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CNN Live Saturday
Schindlers Wait On Florida State Supreme Court Decision; 3 American Soldiers Killed In Iraq; Aceh Province Continues To Rebuild After Tsunami
Aired March 26, 2005 - 18:00 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.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: We are waiting for yet another decision, another court appeal by Terri Schiavo's parents, what they hope can happen next. Plus, the very latest on the medical condition of Terri Schiavo, now, more than a week without food or water. Also, what doctors say happens physically to a person going through the final stages of life. It is March 26 and you're watching CNN LIVE SATURDAY.
From CNN's global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Lin and here's what's happening right now in the news. Beirut, Lebanon, the scene of so many protests recently, now the scene of an apparent car bomb. Security sources say at least three people are injured. Firefighters are tying to put out the flames in an industrial district.
U.S. and Iraqi forces are rounding up suspected insurgents. Dozens were picked up in a raid dubbed Operation River Thunder, south of Baghdad today. A massive weapons stash was uncovered in another raid.
And stormy skies and dangerous lightning are disrupting weekend plans for many in southern parts of America's heartland. So we're going to have a live report in 25 minutes on where the severe weather is and where it's heading.
But right now, there's only one thing Terri Schiavo's parents and husband see eye to eye on. She is on a path towards death after eight days without her feeding tube and that is where the agreement ends. The parents have filed an emergency appeal in the Florida Supreme Court. Just moments ago, we heard from Terri Schiavo's brother, who is demanding communion for his sister. Our correspondents are in place in Florida: Randi Kaye in Dunedin, where Michael Schiavo's attorney held a news conference earlier today but first, we're going to going to go to CNN's John Zarrella outside Terri Schiavo's hospice in Pinellas Park.
John, explain the controversy over this whole communion issue.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN MIAMI BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, that, Carol, was the latest development that we did have here. We did have one arrest a few minutes ago of a protester trying to get in to bring water to Terri, quickly taken away, put in the paddy wagon. But this communion issue just surfaced today. Now what happened was that George -- well, what happened was that Bobby Schindler and Brother Paul O'Donnell, their spiritual advisor, begged Michael Schiavo this afternoon to allow Terri on this, the highest of holy days coming up, the Easter Sunday in the Catholic Church, to allow Terri to receive Holy Communion, a small piece of the host, the wafer, and a little bit of the consecrated wine as well. Felos, George Felos, Michael's attorney, earlier today stated that on the 18th, the court order on the 18th, which removed the feeding tube, before the feeding tube was removed that she was administered the bread, the Holy Communion through the tube before it was removed. Now, the family wants her to be able to get Holy Communion today. We don't -- tomorrow. We don't know how that is going to play out.
The other issue, of course, there is no middle ground between either side here, no agreement on anything. Mr. Felos, during his new conference earlier today, talking about how wonderful he said that Terri looked and how peaceful, he said, she looked. Well, Bobby Schindler, Terri's brother, when he spoke here today said that could not be further from the truth.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOBBY SCHINDLER, TERRI SCHIAVO'S BROTHER: They're mischaracterizing the condition today just as they've been mischaracterizing the condition for the last five years. It's sick, it's heinous, what is happening to my sister, and I assure you, she is not dying peacefully and painlessly. And I'm going to actually suggest to my parents not to go and visit their daughter anymore.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZARRELLA: Now, Bobby and Suzanne have both been coming and going throughout the day today. They are back here now but periodically, they've left for a little break. I know that both Mr. and Mrs. Schindler, the same, have been here for a while and then left. Now, Bob Schindler, Terri's father, he spoke earlier today, and he talked about how he says his daughter is really giving her all to stay alive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB SCHINDLER, TERRI SCHIAVO'S FATHER: I can tell you and assure you she is fighting like hell to stay alive. And I want the powers that be to know that. It's not too late to save her, so anyone that has the authority to come in and to save Terri, they can do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZARRELLA: A little heavier security here today that we've seen in the past. Some concerns over security breaches, but everything very calm. The crowd remaining very, very calm -- Carol.
LIN: All right, thanks very much. John Zarrella reporting live outside the hospice.
Let's now go to CNN's Randi Kaye. She's in Dunedin, Florida where a short time ago you heard from Michael Schiavo's side of the story.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Carol. George Felos held a press conference here earlier this afternoon. He wanted to clear up some rumors, as he put it, about Terri Schiavo's condition. That was at the request of his client, Michael Schiavo. He -- earlier today, you heard Bob Schindler, Terri Schiavo's parents -- Terri Schiavo's father saying that she was showing signs of starvation and dehydration. The family's lawyer, David Gibbs, had said just yesterday that he expected her to step into eternity, as he put it, this Easter weekend. But this afternoon, George Felos -- John Zarella had just touched on this -- George Felos was describing her as beautiful. He spent 20 minutes with her in her hospice room this afternoon. He said in all the years he has know her he has never seen her so peaceful. He described a naturalness about her. Here's more of that description.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE FELOS, MICHAEL SCHIAVO'S ATTORNEY: As it appears to me, Mrs. Schiavo's death is not imminent by any means. She is resting comfortably. Her breathing did not appear to be shallow. And at least at this point, it does not appear that her death is imminent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Terri Schiavo's parents, the Schindlers also suffered another legal blow in court today. They had put in a request; they had filed a motion to have an IV tube, some intravenous fluid administered to her over the weekend. They also wanted her reevaluated by a doctor to determine her will to live, which they say has changed. They say she has a new intent to live. But Judge George Greer from the Sixth Judicial Circuit Court refused that motion. He argued that her intent to live has not changed. So just this afternoon, the Schindlers filed an emergency petition with the Florida Supreme Court. They are insisting that she be reevaluated and they want her feeding tube restored.
Now, we asked George Felos about that and this is what he had to say in response to the prospect of another legal battle ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FELOS: I would hope that the parents' side realize that any further legal action is going to be futile. I mean, we can understand their desperate efforts in this case, but I would hope that at some point before Terri's death, they leave that behind, and begin to try to cope with this more on a personal level.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Now, clearly, Terri Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, are not giving up, but it is important to remind you that this is the very same court, the Florida Supreme Court, where they filed that emergency petition today -- this is the same court that refused to hear the case Thursday of this week --Carol.
LIN: It is Easter weekend. We'll see if we hear from the court at all in the next couple of days. Randi Kaye, thank you.
Well, the supporters outside the hospice mostly Right to Life groups, Christian-based groups. Interesting to note that when you see a new "Time" magazine poll, which is offering a glimpse into how American's feel about the Terri Schiavo case. One survey finds evangelicals and all other respondents aren't that far apart in their opinions. In both cases, more than 50 percent agree with the decision to remove Terri Schiavo's feeding tube and 70 percent of those polled say President Bush was wrong to intervene in this case. Three-quarters also say Congress should not have intervened.
Well, a man is under arrest for allegedly trying to arrange the deaths of two key figures in this case. Richard Allen Meywes of North Carolina is facing charges, including solicitation of murder. Authorities say he was offering $250,000 to anyone who would kill Terri Schiavo's husband, Michael, and another $50,000 for the killing of Circuit Court judge George Greer who ordered Terri Schiavo's feeding tube removed.
In the meantime, onto another case, a case of a missing girl. Yesterday, we reported on the AMBER Alert. Today, authorities in Iowa are trying to determine whether another girl met a similar feat as young Jessica Lunsford. They say Jetseta Gage vanished from her home Thursday night with a convicted sex offender. A girl's body was found yesterday in a rundown mobile home, but there has been no official confirmation of whether that body is that of the missing girl.
Still, the man authorities say was seen leaving with Gage, Roger Bentley, was arraigned today on one count of child stealing. Bond was set at $1 million.
And we're going to have more on the farewells to young Jessica Lunsford, but first we want to tell you about President Bush today offering his sympathy to the people of Red Lake, Minnesota as they tried to recover from this week's deadly school shooting. The president praised Derek Brood (ph), the security guard who was killed trying to stop the gunmen, Jeff Weise, from carrying out the attack. Nine people were shot dead in Monday's rampage, seven inside the school. The two other victims were Weise's grandfather and his companion, both were buried today. Weise took his own life.
