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CNN Live Saturday

Problems Already Plague Mahmoud Abbas; Charles Graner Testifies In Penalty Phase; Ohio Continues To Flood

Aired January 15, 2005 - 14:00   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 2 p.m. on the East Coast, 11 a.m. out West. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at CNN's global headquarters in Atlanta. Ahead this hour, giving his side of the story. The soldier at the center of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal gives his side of the story. We will have a live report from Fort Hood, Texas.
A frightening avalanche on Utah's ski slopes. Now hoping is dimming for five missing skiers. I'll speak with the sheriff from Summit County about today's search.

Plus, his reign as the Palestinian Authority president is just a few hours old, but renewed militant attacks and eye-raising resignations are already plaguing Mahmoud Abbas' tenure.

Those stories in a moment, but first, a look at the headlines.

Firefighters in Oklahoma City are still on the scene of a massive fire at an oil company that distributes kerosene, methanol and ethanol. The heat and flames so intense that firefighters have not been able to enter the facility. They're allowing the fire to burn itself out to prevent a hazardous runoff. The Associated Press reports more than 50 people living near nearby were told to evacuate.

The U.S. military is so far giving no details of the death of a U.S. Marine south of Baghdad. The Marine was killed in action in Babil Province, where insurgent attacks are common.

The first lawsuits have been filed after that deadly South Carolina train wreck. Some of the 1,900 residents are still unable to return to their homes more than a week after the accident released toxic chemicals. Nine people were killed, and hundreds said they became sick from the leaking chlorine gas. Later this hour, we'll hear from a couple affected by that incident.

Within the past half hour, Army Reserve Specialist Charles Graner wrapped up more than two hours of testimony in the penalty phase of his court martial. Graner was found guilty by a military jury yesterday.

Prosecutors say Graner was the ringleader of detainee abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. CNN's Susan Candiotti is covering the proceedings and joins us from Fort Hood, Texas -- Susan.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Fredricka. Yes, he took about two and a half hours to tell his side of the story to this jury, the same jury that convicted, the same jury that will decide his prison sentence -- if he is to receive one.

Now, when he was on the stand, near the tail end of it, he did tell the jury this. He said, quote, "I didn't enjoy it. A lot of it was wrong. A lot of it was criminal."

And as he left the courthouse, during a lunchtime break, I asked him, as a former prison guard himself, how did he think he would be treated? He said, "professionally."

I asked him, it didn't sound as though you made an apology, it just -- you just said it was wrong. And he said, "Yes, it was wrong." His lawyer told me he thought he actually did apologize.

And he also told the jury that convicted him that he respected their decision, and that he understood it. After that, he went into great detail about some of the testimony that we have heard about throughout this trial. In fact, at one point he said, we were called upon to violate the Geneva Convention. He called the treatment that the prisoners received, some of it irregular. And in fact, he referred to some of the photographs that we have seen, including the famous one of the naked pyramid, bodies of detainees stacked one on top of the other. Referring to that, he said, quote, "A lot of the weird stuff came from civilian contractors. Some of the crazy stuff," he said, "came from military intelligence."

Now, he said that he did report some of this to his superiors. And at one time, he said he was told, quote, "If military intelligence asked you to do this, they're in charge. Do it."

He was also asked why he was smiling in some of the photographs that we have seen. In response, he said this, quote, "There were a lot of things that we did that were screwed up. If you didn't look at it as funny, you couldn't deal with it."

Now, Fredricka, this was an unsworn statement that Specialist Charles Graner made to this jury. And the testimony is not yet done. When they come back from a lunch break, they will hear just a little bit more, we expect, then receive instructions.

And after that, there will be closing statements, of course, then this jury will begin deliberations on a sentence. Graner could receive as much as 15 years in a military prison. Fred?

WHITFIELD: And Susan, why unworn testimony during the penalty phase? Does this mean that he is less inclined, or he does not have to reveal names, point fingers, et cetera?

CANDIOTTI: No, this is a calculated decision on the part of his defense attorney. If it is unsworn, that means that the prosecutors cannot cross-examine him, as they do other witnesses. Now, a bit curious, because at the end of the evening last night, one thing Specialist Graner said was, when I take the stand, I'm going to raise my hand and swear to God (AUDIO GAP) hear a story. He didn't take an oath after all.

Now, of course, the jury will take this into consideration, the fact that he didn't take an oath, didn't swear in before he spoke to them. And now they can consider it if they wish.

WHITFIELD: All right. The same jury comprised of four officers and six enlisted members. Susan Candiotti at Fort Hood, Texas, thank you so much.

A military judge convicted Army Staff Sergeant Cardanis Alban (ph) of murder yesterday, for an alleged mercy killing in Iraq. U.S. Troops had found a wounded teenager in a burning truck. Investigators said soldiers thought he was so seriously injured that their best course of action was to put him out of his misery.

Alban (ph) was sentenced to a year in prison. Another sergeant pleaded guilty in the same killing last year and received a three-year prison sentence.

Well, search crews in Utah are hoping to find as many as five people believed buried under 30 feet of snow following a massive avalanche near Park City. Officials say the skiers were in an out-of- bounds area of The Canyons Resort when the wall of snow came roaring down yesterday afternoon.

One witness said the avalanche site looks like someone, quote, "took a knife and cut through the side of the mountain."

Utah authorities say they're using every available piece of technology and equipment they have to try to locate the missing skiers. But they say it would be a miracle to find anyone alive after all of this time. Summit County Sheriff David Edmunds joins us now by phone with the latest from the scene.

And how is the search going right now?

SHERIFF DAVID EDMUNDS, SUMMIT CO. SHERIFF DEPT.: Well, it's going very slow, unfortunately. And we suspected that it would. And the conditions are not the best out here. And safety is obviously our number one concern. And we're just moving through it very slowly and meticulously right now.

WHITFIELD: What's your understanding of how these skiers got in an area that was ordinarily roped off?

EDMUNDS: Well, they -- it was a blatant disregard for the lines that were established, the out-of-bound lines. They evidently were thrill-seekers that wanted to go out and get some of the fresh stuff, and maybe go get some powder. And they just blatantly disregarded all the warnings to not go outside the boundaries.

WHITFIELD: Were there witnesses? Are you so sure that there are five skiers?

EDMUNDS: Well, we're not so sure about that. We have witnesses -- there are several witnesses, and they're somewhat conflicting in what they've told us. We believe there are multiple victims. At this point we only have one confirmed, and that's a male in his mid-20s that we truly believe is trapped in this slide. But we believe there could be several others, according to the witnesses.

WHITFIELD: Right now, we're looking at videotape shot earlier of the snowy conditions. Give us an idea of what the conditions are right now. And how potentially dangerous it is for the searchers to be in an area where apparently avalanches have frequented the whole state of Utah for now this entire season, claiming six lives overall?

EDMUNDS: Yeah, you know, the avalanche danger has been through the roof for the last couple of weeks. And that remains the same today. We have done some avalanche control in the area. Our searchers we don't believe are in any danger or we would pull them off the hill.

At this point, they're just going to go slowly. And if there is any danger that presents itself, I will immediately pull them off the hill.

WHITFIELD: All right. Sheriff David Edmunds of Summit County, thank you so much for joining us. Continued luck as you continue your search for now these, what we believe to be, five missing skiers.

EDMUNDS: Thank you very much.

WHITFIELD: People evacuated from the area around a leaking dam in Corona, California. And they're being urged to stay away until Monday. Residents were ordered out yesterday after a temporary barrier at the Prado Dam began seeping water. To ease pressure on the structure, the Army Corps of Engineers unleashed more than 10,000 cubic feet of water per second into the Santa Ana River.

Meanwhile, In La Conchita, scene of a deadly mudslide earlier in the week, which claimed 10 lives. Officials say it could take up to a week for gas and electricity to be restored there. Residents were allowed to return to their homes yesterday, but were warned the bluff is still unstable.

Tune in to CNN tonight for an exclusive interview from a woman who survived the mudslide. Carol Lin talks to Diane Hart this evening.

The skies have cleared in much of the Ohio River Valley, but folks in the flooded region are not letting their guard down just yet. Many rivers and creeks in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky are still above flood stage. And a state of emergency is still in place in some of those areas.

In one town in Ohio, it's an especially tough time. The high water comes just months after another flood. CNN's Alina Cho reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA CHO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): If Marietta is Ohio's oldest city, Rob Schafer is its oldest merchant.

(on camera): How long has your store been here?

ROBERT SCHAFER, OWNER, SCHAFER'S LEATHER STORE: One-hundred- thirty-eight years.

CHO: Since what year?

