marines say they believe about 3,000 hard core insurgents are dug in throughout Falluja.

American warplanes have bombed rebel targets over the last few days to soften up positions ahead of the expected assault.

In this country, days after the U.S. presidential race, reports of vandalism at the Republican Party headquarters in North Carolina. Authorities say the suspects caused some smoke damage in the Raleigh office. Windows were also broken and posters with political messages were scattered. Police say several suspects have been detained, but so far no charges have been filed. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is still clinging to life this weekend. He remains critically ill in a French hospital and doctors are keeping him in a coma to prevent him from moving. For the latest on Arafat's condition, her is CNN's Fionnuala Sweeny in Paris - Fionnuala?

FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, what we're hearing is sources are telling CNN that Yasser Arafat was induced into a light coma Wednesday evening following a deterioration in his health in order to immobilize him, as you say.

Apparently he has inflamed organs and it would be very damaging to him if he were able to move.

Other sources telling CNN that the president is in critical condition, that he is unconscious and that his condition is stable.

The last official word we had from the hospital was this time yesterday evening when we were told that his condition had not deteriorated; it remained the same as it had the day before. Here we are this evening outside the hospital, unlikely to expect or anticipating any word from the hospital as to Yasser Arafat's state of health.

Here just further, down the road to my left, is a demonstration taking place of some 200 Palestinian supporters and well wishers. They have been here for the last 48 hours or so, since news first broke of the deterioration in Yasser Arafat's health -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Fionnuala Sweeney. Thanks so much for that update from Paris.

Arafat supporters are keeping up hopes their 75-year-old leader will pull through his health crisis, but privately, Palestinian leaders are weighing the prospects of life after Arafat. CNN's Michael Holmes is with us now, from Ramallah, in the West Bank, to tell us what the mood is there -- Michael?

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, indeed, that is the case. Nobody, on the record anyway, wants to preempt the Palestinian president's death to openly planning for a successor or successors, neither do they want to seem to be openly planning where he might be buried. They see that as unseemly.

Behind the scenes, however, talks are taking place on both those issues. In a more public sense, we saw the Palestinian prime minister this day go to Gaza, a rare trip there by him. He left Ramallah, traveled there for what turned out to be an extraordinary meeting. It was a meeting of a variety of factions, all of the major security forces -- and there are several in Gaza -- who were in attendance.

And perhaps more interestingly also representatives from groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, all called together to try to bring about a scene of unity among all Palestinian groups as this crisis unfolds. First time all these groups have come together since this crisis began. It was described by many there as a very positive meeting and here is what the prime minister, Ahmed Qorei had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AHMED QOREI, PALESTINIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): It was a very important meeting. It may be the first of its kind where the government, the legislative council, and heads of security forces have met with the leaders of national and Islamic movements.

It was held under the banner in faithfulness to the leading brother, President Arafat. May god bring him back healthy soon. That he will continue leading this march.

We discussed a number of fundamental issues, which effect all of our people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, Gaza, of course, is a place where in recent weeks and months we have seen various armed groups fighting with some of those security officers in the streets of Gaza. It's a place many feel in the wake of Arafat's demise, should that happen, that a power vacuum could lead to more armed clashes as various groups struggle for power.

As a result of this meeting, Fredricka, a couple of things were agreed to. First, security patrols by those security forces, joint patrols, significantly, too, by these groups who don't always see eye- to-eye themselves and have different bosses on the ground.

Also, there was a letter announcing the formation of what's been called a follow-up committee that has all the groups, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad saying they want a say in any major policy decisions taken by the Palestinian Authority in Yasser Arafat's absence -- Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: And, Michael, what are ordinary Palestinians saying and thinking out loud?

HOLMES: Initially, you do get a sense -- well, people will tell you they don't want to discuss Yasser Arafat dying, because they say, A, he is not dead yet and B, we hope he gets better and comes back again.

In the last couple of days there has been more acceptance on the streets of the reality that maybe, maybe he may not be coming back. Then, what surfaces is the fear of what may follow, whether there will be a transition to some sort of cooperative, collaborative government in the interim until elections hopefully can be held. Or whether there would be some sort of battle for ascendancy among the various groups.

A lot of people on the streets are very concerned where it may go if he should die -- Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right, Michael Holmes, in Ramallah. Thanks so much for that update. As Yasser Arafat under goes treatment in France, violence continued in his homeland. There are reports of three Palestinian deaths today in the West Bank. Palestinian medical sources say a teenager died after being shot in the head in Jenin. And two members of an Islamic militant group were killed when their car exploded in another West Bank town.