In the meantime, emotions are running high in another Florida community as mourners remember 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford. She's the girl who was abducted and found killed weeks later near her home. Ferdinand Zogbaum, from CNN affiliate Bay News 9, attended today's memorial in Crystal River.
Ferdinand, there was a wonderful gesture that the folks there had organized for the children who attended the services there.
FERDINAND ZOGBAUM, BAY NEWS 9 REPORTER: Yes, you're exactly right. Well, actually, the sun is going down here after a very sort of sad, sorrowful, full day here after the memorial that was held for 9- year-old Jessica Lunsford. A lot of people showed up here. The community has been rallying behind this for -- ever since she was discovered to be missing from her bedroom.
Now, earlier, during the memorial, some people did speak. A number of people spoke, including Sheriff Jeff Dawsy, who has been behind the investigation. It was a frustrating investigation for him for many weeks because they just couldn't find any clues or any information to lead them to Jessica. The community rallied around him. About 1,300 people came out day after day to help the search efforts. Now, Sheriff Daswsy as well as Jessica's father, Mark Lunsford, had this to say...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK LUNSFORD, JESSICA LUNSFORD'S FATHER: The community, the people all over Florida, other states, anybody that just put their hand on one of her fliers, I thank all of you. You all worked so hard to help someone you didn't even know.
SHERIFF JEFF DAWSY, FLORIDA: I thank you for your confidence in me. I thank you for cheering me on morally, which you have, and emotionally, and I appreciate that. And I have said this over to you guys, believe me, I'm so sorry I didn't bring her back home to you alive. I love you guys and thank you very much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZOGBAUM: Now, obviously, those two were very shaken up during the memorial. You can't blame them one bit. They did want to end things on a lighter note so they all came out here and gathered, and a bunch of balloons were passed out to kids, moms, dads, grandmothers, grandfathers, just about everybody, different colored balloons. And every balloon had a message on it, a message to be sent to Jessica Lunsford up in the skies, and people gathered to let those go. Now, we did catch up with one girl who did let one of those balloons go and she was hoping that it does reach Jessica so she knows everyone down here remembers here and is thinking about her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY ROOF, MOURNER: Hopefully, well, definitely releasing this balloon symbolizing, you know, our love that we have for Jessica. I just hope she's OK and we know she is, but it just, I guess, lets some of our sorrows free today and all our love for her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZOGBAUM: Now, we were told that about -- well, over 500 balloons were released earlier this afternoon.
Back to you guys.
LIN: All right, thank you very much, Ferdinand.
Still ahead on CNN LIVE SATURDAY, faces of the fallen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
B.G. MUHN, ARTIST: They're coming to me, and try to express, I don't know exactly what, but they're with me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: A magnificent and emotional display opens at Arlington National Cemetery honoring servicemen and women killed in Iraq and Afghanistan and CNN was there.
Plus, three months later, after one of the worst disasters in human history, citizens in tsunami stricken Banda Aceh struggle to rebuild. It's an area changed in more ways than one.
And later tonight, fields and fields of flowers in a place you'd never expect.
You're watching CNN SATURDAY. We'll be back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: It has been a dangerous day on the front lines in Iraq. Just in the last 24 hours, three more American troops have been killed. About this time each week we try to bring you the more personal stories from the front lines and today there was a poignant exhibit honoring U.S. troops who have given their lives in the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Here's CNN's Brian Todd.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Some seem ready to say hi, extend their hand, others are more haunting. Collectively, they're overwhelming, portraits of lives cut short.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a likeness of our son, his smile, his blue eyes. It really...
TODD: Fathers can't finish their sentences, mothers cry. Their children among this gallery of heroes, more than 1,300 servicemen and women killed in Iraq and Afghanistan so aptly named "Faces of The Fallen."
REX ROGERS, SON KILLED IN IRAQ: My son was driving a five-ton truck. This girl was riding shotgun. It was a roadside bomb.
TODD: A wrenching toll on parents and artists. B.G. Muhn spent months on his portraits. He got so close to his subjects, he says, that the soldiers appeared in his dreams.
MUHN: They're coming to me and trying to express, I don't know exactly what, but they are with me. They haunt me, I guess, beyond the level of my current consciousness.
TODD (on camera): B.G. Muhn's work on this project is prolific. He and his family alone have done more than 30 portraits. But he's just one of more than 200 artists who contributed their time and talent, a massive undertaking all inspired by one woman and her own personal loss.
(voice-over): Annette Polan says she spent about a month on her couch after her mother died early last year. Then she picked up a newspaper and saw a huge spread, photographs of lost servicemen.
ANNETTE POLAN, COCHAIR, "FACES OF THE FALLEN": And I looked at it. It was one of those eureka moments. I said this is a portrait gallery and I'm a portrait painter. I'm going -- I'm going to create something that will be more lasting.
TODD: They'll certainly last with Marine Corporal Charles Lauersdorf, who looks at the portraits of 27 buddies he lost in the Sunni Triangle last year and wonders.
CPL. CHARLES LAUERSDORF, U.S. MARINE CORPS: To come back and see them, it -- almost a sense of guilt is associated with it.
TODD: They'll last with the memory of 21-year-old Marine Lance Corporal Ellias Torrez whose parents came all the way from Central Texas.
MARTHA RAMIREZ TORREZ, SON KILLED IN IRAQ: There's really no words for a fallen hero. You know, it's very emotional to see that beautiful portrait.
TODD: Emotions that overtake a hardened Vietnam vet who lost his oldest boy.
ROGERS: It's hard. It's very difficult for me. They say freedom is just -- it's just not free. There's a lot of pain and suffering that goes along with it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Hard to believe but it's been three months to the day since the South Asia tsunami disaster. An earthquake sent a monster wave charging across the Indian Ocean, killing 170,000 people, and leaving more than 100,000 missing. Banda Aceh, Indonesia was one of the hardest hit areas. And there, an emergency relief system is gradually rebuilding homes, businesses, and lives. CNN's Atika Shubert reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The streets have been cleared, the bodies collected. Where there was mud and debris, there is now green grass. Three months after the tsunami, Aceh is coming back to life. Markets bloom amid the wreckage. Candy sellers shop their wares, a sure sign that Aceh has moved beyond mere survival.
The sound of building is everywhere, as displaced residents earn money constructing temporary homes. There are signs of resilience. This graffiti defiantly states, the owner of this house is not dead yet. And signs of determination, this village decided it couldn't wait for government help, literally, rebuilding their community from the wreckage of the tsunami.
"If I stayed at the camps, my soul wouldn't be satisfied," this man says. "I have returned here every day since the tsunami and I will stay here."
(on camera): In many ways, Aceh is more open now than it was before the tsunami. Decades of conflicts between separatist rebels and even Indonesian military previously kept it sealed off from the rest of the world.
(voice-over): Now, foreign aid workers play basketball on military courts to the cheers of an enthusiastic audience. Soldiers used to patrol the city for rebels. They are less visible now but still there. Where everyone else carries timber and building materials, they carry tools whose only purpose is to kill.
Many here say the years of conflict prepared them for disaster, inured them against tragedy. They still grieve, but they work harder to pick up the pieces. One man we spoke to said it best: "Aceh will never be the same. It can be either be less than it was before the tsunami or it can become something greater. The choice is ours."
Atika Shubert, CNN, Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Meanwhile, there's some dangerous weather developing right here at home. Towering clouds and thunderstorms are threatening parts of the south. In fact, we're going to show you a live tower camera. These pictures from our affiliate, WPMI, in Mobile, Alabama, where they are expecting some three inch hail, maybe tornado activity up to F-5. It's just part of that area. You can see some of the dangerous weather conditions developing just in the next few hours. Meteorologist Brad Huffines is tracking where the storms are likely to hit.
Brad, that almost sounds exaggerated because some of the weather today here in Atlanta, Georgia was absolutely gorgeous. How quickly are these conditions developing?
