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CNN Live Saturday
Interview with Rohan Guranratna, Interview with Christine Horner; Rosa Parks To Lie In Honor In Capitol Rotunda
Aired October 29, 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: Officials say floodwaters washed the rails away. In Iraq, a truck bomb killed people in a Shiite village near Bacuba. Police say the bomb went off in a crowded marketplace.
And the Secretaries of State and Defense welcome their counterparts from Japan today at Washington and they made a big announcement. The number of U.S. Marines on Okinawa will be cut in half over the next six years.
Those are the headlines. This is the top story. It has been a week of political turmoil for the Bush white house. Lewis Libby, the top advisor to Vice President Dick Cheney has resigned. He has been indicted on charges of lying and obstruction of justice in connection with the leak of a CIA operative's identity. The president is also dealing with the war in Iraq and many other issues. We are going to go live right now to the White House. CNN's Elaine Quijano is standing by there.
Elaine, was it a busy day for the president?
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Good evening to you, Carol. After a blistering week for his administration, President Bush spent today out of sight at Camp David, a chance for him to refocus and develop a strategy for the days ahead.
It had been a big source of anxiety for White House officials, but President Bush made no mention of the CIA leak investigation or Scooter Libby's indictment in his weekly radio address. Instead he turned to an issue that's actually dragged down his past approval ratings -- Iraq.
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GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The progress we have made so far has involved great sacrifice. The greatest burden has fallen on their military families.
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QUIJANO: The White House is looking for a new beginning.
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BUSH: We remain wholly focused on the many issues and opportunities facing this country.
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QUIJANO A chance to move from the bad news of recent days.
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TARA SETMAYER, REPUBLIC STRATEGIST: The Bush administration's second term is going to unofficially Monday.
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QUIJANO: But there are unresolved questions. The fate of Karl Rove, the president's top political adviser, is unclear. Though not indicted, he remains under investigation. And as Libby's case moves forward and the special counsel continues his work, there's a possibility top White House officials, including Vice President Cheney, might be called to testify.
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JULIAN EPSTEIN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: If the investigation continues he will have inquiries going into senior White House staff. White House staff will all have to get attorneys. It will paralyze the White House. The major question facing the White House right now is how quickly does this scandal go away?
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QUIJANO: One issue that will grab the headlines, an announcement of a new Supreme Court nominee fresh off White House counsel Harriet Miers's withdrawal from the process.
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SETMAYER: This is going to be the Supreme Court nomination that's going to knock the CIA leak investigation right off the map, because that is something that affects the American people on a day- to-day basis.
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QUIJANO: Critics say the president's political challenges are more deeply rooted.
EPSTEIN He doesn't have a lot of public support for his agenda right now. His poll numbers are in the 40s. The public has lost faith in his ability to handle big things like the Iraq war and things like Katrina.
QUIJANO: For now, the president is focusing his attention on things within his control, like that Supreme court nomination. Aides say he could announce a decision within days. Also next week, President Bush is expected to discuss what his administration is doing to try get ahead of a possible flu pandemic. Carol.
LIN: All right. Elaine Quijano, thank you.
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LIN: So far no reaction yet from Valerie Plame herself, but her husband says there have been threats against her. Former Ambassador Joe Wilson didn't get specific about those threats, though. In a CBS news interview airing on tomorrow's "60 minutes" only that he and his wife had discussed security for her with several agencies. Wilson insists the alleged leak was retaliation for his criticism of the Iraq war pap reminder.
Now, a reminder, former Ambassador Joe Wilson will join Wolf Blitzer Monday on "The Situation Room." Wolf's show will air at a special time -- 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
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LIN: In the meantime, a big story overseas. Indian officials say it is terrorism. A series of explosions, three in all, and almost all simultaneously went off in New Delhi today. Officials say a least 55 people are dead. Triple that number are injured. Despite no claim of responsibility, India's prime minister is convinced the blasts are the work of terrorists.
And in an official statement from neighboring Pakistan, India's staunch rival, condemned the violence, calling the bombings barbaric. More details now from the CNN's New Delhi's bureau chief, Satinder Bindra.
SATINDER BINDRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: India's capital, New Delhi was rocked by three powerful explosions on Saturday evening. The explosions occurred at about 6:00 and all three explosions occurred within moments of each other.
Two of the explosions were in crowded marketplaces. I'm standing here in one of them Sarojniger. This evening there were thousands of shoppers here. They had come to buy gifts just before the auspicious festival of Nervali.
