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CNN Live Saturday
National Guard Suggested to Patrol the Border; Volcano Threatens Indonesia
Aired May 13, 2006 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: The Pentagon says the president may be ordering the National Guard to the U.S.-Mexico-border.
And wounded warriors on the mend -- we are going to take you inside an extraordinary Marine medical unit.
And are you and your parents confused about the Medicare drug plan? Well, I'm going to try to help with some special guests. The deadline is looming Monday at midnight.
Hello and welcome to CNN LIVE SATURDAY.
I'm Carol Lin and here's what's happening right now in the news.
Well, we want to show you some interesting pictures coming up out of Indonesia because Mount Merapi -- it's a volcano. And volcano experts fear a major eruption at this time.
Take a look at this all of that white smoke coming out of it right now. We're talking about 22, 000 people who live around that volcano and they've been ordered to evacuate, but there's nowhere to go.
We're going to have a live report in just a minute.
Armed gangs attacking police in Brazil. Now, I want to show you the aftermath of a gang feud with the law.
And military families and 9/11 families marching in Washington, D.C. today. Both groups protesting the war in Iraq.
Abbigail and Isabelle Carlsen, the conjoined twins are separated, but they are still very, very sick. Doctors in Rochester, Minnesota say their condition is critical, but their prognosis is good.
And tonight could be the night for Barry Bonds. The San Francisco-slugger is one shot from tying Babe Ruth's home run-record. But Bonds has gone five games without a homer.
A big story we're looking forward to on Monday night. The president is addressing the nation then from the Oval Office. And CNN has learned it's about protecting the U.S. border with Mexico.
Elaine Quijano has been working this story from the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The president's decision to deliver a prime time Oval Office address on the topic of immigration comes at a time when he is facing intense pressure from conservative Republicans in the House. They have been calling for tougher measures on border security. Well, now a senior Bush administration official says that border security will be a main focus during the president's remarks.
One plan the president is considering, according to this senior Bush aide, is enhancing the role of the National Guard in protecting the U.S. border with Mexico. The official says no decision will be made that jeopardizes missions overseas or domestically, such as preparing for hurricane season.
The president is also expected to repeat a call to Congress for comprehensive immigration legislation that includes not only border security and interior enforcement, but also a temporary guest worker program, as well. Yet critics continue to call that amnesty because it could provide some illegal immigrants a path to citizenship.
President Bush's address is set for Monday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time.
Elaine Quijano, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
LIN: And you can bet we're all over this story. Our in depth coverage of Monday's presidential address from the Oval Office starts with a special edition of "THE SITUATION ROOM." We're going to be talking about immigration reform then.
And then after the speech, join us for a special "LOU DOBBS TONIGHT."
And CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE" from the border.
Well, the U.S. military is already stretched pretty thin, as you know, abroad. But one senator is already questioning whether troops home from Iraq should even go to the U.S.-Mexico-border.
CNN's Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre, reports on this.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Pentagon has been asked to draw up options for the military to help beef up security along the U.S.-Mexico-border. And Pentagon sources tell CNN one idea under consideration is to have the federal government pick up the tab for several thousand additional National Guard troops, to be activated in the border states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.
Under that option, the Guard troops would remain under the control of state governors, as they were during Hurricane Katrina, and would be limited to a supporting role -- providing logistics, intelligence and surveillance help to civilian authorities.
That's already being done on a small scale by several hundred Guard troops. But the numbers could jump to several thousand.
FRANK GAFFNEY, CENTER FOR SECURITY POLICY: This is a job that we can train our forces to perform. We can utilize the panoply of sensors and detection devices and -- and monitoring equipment and military hardware to ensure that we do not continue to be subjected to what amounts to an onslaught every single day.
MCINTYRE: Still, don't expect to see U.S. troops on the front lines patrolling the border, officials say. But with additional helicopters, unmanned spy planes and sophisticated computers and communications, the Guard can be what the Pentagon calls "a force multiplier" for the overburdened U.S. Border Patrol and local law enforcement.
Active duty U.S. troops are barred from domestic law enforcement by a Civil War-era law known as Posse Comitatus. But National Guard troops under state control can perform some law enforcement functions, such as crowd control.
Still, the Pentagon is anxious to avoid the sort of controversy that erupted back in 1997, when a U.S. Marine supporting counter-drug agents shot and killed a goat herder along the Mexican border.
(on camera): The Pentagon says, in theory, it could sustain of force of up to 10,000 Guard troops along the Mexican border without affecting its other operations. But officials say it's way too early to say how many troops might be deployed. And they insist any additional military assistance will be temporary, until the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency can hire additional permanent personnel.
Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: That's what's happening in the future on Monday.