SHAFER: Since 1867.

CHO (voice over): Schafer's has Marietta's largest leather collection. It also was built at an angle.

SCHAFER: It tapers to the front. So when the water recedes, you help it along with mops and hoses, and push the mud right out the front door.

CHO: That's exactly what happened last Friday when the Ohio River flooded. Rob Schaeffer knew it was coming and cleared out his store.

DON MURRAY, OWNER, BRIGHTER DAY: This is our grocery store, and our health food store.

CHO: Don Murray owns Brighter Day. Four months ago, the last time the Ohio spilled out of its banks, his gift was a sinkhole.

MURRAY: It's pretty famous. It's gotten a lot of press.

CHO: After cleaning up and opening up for a couple of months, last week's flood ruined his renovation.

MURRAY: Well, we're going to be closed for 15 days. And that's a real drain on us.

CHO: Marietta, population 15,000, is at the center of Ohio's two largest rivers. Historically, the waterways were used as roadways. Today the Mayor Michael Mullen says more cargo flows through here each year than through the Panama Canal. Mullen is a life-long resident.

MICHAEL MULLEN, MAYOR, MARIETTA, OHIO: It's the river that gives us the charm.

CHO (on camera): But it's also giving you a lot of headaches.

MULLEN: Well, we've had the two highest floods in the last 40 years, and unfortunately they've come in the last four months.

CHO: Rob Schaffer's business, built on a tilt, is safe, he says, so much so he doesn't have flood insurance. Asked if he'd ever move, he says ...

SCHAFER: Oh, nonsense. We are who we are because of the river. You take the good with the bad. And the good outweighs the bad.

CHO: Alina Cho, Marietta, Ohio.

(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: And as always, CNN keeps you up to date on what's in store for you weather-wise all over the nation. And now we're looking at what's behind it. Be sure to check out "Extreme Nature" a "Next@CNN" weather special, that is today at 3 Eastern, Noon on the West Coast.

It could be seen as a matter of one step forward and two steps back. After the break, why the swearing in of a new Palestinian leader is being plagued by decades-old problems.

Plus, preparing Iraq for its historic elections. Why Iraqis might be doing a lot more walking as ballot day nears.

And still ahead ...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to go home, but I want to know that I'm safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The lives interrupted by a South Carolina train disaster.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: As elections in Iraq get closer, officials there are looking for ways to improve security. The use of cars could be restricted in the days before and after the January 30 vote.

Insurgents have carried out scores of car bombings over the past year, and one day after a militant group says it kidnapped 15 Iraqi national guardsmen, U.S. officials say international forces will be on hand to back up local forces protecting voters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG. GEN. CARTER HAM: If Iraqi security forces find themselves in a situation that is beyond their capability, then multinational forces will be postured and prepared and well-rehearsed to reinforce those Iraqi security forces.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Voters will select a national assembly, which will appoint a new government and write an Iraqi constitution.

In the Middle East, new concerns for new Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, on his first day in office. Dozens of members of the Palestinian election commission resigned. They're complaining of intimidation and irregularities in last Sunday's voting. Among other things, they claim the Abbas campaign and security officials coerced them into extending the voting period by two hours. At least five senior officials and dozens much other workers quit. As Abbas took over the reigns of Palestinian leadership today, the troubled peace process suffered another setback. Israel broke off ties with Abbas and other Palestinian leaders after another bloody attack on Israelis earlier in the week. CNN's John Vause has the latest from Ramallah.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAHMOUD ABBAS, PRESIDENT, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY (through translator): I swear by the God Almighty to be faithful to the homeland.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): With one hand on the Koran, Mahmoud Abbas was sworn in as the second president of the Palestinian Authority.

ABBAS (through translator): May God be witness to my oath.

VAUSE: Palestinians, he said, are ready for peace, and called on Israel to resume negotiations stalled now for almost two years.

ABBAS (through translator): I say to the Israeli leadership and Israeli people, we are two peoples destined to live side by side and to share this land between us.

VAUSE: But there will be no talks. Israel suspended all contact, blaming the Palestinian leader for not doing enough to stop an attack on a Gaza border crossing Thursday, which left six Israeli civilians dead.

MARK HEGEY, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTRY: We want to engage. We want to negotiate. But we want to move ahead in the peace process. But we can't have a process while terrorism continues.

VAUSE: Palestinians, though, accuse Israel of undermining Mahmoud Abbas before he has a chance of winning a cease-fire agreement from militant groups.

SAEB EREKAT, CHIEF PALESTINAIN NEGOTIATOR: They decided to suspend talks with him. What kind of logic is this? I mean, the man did not even resume his office yet. Don't you give him a chance?

VAUSE: But the Israelis say Mahmoud Abbas has been effectively in charge of the Palestinian Authority, running the day-to-day affairs, ever since the death of Yasser Arafat two months ago. Enough time, they say, to act against the militants.

And while Abbas was being sworn in, armed gunmen clashed with Israeli forces in Gaza City. Israel says it was trying to stop mortars from being fired at a nearby Jewish settlement. At least six Palestinians were killed, according to residents, three, they say, were militants.

And to the south in Rafa, Palestinian security officials say another two people were killed by Israeli tank fire as they approached an unmanned Israeli outpost. Though there is now a new president of the Palestinian Authority, for now at least, it still looks like the same old bitter conflict -- John Vause, CNN, Ramallah.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Helping the victims of the Asian tsunami while protecting the bottom line. After the break, how corporate America is practicing a delicate balance between charity and capitalism.

Plus the number-two man at the Pentagon sees the tsunami devastation for himself. Find out what Paul Wolfowitz has to say about the future of U.S. military aid in the region.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz says the U.S. shares Indonesia's goal, that outside military aid forces leave by March 26th. Wolfowitz adds, he hopes the date is more of a goal rather than a deadline. He toured the devastation in some of the hardest hit areas of Aceh Province and will meet with Indonesian leaders tomorrow.

NBC is broadcasting a live and commercial-free concert to raise money for survivors of the tsunami. Among the celebrities scheduled to take part tonight, Madonna, George Clooney and Stevie Wonder. Called a "Concert of Hope", the event will also feature statements from President Clinton and Bush. Organizers say money raised from the special will go to the American Red Cross International Response Fund.

Well, as the focus of the tsunami disaster turns from to reconstruction many global businesses now see a big opportunity to increase sales and profits. We get the latest on that from CNN's Allan Chernoff in New York.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The need great. And American companies have responded. Donations of cash, goods and services topping $200 million. FedEx delivering 1.3 million pounds of relief supplies. Coca-cola giving more than 1 million bottles of water and $10 million in cash. Dow Chemical pledging $5 million in products and cash.

SARAH OPPERMAN, DOW CHEMICAL: All of us as individuals, as governments, and as corporations have a responsibility to do what we can, where we can, when this sort of tragedy happens.

CHERNOFF (on camera): Corporate America's generosity comes as the news media spotlight is focused on the tsunami. But in a few months, when that spotlight fades, and the process moves from relief to reconstruction, what role should companies play? Do they have a moral obligation to continue donating goods and services, or will it be business as usual?

(voice over): The U.S. Agency for International Development is coordinating America's response. Its director says reconstruction is usually the point where charity ends and business begins. ANDREW NATSIOS, DIRECTOR, USAID: We will do both. But we separate the two. We're going to put out to bid, for competitive bid, contracts for some of the reconstruction, and any company that wants to bid on it that has expertise in reconstruction can bid on it.

CHERNOFF: The World Bank is assessing Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives, working with the effected governments to come up with rebuilding plans that will offer business opportunities.

JAMES WOLFENSHOHN, PRESIDENT, WORLD BANK: In each country, within two weeks, we have to have a preliminary assessment. We have signed, already, a memorandum of understanding with the Indonesian government for a program of some $300 million, which gets us started on the basic essentials of reconstruction.

CHERNOFF: That will mean profit opportunities for major American contractors, such as Halliburton, which has donated more than $100,000 for relief.

In a statement, Halliburton says, "We are currently speaking with our customers to see where we can help in the relief and rebuilding efforts in Southeast Asia."

Corporate ethics experts say you can't expect companies to work for no profit. While donations can satisfy moral responsibilities, pursuing contracts even in disaster-stricken regions is part of a company's obligation to shareholders and employees. Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: They were among the thousands forced from their homes by deadly toxic fumes. After the break, I'll speak with two South Carolina evacuees who have finally been given the go-ahead to return to their homes.

Plus, predicting America's future threats 15 years down the line, find out which nation, a government report forecasts, will rival the U.S. for super power status.