Eyewitnesses tell me they noticed a bag here sitting on the sidewalk. Some people thought it was suspicious and warned others to get away. Just as people started to turn and run, there was a blinding flash followed by a huge explosion. The force of this blast was so powerful, that several stores were gutted, a fire then followed and people started running everywhere.
There was a stampede and eyewitnesses tell me when they got to the scene, they pulled out several dead people. Also, many of the injured were women and children. They were rushed to hospitals. So far, no group has claimed responsibility, but the Indian prime minister described this as a terrorist act. Police have put the capitol in a state of red alert. They warned people to stay away from crowded areas and also telling them they should try to remain calm.
Satinder Bindra, CNN, New Delhi.
LIN: Ah, but we're not finished with the story just yet. In just a few moments, a live conversation with a noted anti-terrorism expert about the possibility that an organized group, al Qaeda, carried out today's attack in India. We'll find out.
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LIN: All right. It's been almost a week since Hurricane Wilma blasted through south Florida, and hundreds of thousands of people are still waiting for power. Downed utility poles are one of the biggest problems for repair crews and it could be weeks before power is completely restored. For more on how people are coping with the storm's aftermath, let's join CNN's rusty Dornin right now in Miami. Rusty, it's going to be so frustrating?
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is so incredibly frustrating. Right now a little of what year seeing in the background, I'm not quite sure. A lot of police and fire units going by, nothing to do with our story right now.
Yes, people are very frustrated, nearly a million people without power. I mean, we traveled for miles, Carol, people are trying to clean up, but it's very difficult they have no lights, no power. They can't cook their food, they can't take hot showers. But one of the communities most affected by all this are the senior communities, and there's a huge one in south Florida. We've been to several that are 20,000 -- each community is 20,000. We went to one in Deerfield Beach today where people were lining up to get hot food. It was the first hot food yesterday when the trucks came in. One of the local representatives has taken it upon himself to make sure these seniors are not a forgotten community.
IRVING SLOSBERG, FLORIDA STATE HOUSE: The problem is there's no plan. We didn't have a plan for our senior citizens. I represent 13,000 seniors and my average voter is 80 years old. That means, if you take look at those high-rises over there, the fourth no, the elevators aren't working. They can't get down here. So these people can get down here, but if you think about this village, there's probably six 6,000 or 7,000 people stuck up there.
DORNIN: Has it been hard to convince local authorities to get to some of these retirement communities?
SLOSBERG: It's been impossible. So, like, I do what I can myself, get trucks here, get trucks there, deliver ice here.
DORNIN: And there was aid coming in there today from county officials. We do know now what some of this is all about all of these trucks. They are egg trucks. They are filled with food. They are filled with ice. They're going to one of the other distribution points to help people who are still without power and still having difficulty keeping food cold, getting ice, and just living there lives, Carol.
LIN: A great opportunity there, Rusty, to see that help is on the way. Thank you.
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In New Orleans today, union leaders and the Reverend Jesse Jackson demand the local workers be given priority for jobs to help rebuild the city. Some say out of state firms have taken business away from local contractors. Meantime, the New Orleans police department fired 45 officers for abandoning their post during Katrina. Acting chief Warren Riley says another 15 officers are under investigation for the same thing.
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WARREN RILEY, ACTING CHIEF, NEW ORLEANS POLICE DEPARTMENT: It was obvious that during the crisis, during the time when we needed police officers the most, when our citizens counted on us, and when we counted on our fellow officers to be there, during the most challenging time in the history of New Orleans, in modern time, anyway, those officers was not there. Not only were they not there, they have not returned since that time. So, it would be very difficult for them to function in our current operation. We need to be able to count on them, and they weren't there. So they were terminated.
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LIN: Well, the record-setting hurricane season is not the over yet. Hurricane Beta is threatening Nicaragua right now. Let's join meteorologist Bonnie Schneider in the CNN weather center. Bonnie, though it's not affecting the United States just yet, it's a big story.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, METEOROLOGIST, CNN: Absolutely, because a lot of people have friends and family in Central America and are watching it very closely. Hurricane beta is not as large of a hurricane as we saw with Wilma, Katrina or Rita. Right now, it's about 120 miles for the entire storm, but it's a powerful one, a category one right now with maximum winds at 90 miles per hour. The storm may intensify to category two status and as it slams into Nicaragua late tonight or early tomorrow morning, we're going to see torrential downpours with this system. We're talking about 20 inches of rain in some areas and this is definitely going to cause mudslide problems for much of the region and I think it's going to be a big, big concern straight through Monday as well, because the storm is moving pretty slowly right now to the west at about six miles per hour.
