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Lou Dobbs Tonight
Scott Peterson Found Guilty; Falluja Battle Nears End
Aired November 12, 2004 - 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.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LOU DOBBS, HOST (voice-over): Tonight the Scott Peterson verdict is in. He's guilty of murdering his wife and unborn child. We'll have live reports from our correspondents who have been covering this case for nearly two years, and we'll be joined by CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin.
House to house fighting in Falluja. Dramatic new video of our troops in combat.
MICHAEL WARE, BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF, "TIME": There were scenes of great chaos, scenes of great destruction. I also have witnessed acts of uncommon valor.
DOBBS: And emotional overflow crowds of Palestinians packed into Ramallah to bid a chaotic farewell to the man who led them for four decades.
And Europe's greed: France and Germany refuse to send troops to Iraq, but incredibly, their defense countries are seeking a rising share of the Pentagon budget.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're going after a piece of the American contract pie by buying out small companies.
DOBBS: We'll have a special report.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is LOU DOBBS TONIGHT for Friday, November 12. Here now for an hour of news, debate, and opinion is Lou Dobbs.
DOBBS: Good evening.
Tonight, a jury has found Scott Peterson guilty of murder after five months of testimony, more than 180 witnesses, and millions of dollars in taxpayer money.
The jury found Scott Peterson guilty of first-degree murder in the death of his wife Laci and second-degree murder in the death of their unborn son.
We begin our coverage tonight with Ted Rowlands outside the courthouse in Redwood City, California -- Ted. TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lou, when the verdicts were read, no emotion from Scott Peterson. He stared ahead and did absolutely nothing.
Laci Peterson's family, on the other hand, controlled themselves, held each other, and cried openly, along with Laci Peterson's friends.
This jury, only assembled two days ago, deliberated for a total of six hours together. You remember, one of the members of the jury was ousted late last week, and the new member came in.
This jury was together for a very short period of time with a new foreman. They obviously were on the same page and came back with a guilty verdict in the first degree for the death of Laci Peterson, in the second degree for Connor Peterson.
Outside the courthouse, hundreds of people who have been following this trial came to see the verdict firsthand, or to hear it. An audio feed of the verdict was transmitted outside, and when the verdict was read, eruption. People cheered when they heard that Scott Peterson had been found guilty. It is no secret that in the court of public opinion, Peterson has been seen as guilty since shortly after his wife Laci disappeared.
There is a penalty phase in this trial, because there are special circumstances. The jury decided that he is eligible for the death penalty. The judge told the jury they'll have the next week off and then be back the following Monday to start hearing testimony. And then it'll be up to this same jury as to whether or not Scott Peterson will face the death penalty.
The best-case scenario for him now, assuming this is isn't overturned on appeal, is that he will die in prison -- Lou.
DOBBS: Ted, thank you very much, Ted Rowlands, for your reporting.
Let's go now to Rusty Dornin, who was in that courtroom when that verdict was read -- Rusty.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was an amazing moment, Lou. It was -- there was an electricity in the air that can only come at a moment like us for those us that have been covering this for two years. And many of the reporters, we, too, were nervous.
The family and friends of Laci Peterson, some of them crying even before the jury came into the room just because they were nervous about the whole thing.
Scott Peterson's father, he was not in the courtroom. We do not know where he was. His attorney also not in the courtroom. Mark Geragos going down to southern California thinking it was perhaps going to be just a quiet day, which we all did today. Instead the verdict coming, as Ted said, six hours after they began deliberating.
When the clerk read the verdicts, the Rocha family immediately began to sob in the courtroom. Scott Peterson, who before jury came in, had been smiling, appearing very confident. He, stone-faced, began staring to the front of the courtroom. Didn't speak to anyone.
His family, his mother, his brother, his sister-in-law sitting in the front row, also staring straight ahead. Not talking to each other. Not holding each other.
On the other hand, Laci Peterson's family holding one another. Outside the courthouse here, hundreds of people had gathered. As Ted said, they were cheering.
Also just two hours after that verdict, here we have the local newspapers. "San Mateo Times" and the "Redwood City Daily News," reporting that Scott Peterson, after nearly two years in a five-month trial, guilty -- Lou.
DOBBS: Rusty, thank you very much. Rusty Dornin reporting.
I'm joined now by our legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin.
Jeffrey, you expected a guilty verdict in this trial. It was delivered in six hours. Did that surprise you?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Absolutely. The speed of this verdict was a big surprise and not just to me. Mark Geragos, Scott Peterson's lead defense lawyer, wasn't even in court. He went home to southern California for the weekend, thinking there was no way the jury would come back today. He was wrong. I was wrong.
DOBBS: We obviously have not had, nor will we have until they deliver a verdict, as to whether or not Scott Peterson will die as a result of these convictions. But what is your best judgment as to what was most convincing to this jury of his guilt?
TOOBIN: Two things. One is Scott Peterson was the only person with the remotest motive to kill this woman. She had no enemies in the world. She did have an unhappy husband who was having an affair.
Second, and perhaps even more important, Laci Peterson was found 80 miles away from her home. A long way away, at the precise point in San Francisco Bay where Scott Peterson was on the day she disappeared. That's a devastating piece of evidence, and the defense simply never got around it.
DOBBS: That evidence, however, and I understand fully that murder trials often are circumstantial in the evidence that's presented. But this -- this entire case brought by the prosecution, of whom you have been critical throughout, particularly for the protraction of this trial, they never had anything beyond circumstantial evidence, did they?
TOOBIN: Credit where credit is due. I thought they -- they went on for too long, called too many witnesses, but they got the result what they wanted, and they deserve credit for that.
But they worked with what they had. There was no evidence of -- there was no eyewitness. There was no murder weapon. There was no cause of death proved. But the circumstances were such that Scott Peterson was the only person who really had any reason to do this, and there was any evidence against him. So that's -- that's how the way the verdict went.
DOBBS: The conviction on all counts. Now this jury after a week off, the judge has given them a few days to recover from the -- what has to be an ordeal for them over this period of time, before deciding whether or not Scott Peterson will live or die.
How long do you think it will take them to reach a decision once they do return, and secondly, do you think that the death penalty will be the result?
TOOBIN: The penalty phases tend to be pretty short, even in California, where things to take very long. My guess is it'll take less than a week, and my guess, and of course it's only a guess, is that he will get life without parole, not the death penalty.