(COLD & FLU REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Bottom of the hour. And topping our news, army reserve specialist Charles Graner, the alleged ringleader in the Abu Ghraib Prison scandal testified today he was only following orders. Graner took the stand in the penalty phase of his court martial. He could face up to 15 years in prison for abusing detainees at an Iraqi prison. A military jury convicted Graner yesterday.

Near a ski resort in Utah the search for avalanche victims in has resumed. Search crews are using dogs in their effort to find the bodies of up to five people believed to be buried under 30 feet of snow. One official says the odds of finding survivors is very, very low. Several thousand people in Anderson, Indiana, awaiting word on when it's safe to return to their homes. They were evacuated yesterday after a fire broke out at a Magnesium recycling planted. There is no word of any injuries. Today workers with the EPA are sampling the air around the plant.

In the theater of world politics, the United States has taken center stage, but that may change in the future. Intelligence experts took a long-term look at global trends to try to make some predictions. In a report you'll only see on CNN, national security correspondent David Ensor says there could be big changes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The headline from the U.S. Intelligence community's report about the world in 2020, the rise of Asia, and especially China. The likely emergence of China and India, as well as others, as new major global players, says the report, will transform the geopolitical landscape with impacts potentially as dramatic as those in the previous two centuries.

JOHN GANNON, FRMR. CHAIR. NATL. INTEL. COUNCIL: They're moving from the century of the United States domination to one where it's going to have to share the stage with some very powerful actors. And China being the principal one.

ENSOR: The key to who thrives and who suffers could be how well each nation's people use new technology, genetically modified organisms and the like. The report says in 2020 the world will still be grappling with terrorism, although maybe not Al Qaeda.

ELLEN LAIPSIN, FMR. VICE CHAIR. NATL. INTEL. COUNCIL: There will be some kind of a loose network of terrorist groups that are very spread geographically.

ENSOR: The greatest new terrorist danger in 2020, the report says, could be bio-terror attacks that could kill millions.

GANNON: It is relatively easy, again, for a terrorist group to get access to the capabilities to build a bio-weapon.

ENSOR: The report contains imaginary scenarios, including one with this text message exchange between two arms dealers working together despite their different motivations. Yes, I know you're committed, says one. I'm in it for the money. It doesn't matter too much who pays, just as long as they do. I want my people and faith to be respected says the other. The bomb's important.

While the report says globalization should mean greater prosperity in 2020, worldwide and in the U.S., it warns that two developments could prevent that, a global pandemic or epidemic of major disease, or what it calls a cycle of fear, caused by multiple large-scale terrorist attacks that could lead governments to clamp down on personal liberties, travel and trade to a degree unimaginable today. The authors were careful not to predict the future of Iraq. At a briefing at the CIA, they said Iraq is too political a topic and there are just too many variables. It could go either way.

David Ensor, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: With so many potential threats all around us, what's being done to keep America safe? Starting Monday, we'll take a week- long look in a CNN security watch special series titled "Defending America" that starts Monday night at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

Well it's been more than a week since a train crash sent deadly chemicals into a South Carolina town. Nine people died. Hundreds of others got sick, and thousands were evacuated. Some Graniteville residents have been allowed to go to their homes. Others must still wait in nearby hotels. CNN's Heidi Collins looks at how some of them are coping with their forced relocations.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like watching TV, playing with my friends, puff girls and sponge bob.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): She is a child of the lint heads. The people that have worked the local cotton mill in Graniteville, South Carolina, for generations.

JUDY KEY, GRANITEVILLE RESIDENT: We was called lint heads because the cotton would get in your hair. A lot of people come out to me, you know, they didn't brush their hair, you know, comb their hair. They just come out like they was.

COLLINS: Abbey lives with her mom and grandmother Nanny. But for now, they live here, in a hotel filled with hundreds of other people who fled their homes one week ago. A train accident left deadly chlorine gas spewing into the air.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't know it happened. When it was on that train day. I didn't know it happened.

COLLINS: Nine people were killed. Hundreds injured and thousands, many of them family and neighbors, sent to hotels just like this one.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because I like going to hotels and stuff. Because hotels are fun.

COLLINS: Unaware of the tragedy around her --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't check mine.

COLLINS: She thinks of it as an adventure, but the adults know better.

KEY: He was in a wheelchair.

COLLINS: Some of the victims were friends.

KEY: And this Rusty Rustin (ph), we knew him.

COLLINS: Abbey and Nanny only live half a mile from where it happened.

KEY: Just sounded like just a hard thunderstorm.

COLLINS: They were evacuated from the area, forced out of their home, left with nothing but uncertainty.

KEY: You really don't know what to do. You don't know what questions to ask. All you can do is just set and watch TV.

COLLINS: Nanny and Abbey are just part of the old mill town community at the heart of Graniteville.

KEY: Where everybody knows everybody. Everybody works in the mill.

COLLINS: Their home, like the others in the neighborhood, built a century ago. Nanny's been in the same house for 37 years.

KEY: I don't know what kind of shape my house is in.

COLLINS: Making it that much harder to accept that gas may have damaged her beloved home beyond repair.

KEY: You know, you just hear so many rumors.

COLLINS: Officials have yet to get close enough to the accident site to learn what can and cannot be salvaged.

KEY: Some said they're going to burn them. Such rumors as that. I say, well, I said, if I have to, you know, move, leave home, I'm just going to find me a little old place with a pond in the front yard and fish the rest of my life.

TIM HEATH, GRANITEVILLE RESIDENT: Everybody grew up with everybody. It's a small town. It has everything you need.

COLLINS: Tim and Lynn Heath live right next door to Abbey and Nanny back at home. And now they are in the room right next door at the motel.

T. HEATH: I want to go home. But I want to know that I'm safe in my home. I'm nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

LYNN HEATH, GRANITEVILLE RESIDENT: I'm very scared. I'm scared for my daughter.

COLLINS: The future for them and their family also uncertain.

L. HEATH: The worst would be losing our home. Because we've lived there since me and my husband's been together. And he's been there since he was a kid. Ever since he was born.

COLLINS: When you think about going back, I hear you saying a lot of things about when I go back, or when it's safe. What if you can't go back at all?

T. HEATH: I haven't really thought about that. If you can't go back, you've got to go forward. You can't let something like this just stop you in your tracks. You take what life gives you.

COLLINS: Is it as simple as that?

T. HEATH: You have to make it as simple as that. Because if you don't, you dwell on it, and it eats you up on the insides. It just -- it's not worth looking at the negative aspects. Just look, you know -- kind of put blinders on and look straight ahead.

COLLINS: And straight into each other's arms if need be. Neighbors are family, they're one and the same for the people of this old mill town.

L. HEATH: We just look forward to going back home.

COLLINS: Wherever that home may be. Heidi Collins, CNN, Aiken County South Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The nation's highest court changes the way judges hand down prison sentences. Did the justices do the right thing in dismantling the 17-year-old system? Our legal eagles weigh in on the issue coming up next.

And still to come, we'll tell you which Hollywood stars could be seeing gold tomorrow night.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Earlier this week the U.S. Supreme Court ruled juries, not judges, should decide if there is a good reason to add time to a defendant's prison sentence. The ruling says judges have too much discretion in sentencing. And the high court declared part of the federal sentencing guidelines unconstitutional. Here to explain what this might mean, our legal roundup duo in New York, criminal defense attorney Richard Herman and in Cleveland, Ohio.

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Good afternoon.

WHITFIELD: Hello to you. Civil rights attorney and law professor Avery Friedman, good to see you as well.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Hi Fred, how are you?

WHITFIELD: All right, I'm doing pretty good. Richard let me begin with you. Who does this benefit, this ruling of the Supreme Court? HERMAN: It clearly benefits defendants and the defense bar. In one fell swoop, the United States Supreme Court just determined that sentences imposed on federal defendants for the past 21 years are unconstitutional. Unconstitutional. It's incredible. It took the Supreme Court so long to make this ruling, but on the other hand, we have to stand up and applaud that they had the guts to do it. Now, it was only a 5-4 decision, but it is an incredible decision by the Supreme Court. It gives hope to people who have been sentenced to ridiculous, ridiculous years and years in prison.

It gives them hope. And when you're incarcerated, Fred, the only thing you can live for is that hope. You're going to see appeals flooding the Supreme Court, and the Courts of Appeals throughout the country now. People are going to be taking these appeals, trying to redo their sentences.

WHITFIELD: And in fact Avery, that's my next question about the appellate process then, if it was inundated before, it's certainly going to be now.