Well, switching gears to the U.S. we have a small storm of our a nor'easter, not such a big deal, not such a big deal for folks
SCHNEIDER: mudslide problems for much of the region and I think it's going to be a big, big concern straight through Monday as well since the storm is moving slowly to the west at six miles per hour.
Well, gears to the U.S. we have a small storm of our own, a nor'easter not such a big deal for folks in New England. They're used to this. But it is causing some problems. Right now light snow is falling in Boston. Not sticking, just kind of coating the grassy areas creating that first snowfall of the season. Looks pretty outside but will cause some problems driving tonight on the roads, especially to the south, where you have that wintry mix and windy conditions as well and as we check out Boston right now, we are getting reports of light snow and temperatures are dropping. So you know what that means. We'll be seeing some icy roadways tonight as most areas will drop at or below freezing this evening, even further to the south, we'll be looking at that towards Providence as well, where it's kind of changing over to a wintry mix as we speak.
Now elsewhere across the country, checking out highs for tomorrow, milder air is working from the west to the east, and by the time frost gets in tomorrow afternoon what a difference a day makes. Up to 63. That's a big change. But that's typical, of course. You know what they say of the weather in New England. You don't like it, stick around, wait a minute. It will change. That's exactly what's going to happen. One other note, Carol, I just want to mention that everybody needs to remember. Daylight saving time is tonight. So what you want to do is set those clocks back one hour before you go to bed at around 2:00 a.m. That's when daylight saving time begins and it does mean some shorter nights ahead. A sign that winter's on the way. Carol?
LIN: You bet. The holiday, just around the corner.
SCHNEIDER: Yes
LIN: Thanks, Bonnie >
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LIN: A great story coming up. Slick scammers prey. They prey on the honest people next door. Next, how to avoid being taken.
Also, October is breast cancer awareness month, and I'm going to talk to the author of "Waking Up the Warrior Goddess" about tips to ward off, actually cure, a killer cancer.
Plus this -
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FEMALE: I don't think there's any difference in the value of their death -- you know the 2,000th death is as heartbreaking as the first.
LIN: The death toll in Iraq passes another milestone. We are going to remember the lives, and not just the numbers. Straight ahead, when we go on the "Frontlines".
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LIN: Police in Los Angeles are trying to crack a crime ring targeting some of the most vulnerable members of our society. They say the elderly have become the victims of a string of burglaries in Los Angeles. They are targeted because they are so trusting. Kareen Winter has that story.
KAREEN WINTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: in this quiet suburb of Los Angeles, residents often leave their doors unlocked and neighbors still borrow a cup of sugar. That's why Raymond and Pat Elmer didn't think twice when a family showed up at their door asking for help.
PAT ELMER: It was the slickest scam, because they based it on us being decent people.
WINTER: Two women way child told the Elmers they were looking for a lost cat and claimed it was in the couple's backyard.
ELMER: We just closed the door and didn't lock it, which was a big mistake.
WINTER: A costly one, indeed. Los Angeles police say in minutes someone burglarized the home taking off with $2,000 in cash, jewelry and a revolver.
ELMER: By the time we got back around, why, there was nobody in the house by that time. We didn't know it. We came in, came in here to watch the TV. It wasn't until about 30 minutes later that I went down the hall and found stuff dumped out all over.
WINTER: the rooms ransacked.
ELMER: Went through all the drawers, books. Just dumped stuff out.
WINTER: Elmer, a retired LAPD detective who spent years tracking con artists says he never saw this one coming. Los Angeles police say there've been about six cases this year. Detectives are concerned the numbers could be much higher, with some victims perhaps too ashamed to come forward. This is a sketch of one of the suspects police say was involved in the Elmer's burglary and to date has stolen more than $10,000 from elderly victims.
ABEL PARGA, DETECTIVE: I hate to the think that our citizens would harden their hearts for the sake of being a harder target, as we'd like to say, but do a little more homework, if you do see someone claiming to be a neighbor, take a step towards confirming that.
WINTER: a lesson the Elmers paid a high price to learn. Kareen Winter, CNN, Los Angeles.
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ESTER FIELDING, CNN: Here's "Across America", now, accessory to murder charges are dropped against a mother of a teen murder suspect in California after she agrees to testify against her son. Prosecutors said she helped her son destroy evidence.