Yasser Arafat's health problems raise new questions and concerns about the peace process in the Middle East overall. It's an issue that's likely to be a serious concern for President Bush in his second term. CNN's Guy Raz reports from Jerusalem.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: God bless his soul.

GUY RAZ, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The subdued reaction of an American president wrongly informed that Yasser Arafat had died.

But Arafat's condition has, once again, thrust the Israeli/Palestinian conflict to the top of President Bush's foreign policy agenda.

BUSH: The Middle East peace is a very important part of a peaceful world. I have been working on Middle Eastern peace ever since I have been the president.

RAZ: A second Bush term, combined with the possibility of a new Palestinian leadership may resurrect the faltering Middle East peace process.

SHARON PERS, FMR. ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: It's going to come to something quite inviting, a new opportunity.

RAZ: Former Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmood Abbas (ph) is no stranger to President Bush. The two have met before. Abbas, also know as Abu Mazin, has been closely linked to the peace process.

Abbas is now running the Palestinian Liberation Organization in Arafat's absence and has been involved in the Palestinian struggle since its inception.

ALI JURBAWI, PALESTINIAN ANALYST: The Palestinians are willing to work with the new administration, provided that the terms of the political settlement are not determined only and solely in Televiv.

RAZ: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has refused to deal with Yasser Arafat, so too, the Bush administration. In the past taking its cue from Sharon.

JURBAWI: With Mr. Arafat, or after Mr. Arafat, the question lies with Mr. Sharon, if he wants to insist the settlement should only be under Israeli conditions, I don't think he would have a political settlement. RAZ: Israel plans to pull out its settlement in Gaza by the end of next year. The process was to take place without Palestinian input. Now in a possible post-Arafat era, speculation is that Israel will be forced to coordinate that move with his successors.

And who might they be? Aside from Mahmoud Abbas, current Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei is a likely possibility. So is Marwan Barghouti (ph), one of the most popular Palestinian leaders, but now serving a jail sentence in Israel.

(on camera): But no matter who takes over in the interim, the road to Jerusalem may ultimately run through Washington. Europe and the Arab League both see resolving the Palestinian/Israeli crisis is key to Middle East stability. The White House now has to decide whether it shares that is view. Guy Raz, CNN, Jerusalem.

When CNN LIVE SATURDAY continues, find out what to do when the playground bully winds up in your office.

Later, movie-style vacations. Turning those big screen sets into real life travel destinations.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Time for our weekly visit from "The Ethics Guy". Today we look at office bullies and parking lot temptations. Joining us from New York, professional ethicists, Bruce Weinstein, also known as "The Ethics Guy".

Good to see you this Saturday.

BRUCE WEINSTEIN, THE ETHICS GUY: You too, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Let's begin with this letter from someone who wants to know what to do about the office bully. It reads: "We have in our group someone who can easily be described as classic office bully. This person has through the years made numerous verbal threats to approximately 15 different co-workers. Three of the workers in our group have confided that they feel that their life is threatened by this very same person. Our management knows about this problem, but refuses to openly acknowledge the problem and refuses to deal with it directly."

What should they do?

WEINSTEIN: Fredricka, all of us have a moral right not to be harassed. We have a right to be left alone. We have a right to be protected from assaults. In the workplace, what this means, is that our employer has an ethical responsibility to protect us from harm.

WHITFIELD: But it looks like their manager is not doing anything. What are their options?

WEINSTEIN: The good news is in any hierarchical situation, which is how most companies are run, we do have recourse. Now almost certainly this company has a violence in the workplace policy that directs employees who are threatened by other employees in how to respond to the assault.

Most likely the employee who has been assaulted will be instructed to report the problem to his or her supervisor. And if that doesn't meet with result, to go to his or her supervisor and on and on up the food chain, so to speak.

WHITFIELD: Find the owner.

WEINSTEIN: Until we get to human resources.

Now, there may be a legal claim. I'm not a legal analyst. This is ethic advice, if you will, not legal advice. But almost certainly any legal claim would not be valid until one has exhausted all of the means for grievance.

WHITFIELD: And it seems like they have power in numbers if they have about 15 people who have very similar complaints. It should be able to go somewhere.