FRIEDMAN: Well we are going to see more, Fredricka. Despite Richard's being excited in representing criminal defendants, there's a purity in this decision. The way I see it is, there's nothing more sacrosanct than our Bill of Rights and the American Constitution. And in there what the Supreme Court said is you know every American, if you're accused of a crime, is entitled to a trial by jury. What the Supreme Court did is say, you know what, Congress tried to do it, but they did it all wrong.

They boxed in federal district judges. And you know what, I like this decision, because I think federal judges don't need to be boxed in. I think they need that discretion to do justice. Because you've got to consider individuals and circumstances and what Congress tried to do is box them in, and it's a terrific decision. We're going to see justice being done.

WHITFIELD: But if this discretion Congress took away 21 years. It sounds like you've got an awful lot of cases that have already been signed, sealed and delivered over the past 21 years that are now going to raise their heads once again.

FRIEDMAN: Right. It's not retroactive. It's not retroactive.

HERMAN: We don't know that yet.

FRIEMDAN: Well, I think they made that fairly clear. And I agree, there's going to be some debate. But I think for the tens of thousands of pending cases, yes Richard's right, you're going to see a flood of motions seeking to apply this decision to the individual cases.

HERMAN: Fredricka, we don't really have time during this short segment to get into the intricacies of the decisions. On the one hand the Supreme Court has ruled that the federal guidelines are unconstitutional, and in part two of the decision, they say that the federal court judges should be guided by those guidelines. FRIEDMAN: Yes advisory.

HERMAN: They should be advised by those guidelines.

FRIEDMAN: Right.

HERMAN: So on the one hand, someone's sentence could be unconstitutional, but on the other hand, the judges should be guided by these unconstitutional guidelines. The courts are going to have ferret this out.

WHITFIELD: All right well it certainly seems like it may be the beginning all over with this.

FRIEDMAN: Congress is going to -- Congress will revisit it, Fredricka. One of the great minds of the United States Senate, constitutional minds, Allen Specter who is chairman of the judiciary committee, will consider it. To be honest with you I think he is going to proceed slowly. Because we want federal judges to have discretion, there's always a fight between Congress and the judiciary, always.

WHITFIELD: All right well let's move on to another case which always seems to elicit a whole lot of debate. And that being the Michael Jackson's case. Trial supposedly to begin some point this month. But Richard, you have to wonder now, with reports of leaks coming from grand jury testimony how much more complicated is it making for both the defense and the prosecution to proceed with a fair trial?

HERMAN: Well, Fred, you know, when these leaks come from the grand jury, and again, it's the prosecutors that control the grand jury process, and when these leaks come, they poison the public. They cripple a defendant's opportunity --

WHITFIELD: And these are salacious leaks. We're talking about leaks involving testimony from some of these witnesses that were unchallenged during the grand jury. Which are talking about some very specific allegations involving the sexual behavior of Michael Jackson, and a 15-year-old witness.

HERMAN: What that illustrates to me is that the prosecution's case is very weak. And they're looking to try to get an edge over the defense. That's the signal that's sent by all these leaks.

WHITFIELD: Weak or not, though, Richard, doesn't this potentially taint the jury pool in a very damaging way?

HERMAN: It's horrible. It happens throughout the country. Look at the Balco case. Look what happened there. All of a sudden, Jason Giambi came out of the woodwork and disclosed about steroid use because of grand jury leaks. Look what has happened in the Phil Specter case in California. These grand jury leaks are coming out.

WHITFIELD: So Avery how do you see this panning out potentially for this case? FRIEDMAN: Well, it's certainly not good news for Michael Jackson. I mean, the part I agree with, with Richard, is that somebody really should be accountable for grand jury leaks. This is supposed to be secret. And now we know what Tom Sneddon is going to put on. There were 42 witnesses, 1,900 pages, salacious is right, Fredricka. Terrible stuff that's going to come out. And you know in a grand jury, there is no cross-examination. So you have 100 percent of the prosecution's case. And this case is supposed to start trial the 31st of January. So let's see what effect that leak and it is a big one that is going to have on that jury pool.

HERMAN: And Fred whether you like Michael Jackson or you don't like Michael Jackson, he's entitled to a fair trial and he's entitled to a fair jury.

FRIEDMAN: That's right.

WHITFIELD: All right Richard Herman, Avery Friedman thanks so much to both of you.

HERMAN: Have a good day.

FRIEMDAN: Nice to see you.

WHITFIELD: Good to see you.

Well the first photos of Saturn's moon Titan show a pale orange surface covered by a thin haze methane and what could be a methane sea. In a landing straight out of science fiction, the Huygens space probe has been astounding scientists with spectacular pictures of the mysterious moon. Our own space correspondent Miles O'Brien is following this historic mission.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORESPONDENT (voice over): Beneath the haze, there was plenty to gaze at on the surface of Saturn's moon Titan. Gullies, rivers, and a sea all filled with methane. A strange place, but an oddly familiar one, too. A day to remember more than 20 years in the making.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I -- frankly, I cannot believe what I'm seeing. This is just -- I really didn't think we would have this kind of view.

O'BRIEN: The astounding view came courtesy of a nine-foot spacecraft that looked like a cheesy prop from a grade-b sci-fi movie. But it was an alien flying saucer for real named for the earthling who discovered Titan in 1655. The Huygens Probe parachutes as planned to the Titanic surface. Sampling the atmosphere, measuring the winds, and snapping hundreds of pictures.

JEAN JACQUES DORDAIN, ESA DIRECTOR GENERAL: So we are the first visitors of Titan. And scientific data that we are collecting now shall unveil the secrets of this new world. O'BRIEN: Huygen's heroes gathered at the European Space Agency Control Center in Germany. Out of his world with joy, as the improbable descent unfolded and the spacecraft phoned home on time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It looks like we've heard the baby crying.

O'BRIEN: Their baby was handy with its cameras, offering up an image that no one predicted. A rock-strewn landscape that looks like Mars, or Arizona, for that matter.

CAROLYN PORCO, CASSINI SCIENTSIST: We just didn't expect it to look this way. But there we are on the surface, and there are boulders of some sort. We're going to be working out how they came to be.

O'BRIENS: Scientists are fascinated by Titan because they believe it's like looking at Earth 4 billion years ago before life started simmering on the evolutionary range.

DAVID SOUTHWOOD, ESA DIRECTOR OF SCIENCE: I always think of Titan as the cooking pot that is like the early Earth. And you want to know whether it's really cooking. Once you see this, you see liquid on the surface. I believe we are cooking.

O'BRIEN: Miles O'Brien, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well the stars are coming out for a golden night. And that's not a weather forecast. It's a preview of one of Hollywood's biggest nights. The "Golden Globe Awards." Find out what's in store when CNN LIVE SATURDAY continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The Golden Globe is one of the major run ups to the Academy Awards Hollywood likes them because they give publicity to movies and performances, just as the Oscar ballots are being filled out. And the stars will be out in full force tomorrow night for the 62nd annual show. Sibila Vargas looks at who is in the running for a Golden Globe.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Leo, and Johnny, Nicole, and Renay. When the Hollywood foreign press throws an award show, they make room for big stars. This year is no different.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was America's first legitimate billionaire.

VARGAS: Dicaprio's nod came for playing aviation pioneer Howard Hughes. In fact every one of the nominees for best actor drama plays a real-life person.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come back to my place. I've got wine and cheeses and music, whatever. VARGAS: It wasn't a bio pick but an original story that earned the most Golden Globe nominations. That's "Side Ways," with seven including one for best musical or comedy and another for costar Virginia Madsen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't dare hope it would really happen.

VARGAS: Amongst others? "Side Ways" will face off with "Ray" a film that earned Jaimie Foxx one of the three acting nods. A new record for the Globes.

Among films' leading female contenders, Nicole Kidman for "Birth."

NICOLE KIDMAN: It's certainly a film that causes people to discuss it.

VARGAS: Hillary Swank received two nominations while Uma Thurman and Renee Zellweger were each nominated a second time for repeat performance. Meanwhile it was the woman with Lane that dominated the television categories.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It doesn't mean anything. It was just sex.

VARGAS: "Desperate Housewives" grabbed five nods in all. Including three for best actress in a comedy series, and one for best supporting actress. A major comeback for the ABC network which also snagged the best drama nomination for "Lost." "Lost" entirely in the shelf over the final seasons of veteran shows "Friends" and "Frazier." But that was not the case for HBO "Sex in the City." It was tapped for best comedy and best actress for Sarah Jessica Parker.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is going to be fun.

VARGAS: Sibila Vargas, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And our look at the Golden Globes will continue at 4:00 Eastern, as well as 8:00 Eastern this evening with the CNN special road to the gold. Or road to gold. A check of the headlines coming up next.