16-year-old Scott Dyleski is accused of beating to death Pamela Vitale. She is the wife of California attorney and television commentator Daniel Horowitz.
And former Washington mayor Marion Barry has pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of failing to file an income tax return. The plea agreement recommends probation and does not require Barry to give up his current seat on the D.C. city council.
And as a reminder that daylight saving time ends tonight. Dr. Time who owns a repair shop, in Sacramento, California, will be busy turning back 4,000 clocks in his shop.
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LIN: In the meantime, a somber milestone is reached in Iraq. More than 2,000 U.S. troops have now died while serving their country. We are going to remember the life of one hero when we go on the "Frontlines", next.
And later, the mother of the civil rights movement makes history again. We are remembering the life of Rosa Parks.
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NINA ZAGA, DENVER'S TOP RESTAURANTS: According to our guide of America's top restaurants, the top restaurants in Denver are Mazuna, Highland's Garden Cafe and Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House. Our surveyor's have rated Mizuna Number One for food in Colorado and called this new American cuisine best in breed, class and show. The Highland's Garden Cafe owner Patricia Perry (ph) of creative, challenging flavor combinations. Not to be missed is a meal on the patio where you can enjoy the charming courtyard garden. People consider Del Frisco's well worth the coronary risk to chow down on the succulent slabs of steer. It's all about the beef.
LIN: We have passed a grim milestone in the war in Iraq. The death toll for American troops have now surpassed 2,000. Every week we like to bring you the more personal stories from the front line, but today we are going to bring you the story of a grieving family in California, whose loss is personal, not a statistic. Chris Lawrence has the story. CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The night before J.P. Blecksmith deployed to Iraq he said good-bye to his whole family -- Mom and dad, sister, brother.
ALEX BLECKSMITH: I'm not an emotional person, but I could not stop crying. As I hugged him, I said, you know, take care of yourself, and take care of your men and they'll take care of you. I just remembered him hugging me and I felt so guilty. I could not think that that was maybe the last time I ever saw him.
LAWRENCE: As things turned out, it was.
PAM BLECKSMITH: Our stories is no different than these other people.
LAWRENCE: Pam Blecksmith has a hard time describing her son in one word. Good surfer, great student, friend, marine, hero.
BLECKSMITH: It if it were not our son who was a statistic, it would be somebody else's child. So it's just -- those are the odds. His odds I guess weren't good.
LAWRENCE: No state has lost more men than California, Blecksmith's home. He died in the deadliest month last November during the assault on Fallujah.
BLECKSMITH: When J.P. was hit, he was standing on the roof, we think barking down orders down the street. He had two squads in the street during a firefight and one squad in the building. They don't know if it were a sniper or random round. There were a lot of (unintelligible) flying around you. But he was hit one inch outside the protection of (unintelligible)) of his flak jacket.
BLECKSMITH: I can say, okay, a year ago today he was still alive. But after November 11, I can't say that anymore, because I have to say ago today, he was dead.
LAWRENCE: That's when time just stopped for his sister.
BLECKSMITH: When I'm 75 and I should be watching my grandchildren, and he's still 24.
LAWRENCE: The lieutenant's family doesn't know had if he was the 980th man killed or number 1,400.
BLECKSMITH: I don't think there's any difference in the value of their death. You know, the 2000th death is as heartbreaking as the first.
LAWRENCE : J.P. Blecksmith's family will always have his memory, but they'd rather have the man. Chris Lawrence, CNN, San Marino, California.
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Begin video tape LIN: Welcome back, and here's a quick look at what's happening right now in the news -- a lawyer for the vice president's top aide is defending his client against charges he lied to federal investigators. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's attorney says Libby simply forgot certain details of certain conversations from long ago. Libby is accused of lying during a federal probe into who leaked the name of a CIA operative.
On Tuesday, President Bush will outline how the federal government plans to respond in a flu epidemic hits. A key part of the plan includes how to detect and isolate sick people early before the virus spreads. The president will also ask Congress for funds for a vaccine.
A string of near simultaneous explosions ripped through New Delhi, India, Saturday evening. At least 55 people are dead, another 155 others are wounded. India's prime minister says there is no doubt it was a terrorist attack.
Now, no person or group has yet claimed responsibility, so joining me on the telephone right now is Rohan Gunaratna, the author of "Inside Al Qaeda" and several other books on terrorism and insurgency.
Mr. Gunaratna, good evening. Do you think that this is an act of Al Qaeda?