WEINSTEIN: It's very important to take note of this, to have written evidence of the problem, to let other people know about the problem, so that one is not alone. But the bottom line, from an ethical perspective is that our employer has a right to protect us from harm, from bullies.

WHITFIELD: So, put the pressure on management to do something?

WEINSTEIN: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: All right, here is another e-mail. This one from Ray Wicoff in Gilbert, Arizona, "In the grocery store parking lot on my way to my car I notice a pack of soda in the bottom of a cart. I figure it has been paid for. Is it OK to take it, since it doesn't deprive the store owner who has probably received his money. My son actually did this."

WEINSTEIN: It is not right to take a six-pack of soda that you see in a shopping cart, simply because it does not belong to you. The technical term for taking something that doesn't belong to us, is theft or as Gomer Pyle's grandmother once put it in an episode, ill- gotten gains.

Ill-gotten gains. That is what this amounts to. Certainly, if the person who noticed their soda missing from his or her shopping bag, later on when back to the store and found out that it was missing, he or she would have to buy another six pack.

The right thing to do would return to the soda to the store and let them know if it's not claimed in a day or two, ask them whether they can have it. It's simply wrong to take something that doesn't belong to us.

WHITFIELD: Right.

WEINSTEIN: You know, Fredricka, there are a lot of difficult ethical problems in the world. This isn't one of them. This is pretty...

WHITFIELD: Isn't it amazing that people find that is a question they need to ask?

WEINSTEIN: I know. And for this fellow, Ray, from Arizona, to right that his son actually did this, it seems to me what Ray might want to consider is reprimanding his son for taking something that didn't belong to him.

WHITFIELD: Right. If it's not yours, don't touch it.

WEINSTEIN: Exactly. It's not that hard.

WHITFIELD: As simple as that.

All right, well, thanks very much for clarifying it for those of us who perhaps find it rather difficult to make those decisions.

Thanks, Bruce.

WEINSTEIN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: If you have an ethics question, e-mail your dilemma to ethics@cnn.com and join us next week for another visit from "The Ethics Guy".

Coming up, going on location for your next vacation, perhaps? We will show you the hottest spots for big screen movie makers, and how to make them part of your next vacation.

And this ...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wish you could have seen the look on my fellow comrade faces as your packages were being passed out.

WHITFIELD: A special thank you to troops in Iraq.

Well, movies can offer stunning locations filled with spectacular scenery. Here is a great example, the new movie, "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason" filmed in London. It might be a place you want to check out. Ever thought about going to one of those big screen settings for a vacation?

The November issue of "Travel + Leisure" magazine can point you in the right direction. It outlines sites made famous by films. Nilou Notamed is a senior editor at "Travel + Leisure" and she joins us now from New York.

Good to see you, Nyla.

NYLA NOTAMED, SR. EDITOR, "TRAVEL+LEISURE": Hi, Fredricka. How are you?

WHITFIELD: Pretty good. Besides shopping, we know London is a great place to go, but some of us want life to kind of imitate art. So, why should we go to London?

NOTAMED: Especially if you're a little sick of politics in the U.S. right now, this might be the perfect time to head to London.

And follow our favorite singleton and find her footsteps whether in Hyde Park, Primrose Park, the new movie "Edge of Reason" has London as a back drop. It's a great way to rediscover a city you may know, or discover a city for the first time, based on what you saw in the movie.

WHITFIELD: Maybe you want to stick with Europe or maybe head south and check out Rome, perhaps a tour down Fillini film memory lane.

MOTAMED: I know Fillini memorabilia, definitely, "La Dolce Vita" ingrained Rome in everyone's mind. So did "Roman Holiday". I think rent a Vespa, go to Rome, and just tool around. And go to the Trevi Fountain (ph), don't go in the water.

WHITFIELD: That's risky, renting a Vespa. You have to know how to drive in that town.

MOTAMED: Go slow. It's better than a car. It is definitely better than walking.

WHITFIELD: Oh, I kind of felt nervous even walking there.

MOTAMED: Those cobblestones are rough on your shoes. I think a Vespa might be a better call.

WHITFIELD: Maybe you want to stay state side, Napa Valley, or something to that extent seems intriguing enough, Santa Barbara.

MOTAMED: If you're into wine, Santa Barbara, is a burgeoning wine region. There's a great new movie called "Sideways" that is just out. The director is an Angelino and he decided this is a great area that he loves. It is really beautiful. Why not base his whole movie there.