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 January 15, 2005 - 14:00   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 2 p.m. on the East Coast, 11 a.m. out West. I'm Fredricka Whitfield at CNN's global headquarters in Atlanta. Ahead this hour, giving his side of the story. The soldier at the center of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal gives his side of the story. We will have a live report from Fort Hood, Texas.
A frightening avalanche on Utah's ski slopes. Now hoping is dimming for five missing skiers. I'll speak with the sheriff from Summit County about today's search.

Plus, his reign as the Palestinian Authority president is just a few hours old, but renewed militant attacks and eye-raising resignations are already plaguing Mahmoud Abbas' tenure.

Those stories in a moment, but first, a look at the headlines.

Firefighters in Oklahoma City are still on the scene of a massive fire at an oil company that distributes kerosene, methanol and ethanol. The heat and flames so intense that firefighters have not been able to enter the facility. They're allowing the fire to burn itself out to prevent a hazardous runoff. The Associated Press reports more than 50 people living near nearby were told to evacuate.

The U.S. military is so far giving no details of the death of a U.S. Marine south of Baghdad. The Marine was killed in action in Babil Province, where insurgent attacks are common.

The first lawsuits have been filed after that deadly South Carolina train wreck. Some of the 1,900 residents are still unable to return to their homes more than a week after the accident released toxic chemicals. Nine people were killed, and hundreds said they became sick from the leaking chlorine gas. Later this hour, we'll hear from a couple affected by that incident.

Within the past half hour, Army Reserve Specialist Charles Graner wrapped up more than two hours of testimony in the penalty phase of his court martial. Graner was found guilty by a military jury yesterday.

Prosecutors say Graner was the ringleader of detainee abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. CNN's Susan Candiotti is covering the proceedings and joins us from Fort Hood, Texas -- Susan.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Fredricka. Yes, he took about two and a half hours to tell his side of the story to this jury, the same jury that convicted, the same jury that will decide his prison sentence -- if he is to receive one.

Now, when he was on the stand, near the tail end of it, he did tell the jury this. He said, quote, "I didn't enjoy it. A lot of it was wrong. A lot of it was criminal."

And as he left the courthouse, during a lunchtime break, I asked him, as a former prison guard himself, how did he think he would be treated? He said, "professionally."

I asked him, it didn't sound as though you made an apology, it just -- you just said it was wrong. And he said, "Yes, it was wrong." His lawyer told me he thought he actually did apologize.

And he also told the jury that convicted him that he respected their decision, and that he understood it. After that, he went into great detail about some of the testimony that we have heard about throughout this trial. In fact, at one point he said, we were called upon to violate the Geneva Convention. He called the treatment that the prisoners received, some of it irregular. And in fact, he referred to some of the photographs that we have seen, including the famous one of the naked pyramid, bodies of detainees stacked one on top of the other. Referring to that, he said, quote, "A lot of the weird stuff came from civilian contractors. Some of the crazy stuff," he said, "came from military intelligence."

Now, he said that he did report some of this to his superiors. And at one time, he said he was told, quote, "If military intelligence asked you to do this, they're in charge. Do it."

He was also asked why he was smiling in some of the photographs that we have seen. In response, he said this, quote, "There were a lot of things that we did that were screwed up. If you didn't look at it as funny, you couldn't deal with it."

Now, Fredricka, this was an unsworn statement that Specialist Charles Graner made to this jury. And the testimony is not yet done. When they come back from a lunch break, they will hear just a little bit more, we expect, then receive instructions.

And after that, there will be closing statements, of course, then this jury will begin deliberations on a sentence. Graner could receive as much as 15 years in a military prison. Fred?

WHITFIELD: And Susan, why unworn testimony during the penalty phase? Does this mean that he is less inclined, or he does not have to reveal names, point fingers, et cetera?

CANDIOTTI: No, this is a calculated decision on the part of his defense attorney. If it is unsworn, that means that the prosecutors cannot cross-examine him, as they do other witnesses. Now, a bit curious, because at the end of the evening last night, one thing Specialist Graner said was, when I take the stand, I'm going to raise my hand and swear to God (AUDIO GAP) hear a story. He didn't take an oath after all.

Now, of course, the jury will take this into consideration, the fact that he didn't take an oath, didn't swear in before he spoke to them. And now they can consider it if they wish.

WHITFIELD: All right. The same jury comprised of four officers and six enlisted members. Susan Candiotti at Fort Hood, Texas, thank you so much.

A military judge convicted Army Staff Sergeant Cardanis Alban (ph) of murder yesterday, for an alleged mercy killing in Iraq. U.S. Troops had found a wounded teenager in a burning truck. Investigators said soldiers thought he was so seriously injured that their best course of action was to put him out of his misery.

Alban (ph) was sentenced to a year in prison. Another sergeant pleaded guilty in the same killing last year and received a three-year prison sentence.

Well, search crews in Utah are hoping to find as many as five people believed buried under 30 feet of snow following a massive avalanche near Park City. Officials say the skiers were in an out-of- bounds area of The Canyons Resort when the wall of snow came roaring down yesterday afternoon.

One witness said the avalanche site looks like someone, quote, "took a knife and cut through the side of the mountain."

Utah authorities say they're using every available piece of technology and equipment they have to try to locate the missing skiers. But they say it would be a miracle to find anyone alive after all of this time. Summit County Sheriff David Edmunds joins us now by phone with the latest from the scene.

And how is the search going right now?

SHERIFF DAVID EDMUNDS, SUMMIT CO. SHERIFF DEPT.: Well, it's going very slow, unfortunately. And we suspected that it would. And the conditions are not the best out here. And safety is obviously our number one concern. And we're just moving through it very slowly and meticulously right now.

WHITFIELD: What's your understanding of how these skiers got in an area that was ordinarily roped off?

EDMUNDS: Well, they -- it was a blatant disregard for the lines that were established, the out-of-bound lines. They evidently were thrill-seekers that wanted to go out and get some of the fresh stuff, and maybe go get some powder. And they just blatantly disregarded all the warnings to not go outside the boundaries.

WHITFIELD: Were there witnesses? Are you so sure that there are five skiers?

EDMUNDS: Well, we're not so sure about that. We have witnesses -- there are several witnesses, and they're somewhat conflicting in what they've told us. We believe there are multiple victims. At this point we only have one confirmed, and that's a male in his mid-20s that we truly believe is trapped in this slide. But we believe there could be several others, according to the witnesses.

WHITFIELD: Right now, we're looking at videotape shot earlier of the snowy conditions. Give us an idea of what the conditions are right now. And how potentially dangerous it is for the searchers to be in an area where apparently avalanches have frequented the whole state of Utah for now this entire season, claiming six lives overall?

EDMUNDS: Yeah, you know, the avalanche danger has been through the roof for the last couple of weeks. And that remains the same today. We have done some avalanche control in the area. Our searchers we don't believe are in any danger or we would pull them off the hill.

At this point, they're just going to go slowly. And if there is any danger that presents itself, I will immediately pull them off the hill.

WHITFIELD: All right. Sheriff David Edmunds of Summit County, thank you so much for joining us. Continued luck as you continue your search for now these, what we believe to be, five missing skiers.

EDMUNDS: Thank you very much.

WHITFIELD: People evacuated from the area around a leaking dam in Corona, California. And they're being urged to stay away until Monday. Residents were ordered out yesterday after a temporary barrier at the Prado Dam began seeping water. To ease pressure on the structure, the Army Corps of Engineers unleashed more than 10,000 cubic feet of water per second into the Santa Ana River.

Meanwhile, In La Conchita, scene of a deadly mudslide earlier in the week, which claimed 10 lives. Officials say it could take up to a week for gas and electricity to be restored there. Residents were allowed to return to their homes yesterday, but were warned the bluff is still unstable.

Tune in to CNN tonight for an exclusive interview from a woman who survived the mudslide. Carol Lin talks to Diane Hart this evening.

The skies have cleared in much of the Ohio River Valley, but folks in the flooded region are not letting their guard down just yet. Many rivers and creeks in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky are still above flood stage. And a state of emergency is still in place in some of those areas.

In one town in Ohio, it's an especially tough time. The high water comes just months after another flood. CNN's Alina Cho reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA CHO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): If Marietta is Ohio's oldest city, Rob Schafer is its oldest merchant.

(on camera): How long has your store been here?

ROBERT SCHAFER, OWNER, SCHAFER'S LEATHER STORE: One-hundred- thirty-eight years.

CHO: Since what year?

SHAFER: Since 1867.