But right now, let's take you to where Mount Merapi may be about to blow. Maybe you've never heard of it, but it's one of the most dangerous volcanoes in a series of volcanoes in Indonesia. And volcano experts are watching very closely, because thousands of people living near the mountain, well, they don't need a reminder why this volcano is so dangerous.
Michael Ramsey joins me now.
He's a professor of planetary science at the University of Pittsburgh.
Professor Ramsey, when we talk about this volcano, this is a killer in the past. Thirteen hundred people killed in 1930 and 60 back in the 1960s.
What are you looking for right now when we say imminent? Is it going to blow?
PROF. MICHAEL RAMSEY, UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH: That's what we're -- we're looking at. We're, right now, back here at the University of Pittsburgh, we're watching it with a spacecraft, looking at its temperature. The scientists at Indonesia are monitoring the seismic signals, trying to understand just about how close it is to erupting.
And all the signs show that it's getting very close to having something more major than it's doing right now.
LIN: More major.
But do you know when? In the next six hours, 24 hours?
RAMSEY: It's really hard to say, to get to that level of precision. Technically, for volcanologists, it's erupting now because there's lava at the surface and rock falls are happening and the evacuations are going on. But clearly in the past, the eruption style has been greater and there -- and typically within a few days after it gets to this level, it would tend to erupt.
But we have to keep our eye on it to see exactly when that may happen.
LIN: What do the plumes of white smoke that we're seeing right now, what do they tell you about what's happening?
RAMSEY: I can't actually see the monitor right now. But my understanding is, looking at it from past video, the smaller dome that's on the top tends to have rock falls that come off the side and that they break apart and they kick up ash. And those are basically the small scale version of a much larger phenomenon called a pyroclastic flow. And that's what can happen when the whole dome collapses or a much larger eruption happens.
LIN: And then you've got, you know, white hot lava racing down that hillside.
RAMSEY: Correct. Those pyroclastic flows are anywhere from 400 degrees up to 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit. So much hotter than your oven in your kitchen. And they go 60, 70 miles an hour. So they devastate everything in their path and there's really no way...
LIN: And definitely it would outrun-a human because most of the people who died...
RAMSEY: You do...
LIN: ... in the past, died from the heat exposure itself.
RAMSEY: Exactly. One of those things comes by -- or even, even if it's a little bit of a distance away and you have the gasses coming off the side, the gasses can be hot. And you're basically incinerated almost instantly if you're anywhere near one of those. And you can't even outrun-them, most of the time, in a vehicle. So it's -- they're very, very dangerous. And that's why the Indonesian authorities are trying to get people off the mountain slopes now, because once this starts happening, it becomes too dangerous to get up there to rescue people.
LIN: You bet.
March Ramsey, thank you very much for adding that perspective on what we're watching right now on Mount Merapi in Indonesia as this thing may be erupting very soon.
RAMSEY: You're welcome.
LIN: All right, right here in the United States, we have had some wildfires down in Florida. I-95 had been closed for several days and probably a total of 30,000 acres have burned so far. The conditions down there are so dry that it doesn't take much for these flames to continue to spread.
Bonnie Schneider has been watching that situation down there -- Bonnie, as we take a look at this, I mean this is a fire situation that can spread quickly because I'm hearing that trees are exploding even ahead of the flames because it's so hot and dry.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, ATS METEOROLOGIST: Well, not only that, Carol, what what's happened is previous fires have burned these trees so some of them are still standing. But the burn damage goes all the way down to the root of the tree. And that's why I-95 was closed on and off periodically over the past couple of days, because a tree may be standing, but along this critical fire weather area and into the south, where we've seen those closures on I-95, south of Daytona Beach toward the areas to Palm Bay and also further to the south, as well, in Brevard County here in the Melbourne area, the trees are so damaged that they could topple over and fall at any time.
So this is an area that even though the roads may be open at this hour, they many close again over the weekend. So just keep watch for that.
(WEATHER REPORT)
LIN: Well, Zacarias Moussaoui possibly took the last airplane ride of his life this morning. He's the convicted 9/11 co-conspirator who has entered a Colorado maximum security prison. It's where he's going to serve a life sentence in solitary confinement.
Now today, the president was defending a story that we've been talking about all week, this whole notion that the government may be spying on average Americans. Well, the president today, in his radio address, said that the government isn't snooping on telephone calls without court approval.
It's his second such pledge since reports this week of a secret government effort to log every single call in the country with the help of the three telecom giants. Now, a poll out today from "Newsweek" finds most Americans think the purported program goes too far. Forty-one percent called it a necessary tool, though, in the war on terror.
We have more on the story from CNN's David Ensor.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a brief report on the impact of war upon a nationwide service.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For as long as there have been telephones, and even well before that, the major communications companies have cooperated closely with the U.S. government. Former employees say during World War II, the government under President Franklin Roosevelt received copies of every single telegram sent in or out of the United States -- not by law, but by request.