He has no criminal record. He has, as horrible as this crime was, and it was horrible, it was such an aberration from the rest of his life. And even -- and even though he was convicted there may be a couple of jurors who think, you know, we can't be 100 percent sure, even if we found proof beyond. A death sentence is completely final. Life without parole is something less.
DOBBS: Jeffrey Toobin, as always, thank you.
TOOBIN: Thanks, Lou.
DOBBS: Turning now to events today in Iraq and the battle for Falluja.
Tonight, our soldiers and Marines are hunting down the last surviving anti-Iraqi forces in Falluja. In the words of one Marine commander, "Those insurgents who want to fight to the death are running out of steam, and we will accommodate them."
Kitty Pilgrim reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a building to building, house to house operation, in some cases fighting insurgents just a few feet away.
Lieutenant General John Sattler conferred with the soldier about where weapons were found.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mosques, homes. Absolute arsenals and every kind of weapon that you could imagine, from full-scale rockets down to explosives to factories where they're taking apart mortars and getting the TNT out of it by melting it down in solutions to make explosives, bombs, and things of that nature.
LT. GEN. JOHN SATTLER, U.S. MILITARY: IED's? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.
SATTLER: Booby traps?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir. They're ingenious.
SATTLER: All right. Well, keep the heat on them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will, sir.
PILGRIM: And that they did, Sattler said. Six hundred insurgents have been killed, 151 detained, and 300 have surrendered at a mosque.
One reporter talks about the pitched battle coalition forces encountered.
WARE: When they appear, the fight is terrible. You can see the U.S. soldiers being hit with booby traps, mines, IEDs, rocket- propelled grenades and relentless small arms fire from direct assaults and from well-concealed insurgents.
I've witnessed acts of indescribable horror. And I have also witnessed acts of uncommon valor from the U.S. soldiers that I was with.
PILGRIM: Troops are pushing south through the city. Parts of the city are empty, but the military now controls 80 percent of Falluja. The battle, however, is expected to continue for several days.
Kitty Pilgrim, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS: I'm joined now from Washington by our military analyst, retired Marine Corps General Terry Murray. General Murray served three decades in the U.S. Marine Corps and led Marines in the Persian Gulf.
General, good to have you with us.
Five days into this engagement, 80 percent of Falluja now under the control of the U.S. military. Do you think we're doing pretty well there?
MAJ. GEN. TERRY MURRAY (RET.), U.S. MARINE CORPS: I think we're doing extremely well, Lou. The coalition forces have accomplished all of their missions to date and, I think, have seized the key tactical objectives.
What aided this tremendously, in my view, was the evacuation of a quarter of a million civilians from the city so that, as the coalition forces, to include maybe 2,500 Iraqis -- as they fought from house to house, street to street, block to block, they knew when they encountered people in the city, the great likelihood was that they were insurgents and not civilians.
So the problem was less complicated because very few civilians were in the city.
DOBBS: The cordon that was put up around Falluja, General, apparently, in the days before the assault began, as many as half of the insurgents escaped. Does that perturb you?
MURRAY: I think that's a serious negative, Lou. But I also believe that that was anticipated. Strategically, we did not have surprise. Tactically, once we went into the city, coalition forces knew what they needed to do and attacked objectives as they saw fit.
DOBBS: And...
MURRAY: I think -- go ahead, Lou.
DOBBS: And, General, we have lost three helicopters now, a third today. Luckily, we have lost none of our pilots or crewmen in those crashes, but they have been taken down by the enemy. Is this a surprising vulnerability on our part?
MURRAY: I don't think so, Lou. Helicopters that are supporting the troops on the ground in Falluja -- they fly nap of the earth, treetop level, less than a thousand feet most of the time, and, when they're providing close-in support, they're only a couple hundred feet off the deck.
So it is not surprising that insurgents with probably shoulder- fired weapons, missiles, could take down one or more helicopters, and that's part of the threat and part of the risk associated with a conventional battle such as we're watching.
DOBBS: General Terry Murray.
Thank you very much for being here to share your insights.
MURRAY: Thank you, Lou.
DOBBS: Still ahead, we'll have more on the Scott Peterson guilty verdict live from the courthouse.
Also, a chaotic funeral for Yasser Arafat. More than a hundred people were injured as Palestinians packed Ramallah and bid the man who led them for four decades a final farewell.
President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair talk about the prospects for peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We'll have that report.
All of that and a great deal more still ahead here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: There was chaos at burial site of Yasser Arafat in the West Bank City of Ramallah today. Tens of thousands of mourners swarmed around the casket of Yasser Arafat. Security guards fired their weapons into the air trying to restore order, as Arafat today was buried and his thousands of followers bid him a final, if chaotic, farewell. More than a hundred people were injured, some of them by the security guards' bullets.
President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair today said the death of Yasser Arafat has created a new opportunity for peace. President Bush and Prime Minister Blair held a joint news conference at the White House after talks about the Middle East, Iraq and the global war on terror.
White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux reports -- Suzanne?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Lou, it was just hours after Yasser Arafat's burial that both President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair said this was a new opportunity, an opening for a Middle East peace. Both of them committing to that, wrapping up two days of talks, an informal dinner last night, an Oval Office meeting.
Mr. Blair essentially got what he came for, and that was a pledge from Mr. Bush to reaffirm his commitment in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I believe we've got a great chance to establish a Palestinian state, and I intend to use the next four years to spend the capital of the United States on such a state.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: President Bush also said, of course, he would push forward the disengagement plan -- that is Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan -- to pull away from some of those Palestinian lands. He also said he'd be working with the courts at the international community in trying to bring about Palestinian democratic reforms and helping their elections.
Both of these leaders expressed optimism in Afghanistan and Iraq in bringing about democracy, and President Bush also made it very clear -- he addressed some of the criticism that Mr. Blair his faced at home for his support in the Iraq war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: I'm a lucky person, a lucky president to be holding office at the same time this man holds the prime ministership. These are troubled times. It's a tough world. What this world needs is steady, rock solid leaders who stand on principle, and that's what prime minister means to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: And, Lou, the president also committed to making a trip to Europe after his inauguration. Senior administration officials telling us likely in Brussels, Belgium, in February, that this has happened after many discussions with other world leaders, European leaders to try to strengthen and reaffirm those ties.
Many of those leaders saying he should do it sooner as opposed to later. President Bush also agreed -- Lou.
DOBBS: Suzanne Malveaux from the White House.
Thank you.