CHO (voice over): Schafer's has Marietta's largest leather collection. It also was built at an angle.

SCHAFER: It tapers to the front. So when the water recedes, you help it along with mops and hoses, and push the mud right out the front door.

CHO: That's exactly what happened last Friday when the Ohio River flooded. Rob Schaeffer knew it was coming and cleared out his store.

DON MURRAY, OWNER, BRIGHTER DAY: This is our grocery store, and our health food store.

CHO: Don Murray owns Brighter Day. Four months ago, the last time the Ohio spilled out of its banks, his gift was a sinkhole.

MURRAY: It's pretty famous. It's gotten a lot of press.

CHO: After cleaning up and opening up for a couple of months, last week's flood ruined his renovation.

MURRAY: Well, we're going to be closed for 15 days. And that's a real drain on us.

CHO: Marietta, population 15,000, is at the center of Ohio's two largest rivers. Historically, the waterways were used as roadways. Today the Mayor Michael Mullen says more cargo flows through here each year than through the Panama Canal. Mullen is a life-long resident.

MICHAEL MULLEN, MAYOR, MARIETTA, OHIO: It's the river that gives us the charm.

CHO (on camera): But it's also giving you a lot of headaches.

MULLEN: Well, we've had the two highest floods in the last 40 years, and unfortunately they've come in the last four months.

CHO: Rob Schaffer's business, built on a tilt, is safe, he says, so much so he doesn't have flood insurance. Asked if he'd ever move, he says ...

SCHAFER: Oh, nonsense. We are who we are because of the river. You take the good with the bad. And the good outweighs the bad.

CHO: Alina Cho, Marietta, Ohio.

(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: And as always, CNN keeps you up to date on what's in store for you weather-wise all over the nation. And now we're looking at what's behind it. Be sure to check out "Extreme Nature" a "Next@CNN" weather special, that is today at 3 Eastern, Noon on the West Coast.

It could be seen as a matter of one step forward and two steps back. After the break, why the swearing in of a new Palestinian leader is being plagued by decades-old problems.

Plus, preparing Iraq for its historic elections. Why Iraqis might be doing a lot more walking as ballot day nears.

And still ahead ...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to go home, but I want to know that I'm safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The lives interrupted by a South Carolina train disaster.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: As elections in Iraq get closer, officials there are looking for ways to improve security. The use of cars could be restricted in the days before and after the January 30 vote.

Insurgents have carried out scores of car bombings over the past year, and one day after a militant group says it kidnapped 15 Iraqi national guardsmen, U.S. officials say international forces will be on hand to back up local forces protecting voters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG. GEN. CARTER HAM: If Iraqi security forces find themselves in a situation that is beyond their capability, then multinational forces will be postured and prepared and well-rehearsed to reinforce those Iraqi security forces.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Voters will select a national assembly, which will appoint a new government and write an Iraqi constitution.

In the Middle East, new concerns for new Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, on his first day in office. Dozens of members of the Palestinian election commission resigned. They're complaining of intimidation and irregularities in last Sunday's voting. Among other things, they claim the Abbas campaign and security officials coerced them into extending the voting period by two hours. At least five senior officials and dozens much other workers quit. As Abbas took over the reigns of Palestinian leadership today, the troubled peace process suffered another setback. Israel broke off ties with Abbas and other Palestinian leaders after another bloody attack on Israelis earlier in the week. CNN's John Vause has the latest from Ramallah.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAHMOUD ABBAS, PRESIDENT, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY (through translator): I swear by the God Almighty to be faithful to the homeland.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): With one hand on the Koran, Mahmoud Abbas was sworn in as the second president of the Palestinian Authority.

ABBAS (through translator): May God be witness to my oath.

VAUSE: Palestinians, he said, are ready for peace, and called on Israel to resume negotiations stalled now for almost two years.

ABBAS (through translator): I say to the Israeli leadership and Israeli people, we are two peoples destined to live side by side and to share this land between us.

VAUSE: But there will be no talks. Israel suspended all contact, blaming the Palestinian leader for not doing enough to stop an attack on a Gaza border crossing Thursday, which left six Israeli civilians dead.

MARK HEGEY, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTRY: We want to engage. We want to negotiate. But we want to move ahead in the peace process. But we can't have a process while terrorism continues.

VAUSE: Palestinians, though, accuse Israel of undermining Mahmoud Abbas before he has a chance of winning a cease-fire agreement from militant groups.

SAEB EREKAT, CHIEF PALESTINAIN NEGOTIATOR: They decided to suspend talks with him. What kind of logic is this? I mean, the man did not even resume his office yet. Don't you give him a chance?

VAUSE: But the Israelis say Mahmoud Abbas has been effectively in charge of the Palestinian Authority, running the day-to-day affairs, ever since the death of Yasser Arafat two months ago. Enough time, they say, to act against the militants.

And while Abbas was being sworn in, armed gunmen clashed with Israeli forces in Gaza City. Israel says it was trying to stop mortars from being fired at a nearby Jewish settlement. At least six Palestinians were killed, according to residents, three, they say, were militants.

And to the south in Rafa, Palestinian security officials say another two people were killed by Israeli tank fire as they approached an unmanned Israeli outpost. Though there is now a new president of the Palestinian Authority, for now at least, it still looks like the same old bitter conflict -- John Vause, CNN, Ramallah.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Helping the victims of the Asian tsunami while protecting the bottom line. After the break, how corporate America is practicing a delicate balance between charity and capitalism.

Plus the number-two man at the Pentagon sees the tsunami devastation for himself. Find out what Paul Wolfowitz has to say about the future of U.S. military aid in the region.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz says the U.S. shares Indonesia's goal, that outside military aid forces leave by March 26th. Wolfowitz adds, he hopes the date is more of a goal rather than a deadline. He toured the devastation in some of the hardest hit areas of Aceh Province and will meet with Indonesian leaders tomorrow.

NBC is broadcasting a live and commercial-free concert to raise money for survivors of the tsunami. Among the celebrities scheduled to take part tonight, Madonna, George Clooney and Stevie Wonder. Called a "Concert of Hope", the event will also feature statements from President Clinton and Bush. Organizers say money raised from the special will go to the American Red Cross International Response Fund.

Well, as the focus of the tsunami disaster turns from to reconstruction many global businesses now see a big opportunity to increase sales and profits. We get the latest on that from CNN's Allan Chernoff in New York.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The need great. And American companies have responded. Donations of cash, goods and services topping $200 million. FedEx delivering 1.3 million pounds of relief supplies. Coca-cola giving more than 1 million bottles of water and $10 million in cash. Dow Chemical pledging $5 million in products and cash.

SARAH OPPERMAN, DOW CHEMICAL: All of us as individuals, as governments, and as corporations have a responsibility to do what we can, where we can, when this sort of tragedy happens.

CHERNOFF (on camera): Corporate America's generosity comes as the news media spotlight is focused on the tsunami. But in a few months, when that spotlight fades, and the process moves from relief to reconstruction, what role should companies play? Do they have a moral obligation to continue donating goods and services, or will it be business as usual?

(voice over): The U.S. Agency for International Development is coordinating America's response. Its director says reconstruction is usually the point where charity ends and business begins. ANDREW NATSIOS, DIRECTOR, USAID: We will do both. But we separate the two. We're going to put out to bid, for competitive bid, contracts for some of the reconstruction, and any company that wants to bid on it that has expertise in reconstruction can bid on it.

CHERNOFF: The World Bank is assessing Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives, working with the effected governments to come up with rebuilding plans that will offer business opportunities.

JAMES WOLFENSHOHN, PRESIDENT, WORLD BANK: In each country, within two weeks, we have to have a preliminary assessment. We have signed, already, a memorandum of understanding with the Indonesian government for a program of some $300 million, which gets us started on the basic essentials of reconstruction.

CHERNOFF: That will mean profit opportunities for major American contractors, such as Halliburton, which has donated more than $100,000 for relief.

In a statement, Halliburton says, "We are currently speaking with our customers to see where we can help in the relief and rebuilding efforts in Southeast Asia."

Corporate ethics experts say you can't expect companies to work for no profit. While donations can satisfy moral responsibilities, pursuing contracts even in disaster-stricken regions is part of a company's obligation to shareholders and employees. Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: They were among the thousands forced from their homes by deadly toxic fumes. After the break, I'll speak with two South Carolina evacuees who have finally been given the go-ahead to return to their homes.

Plus, predicting America's future threats 15 years down the line, find out which nation, a government report forecasts, will rival the U.S. for super power status.