A former administration official says the same thing is apparently going on now between AT&T, BellSouth and Verizon, and the U.S. government, and that it is legal, according the Supreme Court.
RICHARD FALKENRATH, FORMER HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISER: They said call records that are stripped of personal information about the customer are not covered by the Fourth Amendment and, therefore, may be held and used by a federal agency that gets them voluntarily.
ENSOR: Such as the National Security Agency in Fort Meade, Maryland, which is analyzing telephone call records in search of terrorists. It is legal, too, says Falkenrath, for the companies to give the phone call data, just the telephone numbers, under the Telecommunications Act of 1934 and subsequent laws.
But, clearly, not everyone agrees. The then CEO of Qwest Communications, Joseph Nacchio, refused the government's request for his customers' phone data. In a statement, his attorney says: "When he learned that there was a disinclination on the part of the authorities to use any legal process, Mr. Nacchio concluded that these requests violated the privacy requirements of the Telecommunications Act. Accordingly, Mr. Nacchio issued instructions to refuse to comply with these requests."
Phone calls are not the only issue. In this AT&T building in San Francisco, according to a retired 22-year employee, Mark Klein, who is a witness in a lawsuit against the government, the NSA scoops up e- mail and Internet traffic from the whole region.
JAMES BROSNAHAN, ATTORNEY FOR MARK KLEIN: He became aware and was assigned the job of assisting in a split of the fiber optic cable so that it took a complete copy of all the e-mails and all of the Web browsings that people do, people of all kinds, companies of all kinds, and sent it to a secret government room.
ENSOR: NSA and AT&T officials offer no common on the lawsuit. (on camera): Bell South, Verizon and AT&T also declined comment on their dealings with the NSA. But in a statement, Verizon said "it does not and will not provide any government agency with unfettered access to our customer records or provide information to the government under circumstances that would allow a fishing expedition."
David Ensor, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
LIN: Boy, this is a fascinating subject. And tomorrow on CNN, Wolf Blitzer is going to investigate the phone records flap. Wolf's guest for "LATE EDITION" is former National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley. So tune in to "LATE EDITION" tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. Eastern.
Now, CNN is committed to providing the most reliable coverage of news that affects your security. So stay tuned to CNN for the latest information, day and night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SGT. KARL KLEPPER, U.S. MARINE CORPS: we're all broken up. We're all -- we're all beaten up here. But we're not broken and our spirits aren't broken.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: We want to show you what it's like to be a Marine on the mend.
And a senator tries to end a political roadblock to the White House by appearing at a college graduation.
When Hollywood stars are at their worst, these are the guys who are at their best. You might see them in just a minute. They're the people behind the stars. We're going to take you inside Tinseltown's spin zone.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: In our World Wrap tonight, when Somalia actually formed a government, it was good news. But now rival militias are battling for control of an area near Mogadishu and at least 130 peopled have died in the last week.
Pakistan's efforts to catch Osama bin Laden have been half- hearted, in the words of Afghanistan's foreign minister. He made the comments to a German magazine. Pakistan has always insisted it was doing everything possible to catch the al Qaeda leader.
One U.S. soldier and two Iraqi Army soldiers have died in separate incidents in Iraq. The American was killed by a roadside bomb south of Baghdad. Meanwhile, negotiators face a May 22nd deadline to form a new Iraqi government.
So what happens to the men and women who fought in Iraq? Well, today they are home, mortally wounded. And I talked to Barbara Starr yesterday about her story about an extraordinary unit of Marines at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, the walking wounded, but still working and working together.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, just a couple of things.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is morning formation for wounded Marines at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. They sit because some cannot stand.
Glenn Minney struggles with a Mother's Day card. A mortar damaged his eyes, but this medic is still the doc.
PETTY OFFICER 1ST CLASS GLENN MINNEY, U.S. NAVY CORPSMAN: That's my job. I'm going continue to do it as long as I can, blind or not.
STARR: In this remarkable place, Marines help each other just as on the battlefield.
GUNNERY SGT. KEN BARNES, U.S. MARINE CORPS: I have a leg injury and I can't get, you know, I can't get my room vacuumed. Well, one of the guys will be like hey, yes, no problem, I've got you. You know, you're still required, with a leg injury, to keep your clothes picked up and all your trash picked up.
STARR: An IED left Gunnery Sergeant Ken Barnes with nerve damage. He knows Marines don't want to need help.
BARNES: That's one of the things that's really nice about this place is you can say, hey, can you give me a hand? And they are immediately on it. There's four or five guys that will be standing there waiting to help, but you've got to ask for it.
STARR: Sergeant Karl Klepper's ankle was crushed by a roadside blast.
KLEPPER: We're all broken up. We're all beaten up here, but we're not broken. You know, our spirits aren't broken.
CHRIS, 1ST GRADER: He helps me at math. His name -- we call him Sergeant K.