Another member of the president's Cabinet has now said he wants to leave government service. Education Secretary Rod Paige is discussing the timing of his departure with the White House. Two other of President Bush's Cabinet members have announced their resignations, Attorney General John Ashcroft and Commerce Secretary Don Evans.
Coming up next, we'll have the latest for you on the Scott Peterson guilty verdict. We'll have a live report from the courthouse in Redwood City, California.
Outsourcing at the Pentagon. Old Europe refusing to send troops to Iraq, but old Europe still wants a rising share of that old money in the U.S. defense budget.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: An increasing number of U.S. military contracts are being outsourced overseas. Even companies based in countries that oppose the war in Iraq and refuse to send troops now want a share of the Pentagon's budget.
Louise Schiavone reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LOUISE SCHIAVONE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From Stealth fighters to nuclear submarines, U.S. Defense is second to none in the world and big business for American companies, but there are signs that increasingly through international agreements and by acquiring smaller U.S. companies with made-in-America contracts, foreign contractors are going after the mammoth defense budget. In this fiscal year alone, it will ring up at almost half-a-trillion dollars.
ALEX KNOTT, CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEGRITY: They're going after a piece of the American contract pie by buying out small companies, by doing large amounts of lobbying and by finding ways to get larger and larger amounts of American contracts.
SCHIAVONE: Case in point: Europe's largest aerospace company, European Aeronautic Defense & Space. Slowly but surely, EADS, the French-German company behind Boeing rival Airbus, appears to be carving out a niche in the Pentagon budget, beginning with $681,000 in fiscal 2001, snaring $2,870,000 in 2002 and $30.2 million in fiscal 2003.
All together, EADS has roughly 2,000 Americans on its payrolls. A helicopter factory in Columbus, Mississippi, is expected to provide a hundred jobs by the end of next year. To date, EADS has secured a total of 2,000 helicopter contracts for the Coast Guard, Border Patrol, Homeland Security Department and several law-enforcement agencies.
DAVE OLIVER, EADS NORTH AMERICA: The products that we're bringing to the United States are those in which competition has been lacking, and, therefore, the United States' comparable products are inferior.
SCHIAVONE: EADS is also hoping for an opening to compete for a $20 billion Air Force aerial refueling tanker previously slated to go to U.S.-based Boeing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHIAVONE: Lou, analysts say that overall foreign defense contracting occupies no more than 5 percent of total Pentagon business, but, as we have discussed many times before, this question crackles with two big preoccupations of a recovering economy, buy American contracting and U.S. jobs -- Lou.
DOBBS: Thank you very much.
Louise Schiavone.
And that brings us to the subject of our poll tonight. The question: Do you believe the Pentagon should award weapons and weapons systems contracts to only U.S. companies? Yes or no. Cast your vote at cnn.com/lou. We'll have the results for you later in the broadcast.
Coming up next, the Scott Peterson guilty verdict. We'll have a live report from Redwood, California.
Tackling the third rail in presidential politics. Social Security and the president's plan to reform it. Our series of special reports continue on the Bush agenda.
And the inspiring story of a Marine wounded in Iraq tonight, a young man committed to both country and his family, our hero of the week.
All of that and more still ahead. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Four people are dead and four are injured after a fiery crash on a St. Louis-area bridge this morning. Authorities say a commuter van carrying workers for Boeing collided head on with a tractor-trailer. That bridge connecting East St. Louis with the City of St. Louis was shut down for five hours. Eighteen people in Atlanta have been indicted for allegedly employing illegal aliens in gasoline stations and convenient stores. The U.S. Attorney's office charging the people with conspiracy and encouraging illegal aliens to live in the United States. Those aliens apparently paid in cash and through paychecks using fake Social Security numbers.
A disturbing story tonight out of California where Border Patrol agents found that one of a number of pinatas was a little heavier than others. The reason: A little girl was sealed inside. The little girl along with her mother and brother were being smuggled into this country. She was not injured. A spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protections says no one will be prosecuted in the case, in part because of the shear volume of human smuggling cases.
Turning now to our top story. A jury in California today found Scott Peterson guilty of first-degree murder in the death of his wife and second-degree murder in the death of their unborn son.
For the very latest, we're going to Ted Rowlands outside the courthouse in Redwood City, California -- Ted.
ROWLANDS: Lou, Scott Peterson remains jailed here in Redwood City, California, and will remain here until this same jury can deliberate and decide his sentence. They will take a week off and then be back the following Monday to start the sentencing phase in this case.
Both sides will provide evidence to their side as to whether or not -- the prosecution will try to convince this jury that the crime that Scott Peterson was convicted of was so heinous that he deserves to die by lethal injected. The defense will bring on witnesses to try to spare his life.
The same jury will then decide that, and, at that point, Scott Peterson will either go to San Quentin and serve on death row or be put into the California correctional system for the remainder of his life. The best-case scenario for Peterson now is the life without the possibility of parole.
When the jury verdicts were read this afternoon here in Redwood City, California, hundreds of people had gathered around the courthouse. They erupted in applause because, in the court of public opinion, Scott Peterson has been considered guilty since shortly after his wife was reported missing.
Inside the courtroom, it was a much different scenario. Peterson showed absolutely no emotion at all when the verdicts were read. Laci Peterson's family, Sharon Rocha, her mother, and others held each other and sobbed as they learned that Scott Peterson was found guilty in the first degree -- Lou.
DOBBS: Ted, thank you very much. Ted, we appreciate your reporting.
And we conclude this week our series of special reports on the Bush agenda. Tonight, a critically important issue for every working man and woman in this country -- Social Security. The Social Security system is simply running out of money, and it's in urgent need of reform. President Bush has vowed to take on the challenge.
Bill Tucker reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL TUCKER, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In his first press conference after winning reelection, President Bush firmly grasped the fabled third rail of American politics.
BUSH: Let's start on Social Security now. We'll start bringing together those in Congress who agree with my assessment that we need to work together.
TUCKER: Efforts at reform are already under way. This past July, a bill was introduced in the House, aimed at letting workers direct some of their current payroll taxes into personal savings accounts where they then could then invest them in stocks or bonds. The proposal is similar to recommendations from the president's bipartisan commission to strengthen Social Security.
OLIVIA MITCHELL, WHARTON UNIV. OF PENNSYLVANIA: Our proposal would move from the current system to a funded system gradually. Not overnight, not with massive privatization. Rather, we propose to change in the benefit formula, so that over a period of 50 to 75 years, the system would return to solvency, and it really would be a safety net, which it's not today.