These two guys, it's kind of a buddy film about guys having a middle age life crisis. What's great is they go to all these wineries and discover about the wine in Santa Barbara.

What's wonderful is Santa Barbara County has put out a new map where you can follow the steps of the movie. So you don't have to go at it alone.

WHITFIELD: Not necessarily Napa, or Sonoma, but Santa Barbara.

MOTAMED: A new one.

WHITFIELD: All right, that sounds good. Well, the Bahamas, "After The Sun Set", a movie coming out soon. Perhaps it might inspire a lot of folks to head to the tropics.

MOTAMED: Head to the beach, is what I say. That is what Selma Hayek, she is on our cover this month, talking about three months she stayed in Bahamas filming "After Sunset" And most of the films is set all around the island, it is set in a large part on Atlantis, which is an aquatic themed resort, kind of a Vegas style, everything goes kind of place.

WHITFIELD: You won't get a deal, are you? Aren't we heading into peak season?

MOTAMED: You're absolutely right, Fredricka. We still have a little bit of time. November is still shoulder season. You could get deals right now.

WHITFIELD: Maybe you want to get on a plane and travel for a really long time, because "Lord of the Rings" inspires you. New Zealand always a beautiful place, but gosh it takes so long to get there.

MOTAMED: It does take a long time. The key is getting an upgrade going business class. It makes a big difference.

I would recommend if people are into the trilogy and if they are crazy about "The Lord of The Rings", and can't get enough of Gandalf, why not go on a day tour of 18 of the sites from the movie. And Wanaka Tours (ph) has set up this great idea. I think it is lovely.

First, they actually set you up so you can see what you would look like as a hobbit. They take a little photo of you in miniature and then take you to all these great sites you loved in the movie. It's amazing to me the movie is not as much CGI as you would think. It's really, really real.

WHITFIELD: All right, that sounds like fun.

Nilou Motamed, thanks so much, with "Travel + Leisure" magazine.

MOTAMED: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Coming up, one woman's mission to bring the holidays to the troops in Iraq a few months early.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Across the country, people have come up with creative ways to show gratitude for U.S. troops fighting in Iraq. CNN's Denise Belgrave met one Georgia woman who brings new meaning boosting troop moral.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DENISE BELGRAVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): For troops in Iraq, she's the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, Santa Clause all wrapped up in one.

GLORIA RUCKS, DAVE & GLORIA'S BARBER SHOP: If I can help them in anyway, I will do everything I can do to do it, so they will feel like we love them and they haven't been forgotten. A very emotional project, I cry nearly every day.

BELGRAVE: Gloria Rucks, a barber by trade turned her tears into action by mobilizing her community to provide care packages to National Guard troops. She got help from Tim Markham's company, which designed special boxes for the project.

TIM MARKHAM, ROCK-TENN COMPANY: For what our soldiers are going through in Iraq. We see it in the paper every day. It's the least we can do.

BELGRAVE: And even though there was some skepticism at first, Rucks has seen even the weary turn a compassionate cheek.

RUCKS: The police came in, checked us out to make sure it wasn't a scam. Then they found out it wasn't. And they took a box to the police station, filled it up and brought it in.

BELGRAVE: Rucks says it's an enormous task soliciting thousands of dollars in contributions and packing hundreds of boxes, and making countless runs to the post office, but she says it's the thank you notes that keep her going.

RUCKS: "Dear David & Gloria: Thank you so much for your care package. It's awesome! I tried the Bumble Bee and crackers tonight. It was a gourmet meal.

Everything you sent will be used and enjoyed. Believe me. I wish you could have seen the look on my fellow comrades faces as your packages were being passed out. Christmas in August. Oh, yeah."

BELGRAVE: How much longer will she keep it up?

RUCKS: Till the last box back there is gone.

BELGRAVE (on camera): How many boxes do you have back there?

RUCKS: I started out with 1600. I've done 800 -- I've got 800 more to go.

BELGRAVE (on camera): These cards were made by the local Girl Scout troop and they're a good example of how Gloria Rucks project is not only serving the troops but is also fostering a strong sense of community in this Georgia suburb -- Denise Belgrave, CNN, Norcross, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Still so much more ahead on CNN SATURDAY. In a few moments "In The Money". At 2 Eastern, the latest on a series of violent attacks in Iraq on CNN LIVE SATURDAY. At 3 it is "Next @ CNN" with a look at how technology now allows people to create their own prescription eye glasses That is coming up after a quick check of today's top stories.

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