ROHAN GURANRATNA, AUTHOR, "INSIDE AL QAEDA": This is an act by local groups inspired and influenced by Al Qaeda's operational tactics. It was a coordinated simultaneous attack aimed at inflicting mass fatalities and casualties on the eve of the most significant Hindu and Muslim festivals that are going to take place in the next few days.
LIN: Why attack India, though?
GUNARATNA: It is because these groups are key to disrupt the peace process between Muslim Pakistan and largely Hindu India. These two governments have been very keen to normalize relationships and we have seen that there are two particular groups, Lash Karitou Banjaim Muhammed (ph) that has been conducting a number of attacks in the recent past derail the peace process.
LIN: Do you find it interesting, though, that this time around it was not a western target?
GUNARATNA: Yes. In fact, these attacks have been aimed at creating some kind of animosity, or even a riot between the Hindus and the Muslims.
LIN: To what end, though? I mean, I just find it interesting that they weren't western targets? Because typically in the past, they were for example, western hotels or western journalists, or western contractors?
GUNARATNA: We have seen that in the case of the -- the targets, they have taken -- they wanted to create a mistrust and distrust and anger and animosity between the Hindus and the Muslims, because the conflict in the subcontinent has largely reward between these two communities. In fact, the hard-line Muslim groups see the Hindus in the same light as the Muslims in the Middle East. The hard-liner Muslim would see -- see the Christians.
LIN: Given that Pakistan has condemned this attack, do you they this effort has failed?
GUNARATNA: Certainly, this effort has failed. Pakistanis, they were coming to a peace process. Pakistani president has worked steadfastly towards establishing peace. And he has -- he wanted significant resources to hunt down terrorist organizations.
LIN: Rohan Gunaratna, thank you very much. The author of "Inside al Qaeda."
Now, in nearby Pakistan, relief workers are trying to prevent a bad situation from getting worth in the aftermath of the region's deadly earthquake. CNN's Annan Neidu has more on that.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Queen Rania of Jordan says time is running out to prevent a second wave of deaths in Pakistan. The queen arrived in Musrafabad (ph) Saturday near the earthquake's epicenter with Jordan's fifth planeload of aid and an urgent message.
QUEEN RANIA, JORDAN: We're not just talking about the level of governments, the level of individuals. We need to send as much assistance as we can in terms of food, in terms of shelter, and clothes, anything that can be sent will make a huge difference in the lives of people here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: International aid is lagging far behind the $550 million the United Nations says is needed for quake relief. At a local hospital and tent school, the queen said she feared thousands more will die without immediate action.
RANIA: The window for opportunity for sending a helping hand is closing because within four weeks the winter months will be coming in and it will be very difficult for us to continue the relief an assistance. So it's very urgent that we intensify our efforts today to do whatever we can to extend a helping hand, no matter how small.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At Islamabad's main hospital, members of England's national cricket team did their best to the cheer up some of the youngest survivors of the quake.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Having seen this on the news at home, I don't think anyone realizes the full scale of what's happened in this country. And there's a lot of work that needs to be done, a lot of money required. And so everyone out there needs to know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For captain Michael Vaughn and his team, the visit hits close to home. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are the lucky ones. There are so many out there who didn't get to this state. And it's hard to take, me being (INAUDIBLE) two-year-old struggling like that. You know, it's something that you never really want it see. If we can help in any way to remind people there is still so much work to be done.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: More than 54,000 people are confirmed dead so far. And some 3.3 million homeless if from the October earthquake. Tens of thousands of earthquake victims remain unreachable and the World Health Organization fears many more will die from lack of supplies and a colder than usual winter.
Annan Neidu, CNN.
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LIN: One U.S. soldier and a British soldier were killed in separate incidents today in Afghanistan. The American died when his patrol came under fire.
In Frankfurt, Germany, the world's largest passenger jet made its first landing at a major airport. And once it enters service next year, the Airbus A-380 will be able to carry between 500 and 800 passengers.
And in London, Big Ben is taking a break. Workers stopped the famous clock that's been on top of the houses of Parliament since 1859 to give it a tune-up. They plan to have it up and returning again tomorrow afternoon.
The indictment and resignation of Lewis "Scooter" Libby in the CIA leak case could reopen debate why the U.S. went to war in Iraq. Libby was Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff. Here's senior political correspondent Candy Crowley.
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CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Before anyone had heard of Joe Wilson or Valerie Plame, before Karl Rove talked to Scooter Libby and both of them talked to reporters, there was the war.