(COLD & FLU REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Bottom of the hour. And topping our news, army reserve specialist Charles Graner, the alleged ringleader in the Abu Ghraib Prison scandal testified today he was only following orders. Graner took the stand in the penalty phase of his court martial. He could face up to 15 years in prison for abusing detainees at an Iraqi prison. A military jury convicted Graner yesterday.

Near a ski resort in Utah the search for avalanche victims in has resumed. Search crews are using dogs in their effort to find the bodies of up to five people believed to be buried under 30 feet of snow. One official says the odds of finding survivors is very, very low. Several thousand people in Anderson, Indiana, awaiting word on when it's safe to return to their homes. They were evacuated yesterday after a fire broke out at a Magnesium recycling planted. There is no word of any injuries. Today workers with the EPA are sampling the air around the plant.

In the theater of world politics, the United States has taken center stage, but that may change in the future. Intelligence experts took a long-term look at global trends to try to make some predictions. In a report you'll only see on CNN, national security correspondent David Ensor says there could be big changes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The headline from the U.S. Intelligence community's report about the world in 2020, the rise of Asia, and especially China. The likely emergence of China and India, as well as others, as new major global players, says the report, will transform the geopolitical landscape with impacts potentially as dramatic as those in the previous two centuries.

JOHN GANNON, FRMR. CHAIR. NATL. INTEL. COUNCIL: They're moving from the century of the United States domination to one where it's going to have to share the stage with some very powerful actors. And China being the principal one.

ENSOR: The key to who thrives and who suffers could be how well each nation's people use new technology, genetically modified organisms and the like. The report says in 2020 the world will still be grappling with terrorism, although maybe not Al Qaeda.

ELLEN LAIPSIN, FMR. VICE CHAIR. NATL. INTEL. COUNCIL: There will be some kind of a loose network of terrorist groups that are very spread geographically.

ENSOR: The greatest new terrorist danger in 2020, the report says, could be bio-terror attacks that could kill millions.

GANNON: It is relatively easy, again, for a terrorist group to get access to the capabilities to build a bio-weapon.

ENSOR: The report contains imaginary scenarios, including one with this text message exchange between two arms dealers working together despite their different motivations. Yes, I know you're committed, says one. I'm in it for the money. It doesn't matter too much who pays, just as long as they do. I want my people and faith to be respected says the other. The bomb's important.

While the report says globalization should mean greater prosperity in 2020, worldwide and in the U.S., it warns that two developments could prevent that, a global pandemic or epidemic of major disease, or what it calls a cycle of fear, caused by multiple large-scale terrorist attacks that could lead governments to clamp down on personal liberties, travel and trade to a degree unimaginable today. The authors were careful not to predict the future of Iraq. At a briefing at the CIA, they said Iraq is too political a topic and there are just too many variables. It could go either way.

David Ensor, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: With so many potential threats all around us, what's being done to keep America safe? Starting Monday, we'll take a week- long look in a CNN security watch special series titled "Defending America" that starts Monday night at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

Well it's been more than a week since a train crash sent deadly chemicals into a South Carolina town. Nine people died. Hundreds of others got sick, and thousands were evacuated. Some Graniteville residents have been allowed to go to their homes. Others must still wait in nearby hotels. CNN's Heidi Collins looks at how some of them are coping with their forced relocations.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like watching TV, playing with my friends, puff girls and sponge bob.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): She is a child of the lint heads. The people that have worked the local cotton mill in Graniteville, South Carolina, for generations.

JUDY KEY, GRANITEVILLE RESIDENT: We was called lint heads because the cotton would get in your hair. A lot of people come out to me, you know, they didn't brush their hair, you know, comb their hair. They just come out like they was.

COLLINS: Abbey lives with her mom and grandmother Nanny. But for now, they live here, in a hotel filled with hundreds of other people who fled their homes one week ago. A train accident left deadly chlorine gas spewing into the air.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't know it happened. When it was on that train day. I didn't know it happened.

COLLINS: Nine people were killed. Hundreds injured and thousands, many of them family and neighbors, sent to hotels just like this one.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because I like going to hotels and stuff. Because hotels are fun.

COLLINS: Unaware of the tragedy around her --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't check mine.

COLLINS: She thinks of it as an adventure, but the adults know better.

KEY: He was in a wheelchair.

COLLINS: Some of the victims were friends.

KEY: And this Rusty Rustin (ph), we knew him.

COLLINS: Abbey and Nanny only live half a mile from where it happened.

KEY: Just sounded like just a hard thunderstorm.

COLLINS: They were evacuated from the area, forced out of their home, left with nothing but uncertainty.

KEY: You really don't know what to do. You don't know what questions to ask. All you can do is just set and watch TV.

COLLINS: Nanny and Abbey are just part of the old mill town community at the heart of Graniteville.

KEY: Where everybody knows everybody. Everybody works in the mill.

COLLINS: Their home, like the others in the neighborhood, built a century ago. Nanny's been in the same house for 37 years.

KEY: I don't know what kind of shape my house is in.

COLLINS: Making it that much harder to accept that gas may have damaged her beloved home beyond repair.

KEY: You know, you just hear so many rumors.

COLLINS: Officials have yet to get close enough to the accident site to learn what can and cannot be salvaged.

KEY: Some said they're going to burn them. Such rumors as that. I say, well, I said, if I have to, you know, move, leave home, I'm just going to find me a little old place with a pond in the front yard and fish the rest of my life.

TIM HEATH, GRANITEVILLE RESIDENT: Everybody grew up with everybody. It's a small town. It has everything you need.

COLLINS: Tim and Lynn Heath live right next door to Abbey and Nanny back at home. And now they are in the room right next door at the motel.

T. HEATH: I want to go home. But I want to know that I'm safe in my home. I'm nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

LYNN HEATH, GRANITEVILLE RESIDENT: I'm very scared. I'm scared for my daughter.

COLLINS: The future for them and their family also uncertain.

L. HEATH: The worst would be losing our home. Because we've lived there since me and my husband's been together. And he's been there since he was a kid. Ever since he was born.

COLLINS: When you think about going back, I hear you saying a lot of things about when I go back, or when it's safe. What if you can't go back at all?

T. HEATH: I haven't really thought about that. If you can't go back, you've got to go forward. You can't let something like this just stop you in your tracks. You take what life gives you.

COLLINS: Is it as simple as that?

T. HEATH: You have to make it as simple as that. Because if you don't, you dwell on it, and it eats you up on the insides. It just -- it's not worth looking at the negative aspects. Just look, you know -- kind of put blinders on and look straight ahead.

COLLINS: And straight into each other's arms if need be. Neighbors are family, they're one and the same for the people of this old mill town.

L. HEATH: We just look forward to going back home.

COLLINS: Wherever that home may be. Heidi Collins, CNN, Aiken County South Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The nation's highest court changes the way judges hand down prison sentences. Did the justices do the right thing in dismantling the 17-year-old system? Our legal eagles weigh in on the issue coming up next.

And still to come, we'll tell you which Hollywood stars could be seeing gold tomorrow night.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Earlier this week the U.S. Supreme Court ruled juries, not judges, should decide if there is a good reason to add time to a defendant's prison sentence. The ruling says judges have too much discretion in sentencing. And the high court declared part of the federal sentencing guidelines unconstitutional. Here to explain what this might mean, our legal roundup duo in New York, criminal defense attorney Richard Herman and in Cleveland, Ohio.

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Good afternoon.

WHITFIELD: Hello to you. Civil rights attorney and law professor Avery Friedman, good to see you as well.

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Hi Fred, how are you?

WHITFIELD: All right, I'm doing pretty good. Richard let me begin with you. Who does this benefit, this ruling of the Supreme Court? HERMAN: It clearly benefits defendants and the defense bar. In one fell swoop, the United States Supreme Court just determined that sentences imposed on federal defendants for the past 21 years are unconstitutional. Unconstitutional. It's incredible. It took the Supreme Court so long to make this ruling, but on the other hand, we have to stand up and applaud that they had the guts to do it. Now, it was only a 5-4 decision, but it is an incredible decision by the Supreme Court. It gives hope to people who have been sentenced to ridiculous, ridiculous years and years in prison.

It gives them hope. And when you're incarcerated, Fred, the only thing you can live for is that hope. You're going to see appeals flooding the Supreme Court, and the Courts of Appeals throughout the country now. People are going to be taking these appeals, trying to redo their sentences.

WHITFIELD: And in fact Avery, that's my next question about the appellate process then, if it was inundated before, it's certainly going to be now.