TUCKER: But are there at least 35 million people in the way of any massive overhaul of the Social Security system. The American Association of Retired People.
DAVID CERTNER, AARP: We need it make some changes but we can make modest changes now to ensure that we have a long-term solvency for this system. We don't need to fundamentally restructure the program.
TUCKER: Among the changes the AARP would like to see are wages above $90,000 taxed. But the group has not suggested what the new cap should be. They would also like to see the Social Security trust fund diversified beyond treasury bonds. The AARP is not the only obstacle. Transitional costs move to a plan where workers would self-direct some of their Social Security are high and they vary widely with some estimating the cost as high as $2 trillion. Any change would add to an already bulging budget deficit.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCKER: All right, now, can Bush grasp that third rail and succeed? Much may depend on how quickly he pushes his reform agenda through Congress. Republicans currently control the House and Senate, but Lou, midterm elections are already looming large on the horizon and they're only two years away.
DOBBS: You just had to remind us.
TUCKER: I did.
DOBBS: Bill Tucker, thank you. We're now joined by three of the nation's very best journalists. Ron Brownstein of the "Los Angeles Times," Karen Tumulty, "TIME" magazine joining us tonight from Washington, Mark Morrison here in our studios, "Businessweek" magazine. Good to have you all here. Let me begin, Karen, with you. Yasser Arafat, both Tony Blair and President Bush saying this is an opportunity. Do you think it's one that can be successfully seized upon?
KAREN TUMULTY, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Well, first of all, the fact is that Tony Blair did not get what he came to Washington looking for. As he was coming to Washington, British officials were leaking to reporters that Bush might be open to perhaps appointing an envoy to the peace process to perhaps agreeing to some sort of peace conference. Neither of these two concrete steps were things that the president agreed to or even suggested he might agree to. So I think at this point the administration is still trying to keep its distance. The president has said once again today that this is essentially in the hands of the Palestinians who have to show that they in fact are desirous of democracy.
DOBBS: And, Ron, the president with the announcement today, the word from the White House today that Education Secretary Rod Paige is preparing to leave. Three cabinet positions turning over. Your reaction?
RON BROWNSTEIN, "LOS ANGELES TIMES": Well, I think the expectation of people in the administration, Lou, is that there is going to be more change in the cabinet than in the White House. More stability in the senior White House staff. Obviously Andy Card, the chief of staff, indicating that he's going to stay on for a second term. Very unusual. Karl Rove still going to be there. Dan Bartlett, the people who have been at the core. In the cabinet, there may be more change. The Education Secretary Rod Paige has been important in implementing the education reform. But really wasn't an architect of it. That was, like many of the policy initiatives of this White House -- administration, driven out of the White House. So, so far I think the changes sort of at the periphery in a way, because the core people that have been driving the decisions whether it's Josh Bolten at OMB or the people that we've not mentioned are still going to be there.
DOBBS: And, Mark, this market has moved up smartly since President Bush's re-election. Is this a Bush rally?
MARK MORRISON, "BUSINESSWEEK": It is a Bush rally. Of course there is also the price of oil's had a big break. So you have that going for the market as well, but I think the Bush election is the biggest part of it and we're out from the uncertainty that the market didn't like as the election unfolded. The other thing you have to consider is that the economy looks ahead, and I think it's beginning to see signs of a very healthy recovery in '05. DOBBS: And, Karen, this president engaged obviously still in Iraq, our troops engaged in Falluja. Do you expect to see when Congress does reconvene, a more strident voice from the loyal opposition?
TUMULTY: Well, I think that that is very much going to depend on events on the ground, because when Congress comes back, next year when the new Congress comes in, one of the first things that we're going to be facing is the question of whether in fact these Iraqi elections can be held in January as scheduled? And if things are falling apart on the ground militarily and politically, yes, I do think you're going to hear increasing criticism from opponents of this war, and by the way, more Republican voices among them.
DOBBS: Ron, you just heard Mark Morrison declare that this economy is booming. That we're going to see the stock market move up smartly. I shouldn't even say that facetiously for fear someone might think I was being serious on it, but the fact is taking on tax reform, taking on Social Security, as Bill Tucker just reported, how likely is it in your judgment that we're going it see real movement on these two particular issues.
BROWNSTEIN: It's interesting. The first question is going to be the sequencing of those issues. Both of which have to go through as you know the finance committee and the Senate ways and means in the House. President Bush is basically, I think, is still searching for where he wants to go in tax reform. He's probably going to appoint a commission to look at that. So that would argue that Social Security from what I'm hearing will have to come first. Now this is something he's talked about for four years. Has never moved forward. And the backdrop of a declining stock market really hasn't provided the political context you'd want for this, but now they are in a position with majorities in both chambers where there's probably the best chance Republicans have ever had to undertake fundamental reform. The big question will be, one, how scared they are the senior lobby and two, the point that Bill made, can they find the money to finance the transition costs which are very formidable? Will Republicans sit still for simply passing this onto the debt and the future generations?
MORRISON: I agree with Ron that Social Security's probably going to be one of the first things. But he is also going to very quickly move to make his tax cuts permanent. That, you talked about the market a minute ago, or we both did and that's one of the things that the market's very happy about. That capital gains and dividend tax rates are going to stay at the levels they've been lowered to.
DOBBS: We didn't even mention -- I am sorry, go ahead.
TUMULTY: If I could just add. One of the reasons that the president didn't do Social Security in his first term was that Denny Hastert the speaker of the House asked him not to. He's really got to move quickly on this because he cannot be doing it in the same year as a midterm election.
BROWNSTEIN: And it makes sense in this sense, Lou, also to do it first. Tax reform, it usually is less partisan issues. Social Security is going to be an intensely partisan fight. There are very few Democrats attracted to the idea of carving out part of the payroll tax for private investment. Whereas when you get to tax reform, it becomes more of a technocratic issue that you can build I think more of a bipartisan alliance on. It maybe easier to do in an election year.
TUMULTY: And not to mention, it's the best fund-raising vehicle possible for all of these congressmen running for re-election.
DOBBS: And Mark Morrison, the fact is that with the tax reform, Social Security, also comes a couple of little minor issues called budget deficits. The twin deficits, trade and the federal budget deficit. How high do you think that will be? How successful do you think this president can be in constraining both?