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We now know that Saddam has resumed his efforts to acquire nuclear weapons.
CROWLEY: It was August of 2002, eight months before the beginning of war in Iraq. The vice president was a chief proponent of the war in public and private. His contacts with the CIA were a subject of chatter among current and retired officers.
ROBERT BAER, RETIRED CIA OFFICER: I think Cheney, as far as I can reconstruct this, said everybody knows, you know, that Saddam's got weapons of mass destruction, the French do, the British do, even the Russians thought he did. Tell us what you got. What's your best stuff.
CROWLEY: Critics say Cheney dismissed info that ran against his central belief that Saddam was building a nuclear weapons program. The White House denies putting political pressure on the agency to reach a specific conclusion, but the CIA had missed Saddam's quest for nuclear weapons in the run-up to the first Gulf War when Cheney was defense secretary. So at a minimum, the vice president was skeptical that the CIA knew everything it could about Saddam.
Two months before war began, in his State of the Union Address, the president set in motion a series of events that would end in the special prosecutor's office.
BUSH: The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.
CROWLEY: True enough, but U.S. intelligence analysts thought the British government was wrong.
March 2003, the war begins.
In July, the "New York Times" ran a column. In it, former ambassador Joe Wilson recounts a CIA requested trip he took to Niger, a year-and-a-half earlier. He says the trip was inspired by an inquiry from the vice president's office.
Wilson reports back to the CIA that he found no evidence Iraq purchased any uranium from Niger. Within days of the Wilson article, administration officials are cited as sources of information aimed at denigrating Wilson's report and his credentials. Columnist Bob Novak writes he's been told Wilson's wife, Valerie Plame, is a CIA operative and she suggested sending Wilson to Niger.
The CIA denies Wilson was sent at his wife's urging.
The vice president's office denied knowing anything about Wilson's trip or his findings.
Wilson, an international business consultant is wrapping up a speaking tour. The world now knows Valerie Plame was a CIA spy.
Scooter Libby, the vice president's top aide, is under indicted on charges of perjury and obstruction in the investigation of the leak. And Karl Rove, the president's top aide, has not been indicted. And no weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq.
Legal or not is a court call. The rest will be judged by history.
Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.
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LIN: All right. With more from the fallout from the Lewis Libby indictment and the CIA leak case, CNN contributor Carlos Watson, our political analyst, with a "Fresh Take" from New York. Carlos, good to have you on this.
CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good to be back. LIN: Because I know -- you know, you and I always talk about, let's not beat a dead horse, if an issue has been beaten time and time again. But this is huge. What do you think the damage will be to President Bush, if any?
WATSON: Carol two thoughts. One, it's clearly a real wound. I mean, obviously, it comes on top of misstepping with regards to Hurricane Katrina, as well as trouble in Iraq and elsewhere. So, I think there's a real issue here. The question, though, is what happens over the next 90 days? Does President Bush frankly follow the model of his father who, once he got in the 30s in terms of public approval, ultimately dropped even lower and got into the 20s. And you see that with most presidents who ultimately are seen as failed presidents, including President Carter and President Nixon and others, some first term, some second term.
Or does he follow the model of Bill Clinton, who dipped into 30s, never got into the 20s and ultimately found himself back up into the 60s.
LIN: Well, what do you think his biggest risks are at this point?
WATSON: Well, clearly they are the big three that we know to talk about. So there's obviously, what happens in Iraq. Obviously, we're thinking about gas prices and the economy. And you're also, obviously, continue to look at the scandal and see where it goes along with the Harriet Miers.
But a couple of other things I think are going to be meaningful to watch as benchmarks. Number one, does Congress over the next 90 days essentially -- the Republican Congress, break free of the president on a variety of issues including property rights? Number two, what happens in terms of the Christmas retail season? Do we continue to have a good economy, and that allows the president to have at least some comfort in terms of public opinion polls. Number three, what happens with the Jack Abramoff scandals? Will there be more there?
I think those are at least three of the things that we'll hear a lot about over the next 90 days.
LIN: You mean, the future of the presidency could depend on our shopping habits this holiday season?
WATSON: You know, put it this way, remember, unemployment is close to 5 percent. We'd be having a very different conversation if unemployment was at 7 percent, 8 percent, 9 percent or worse, certainly, if you go back over 40 years to 1958, the end of a second term for Dwight Eisenhower. Part of his problems were not only a scandal in the White House, but also a really bad economy.
LIN: All right. Do you see a surprise around the corner?