(WEATHER REPORT)
LIN: Oh, my goodness, looking at that map! All right, so much for the Easter egg hunt, Brad?
HUFFINES: Not in the Southeast.
LIN: Nope. You bet. All right, thanks so much.
In the meantime, we're going to show you two families with two similar tragedies but they find common ground over the case of Terri Schiavo. So straight ahead on CNN LIVE SATURDAY, the right to die and who decides the victim's feat.
Also, the debate over ethics, a look back at lessons learned in the Schiavo case. I'm going to be talking with a bioethicist who's got some really strong opinions.
And later, tired of the pump putting a dent in your wallet? Well, some new hi-tech cars could be the answer. We're going to live to the New York Auto Show with Lauren Fix to show you what's new.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LIN: Now I want to get back to the top story for today, the Terri Schiavo case. Well, her parents make another legal appeal. Her husband's attorney says she is dying with dignity but her father says there's still time to intervene.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
B. SCHINDLER: But I can tell you and assure you she is fighting like hell to stay alive. And I want the powers that be to know that. It's not too late to save her. So anyone that has the authority to come in and to save Terri, they can do it.
FELOS: Frankly, when I saw her, and it's the first time I have seen her since the artificial life support was removed eight days ago, she looked beautiful. In all the years I've seen Mrs. Schiavo, I've never seen such a look of peace and beauty upon her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Now, this is a case that is arousing strong emotions from many people around the country and beyond. Most can't imagine what it would be like to make a life or death situation for a loved one in Schiavo's condition, but some know the pain all too well. CNN's Alina Cho has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Whenever Terri Schiavo's face appears on television; Mary Martin is riveted to the screen, and very angry.
MARY MARTIN, WIDOW OF VICTIM: Enough is enough. Not everyone wants to just exist.
CHO: One hundred fifty miles away in another quiet Michigan town, Fran Rosebush is also angry.
FRANCIS ROSEBUSH, FATHER OF VICTIM: The husband shouldn't go against the mother and father because yes, that's their daughter and you know what, they had her long before he did.
CHO: The Schiavo case brings back agonizing memories for both. Both have had loved ones on life support. Both believe the government should not be deciding whether someone should live or die.
MARTIN: I believe that if Terri Schiavo lived in Michigan or you know California, any place other than Florida where Jeb Bush, brother to the president, was living, it would not be at the magnitude that it is today.
ROSEBUSH: Well, I'm a very strong Bush supporter. I listen to Rush Limbaugh...
CHO (on camera): But...
ROSEBUSH: ...but I don't agree with them on this. CHO (voice-over): Eighteen years ago, Fran Rosebush watched helplessly as his daughter, Joelle, then 10 years old, was hit by a car. The accident left her in a persistent vegetative state. After more than a year of medical treatment, Rosebush decided to take his daughter off life support.
ROSEBUSH: I felt that man was keeping Joelle alive and God wanted her.
CHO: Three of his daughter's nurses fought him on it, but Rosebush won in court. Mary Martin did not.
(on camera): Do you think Mike was able to die with dignity?
MARTIN: Oh, his dignity was stripped of him, but he was finally able to go and be with his God.
CHO (voice-over): Four days after Joelle Rosebush's accident, Martin, her husband Mike and their three children were in their car, Mike at the wheel when a train hit them.
MARTIN: I remember saying, "Is everyone OK?" and the only one that responded was my oldest daughter, Mindy, saying "Mom, I'm fine. Matt's crying, and I don't know about dad."
CHO: The Martins youngest daughter, 7-year-old Melanie (ph), died instantly. Her father was severely brain damaged. Mary Martin fought to have his feeding tube removed, but lost a lengthy court battle to his family. Fifteen years later, Michael Martin died of pneumonia. Martin believes she should have had the right to decide what happened to her husband and Michael Schiavo should decide what happens to his wife.
MARTIN: When two people marry, the Bible says, you leave your family and cling to your husband or wife.
CHO: She says her husband never wanted to be kept alive by machines. Look no further than Michael Martin's headstone, three dates: the day he was borne, the day Mary says he died, and she says the day his soul was sent to heaven.
MARTIN: Ultimately...
CHO (on camera): You feel as though you let him down.
MARTIN: I feel to this day that I let him down.
CHO: Both of them agreed that Terri Schiavo's parents are letting their daughter down by turning the case into a national and political spectacle.
Alina Cho, CNN, Detroit, Michigan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Well, the Terri Schiavo case, no doubt, has generated a lot of debate over ethics, both medically and politically. So joining me now to talk about this is Alta Charo, a bioethicist from the University of Wisconsin Law School.
Alta, many developments since you were last on our air. Now there's yet another appeal, an emergency appeal before the Florida State Supreme Court by the Schindler family and a battle at the microphones between Michael Schiavo's attorney, who describes Terri Schiavo as peaceful and resting, and the Schindlers who describe her as bleeding and parched. It is, frankly, getting ugly out there. Give me your thoughts now as this week has progressed and that the Schindler family continues its legal battle.
ALTA CHARO, UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN LAW SCHOOL: Well, I think one of the most surprising things for me and for many others is the way in which this whole dispute has been so effectively reframed. This is about a woman who made very clear statements about what she wanted for her life and for her death. And there have been years' worth of court proceedings to make sure that we're confident about what she'd actually said. And now, at the 11th hour what we're seeing is a collection of activists, members of Congress, members of the Florida State legislature believing that it's their job to step in and overrule her wishes or overrule the process by which we've become confident of her wishes. And they've reframed this as if it's a question of somebody's choice to kill her and whether her life is worth living. It's really about liberty. It's about the ability to define our own existence.
LIN: And in terms of how Terri Schiavo defined her existence. She defined it to her husband. I mean the sanctity of marriage indicates that this would have been her last wish and yet, it has debated time and again, and in such a manner, Alta. I'd like to have your thoughts about how the Schindlers have chosen to present this debate. On the one hand, you have a family, parents, who cannot let go of their child who is still breathing and warm to their touch, and you can understand that, surely.
CHARO: Of course. It's -- I think everybody watching this realizes that we're watching a family say goodbye on national television and that should never have to happen. And they're saying goodbye for what must be the sixth or seventh time since her originally accident, which left her in this condition. And nobody should have to see that happen either. But that kind of grief that often translates into completely unrealistic hope translates into projecting upon her body all sorts of meaning in her movements and in her grimaces that is really not there. That should not overrule her wishes about how she wanted to live and die, should not overrule years worth of court efforts to make all of us confident about what she had not only to her husband but to other people.
LIN: What do you think of the system that handled this, both Congress as well as the courts? I mean do you think the U.S. Congress and the courts led this family down the primrose path, gave them false hope?
CHARO: I don't know if the Congress gave them false hope. I do think that the Congress was quite self-indulgent. In the name of answering concerns about -- in the name of political expediency, to be quite blunt about it, they really ripped up 200 some odd years of an understanding of the role of the courts and of the legislatures in setting the rules for how we handle private disputes because this is a private dispute. And sadly, when they can't be resolved within the family, between the family and the doctors, we have state courts there to help do this and that's what they did for years. And the Congress had absolutely no business to say we don't like the result in that state court decision so we're going to take that away from the states. Which decision is this going to be next that they'll do this with? Is it a state court abortion decision that they don't' like and now will remove to the federal courts? It's a very dangerous precedent. It's imperialism by the legislature.
LIN: And then when you get to the grassroots level, the scene outside that hospice, 70 other families who were there to watch their loved ones die and having difficulty even getting to those rooms in some cases because of the spectacle outside.
Alta Charo, thanks for joining us tonight.
CHARO: You're very welcome.
LIN: Well, there is a lot of debate about exactly what Terri Schiavo is experiencing physically, even mentally or perhaps emotionally, according to her family, now that she has been without water and nutrition for more than eight days. Her parents say she is suffering but her husband and brother-in-law describe her as peaceful. Dr. Nathan Goldstein from New York's Mount Sinai Hospital gives his opinion of what patients like Schiavo experience when their feeding tubes are disconnected.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. NATHAN GOLDSTEIN, MT. SINAI HOSPITAL, NEW YORK: After a week of stopping artificial hydration and nutrition, patients -- the kidneys at this point would begin to function less and less. The toxins in the blood would begin to build up, and the levels of certain things in the blood, such as potassium, would probably begin to increase.