MORRISON: It's impossible to say right now. The fact that the economy looks like it's going to be growing at a healthy rate means tax revenues and that's of course good for the deficit. It'll at least be going the right direction but whether Bush takes on real cost-cutting, he's got a lot of priorities here. And you'd like to see him spend some of his political capital on cost-cutting, but I don't see that he's talking about that much.
DOBBS: Mark Morrison, Ron Brownstein, Karen Tumulty, thank you very much, have a great weekend.
Just ahead, Hispanic voters helped secure this president's second term. Will they be rewarded? We'll have that special report coming up.
Also tonight, a nation of overmedicated hypochondriacs? A look at the increasing number of drugs flooding the shelves and the consumers who demand them and the doctors who prescribe them. Those stories and much more still ahead here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: The support of Hispanic Latino voters critical for the president in his election victory. A rising number of Hispanics are now voting Republican. Bill Schneider has the story from Los Angeles.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: On November 2, a political earthquake shook the Hispanic community. Four years ago, George W. Bush took 35 percent of the nation's Hispanic vote, this year, Bush's share skyrocketed, 44 percent.
ADAM J. SEGAL, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: Even if you buy into the idea that Bush did not do nearly as well among Hispanic voters as the exit poll demonstrates, there still is an overwhelming consensus among Democrats that the Republicans did better than they did in 2000, likely better than they have ever done among Hispanic voters.
SCHNEIDER: Take Florida, where many Cuban-Americans have criticized President Bush's restrictions on contacts with Cuba. And where non-Cuban Hispanics now outnumber traditionally Republican Cuban-Americans. In 2000, Florida Hispanics voted 49 percent for Bush. This year, Bush got 55 percent among Florida Hispanics.
Bush got a solid majority from Hispanics in his home state of Texas. Both Bush and John Kerry ran Spanish-language ads. Bush's mostly negative Spanish language ads targeted Kerry's positions on national security to a community that has strong ties to the military.
And social issues.
SEGAL: In particular, the Bush campaign focused on abortion and the issue around gay marriage. And really used those issues to create a wedge between Kerry and the Hispanic community, in particular the religious segment of the Hispanic community.
SCHNEIDER: Experts estimate that half of Hispanic families in the U.S. live in households where English is the main language. They got the same campaign messages as other voters. And they tended to vote like other voters.
This week, Hispanic voters got something for their vote -- President Bush's nomination of Alberto Gonzales to be the nation's first Hispanic attorney general. A man with strong ties to the Hispanic community.
ALBERTO GONZALES, WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL: Tell them that within the Hispanic community, there is a shared hope for an opportunity to succeed. Just give me a chance to prove myself, that is a common prayer for those in my community.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHNEIDER: Issues like civil rights and union rights and jobs have traditionally tied Hispanic to the Democratic Party. Republicans have discovered other issues this year that move Hispanic voters, Lou.
DOBBS: You know, Bill, you're really describing a melting pot that is working. And it may be one of the greatest positive in this whole election. That is, as you say, they're voting like every other American, the Hispanic voter. In point in fact, they are like every other American, are they not?
SCHNEIDER: They are voting like traditional ethnic groups have always voted. That is, as they succeed in the United States, gain power, income, wealth, status, they become more assimilated, more culturated. That's exactly how Hispanic-Americans have voted. And we saw a real breakthrough this year. For now on, they're going to be treated as they should be treated, as a swing vote.
DOBBS: And, I think that's, as I say, a great positive that you've brought to our attention. And I noticed Henry Cisneros is trying to say that wasn't a very large change in the Hispanic Latino vote. It turns out it was a rather large change, was it not?
SCHNEIDER: It was a large change. The highest Hispanic vote we'd ever seen for a Republican presidential candidate was Ronald Reagan in 1984 who got about 40 percent of the Hispanic vote. Bush broke 40 percent. And as we saw in Texas, he got a clear majority of the Hispanic vote. At least according to the exit poll. And most expert, while they may quarrel with the exit poll figures, say that they agree that he did reach the high water mark.
And interestingly, despite criticism of his immigration policy in the Hispanic community, that doesn't have seem to have done him any harm.
DOBBS: Thank you very much. Bill Schneider have, a great weekend.
Merck CEO today defending the company's reputation in full-page newspaper ads. The company pulled Vioxx from the shelves last month, but the damage to Merck in the finger-pointing in Washington has only begun. Christine Romans reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Merck now phases an avalanche of lawsuits over Vioxx. Turns out the miracle painkiller it's been pumping may cause heart attack and stroke.
JOHN ABRAMSON, AUTHOR, "OVERDOSED AMERICA": They spent more marketing Vioxx than was spent marking Pepsi or Budweiser beer in 2000. And they needed to spend that much money to push this product to create the aura that Vioxx was a superior drug.
ROMANS: Drug companies, in fact, spends as much on aura and image these days as they do on science, and you can see it in their sales. Last year the big drug companies sold $154 billion in drugs, 3 times more than just a decade ago. Helped by lifestyle drugs, and soaring popularity of anti-depressants.
Pfizer is under investigation for marketing its powerful adult anti-depressant, Zoloft, to children without FDA approval. And there are new questions about the safety of its anti-arthritis drug, Bextra.
Connecticut and New York are probing whether drug companies routinely suppressed unfavorable clinical data, keeping doctors and patients in the dark, all while bombarding them with sales messages about their drugs. Consider the long lines to get a flu shot that's now rationed, you have got a drug industry in crisis.
JERRY AVORN, AUTHOR "POWERFUL MEDICINES": We have allowed the use and manufacture in regulation of medicines to be treated as if it is just another commodity out there in the marketplace like cars or computers or shampoo. And many of us in medicine feel that that's really not the best way to approach it. That there is something special, almost sacred about medicines and about health care in general.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: The nation's two biggest drug companies, Merck and Pfizer, look like they are in trouble here and trouble. And trouble too, for the Food and Drug Administration. Merck and FDA officials face a grilling next week on Capitol Hill, Lou.
DOBBS: Well, indeed with all that is happening, a grilling seem to be well in order.
This off label marketing that is going on. The idea that any company could move a product that's not approved by the FDA into the system for someone that's under age, how in the world does that work?
ROMANS: Well in the case of Zoloft, they're trying to find out if Zoloft, which is a proved for adults, was being pushed by doctors on the side to be treated to be used on children, without any kind of FDA approval for use in children.
DOBBS: Would there also be a liability there for the doctors themselves?