FRIEDMAN: Well we are going to see more, Fredricka. Despite Richard's being excited in representing criminal defendants, there's a purity in this decision. The way I see it is, there's nothing more sacrosanct than our Bill of Rights and the American Constitution. And in there what the Supreme Court said is you know every American, if you're accused of a crime, is entitled to a trial by jury. What the Supreme Court did is say, you know what, Congress tried to do it, but they did it all wrong.

They boxed in federal district judges. And you know what, I like this decision, because I think federal judges don't need to be boxed in. I think they need that discretion to do justice. Because you've got to consider individuals and circumstances and what Congress tried to do is box them in, and it's a terrific decision. We're going to see justice being done.

WHITFIELD: But if this discretion Congress took away 21 years. It sounds like you've got an awful lot of cases that have already been signed, sealed and delivered over the past 21 years that are now going to raise their heads once again.

FRIEDMAN: Right. It's not retroactive. It's not retroactive.

HERMAN: We don't know that yet.

FRIEMDAN: Well, I think they made that fairly clear. And I agree, there's going to be some debate. But I think for the tens of thousands of pending cases, yes Richard's right, you're going to see a flood of motions seeking to apply this decision to the individual cases.

HERMAN: Fredricka, we don't really have time during this short segment to get into the intricacies of the decisions. On the one hand the Supreme Court has ruled that the federal guidelines are unconstitutional, and in part two of the decision, they say that the federal court judges should be guided by those guidelines. FRIEDMAN: Yes advisory.

HERMAN: They should be advised by those guidelines.

FRIEDMAN: Right.

HERMAN: So on the one hand, someone's sentence could be unconstitutional, but on the other hand, the judges should be guided by these unconstitutional guidelines. The courts are going to have ferret this out.

WHITFIELD: All right well it certainly seems like it may be the beginning all over with this.

FRIEDMAN: Congress is going to -- Congress will revisit it, Fredricka. One of the great minds of the United States Senate, constitutional minds, Allen Specter who is chairman of the judiciary committee, will consider it. To be honest with you I think he is going to proceed slowly. Because we want federal judges to have discretion, there's always a fight between Congress and the judiciary, always.

WHITFIELD: All right well let's move on to another case which always seems to elicit a whole lot of debate. And that being the Michael Jackson's case. Trial supposedly to begin some point this month. But Richard, you have to wonder now, with reports of leaks coming from grand jury testimony how much more complicated is it making for both the defense and the prosecution to proceed with a fair trial?

HERMAN: Well, Fred, you know, when these leaks come from the grand jury, and again, it's the prosecutors that control the grand jury process, and when these leaks come, they poison the public. They cripple a defendant's opportunity --

WHITFIELD: And these are salacious leaks. We're talking about leaks involving testimony from some of these witnesses that were unchallenged during the grand jury. Which are talking about some very specific allegations involving the sexual behavior of Michael Jackson, and a 15-year-old witness.

HERMAN: What that illustrates to me is that the prosecution's case is very weak. And they're looking to try to get an edge over the defense. That's the signal that's sent by all these leaks.

WHITFIELD: Weak or not, though, Richard, doesn't this potentially taint the jury pool in a very damaging way?

HERMAN: It's horrible. It happens throughout the country. Look at the Balco case. Look what happened there. All of a sudden, Jason Giambi came out of the woodwork and disclosed about steroid use because of grand jury leaks. Look what has happened in the Phil Specter case in California. These grand jury leaks are coming out.

WHITFIELD: So Avery how do you see this panning out potentially for this case? FRIEDMAN: Well, it's certainly not good news for Michael Jackson. I mean, the part I agree with, with Richard, is that somebody really should be accountable for grand jury leaks. This is supposed to be secret. And now we know what Tom Sneddon is going to put on. There were 42 witnesses, 1,900 pages, salacious is right, Fredricka. Terrible stuff that's going to come out. And you know in a grand jury, there is no cross-examination. So you have 100 percent of the prosecution's case. And this case is supposed to start trial the 31st of January. So let's see what effect that leak and it is a big one that is going to have on that jury pool.

HERMAN: And Fred whether you like Michael Jackson or you don't like Michael Jackson, he's entitled to a fair trial and he's entitled to a fair jury.

FRIEDMAN: That's right.

WHITFIELD: All right Richard Herman, Avery Friedman thanks so much to both of you.

HERMAN: Have a good day.

FRIEMDAN: Nice to see you.

WHITFIELD: Good to see you.

Well the first photos of Saturn's moon Titan show a pale orange surface covered by a thin haze methane and what could be a methane sea. In a landing straight out of science fiction, the Huygens space probe has been astounding scientists with spectacular pictures of the mysterious moon. Our own space correspondent Miles O'Brien is following this historic mission.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORESPONDENT (voice over): Beneath the haze, there was plenty to gaze at on the surface of Saturn's moon Titan. Gullies, rivers, and a sea all filled with methane. A strange place, but an oddly familiar one, too. A day to remember more than 20 years in the making.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I -- frankly, I cannot believe what I'm seeing. This is just -- I really didn't think we would have this kind of view.

O'BRIEN: The astounding view came courtesy of a nine-foot spacecraft that looked like a cheesy prop from a grade-b sci-fi movie. But it was an alien flying saucer for real named for the earthling who discovered Titan in 1655. The Huygens Probe parachutes as planned to the Titanic surface. Sampling the atmosphere, measuring the winds, and snapping hundreds of pictures.

JEAN JACQUES DORDAIN, ESA DIRECTOR GENERAL: So we are the first visitors of Titan. And scientific data that we are collecting now shall unveil the secrets of this new world. O'BRIEN: Huygen's heroes gathered at the European Space Agency Control Center in Germany. Out of his world with joy, as the improbable descent unfolded and the spacecraft phoned home on time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It looks like we've heard the baby crying.

O'BRIEN: Their baby was handy with its cameras, offering up an image that no one predicted. A rock-strewn landscape that looks like Mars, or Arizona, for that matter.

CAROLYN PORCO, CASSINI SCIENTSIST: We just didn't expect it to look this way. But there we are on the surface, and there are boulders of some sort. We're going to be working out how they came to be.

O'BRIENS: Scientists are fascinated by Titan because they believe it's like looking at Earth 4 billion years ago before life started simmering on the evolutionary range.

DAVID SOUTHWOOD, ESA DIRECTOR OF SCIENCE: I always think of Titan as the cooking pot that is like the early Earth. And you want to know whether it's really cooking. Once you see this, you see liquid on the surface. I believe we are cooking.

O'BRIEN: Miles O'Brien, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well the stars are coming out for a golden night. And that's not a weather forecast. It's a preview of one of Hollywood's biggest nights. The "Golden Globe Awards." Find out what's in store when CNN LIVE SATURDAY continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The Golden Globe is one of the major run ups to the Academy Awards Hollywood likes them because they give publicity to movies and performances, just as the Oscar ballots are being filled out. And the stars will be out in full force tomorrow night for the 62nd annual show. Sibila Vargas looks at who is in the running for a Golden Globe.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Leo, and Johnny, Nicole, and Renay. When the Hollywood foreign press throws an award show, they make room for big stars. This year is no different.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was America's first legitimate billionaire.

VARGAS: Dicaprio's nod came for playing aviation pioneer Howard Hughes. In fact every one of the nominees for best actor drama plays a real-life person.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come back to my place. I've got wine and cheeses and music, whatever. VARGAS: It wasn't a bio pick but an original story that earned the most Golden Globe nominations. That's "Side Ways," with seven including one for best musical or comedy and another for costar Virginia Madsen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't dare hope it would really happen.

VARGAS: Amongst others? "Side Ways" will face off with "Ray" a film that earned Jaimie Foxx one of the three acting nods. A new record for the Globes.

Among films' leading female contenders, Nicole Kidman for "Birth."

NICOLE KIDMAN: It's certainly a film that causes people to discuss it.

VARGAS: Hillary Swank received two nominations while Uma Thurman and Renee Zellweger were each nominated a second time for repeat performance. Meanwhile it was the woman with Lane that dominated the television categories.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It doesn't mean anything. It was just sex.

VARGAS: "Desperate Housewives" grabbed five nods in all. Including three for best actress in a comedy series, and one for best supporting actress. A major comeback for the ABC network which also snagged the best drama nomination for "Lost." "Lost" entirely in the shelf over the final seasons of veteran shows "Friends" and "Frazier." But that was not the case for HBO "Sex in the City." It was tapped for best comedy and best actress for Sarah Jessica Parker.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is going to be fun.

VARGAS: Sibila Vargas, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And our look at the Golden Globes will continue at 4:00 Eastern, as well as 8:00 Eastern this evening with the CNN special road to the gold. Or road to gold. A check of the headlines coming up next.

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