The only symptom that patients at this point might be experiencing or the family might be noticing, again because she's not experiencing it, is things such as a dry mouth or dry lips. And that's treated very easily with, for example, swabs or ice chips.
Patients in persistent vegetative states whom we stop artificial hydration and nutrition on aren't dying because we stopped it. They die because they were never able to eat and drink in the first place. Remember just because we're stopping artificial hydration and nutrition doesn't mean that we're stopping care or that we're abandoning her. So with good medical interventions aimed at any symptoms that might come up in other patients, we can control any discomfort or any symptoms that patients might have.
The rule of hospice is not just to abandon patients when they come to the end of life, it's just the opposite. In fact, some of the most difficult care or most intensive care for patients in hospice happens near the end of life. And as much as nobody wants to die, I think we all have to realize that death is a very natural process, and the body has certainly mechanisms that over time begin to break down. And so that, there is a natural process to death just as there is a natural process to birth. And the things in this case, this is one of the most peaceful ways to die because the body takes over and makes sure that we're not awake and aware and that we don't suffer.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Note that Dr. Goldstein used the phrase artificial hydration and nutrition when it comes to people like Terri Schiavo. He does not say feeding her food or water, an interesting distinction. Dr. Goldstein specializes in geriatrics and end of life care at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.
Well, still ahead on CNN LIVE SATURDAY, are you tired of paying the rising cost of gas, but don't want a hybrid car? Well, there are some answers at this year's car show for you. We are live in New York at the New York Auto Show next.
And later, the rains in California caused headaches and hassle, but they caused something else, too -- flowers, lots of them.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Well, beneath the glitz and glitter of this year's New York Auto Show lies the sobering reality of spiraling gas prices. Lauren Fix) is host of cable TV's "Talk 2 DIY Automotive" and she's with me now from the auto show at the Jacob Javis Center with some really cool ideas on how we can save some money.
Lauren, what are you seeing out there, some new ideas other than these hybrids that you know, I may not want to plug in my car at night?
LAUREN FIX, HOST, "TALK 2 DIY AUTOMOTIVE": Yes, well, there's a lot of things, Carol, and one of the big things this year is other ways to improve fuel economy without putting yourself into a hybrid because it does take a few years to earn your money back, which I think a lot of people aren't aware of. And one of those things would be lighter weight cars. For example, this is a Range Rover Sport. It has an aluminum tailgate. It has an aluminum Jaguar engine in it. This is actually an all brand new model. And Range Rover has lightened the car up just in order to get better fuel economy than you would think from an SUV. Something like this you think maybe 10 miles to the gallon. This is almost 20 miles to the gallon by lightening the car up.
LIN: Wow! Lauren, but you know when I think aluminum, I think foil. So I think light weight, I think dangerous. I mean are these cars more dangerous then?
FIX: Actually, they're stronger. When you think about the materials, you think aluminum, titanium, magnesium and a honeycomb product called carbon fiber. These are some of the products used on the space shuttles. They use them in race cars. They use them in a lot of high tech applications. And one of the great things is because it's lighter, in this case, these materials area also stronger. So aluminum foil is real thin, but the material they're using is thicker. It's folded. It's formed. And there are different types of materials within that aluminum category. So this car is lighter yet also stronger and safer.
LIN: All right. I get the titanium business because, you know, think about the latest in golf club technology, right? You're out there hacking away, whacking away, and it's pretty tough stuff.
FIX: Exactly. So just like titanium golf clubs or you might find home-based lighter, like in the kitchen, they're using a lot of aluminum in kitchens, in other applications, because they're lighter and they're stronger. So you are right. And what that does is less push down the road so you don't have a car that may have weighed 4,000 pounds, may weigh 3,500 pounds, so it requires less energy to push it down the road.
There's some new concepts out like the Suzuki Concept X-2 is lighter and it gives better fuel economy than they expected too. I've seen a lot of interesting concepts here that are closer to production than you've seen in concepts but also very high-tech materials, keeping the prices reasonable because they're production cars, but then helping increase the fuel economy.
LIN: OK. So how much money can you save on gas do you think? I mean compare the fuel economy?
FIX: Well, the fuel economy, in this case, instead of it maybe being -- it might improve it by five miles to the gallon. Now, that may not be a lot, but if cost of gas is close to $3 a gallon, there's some other things you can do. Of course, you know, check your tire pressure once a month and then keeping your car well maintained will improve your fuel economy also. But that's if you got a car. For a new car, you've got a lot of great choices available. There are hybrids available. There's lots of hybrids here. The Lexus has a new hybrid coming out next year and that's unusual for an SUV. So you're seeing a lot of different applications even in the performance end like a Corvette is getting better fuel economy because of aluminum is fashion in cars.
LIN: A Corvette! All right, a midlife crisis can actually save gas, too. Thanks, Lauren.
FIX: Thank you, Carol. I appreciate it.
LIN: We're going to have to leave it there. Thanks so much.
Straight ahead tonight, the changing landscape of the California desert, a spectacle attracting thousands but first here's Al Hunt to tell us what's ahead on "THE CAPITAL GANG."
AL HUNT, CO-HOST, "THE CAPITAL GANG": THE CAPITAL GANGE looks at the politics of Terri Schiavo's plight, a new report on social security's deficit and President Bush's North American summit, plus, an update from Baghdad as the fighting there enters its third year. All that and more next on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Floods, snow melt, and devastating mudslides, record setting rains in California are responsible for all of that but they're also responsible for something else, an explosion of wild flowers in the desert. CNN's Peter Viles and cameraman Samir Loratek (ph) take a look at a tour of a California desert in full bloom.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the desert floor, a carpet of color. You'll see purple, yellow, pink, blue and red. But if you really want to take in the wild flowers, take a walk with Bill Truesdell.
BILL TRUESDELL, RETIRED PARK RANGER: The dandelion is in the composite family, which means it is a composite of a whole mass of individual flowers.
VILES (on camera): So that is dozens of flowers right there?
TRUESDELL: Yes, right there. Humming birds like this particular plant. It is a humming bird bush.
VILES (voice-over): He'll show you flowers that haven't even bloomed yet like those on this ocoteo (ph) tree or this little one.
TRUESDELL: When it does open, it's going to have a cup shape with five purple spots on it and they call it the Desert Five Spot.
VILES: He'll show you flowers so small, you'd otherwise step on them.
TRUESDELL: This is the Desert Star.
VILES (on camera): This is a Desert Star?
TRUESDELL: Yes.
VILES (voice-over): When you take the time to see this little one, you might also see this little one and this little one, which is really the point. Slow down and open your eyes.
TRUESDELL: People are too busy. We're too busy with our televisions and cell phones and our jobs, and trying to make enough money to make a living, and we don't take the chance to go out and take a walk. Our weekends should be for rejuvenation. They should be a time for wonder, a sense of wonder like the little kids still have that sense.
VILES: Sometimes that means taking a deep breath.
TRUESDELL: This one is the Desert Lavender, and I want you to smell that.
VILES (on camera): Wow! It smells like a bar of soap.
TRUESDELL: Wow! Yes!
VILES: How would you rate this spring as springs go for flowers?
TRUESDELL: This has been, I think, the best spring I have seen.
VILES (voice-over): Such a good spring that if you go up into the hills, you'll find the biggest flower of all, one that doesn't bloom every year. First, find the symbol of the Mohave Desert, the Joshua Tree, and then look up.
Peter Viles for CNN, Joshua Tree, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: And that's all the time we have for this hour but coming up next, 'THE CAPITAL GANG" and then at 8:00 eastern on "CNN PRESENTS: THE TWO MARYS." At 9:00, "LARRY KING" and Larry's guest tonight is Rick Warren, the author of "The Purpose Drive Life." And of course, I'll be back at 10:00 Eastern tonight with the impact of the Schiavo case, and what it could do with the legal system.