ROMANS: Well the doctors say they don't have the whole story. That they are being told by the drug company, hey, maybe this works. The doctors say they only have the information that's as good as the drug company that gives them.
DOBBS: Christine, thanks a lot. Christine Romans.
And you're going to be on this story, I think, for quite a while.
ROMANS: Absolutely.
DOBBS: A reminder now to vote in our poll tonight. The question, "Do you believe the Pentagon should award weapons and weapons systems contracts to only U.S. companies?" Yes or no. Cast your vote at cnn.com/lou. We'll have the results coming right up.
Next, we'll share some of your thoughts on the invasion of illegal aliens into this country.
And in "Heroes," the inspiring story of a U.S. Marine from California. Serving in combat and Iraq, now the next step in his life. We'll have his story in just a moment. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Now, "Heroes," our weekly salute to the men and women who serve and defend our country. Tonight, the story of Marine Lance Corporal Adrian Souza, who was wounded in Iraq during his second tour of duty. Casey Wian has his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Pismo Beach, California, the town turns out early to honor a local hero.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE; Next up, ladies and gentlemen we have our grand marshal, Lance Corporal Adrian Souza. WIAN: Adrian Sousa rides with his mom Angie and brother Seth, waving to the throngs of well-wishers who lined the streets to show their appreciation and support. Like so many small towns, Pismo Beach has a big heart.
The parade winds toward the pier, where crowds pay tribute to the veterans of all wars.
(SINGING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Freedom of liberty are the hall marks of our great nation. But freedom is never free.
WIAN: But day belongs to Adrian Souza.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The United States of America has awarded the Purple Heart to Lance Corporal Adrian M. Souza, United States Marine Corps, for wounds received in action on 9, September, 2004 in Iraq.
WIAN: Souza was shot in the leg when his foot patrol was ambushed near Ramadi. It was his second tour of duty in Iraq.
LANCE CORPORAL ADRIAN SOUZA, U.S. MARINE CORPS: We'd only gotten there a couple of weeks before. And I didn't really want to leave my unit. I didn't really feel the pain in it, I just felt kind of disappointed.
WIAN: He's had several surgeries and expects a full recovery. Souza isn't exactly comfortable being the center of attention, but on this day, he humbly accepts the thanks of the people of Pismo Beach.
ANGIE SOUZA, MOTHER: Our community has really has been behind him. And this is more proof that people support him. And whether you believe in it or not, you believe in the people that do it.
WIAN: Souza still needs months of physical therapy. But he intends to finish his military service next year. And go back to school to study science or law.
Casey Wian, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS: Still ahead here, we'll share some of your thoughts on the immigration crisis in this country. And the results of our poll tonight.
Also a preview of what of what's ahead next week. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Now the results of tonight's poll. 84 percent of you should award weapons and weapons systems contracts to only U.S. companies, 16 percent disagree.
Taking a look now at some of your thought, in particular on the immigration crisis.
Nate Rayburn of Burbank, California, "I am very worried about the immigration problems in our country. No one should be able to cross our borders unchecked. How can anyone talk about national security when people are crossing our borders by the thousands daily? Something needs to happen and it can be dealt with without being a race issue. It's a common sense issue.
Seth Walker of Knoxville, Tennessee, "It seems to me that giving illegal immigrants work permits is outsourcing jobs and helps no one but the companies who hire them. How can we possibly condone this outsourcing within our own country?"
And Jan Herron of Evergreen, Colorado, "Vicente Fox needs to know that good fences make good neighbors. Time magazine says there are 15 million illegal aliens in the United States and 4,000 of them are jumping Arizona's border nightly. Good grief, wouldn't you promote your own proposition 200 as well, if your state had to deal with that large of an invasion?"
We love to hear from you. Send us your thoughts at Loudobbs@CNN.com.
Thanks for being us here tonight. Please join us on Monday.
We begin our series of special reports "Broken Reports" on the immigration crisis in this country. Monday, we focus on the efforts to crack down on those who are employing illegal aliens in this country.
Also, we'll examine the highly partisan Supreme Court nomination and approval process. I'll be talking with the country's best known victim of partisan obstructionism, attorney and scholar Robert Bork.
And Pat Truman of the Family Research Council, and Nadine Strossen of the ACLU will be here to debate the standards of violence and language. And what should be the standards in prime-time broadcast television.
Please join us. For all of us here, thanks for being with us. Have a pleasant weekend. Good night from New York. "ANDERSON COOPER 360" is next.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 12, 2004 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LOU DOBBS, HOST (voice-over): Tonight the Scott Peterson verdict is in. He's guilty of murdering his wife and unborn child. We'll have live reports from our correspondents who have been covering this case for nearly two years, and we'll be joined by CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin.
House to house fighting in Falluja. Dramatic new video of our troops in combat.
MICHAEL WARE, BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF, "TIME": There were scenes of great chaos, scenes of great destruction. I also have witnessed acts of uncommon valor.
DOBBS: And emotional overflow crowds of Palestinians packed into Ramallah to bid a chaotic farewell to the man who led them for four decades.
And Europe's greed: France and Germany refuse to send troops to Iraq, but incredibly, their defense countries are seeking a rising share of the Pentagon budget.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're going after a piece of the American contract pie by buying out small companies.
DOBBS: We'll have a special report.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is LOU DOBBS TONIGHT for Friday, November 12. Here now for an hour of news, debate, and opinion is Lou Dobbs.
DOBBS: Good evening.
Tonight, a jury has found Scott Peterson guilty of murder after five months of testimony, more than 180 witnesses, and millions of dollars in taxpayer money.
The jury found Scott Peterson guilty of first-degree murder in the death of his wife Laci and second-degree murder in the death of their unborn son.
We begin our coverage tonight with Ted Rowlands outside the courthouse in Redwood City, California -- Ted. TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lou, when the verdicts were read, no emotion from Scott Peterson. He stared ahead and did absolutely nothing.
Laci Peterson's family, on the other hand, controlled themselves, held each other, and cried openly, along with Laci Peterson's friends.
This jury, only assembled two days ago, deliberated for a total of six hours together. You remember, one of the members of the jury was ousted late last week, and the new member came in.
This jury was together for a very short period of time with a new foreman. They obviously were on the same page and came back with a guilty verdict in the first degree for the death of Laci Peterson, in the second degree for Connor Peterson.