STARR: As part of their rehab, Klepper and others help at the base school.
(on-camera): The Marines here today and these children have an unshakable bond perhaps only they can understand. Many of these young students now have parents serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
BRANDON, 1ST GRADER: The Marines help us think about what we can write about and what we can help, so we can do good at math and writing.
STARR (voice-over): Lieutenant Colonel Tim Maxwell has a brain injury from a mortar attack. He started the barracks so Marines could recover together.
LT. COL. TIM MAXWELL, U.S. MARINE CORPS: They come here, stay for just a couple of days and see other Marines who are wounded and how far they are in life instead of going home with their mom and dad and wondering, I wonder what it means to get shot in the leg. I don't know what that means in three months. Here, he'll see.
STARR (on-camera): The Marines see this extraordinary unit will keep going as long as any wounded warrior needs a place to recover.
Barbara Starr, CNN, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
LIN: Making sense of the Medicare prescription drug plan. We're going to explain to you why it's going to pay to not miss this upcoming Monday midnight deadline.
And next, Senator John McCain tries to find out if the road to the White House runs through Lynchburg, Virginia.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: You remember when John McCain made news when he called Jerry Falwell an "agent of intolerance?" well, perhaps now there's more of an indication that McCain plans to run-for president. He's reaching out to his former foes.
He actually delivered the commencement address at Liberty University, the school headed by the Reverend Jerry Falwell in Lynchburg, Virginia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: We have so much more that unites us than divides us. We need only look to the enemy, who now confronts us, and the benighted ideals to which Islamic extremists pledge allegiance -- their disdain for the rights of man, their contempt for human life -- to appear and appreciate how much unites us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Well, some political insiders say McCain learned a valuable lesson back in 2000 about making the religious right angry. And if he wants to be a frontrunner for the White House in 2008, he's going to need to court them to win.
Well, when it comes to political odd couples, this one ranks high on the list. Media mogul Rupert Murdoch is hosting a fundraiser for Senator Hillary Clinton.
Our Mary Snow has the story that first aired on CNN's "SITUATION ROOM."
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: Am I worried about being targeted by Republicans?
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Senator Hillary Clinton makes light of a question about Republican foes. And now one of those foes is a new and unlikely ally.
Conservative media mogul Rupert Murdoch will host a fundraiser for Senator Clinton. She's been a frequent target of Murdoch's media companies.
HOWARD KURTZ, HOST, "RELIABLE SOURCES": Murdoch's media properties -- "The New York Post," most famously, FOX News Channel -- have beat up on Hillary for years. She was a big, fat, juicy target when she was first lady.
SNOW: She fired back at Republicans, going on NBC's "Today Show," telling Matt Lauer in 1998, the right-wing waged a battle against her husband.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE TODAY SHOW," JANUARY 27, 1998)
CLINTON: The great story here for anybody willing to find it and write about it and explain it, is this vast right-wing conspiracy that has been conspiring against my husband since the day he announced for president.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNOW: Smack in the middle of that battle, say political observers, was Murdoch's media empire.
Of Murdoch's support now, Senator Clinton says: "I am very gratified that he thinks I'm doing a good job."
With Murdoch's praise comes criticism towards Clinton.
BEN SMITH, "NEW YORK DAILY NEWS" POLITICAL COLUMNIST: Liberal bloggers are saying she's sold her soul to the devil.
SNOW: Others say it's a move towards moderation, much in the same way she's formed alliances with Republicans such as Senator Lindsey Graham, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Senator John McCain.
HANK SHEINKOPF, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: It proves again that she is a consensus builder who is not extraordinarily ideological, but significant enough as a Democrat, and who is not a polarizer.
SNOW: The question is, will it affect the news coverage of Hillary Clinton at Murdoch's media companies? Some media observers say "The New York Post" is taking a gentler tone with Clinton, especially after 9/11. Others doubt the coverage will change dramatically. PAUL WALDMAN, MEDIA MATTERS FOR AMERICA: They know that beating up on Hillary Clinton is part of their bread and butter. And I can't imagine them stopping now.
SNOW: Political observers, though, credit Murdoch with helping to get Tony Blair elected as Britain's prime minister in 1997. That year, the Murdoch-owned tabloid, "The Sun," did not endorse conservatives, but rather Tony Blair of the Labor Party.
Mary Snow, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
LIN: You can see more of Mary's great reporting on "THE SITUATION ROOM" weekdays at 4:00 p.m. Eastern, 1:00 p.m. Pacific, right here on CNN.
Well, speaking of odd couplings, President Bush and President Clinton together. It was interesting, to say the least.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you will not protect our liberties, then you will be booted out of office and you will be (UNINTELLIGIBLE) together (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: How far will the Minutemen go to get their way on Capitol Hill?
And the people who protect the stars, even if it means reinventing the truth.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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