After the break, the day's headlines and then "THE CAPITAL GANG."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired March 26, 2005 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: We are waiting for yet another decision, another court appeal by Terri Schiavo's parents, what they hope can happen next. Plus, the very latest on the medical condition of Terri Schiavo, now, more than a week without food or water. Also, what doctors say happens physically to a person going through the final stages of life. It is March 26 and you're watching CNN LIVE SATURDAY.
From CNN's global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Lin and here's what's happening right now in the news. Beirut, Lebanon, the scene of so many protests recently, now the scene of an apparent car bomb. Security sources say at least three people are injured. Firefighters are tying to put out the flames in an industrial district.
U.S. and Iraqi forces are rounding up suspected insurgents. Dozens were picked up in a raid dubbed Operation River Thunder, south of Baghdad today. A massive weapons stash was uncovered in another raid.
And stormy skies and dangerous lightning are disrupting weekend plans for many in southern parts of America's heartland. So we're going to have a live report in 25 minutes on where the severe weather is and where it's heading.
But right now, there's only one thing Terri Schiavo's parents and husband see eye to eye on. She is on a path towards death after eight days without her feeding tube and that is where the agreement ends. The parents have filed an emergency appeal in the Florida Supreme Court. Just moments ago, we heard from Terri Schiavo's brother, who is demanding communion for his sister. Our correspondents are in place in Florida: Randi Kaye in Dunedin, where Michael Schiavo's attorney held a news conference earlier today but first, we're going to going to go to CNN's John Zarrella outside Terri Schiavo's hospice in Pinellas Park.
John, explain the controversy over this whole communion issue.
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN MIAMI BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, that, Carol, was the latest development that we did have here. We did have one arrest a few minutes ago of a protester trying to get in to bring water to Terri, quickly taken away, put in the paddy wagon. But this communion issue just surfaced today. Now what happened was that George -- well, what happened was that Bobby Schindler and Brother Paul O'Donnell, their spiritual advisor, begged Michael Schiavo this afternoon to allow Terri on this, the highest of holy days coming up, the Easter Sunday in the Catholic Church, to allow Terri to receive Holy Communion, a small piece of the host, the wafer, and a little bit of the consecrated wine as well. Felos, George Felos, Michael's attorney, earlier today stated that on the 18th, the court order on the 18th, which removed the feeding tube, before the feeding tube was removed that she was administered the bread, the Holy Communion through the tube before it was removed. Now, the family wants her to be able to get Holy Communion today. We don't -- tomorrow. We don't know how that is going to play out.
The other issue, of course, there is no middle ground between either side here, no agreement on anything. Mr. Felos, during his new conference earlier today, talking about how wonderful he said that Terri looked and how peaceful, he said, she looked. Well, Bobby Schindler, Terri's brother, when he spoke here today said that could not be further from the truth.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOBBY SCHINDLER, TERRI SCHIAVO'S BROTHER: They're mischaracterizing the condition today just as they've been mischaracterizing the condition for the last five years. It's sick, it's heinous, what is happening to my sister, and I assure you, she is not dying peacefully and painlessly. And I'm going to actually suggest to my parents not to go and visit their daughter anymore.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZARRELLA: Now, Bobby and Suzanne have both been coming and going throughout the day today. They are back here now but periodically, they've left for a little break. I know that both Mr. and Mrs. Schindler, the same, have been here for a while and then left. Now, Bob Schindler, Terri's father, he spoke earlier today, and he talked about how he says his daughter is really giving her all to stay alive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB SCHINDLER, TERRI SCHIAVO'S FATHER: I can tell you and assure you she is fighting like hell to stay alive. And I want the powers that be to know that. It's not too late to save her, so anyone that has the authority to come in and to save Terri, they can do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZARRELLA: A little heavier security here today that we've seen in the past. Some concerns over security breaches, but everything very calm. The crowd remaining very, very calm -- Carol.
LIN: All right, thanks very much. John Zarrella reporting live outside the hospice.
Let's now go to CNN's Randi Kaye. She's in Dunedin, Florida where a short time ago you heard from Michael Schiavo's side of the story.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Carol. George Felos held a press conference here earlier this afternoon. He wanted to clear up some rumors, as he put it, about Terri Schiavo's condition. That was at the request of his client, Michael Schiavo. He -- earlier today, you heard Bob Schindler, Terri Schiavo's parents -- Terri Schiavo's father saying that she was showing signs of starvation and dehydration. The family's lawyer, David Gibbs, had said just yesterday that he expected her to step into eternity, as he put it, this Easter weekend. But this afternoon, George Felos -- John Zarella had just touched on this -- George Felos was describing her as beautiful. He spent 20 minutes with her in her hospice room this afternoon. He said in all the years he has know her he has never seen her so peaceful. He described a naturalness about her. Here's more of that description.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE FELOS, MICHAEL SCHIAVO'S ATTORNEY: As it appears to me, Mrs. Schiavo's death is not imminent by any means. She is resting comfortably. Her breathing did not appear to be shallow. And at least at this point, it does not appear that her death is imminent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Terri Schiavo's parents, the Schindlers also suffered another legal blow in court today. They had put in a request; they had filed a motion to have an IV tube, some intravenous fluid administered to her over the weekend. They also wanted her reevaluated by a doctor to determine her will to live, which they say has changed. They say she has a new intent to live. But Judge George Greer from the Sixth Judicial Circuit Court refused that motion. He argued that her intent to live has not changed. So just this afternoon, the Schindlers filed an emergency petition with the Florida Supreme Court. They are insisting that she be reevaluated and they want her feeding tube restored.
Now, we asked George Felos about that and this is what he had to say in response to the prospect of another legal battle ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FELOS: I would hope that the parents' side realize that any further legal action is going to be futile. I mean, we can understand their desperate efforts in this case, but I would hope that at some point before Terri's death, they leave that behind, and begin to try to cope with this more on a personal level.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Now, clearly, Terri Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, are not giving up, but it is important to remind you that this is the very same court, the Florida Supreme Court, where they filed that emergency petition today -- this is the same court that refused to hear the case Thursday of this week --Carol.
LIN: It is Easter weekend. We'll see if we hear from the court at all in the next couple of days. Randi Kaye, thank you.
Well, the supporters outside the hospice mostly Right to Life groups, Christian-based groups. Interesting to note that when you see a new "Time" magazine poll, which is offering a glimpse into how American's feel about the Terri Schiavo case. One survey finds evangelicals and all other respondents aren't that far apart in their opinions. In both cases, more than 50 percent agree with the decision to remove Terri Schiavo's feeding tube and 70 percent of those polled say President Bush was wrong to intervene in this case. Three-quarters also say Congress should not have intervened.
Well, a man is under arrest for allegedly trying to arrange the deaths of two key figures in this case. Richard Allen Meywes of North Carolina is facing charges, including solicitation of murder. Authorities say he was offering $250,000 to anyone who would kill Terri Schiavo's husband, Michael, and another $50,000 for the killing of Circuit Court judge George Greer who ordered Terri Schiavo's feeding tube removed.
In the meantime, onto another case, a case of a missing girl. Yesterday, we reported on the AMBER Alert. Today, authorities in Iowa are trying to determine whether another girl met a similar feat as young Jessica Lunsford. They say Jetseta Gage vanished from her home Thursday night with a convicted sex offender. A girl's body was found yesterday in a rundown mobile home, but there has been no official confirmation of whether that body is that of the missing girl.
Still, the man authorities say was seen leaving with Gage, Roger Bentley, was arraigned today on one count of child stealing. Bond was set at $1 million.
And we're going to have more on the farewells to young Jessica Lunsford, but first we want to tell you about President Bush today offering his sympathy to the people of Red Lake, Minnesota as they tried to recover from this week's deadly school shooting. The president praised Derek Brood (ph), the security guard who was killed trying to stop the gunmen, Jeff Weise, from carrying out the attack. Nine people were shot dead in Monday's rampage, seven inside the school. The two other victims were Weise's grandfather and his companion, both were buried today. Weise took his own life.