Outside the courthouse, hundreds of people who have been following this trial came to see the verdict firsthand, or to hear it. An audio feed of the verdict was transmitted outside, and when the verdict was read, eruption. People cheered when they heard that Scott Peterson had been found guilty. It is no secret that in the court of public opinion, Peterson has been seen as guilty since shortly after his wife Laci disappeared.
There is a penalty phase in this trial, because there are special circumstances. The jury decided that he is eligible for the death penalty. The judge told the jury they'll have the next week off and then be back the following Monday to start hearing testimony. And then it'll be up to this same jury as to whether or not Scott Peterson will face the death penalty.
The best-case scenario for him now, assuming this is isn't overturned on appeal, is that he will die in prison -- Lou.
DOBBS: Ted, thank you very much, Ted Rowlands, for your reporting.
Let's go now to Rusty Dornin, who was in that courtroom when that verdict was read -- Rusty.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was an amazing moment, Lou. It was -- there was an electricity in the air that can only come at a moment like us for those us that have been covering this for two years. And many of the reporters, we, too, were nervous.
The family and friends of Laci Peterson, some of them crying even before the jury came into the room just because they were nervous about the whole thing.
Scott Peterson's father, he was not in the courtroom. We do not know where he was. His attorney also not in the courtroom. Mark Geragos going down to southern California thinking it was perhaps going to be just a quiet day, which we all did today. Instead the verdict coming, as Ted said, six hours after they began deliberating.
When the clerk read the verdicts, the Rocha family immediately began to sob in the courtroom. Scott Peterson, who before jury came in, had been smiling, appearing very confident. He, stone-faced, began staring to the front of the courtroom. Didn't speak to anyone.
His family, his mother, his brother, his sister-in-law sitting in the front row, also staring straight ahead. Not talking to each other. Not holding each other.
On the other hand, Laci Peterson's family holding one another. Outside the courthouse here, hundreds of people had gathered. As Ted said, they were cheering.
Also just two hours after that verdict, here we have the local newspapers. "San Mateo Times" and the "Redwood City Daily News," reporting that Scott Peterson, after nearly two years in a five-month trial, guilty -- Lou.
DOBBS: Rusty, thank you very much. Rusty Dornin reporting.
I'm joined now by our legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin.
Jeffrey, you expected a guilty verdict in this trial. It was delivered in six hours. Did that surprise you?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Absolutely. The speed of this verdict was a big surprise and not just to me. Mark Geragos, Scott Peterson's lead defense lawyer, wasn't even in court. He went home to southern California for the weekend, thinking there was no way the jury would come back today. He was wrong. I was wrong.
DOBBS: We obviously have not had, nor will we have until they deliver a verdict, as to whether or not Scott Peterson will die as a result of these convictions. But what is your best judgment as to what was most convincing to this jury of his guilt?
TOOBIN: Two things. One is Scott Peterson was the only person with the remotest motive to kill this woman. She had no enemies in the world. She did have an unhappy husband who was having an affair.
Second, and perhaps even more important, Laci Peterson was found 80 miles away from her home. A long way away, at the precise point in San Francisco Bay where Scott Peterson was on the day she disappeared. That's a devastating piece of evidence, and the defense simply never got around it.
DOBBS: That evidence, however, and I understand fully that murder trials often are circumstantial in the evidence that's presented. But this -- this entire case brought by the prosecution, of whom you have been critical throughout, particularly for the protraction of this trial, they never had anything beyond circumstantial evidence, did they?
TOOBIN: Credit where credit is due. I thought they -- they went on for too long, called too many witnesses, but they got the result what they wanted, and they deserve credit for that.
But they worked with what they had. There was no evidence of -- there was no eyewitness. There was no murder weapon. There was no cause of death proved. But the circumstances were such that Scott Peterson was the only person who really had any reason to do this, and there was any evidence against him. So that's -- that's how the way the verdict went.
DOBBS: The conviction on all counts. Now this jury after a week off, the judge has given them a few days to recover from the -- what has to be an ordeal for them over this period of time, before deciding whether or not Scott Peterson will live or die.
How long do you think it will take them to reach a decision once they do return, and secondly, do you think that the death penalty will be the result?
TOOBIN: The penalty phases tend to be pretty short, even in California, where things to take very long. My guess is it'll take less than a week, and my guess, and of course it's only a guess, is that he will get life without parole, not the death penalty.
He has no criminal record. He has, as horrible as this crime was, and it was horrible, it was such an aberration from the rest of his life. And even -- and even though he was convicted there may be a couple of jurors who think, you know, we can't be 100 percent sure, even if we found proof beyond. A death sentence is completely final. Life without parole is something less.
DOBBS: Jeffrey Toobin, as always, thank you.
TOOBIN: Thanks, Lou.
DOBBS: Turning now to events today in Iraq and the battle for Falluja.
Tonight, our soldiers and Marines are hunting down the last surviving anti-Iraqi forces in Falluja. In the words of one Marine commander, "Those insurgents who want to fight to the death are running out of steam, and we will accommodate them."
Kitty Pilgrim reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a building to building, house to house operation, in some cases fighting insurgents just a few feet away.
Lieutenant General John Sattler conferred with the soldier about where weapons were found.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mosques, homes. Absolute arsenals and every kind of weapon that you could imagine, from full-scale rockets down to explosives to factories where they're taking apart mortars and getting the TNT out of it by melting it down in solutions to make explosives, bombs, and things of that nature.
LT. GEN. JOHN SATTLER, U.S. MILITARY: IED's? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.
SATTLER: Booby traps?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir. They're ingenious.
SATTLER: All right. Well, keep the heat on them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will, sir.
PILGRIM: And that they did, Sattler said. Six hundred insurgents have been killed, 151 detained, and 300 have surrendered at a mosque.
One reporter talks about the pitched battle coalition forces encountered.
WARE: When they appear, the fight is terrible. You can see the U.S. soldiers being hit with booby traps, mines, IEDs, rocket- propelled grenades and relentless small arms fire from direct assaults and from well-concealed insurgents.
I've witnessed acts of indescribable horror. And I have also witnessed acts of uncommon valor from the U.S. soldiers that I was with.
PILGRIM: Troops are pushing south through the city. Parts of the city are empty, but the military now controls 80 percent of Falluja. The battle, however, is expected to continue for several days.
Kitty Pilgrim, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS: I'm joined now from Washington by our military analyst, retired Marine Corps General Terry Murray. General Murray served three decades in the U.S. Marine Corps and led Marines in the Persian Gulf.
General, good to have you with us.