WATSON: You know, I think there certainly could be. Watch what happens on the Sunday talk shows tomorrow. The White House has already begun carefully spinning what comes next. But to the extent that someone breaks rent, or frankly just accidentally goes off key, a Senator, a governor or others who may be on some of the shows, it could give fresh momentum to the scandal at a time in which the president's got to say, even if you disagree with me on ideology, you've got to believe that I'm competent in doing the job and you've got to believe that I'm ethical. And right now you see more than 40 percent of the public saying they have got real questions with his ethics. That's a real problem.
LIN: You bet. Carlos Watson, thank you.
CNN.com has launched a special report detailing the CIA leak investigation. So for a timeline of the investigation, a look at key players, a profile of Scooter Libby and a full text of the indictment log on to CNN.com/CIAleak.
Now, warding off a killer, why an American should think Asians when it comes to cancer prevention.
And she sat down so others could stand up. Why the woman who sparked the modern civil rights movement is making history again.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Women can be real warriors when it comes to fighting cancer. That is the theme of Dr. Christine Horner's new book. It's called "Waking the Warrior Goddess." And she's here to tell us how diet and lifestyle can help you stay healthy and cancer-free.
Doctor Horner, a really interesting premise. First, does anybody know what causes breast cancer?
DR. CHRISTINE HORNER, AUTHOR: We absolutely do know what causes breast cancer. My own mother died of breast cancer and as a plastic surgeon I took care of a lot of patients who had breast cancer. And so I was very interested in seeing if there was anything women could do to dramatically lower think risk.
And I went to the medical literature and I instantly found thousands of studies showing exactly why we have a breast cancer epidemic. All of the things we're doing that are contributing to it, all the things that we traditionally do not do in our western culture that can be highly protective.
LIN: So, how can you actually prevent cancer, and in some cases, you're saying, cure cancer, help in your recovery?
HORNER: There's many different things that women can do. And one of the reasons I worked with Enzymatic Therapy, a company that does a supplement line. Because what I found was that there were many different supplements and herbs that have a tremendous affect at protecting against cancer and helping women who have cancer successfully fight the disease.
So I created a formula called Protective Breast Formula. And it's got seven different supplements in it -- turmeric, which comes from the Asian culture, green tea, matake mushrooms, grape seed extract, a couple of different chemicals from (INAUDIBLE) vegetables and vitamin D, all of these things have tremendous health benefits.
LIN: Well in what way? I mean, because when you talk about breast cancer, it's really serious business. How can eating a mushroom or a little bit more garlic protect me?
HORNER: Well, these different substances have chemicals in them called plant chemicals or phytochemicals. And they act as natural medicines. And they have incredible specific ways that they help protect against breast cancer and other diseases.
So they're very powerful antioxidants and they have anti- inflammatory effects. Some will shut off for key enzyme necessary for breast cancer to grow, decrease the amount of estrogen our body produces, cut off the blood supply to tumors and they've even been found to help to slow the incidence of metastasis or spread to other areas of the body, prevent tumors from invading.
And green tea, for example, when women are undergoing chemotherapy, they've found if effects a pump mechanism on the cell brain where it will pump more chemotherapy into the tumor cells, so the researchers were finding about three times the level of chemotherapy inside the tumor cells and pumps it out of normal cells.
LIN: So it makes it more -- it makes the chemotherapy more effective. So that's why you're saying Asian. I mean, you talk about soy and green tea, the matake mushrooms. Are those the dried mushrooms that you get in the Asian section?
HORNER: You can get matake mushrooms in the Asian section. But as I said, you know, this is the reason I put it together as a supplement. So it would be extremely easy for women to take.
LIN: Right.
I know we're you're very concerned about breast cancer. And I don't want people to think that you're just coming on to sell vitamins. There are differ ways that they can do this as well.
HORNER: Absolutely. And there's many different ways. I just know as a physician that it's difficult for people to change their diet and lifestyle. There's many different things that people can do.
But statistically, we know that people who have had a heart attack, for instance, within one year, 90 percent of them go back to their original diet and lifestyle. So it's tough.
But there are many things that people can do, and currently, there are things we know will lower the incidence of breast cancer by avoiding.
LIN: All right. Dr. Horner, valuable advice, at least, diet and exercise and the specifics in the diet you are talking about are really important. We want to thank you.
HORNER: Oh, you're welcome.