In the meantime, emotions are running high in another Florida community as mourners remember 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford. She's the girl who was abducted and found killed weeks later near her home. Ferdinand Zogbaum, from CNN affiliate Bay News 9, attended today's memorial in Crystal River.
Ferdinand, there was a wonderful gesture that the folks there had organized for the children who attended the services there.
FERDINAND ZOGBAUM, BAY NEWS 9 REPORTER: Yes, you're exactly right. Well, actually, the sun is going down here after a very sort of sad, sorrowful, full day here after the memorial that was held for 9- year-old Jessica Lunsford. A lot of people showed up here. The community has been rallying behind this for -- ever since she was discovered to be missing from her bedroom.
Now, earlier, during the memorial, some people did speak. A number of people spoke, including Sheriff Jeff Dawsy, who has been behind the investigation. It was a frustrating investigation for him for many weeks because they just couldn't find any clues or any information to lead them to Jessica. The community rallied around him. About 1,300 people came out day after day to help the search efforts. Now, Sheriff Daswsy as well as Jessica's father, Mark Lunsford, had this to say...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK LUNSFORD, JESSICA LUNSFORD'S FATHER: The community, the people all over Florida, other states, anybody that just put their hand on one of her fliers, I thank all of you. You all worked so hard to help someone you didn't even know.
SHERIFF JEFF DAWSY, FLORIDA: I thank you for your confidence in me. I thank you for cheering me on morally, which you have, and emotionally, and I appreciate that. And I have said this over to you guys, believe me, I'm so sorry I didn't bring her back home to you alive. I love you guys and thank you very much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZOGBAUM: Now, obviously, those two were very shaken up during the memorial. You can't blame them one bit. They did want to end things on a lighter note so they all came out here and gathered, and a bunch of balloons were passed out to kids, moms, dads, grandmothers, grandfathers, just about everybody, different colored balloons. And every balloon had a message on it, a message to be sent to Jessica Lunsford up in the skies, and people gathered to let those go. Now, we did catch up with one girl who did let one of those balloons go and she was hoping that it does reach Jessica so she knows everyone down here remembers here and is thinking about her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY ROOF, MOURNER: Hopefully, well, definitely releasing this balloon symbolizing, you know, our love that we have for Jessica. I just hope she's OK and we know she is, but it just, I guess, lets some of our sorrows free today and all our love for her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZOGBAUM: Now, we were told that about -- well, over 500 balloons were released earlier this afternoon.
Back to you guys.
LIN: All right, thank you very much, Ferdinand.
Still ahead on CNN LIVE SATURDAY, faces of the fallen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
B.G. MUHN, ARTIST: They're coming to me, and try to express, I don't know exactly what, but they're with me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: A magnificent and emotional display opens at Arlington National Cemetery honoring servicemen and women killed in Iraq and Afghanistan and CNN was there.
Plus, three months later, after one of the worst disasters in human history, citizens in tsunami stricken Banda Aceh struggle to rebuild. It's an area changed in more ways than one.
And later tonight, fields and fields of flowers in a place you'd never expect.
You're watching CNN SATURDAY. We'll be back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: It has been a dangerous day on the front lines in Iraq. Just in the last 24 hours, three more American troops have been killed. About this time each week we try to bring you the more personal stories from the front lines and today there was a poignant exhibit honoring U.S. troops who have given their lives in the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Here's CNN's Brian Todd.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Some seem ready to say hi, extend their hand, others are more haunting. Collectively, they're overwhelming, portraits of lives cut short.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a likeness of our son, his smile, his blue eyes. It really...
TODD: Fathers can't finish their sentences, mothers cry. Their children among this gallery of heroes, more than 1,300 servicemen and women killed in Iraq and Afghanistan so aptly named "Faces of The Fallen."
REX ROGERS, SON KILLED IN IRAQ: My son was driving a five-ton truck. This girl was riding shotgun. It was a roadside bomb.
TODD: A wrenching toll on parents and artists. B.G. Muhn spent months on his portraits. He got so close to his subjects, he says, that the soldiers appeared in his dreams.
MUHN: They're coming to me and trying to express, I don't know exactly what, but they are with me. They haunt me, I guess, beyond the level of my current consciousness.
TODD (on camera): B.G. Muhn's work on this project is prolific. He and his family alone have done more than 30 portraits. But he's just one of more than 200 artists who contributed their time and talent, a massive undertaking all inspired by one woman and her own personal loss.
(voice-over): Annette Polan says she spent about a month on her couch after her mother died early last year. Then she picked up a newspaper and saw a huge spread, photographs of lost servicemen.
ANNETTE POLAN, COCHAIR, "FACES OF THE FALLEN": And I looked at it. It was one of those eureka moments. I said this is a portrait gallery and I'm a portrait painter. I'm going -- I'm going to create something that will be more lasting.
TODD: They'll certainly last with Marine Corporal Charles Lauersdorf, who looks at the portraits of 27 buddies he lost in the Sunni Triangle last year and wonders.
CPL. CHARLES LAUERSDORF, U.S. MARINE CORPS: To come back and see them, it -- almost a sense of guilt is associated with it.
TODD: They'll last with the memory of 21-year-old Marine Lance Corporal Ellias Torrez whose parents came all the way from Central Texas.
MARTHA RAMIREZ TORREZ, SON KILLED IN IRAQ: There's really no words for a fallen hero. You know, it's very emotional to see that beautiful portrait.
TODD: Emotions that overtake a hardened Vietnam vet who lost his oldest boy.
ROGERS: It's hard. It's very difficult for me. They say freedom is just -- it's just not free. There's a lot of pain and suffering that goes along with it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Hard to believe but it's been three months to the day since the South Asia tsunami disaster. An earthquake sent a monster wave charging across the Indian Ocean, killing 170,000 people, and leaving more than 100,000 missing. Banda Aceh, Indonesia was one of the hardest hit areas. And there, an emergency relief system is gradually rebuilding homes, businesses, and lives. CNN's Atika Shubert reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The streets have been cleared, the bodies collected. Where there was mud and debris, there is now green grass. Three months after the tsunami, Aceh is coming back to life. Markets bloom amid the wreckage. Candy sellers shop their wares, a sure sign that Aceh has moved beyond mere survival.
The sound of building is everywhere, as displaced residents earn money constructing temporary homes. There are signs of resilience. This graffiti defiantly states, the owner of this house is not dead yet. And signs of determination, this village decided it couldn't wait for government help, literally, rebuilding their community from the wreckage of the tsunami.
"If I stayed at the camps, my soul wouldn't be satisfied," this man says. "I have returned here every day since the tsunami and I will stay here."
(on camera): In many ways, Aceh is more open now than it was before the tsunami. Decades of conflicts between separatist rebels and even Indonesian military previously kept it sealed off from the rest of the world.
(voice-over): Now, foreign aid workers play basketball on military courts to the cheers of an enthusiastic audience. Soldiers used to patrol the city for rebels. They are less visible now but still there. Where everyone else carries timber and building materials, they carry tools whose only purpose is to kill.
Many here say the years of conflict prepared them for disaster, inured them against tragedy. They still grieve, but they work harder to pick up the pieces. One man we spoke to said it best: "Aceh will never be the same. It can be either be less than it was before the tsunami or it can become something greater. The choice is ours."
Atika Shubert, CNN, Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Meanwhile, there's some dangerous weather developing right here at home. Towering clouds and thunderstorms are threatening parts of the south. In fact, we're going to show you a live tower camera. These pictures from our affiliate, WPMI, in Mobile, Alabama, where they are expecting some three inch hail, maybe tornado activity up to F-5. It's just part of that area. You can see some of the dangerous weather conditions developing just in the next few hours. Meteorologist Brad Huffines is tracking where the storms are likely to hit.
Brad, that almost sounds exaggerated because some of the weather today here in Atlanta, Georgia was absolutely gorgeous. How quickly are these conditions developing?
(WEATHER REPORT)
LIN: Oh, my goodness, looking at that map! All right, so much for the Easter egg hunt, Brad?
HUFFINES: Not in the Southeast.
LIN: Nope. You bet. All right, thanks so much.
In the meantime, we're going to show you two families with two similar tragedies but they find common ground over the case of Terri Schiavo. So straight ahead on CNN LIVE SATURDAY, the right to die and who decides the victim's feat.
Also, the debate over ethics, a look back at lessons learned in the Schiavo case. I'm going to be talking with a bioethicist who's got some really strong opinions.
And later, tired of the pump putting a dent in your wallet? Well, some new hi-tech cars could be the answer. We're going to live to the New York Auto Show with Lauren Fix to show you what's new.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LIN: Now I want to get back to the top story for today, the Terri Schiavo case. Well, her parents make another legal appeal. Her husband's attorney says she is dying with dignity but her father says there's still time to intervene.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
B. SCHINDLER: But I can tell you and assure you she is fighting like hell to stay alive. And I want the powers that be to know that. It's not too late to save her. So anyone that has the authority to come in and to save Terri, they can do it.
FELOS: Frankly, when I saw her, and it's the first time I have seen her since the artificial life support was removed eight days ago, she looked beautiful. In all the years I've seen Mrs. Schiavo, I've never seen such a look of peace and beauty upon her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Now, this is a case that is arousing strong emotions from many people around the country and beyond. Most can't imagine what it would be like to make a life or death situation for a loved one in Schiavo's condition, but some know the pain all too well. CNN's Alina Cho has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Whenever Terri Schiavo's face appears on television; Mary Martin is riveted to the screen, and very angry.
MARY MARTIN, WIDOW OF VICTIM: Enough is enough. Not everyone wants to just exist.
CHO: One hundred fifty miles away in another quiet Michigan town, Fran Rosebush is also angry.
FRANCIS ROSEBUSH, FATHER OF VICTIM: The husband shouldn't go against the mother and father because yes, that's their daughter and you know what, they had her long before he did.
CHO: The Schiavo case brings back agonizing memories for both. Both have had loved ones on life support. Both believe the government should not be deciding whether someone should live or die.
MARTIN: I believe that if Terri Schiavo lived in Michigan or you know California, any place other than Florida where Jeb Bush, brother to the president, was living, it would not be at the magnitude that it is today.
ROSEBUSH: Well, I'm a very strong Bush supporter. I listen to Rush Limbaugh...
CHO (on camera): But...
ROSEBUSH: ...but I don't agree with them on this. CHO (voice-over): Eighteen years ago, Fran Rosebush watched helplessly as his daughter, Joelle, then 10 years old, was hit by a car. The accident left her in a persistent vegetative state. After more than a year of medical treatment, Rosebush decided to take his daughter off life support.
ROSEBUSH: I felt that man was keeping Joelle alive and God wanted her.
CHO: Three of his daughter's nurses fought him on it, but Rosebush won in court. Mary Martin did not.
(on camera): Do you think Mike was able to die with dignity?
MARTIN: Oh, his dignity was stripped of him, but he was finally able to go and be with his God.
CHO (voice-over): Four days after Joelle Rosebush's accident, Martin, her husband Mike and their three children were in their car, Mike at the wheel when a train hit them.
MARTIN: I remember saying, "Is everyone OK?" and the only one that responded was my oldest daughter, Mindy, saying "Mom, I'm fine. Matt's crying, and I don't know about dad."
CHO: The Martins youngest daughter, 7-year-old Melanie (ph), died instantly. Her father was severely brain damaged. Mary Martin fought to have his feeding tube removed, but lost a lengthy court battle to his family. Fifteen years later, Michael Martin died of pneumonia. Martin believes she should have had the right to decide what happened to her husband and Michael Schiavo should decide what happens to his wife.
MARTIN: When two people marry, the Bible says, you leave your family and cling to your husband or wife.
CHO: She says her husband never wanted to be kept alive by machines. Look no further than Michael Martin's headstone, three dates: the day he was borne, the day Mary says he died, and she says the day his soul was sent to heaven.
MARTIN: Ultimately...
CHO (on camera): You feel as though you let him down.
MARTIN: I feel to this day that I let him down.
CHO: Both of them agreed that Terri Schiavo's parents are letting their daughter down by turning the case into a national and political spectacle.
Alina Cho, CNN, Detroit, Michigan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Well, the Terri Schiavo case, no doubt, has generated a lot of debate over ethics, both medically and politically. So joining me now to talk about this is Alta Charo, a bioethicist from the University of Wisconsin Law School.
Alta, many developments since you were last on our air. Now there's yet another appeal, an emergency appeal before the Florida State Supreme Court by the Schindler family and a battle at the microphones between Michael Schiavo's attorney, who describes Terri Schiavo as peaceful and resting, and the Schindlers who describe her as bleeding and parched. It is, frankly, getting ugly out there. Give me your thoughts now as this week has progressed and that the Schindler family continues its legal battle.
ALTA CHARO, UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN LAW SCHOOL: Well, I think one of the most surprising things for me and for many others is the way in which this whole dispute has been so effectively reframed. This is about a woman who made very clear statements about what she wanted for her life and for her death. And there have been years' worth of court proceedings to make sure that we're confident about what she'd actually said. And now, at the 11th hour what we're seeing is a collection of activists, members of Congress, members of the Florida State legislature believing that it's their job to step in and overrule her wishes or overrule the process by which we've become confident of her wishes. And they've reframed this as if it's a question of somebody's choice to kill her and whether her life is worth living. It's really about liberty. It's about the ability to define our own existence.
LIN: And in terms of how Terri Schiavo defined her existence. She defined it to her husband. I mean the sanctity of marriage indicates that this would have been her last wish and yet, it has debated time and again, and in such a manner, Alta. I'd like to have your thoughts about how the Schindlers have chosen to present this debate. On the one hand, you have a family, parents, who cannot let go of their child who is still breathing and warm to their touch, and you can understand that, surely.
CHARO: Of course. It's -- I think everybody watching this realizes that we're watching a family say goodbye on national television and that should never have to happen. And they're saying goodbye for what must be the sixth or seventh time since her originally accident, which left her in this condition. And nobody should have to see that happen either. But that kind of grief that often translates into completely unrealistic hope translates into projecting upon her body all sorts of meaning in her movements and in her grimaces that is really not there. That should not overrule her wishes about how she wanted to live and die, should not overrule years worth of court efforts to make all of us confident about what she had not only to her husband but to other people.
LIN: What do you think of the system that handled this, both Congress as well as the courts? I mean do you think the U.S. Congress and the courts led this family down the primrose path, gave them false hope?
CHARO: I don't know if the Congress gave them false hope. I do think that the Congress was quite self-indulgent. In the name of answering concerns about -- in the name of political expediency, to be quite blunt about it, they really ripped up 200 some odd years of an understanding of the role of the courts and of the legislatures in setting the rules for how we handle private disputes because this is a private dispute. And sadly, when they can't be resolved within the family, between the family and the doctors, we have state courts there to help do this and that's what they did for years. And the Congress had absolutely no business to say we don't like the result in that state court decision so we're going to take that away from the states. Which decision is this going to be next that they'll do this with? Is it a state court abortion decision that they don't' like and now will remove to the federal courts? It's a very dangerous precedent. It's imperialism by the legislature.
LIN: And then when you get to the grassroots level, the scene outside that hospice, 70 other families who were there to watch their loved ones die and having difficulty even getting to those rooms in some cases because of the spectacle outside.
Alta Charo, thanks for joining us tonight.
CHARO: You're very welcome.
LIN: Well, there is a lot of debate about exactly what Terri Schiavo is experiencing physically, even mentally or perhaps emotionally, according to her family, now that she has been without water and nutrition for more than eight days. Her parents say she is suffering but her husband and brother-in-law describe her as peaceful. Dr. Nathan Goldstein from New York's Mount Sinai Hospital gives his opinion of what patients like Schiavo experience when their feeding tubes are disconnected.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. NATHAN GOLDSTEIN, MT. SINAI HOSPITAL, NEW YORK: After a week of stopping artificial hydration and nutrition, patients -- the kidneys at this point would begin to function less and less. The toxins in the blood would begin to build up, and the levels of certain things in the blood, such as potassium, would probably begin to increase.