LIN: Well, a final trailblazing event for a woman who's helped transform the nation. But first, here's Ali Velshi to tell us what's ahead on "ON THE STORY"-- Ali.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're "ON THE STORY" on the campus of the George Washington University. Suzanne Malveaux and Candy Crowley are "ON THE STORY" of what happened at the White House this week and the political impact.
Barbara Starr looks at how this week marked 2,000 U.S. military deaths in the war in Iraq. And for Halloween, how fundamentalist Christians use the haunted houses to get their views across on abortion and other social issues, all coming up, all ON THE STORY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: It is a weekend of special tribute to civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks. Thousands of mourners passed by her casket today in Montgomery, Alabama. And tomorrow begins lying in honor at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. Rosa Parks was a trailblazer to the end.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LIN (voice-over): It's an honor typically reserved for lawmakers military leaders and presidents, like Ronald Reagan. 50 years after she helped spark the civil rights movement by refusing to move to the back of the bus, Rosa Parks will lie in honor the Capitol Rotunda.
A civil rights pioneer making history again.
ROSA PARKS, CIVIL RIGHTS PIONEER: I am expected to be a first- class citizen and I won't be one and I have struggled hard.
LIN: After Parks dies last week, Congress passed a resolution allowing her to lie in honor, quote, so that the citizens United States may pay their last respects to this great American.
The woman recognized around the world will be visited by crowds at the Capitol for two days. She be the first woman and only second African-American ever to lie in the Rotunda. A final trailblazing event for a woman who help transform the nation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Rosa Parks' coffin will lie in honor tomorrow from 6:30 p.m. to midnight. And for three hours on Monday Morning from 7:00 until 10:00. Her funeral is Wednesday in Detroit. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Harriet Miers is back on her job as counsel to the president. Miers withdrew her nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court this week in the wake of a rebellion among conservatives. It's been a rough week politically for the president, but many observers would argue it's been an even tougher period for Miers. Jeanne Moos reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The president and cartoonists called her a pit bull in size six shoes. But the pit bull got eaten alive, insulted on the Web, lampooned on late-night TV.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you for being here on "Jeopardy" -- Ms. Miers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just don't ask me any legal questions.
BILL MAHER, "REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER": At least when Clinton talked about tapping the woman down the hall, he was just having sex with her.
MOOS: But the jabs from the right were what knocked her out.
BAY BUCHANAN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: The president has made a terrible, terrible mistake.
ANN COULTER, CONSERVATIVE COMMENTATOR: We're talking about the Supreme Court. This is not a reward for, you know, best attendance at office of legal counsel meetings.
MOOS: Her qualifications, or lack thereof, were a lightning rod for ridicule. "I've never been a judge, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night."
As for the mutual admiration she and the president felt, her own words served as a self-inflicted, kill-two-birds-with-one-quote punch.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dear diary, George W. Bush is the most brilliant man I have ever met.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's the most brilliant man I ever met.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.
MOOS: And though we laughed, it wasn't without a tinge of guilt.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel bad for her, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm sure she's very glad that it's over, because I feel pretty much, poor Harriet, too.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Capitol Hill is, you know, it's a contact sport up there. You float the balloon, and sometimes it gets shot at. And I mean that's one of the whole problems...
MOOS (on camera): She got machine-gunned.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She did.
MOOS (voice-over): One minute, it was Harriet Miers' dream come true, nominated to the Supreme Court. The next minute, supreme humiliation, with Harriet Miers look-alike contests pitting her against Darrin's mom from "Bewitched," comedian Amy Sedaris and even Alice Cooper.
And who among us could withstand a hairstyle retrospective?
But not everyone was saying there, but for the grace of God, go I. Not Nancy Grace, anyway.
NANCY GRACE, CNN HEADLINE NEWS: No, I don't feel sorry for her. She'll go write a book.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no pity for her, per se, I mean.
MOOS (on camera): See, I feel bad for her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But he kicks puppies, so, you know.
MOOS (voice-over): At least they didn't accuse Harriet Miers of doing that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She likes puppies, too.
MOOS: WIP, withdraw in peace, said one Web site. It's better to have been nominated and withdrawn than never to have been nominated at all. Bet Harriet Miers doesn't agree, thinking back to her happy nomination.
HARRIET MIERS, FORMER SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: I have a special note this morning for my mom. Thank you for your faith.
MOOS: Let's hope her 91-year-old mom wasn't surfing the net or watching TV.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This wasn't a choice based on friendship. We're not even that close.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bushy!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).
MOOS: Wonder if she'll ever wear that blue suit again without feeling blue.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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