The only symptom that patients at this point might be experiencing or the family might be noticing, again because she's not experiencing it, is things such as a dry mouth or dry lips. And that's treated very easily with, for example, swabs or ice chips.
Patients in persistent vegetative states whom we stop artificial hydration and nutrition on aren't dying because we stopped it. They die because they were never able to eat and drink in the first place. Remember just because we're stopping artificial hydration and nutrition doesn't mean that we're stopping care or that we're abandoning her. So with good medical interventions aimed at any symptoms that might come up in other patients, we can control any discomfort or any symptoms that patients might have.
The rule of hospice is not just to abandon patients when they come to the end of life, it's just the opposite. In fact, some of the most difficult care or most intensive care for patients in hospice happens near the end of life. And as much as nobody wants to die, I think we all have to realize that death is a very natural process, and the body has certainly mechanisms that over time begin to break down. And so that, there is a natural process to death just as there is a natural process to birth. And the things in this case, this is one of the most peaceful ways to die because the body takes over and makes sure that we're not awake and aware and that we don't suffer.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Note that Dr. Goldstein used the phrase artificial hydration and nutrition when it comes to people like Terri Schiavo. He does not say feeding her food or water, an interesting distinction. Dr. Goldstein specializes in geriatrics and end of life care at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.
Well, still ahead on CNN LIVE SATURDAY, are you tired of paying the rising cost of gas, but don't want a hybrid car? Well, there are some answers at this year's car show for you. We are live in New York at the New York Auto Show next.
And later, the rains in California caused headaches and hassle, but they caused something else, too -- flowers, lots of them.
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LIN: Well, beneath the glitz and glitter of this year's New York Auto Show lies the sobering reality of spiraling gas prices. Lauren Fix) is host of cable TV's "Talk 2 DIY Automotive" and she's with me now from the auto show at the Jacob Javis Center with some really cool ideas on how we can save some money.
Lauren, what are you seeing out there, some new ideas other than these hybrids that you know, I may not want to plug in my car at night?
LAUREN FIX, HOST, "TALK 2 DIY AUTOMOTIVE": Yes, well, there's a lot of things, Carol, and one of the big things this year is other ways to improve fuel economy without putting yourself into a hybrid because it does take a few years to earn your money back, which I think a lot of people aren't aware of. And one of those things would be lighter weight cars. For example, this is a Range Rover Sport. It has an aluminum tailgate. It has an aluminum Jaguar engine in it. This is actually an all brand new model. And Range Rover has lightened the car up just in order to get better fuel economy than you would think from an SUV. Something like this you think maybe 10 miles to the gallon. This is almost 20 miles to the gallon by lightening the car up.
LIN: Wow! Lauren, but you know when I think aluminum, I think foil. So I think light weight, I think dangerous. I mean are these cars more dangerous then?
FIX: Actually, they're stronger. When you think about the materials, you think aluminum, titanium, magnesium and a honeycomb product called carbon fiber. These are some of the products used on the space shuttles. They use them in race cars. They use them in a lot of high tech applications. And one of the great things is because it's lighter, in this case, these materials area also stronger. So aluminum foil is real thin, but the material they're using is thicker. It's folded. It's formed. And there are different types of materials within that aluminum category. So this car is lighter yet also stronger and safer.
LIN: All right. I get the titanium business because, you know, think about the latest in golf club technology, right? You're out there hacking away, whacking away, and it's pretty tough stuff.
FIX: Exactly. So just like titanium golf clubs or you might find home-based lighter, like in the kitchen, they're using a lot of aluminum in kitchens, in other applications, because they're lighter and they're stronger. So you are right. And what that does is less push down the road so you don't have a car that may have weighed 4,000 pounds, may weigh 3,500 pounds, so it requires less energy to push it down the road.
There's some new concepts out like the Suzuki Concept X-2 is lighter and it gives better fuel economy than they expected too. I've seen a lot of interesting concepts here that are closer to production than you've seen in concepts but also very high-tech materials, keeping the prices reasonable because they're production cars, but then helping increase the fuel economy.
LIN: OK. So how much money can you save on gas do you think? I mean compare the fuel economy?
FIX: Well, the fuel economy, in this case, instead of it maybe being -- it might improve it by five miles to the gallon. Now, that may not be a lot, but if cost of gas is close to $3 a gallon, there's some other things you can do. Of course, you know, check your tire pressure once a month and then keeping your car well maintained will improve your fuel economy also. But that's if you got a car. For a new car, you've got a lot of great choices available. There are hybrids available. There's lots of hybrids here. The Lexus has a new hybrid coming out next year and that's unusual for an SUV. So you're seeing a lot of different applications even in the performance end like a Corvette is getting better fuel economy because of aluminum is fashion in cars.
LIN: A Corvette! All right, a midlife crisis can actually save gas, too. Thanks, Lauren.
FIX: Thank you, Carol. I appreciate it.
LIN: We're going to have to leave it there. Thanks so much.
Straight ahead tonight, the changing landscape of the California desert, a spectacle attracting thousands but first here's Al Hunt to tell us what's ahead on "THE CAPITAL GANG."
AL HUNT, CO-HOST, "THE CAPITAL GANG": THE CAPITAL GANGE looks at the politics of Terri Schiavo's plight, a new report on social security's deficit and President Bush's North American summit, plus, an update from Baghdad as the fighting there enters its third year. All that and more next on CNN.
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LIN: Floods, snow melt, and devastating mudslides, record setting rains in California are responsible for all of that but they're also responsible for something else, an explosion of wild flowers in the desert. CNN's Peter Viles and cameraman Samir Loratek (ph) take a look at a tour of a California desert in full bloom.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the desert floor, a carpet of color. You'll see purple, yellow, pink, blue and red. But if you really want to take in the wild flowers, take a walk with Bill Truesdell.
BILL TRUESDELL, RETIRED PARK RANGER: The dandelion is in the composite family, which means it is a composite of a whole mass of individual flowers.
VILES (on camera): So that is dozens of flowers right there?
TRUESDELL: Yes, right there. Humming birds like this particular plant. It is a humming bird bush.
VILES (voice-over): He'll show you flowers that haven't even bloomed yet like those on this ocoteo (ph) tree or this little one.
TRUESDELL: When it does open, it's going to have a cup shape with five purple spots on it and they call it the Desert Five Spot.
VILES: He'll show you flowers so small, you'd otherwise step on them.
TRUESDELL: This is the Desert Star.
VILES (on camera): This is a Desert Star?
TRUESDELL: Yes.
VILES (voice-over): When you take the time to see this little one, you might also see this little one and this little one, which is really the point. Slow down and open your eyes.
TRUESDELL: People are too busy. We're too busy with our televisions and cell phones and our jobs, and trying to make enough money to make a living, and we don't take the chance to go out and take a walk. Our weekends should be for rejuvenation. They should be a time for wonder, a sense of wonder like the little kids still have that sense.
VILES: Sometimes that means taking a deep breath.
TRUESDELL: This one is the Desert Lavender, and I want you to smell that.
VILES (on camera): Wow! It smells like a bar of soap.
TRUESDELL: Wow! Yes!
VILES: How would you rate this spring as springs go for flowers?
TRUESDELL: This has been, I think, the best spring I have seen.
VILES (voice-over): Such a good spring that if you go up into the hills, you'll find the biggest flower of all, one that doesn't bloom every year. First, find the symbol of the Mohave Desert, the Joshua Tree, and then look up.
Peter Viles for CNN, Joshua Tree, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: And that's all the time we have for this hour but coming up next, 'THE CAPITAL GANG" and then at 8:00 eastern on "CNN PRESENTS: THE TWO MARYS." At 9:00, "LARRY KING" and Larry's guest tonight is Rick Warren, the author of "The Purpose Drive Life." And of course, I'll be back at 10:00 Eastern tonight with the impact of the Schiavo case, and what it could do with the legal system.
After the break, the day's headlines and then "THE CAPITAL GANG."
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