Five days into this engagement, 80 percent of Falluja now under the control of the U.S. military. Do you think we're doing pretty well there?
MAJ. GEN. TERRY MURRAY (RET.), U.S. MARINE CORPS: I think we're doing extremely well, Lou. The coalition forces have accomplished all of their missions to date and, I think, have seized the key tactical objectives.
What aided this tremendously, in my view, was the evacuation of a quarter of a million civilians from the city so that, as the coalition forces, to include maybe 2,500 Iraqis -- as they fought from house to house, street to street, block to block, they knew when they encountered people in the city, the great likelihood was that they were insurgents and not civilians.
So the problem was less complicated because very few civilians were in the city.
DOBBS: The cordon that was put up around Falluja, General, apparently, in the days before the assault began, as many as half of the insurgents escaped. Does that perturb you?
MURRAY: I think that's a serious negative, Lou. But I also believe that that was anticipated. Strategically, we did not have surprise. Tactically, once we went into the city, coalition forces knew what they needed to do and attacked objectives as they saw fit.
DOBBS: And...
MURRAY: I think -- go ahead, Lou.
DOBBS: And, General, we have lost three helicopters now, a third today. Luckily, we have lost none of our pilots or crewmen in those crashes, but they have been taken down by the enemy. Is this a surprising vulnerability on our part?
MURRAY: I don't think so, Lou. Helicopters that are supporting the troops on the ground in Falluja -- they fly nap of the earth, treetop level, less than a thousand feet most of the time, and, when they're providing close-in support, they're only a couple hundred feet off the deck.
So it is not surprising that insurgents with probably shoulder- fired weapons, missiles, could take down one or more helicopters, and that's part of the threat and part of the risk associated with a conventional battle such as we're watching.
DOBBS: General Terry Murray.
Thank you very much for being here to share your insights.
MURRAY: Thank you, Lou.
DOBBS: Still ahead, we'll have more on the Scott Peterson guilty verdict live from the courthouse.
Also, a chaotic funeral for Yasser Arafat. More than a hundred people were injured as Palestinians packed Ramallah and bid the man who led them for four decades a final farewell.
President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair talk about the prospects for peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We'll have that report.
All of that and a great deal more still ahead here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: There was chaos at burial site of Yasser Arafat in the West Bank City of Ramallah today. Tens of thousands of mourners swarmed around the casket of Yasser Arafat. Security guards fired their weapons into the air trying to restore order, as Arafat today was buried and his thousands of followers bid him a final, if chaotic, farewell. More than a hundred people were injured, some of them by the security guards' bullets.
President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair today said the death of Yasser Arafat has created a new opportunity for peace. President Bush and Prime Minister Blair held a joint news conference at the White House after talks about the Middle East, Iraq and the global war on terror.
White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux reports -- Suzanne?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Lou, it was just hours after Yasser Arafat's burial that both President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair said this was a new opportunity, an opening for a Middle East peace. Both of them committing to that, wrapping up two days of talks, an informal dinner last night, an Oval Office meeting.
Mr. Blair essentially got what he came for, and that was a pledge from Mr. Bush to reaffirm his commitment in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I believe we've got a great chance to establish a Palestinian state, and I intend to use the next four years to spend the capital of the United States on such a state.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: President Bush also said, of course, he would push forward the disengagement plan -- that is Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan -- to pull away from some of those Palestinian lands. He also said he'd be working with the courts at the international community in trying to bring about Palestinian democratic reforms and helping their elections.
Both of these leaders expressed optimism in Afghanistan and Iraq in bringing about democracy, and President Bush also made it very clear -- he addressed some of the criticism that Mr. Blair his faced at home for his support in the Iraq war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: I'm a lucky person, a lucky president to be holding office at the same time this man holds the prime ministership. These are troubled times. It's a tough world. What this world needs is steady, rock solid leaders who stand on principle, and that's what prime minister means to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: And, Lou, the president also committed to making a trip to Europe after his inauguration. Senior administration officials telling us likely in Brussels, Belgium, in February, that this has happened after many discussions with other world leaders, European leaders to try to strengthen and reaffirm those ties.
Many of those leaders saying he should do it sooner as opposed to later. President Bush also agreed -- Lou.
DOBBS: Suzanne Malveaux from the White House.
Thank you.
Another member of the president's Cabinet has now said he wants to leave government service. Education Secretary Rod Paige is discussing the timing of his departure with the White House. Two other of President Bush's Cabinet members have announced their resignations, Attorney General John Ashcroft and Commerce Secretary Don Evans.
Coming up next, we'll have the latest for you on the Scott Peterson guilty verdict. We'll have a live report from the courthouse in Redwood City, California.
Outsourcing at the Pentagon. Old Europe refusing to send troops to Iraq, but old Europe still wants a rising share of that old money in the U.S. defense budget.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: An increasing number of U.S. military contracts are being outsourced overseas. Even companies based in countries that oppose the war in Iraq and refuse to send troops now want a share of the Pentagon's budget.
Louise Schiavone reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LOUISE SCHIAVONE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From Stealth fighters to nuclear submarines, U.S. Defense is second to none in the world and big business for American companies, but there are signs that increasingly through international agreements and by acquiring smaller U.S. companies with made-in-America contracts, foreign contractors are going after the mammoth defense budget. In this fiscal year alone, it will ring up at almost half-a-trillion dollars.
ALEX KNOTT, CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEGRITY: They're going after a piece of the American contract pie by buying out small companies, by doing large amounts of lobbying and by finding ways to get larger and larger amounts of American contracts.
SCHIAVONE: Case in point: Europe's largest aerospace company, European Aeronautic Defense & Space. Slowly but surely, EADS, the French-German company behind Boeing rival Airbus, appears to be carving out a niche in the Pentagon budget, beginning with $681,000 in fiscal 2001, snaring $2,870,000 in 2002 and $30.2 million in fiscal 2003.
All together, EADS has roughly 2,000 Americans on its payrolls. A helicopter factory in Columbus, Mississippi, is expected to provide a hundred jobs by the end of next year. To date, EADS has secured a total of 2,000 helicopter contracts for the Coast Guard, Border Patrol, Homeland Security Department and several law-enforcement agencies.
DAVE OLIVER, EADS NORTH AMERICA: The products that we're bringing to the United States are those in which competition has been lacking, and, therefore, the United States' comparable products are inferior.
SCHIAVONE: EADS is also hoping for an opening to compete for a $20 billion Air Force aerial refueling tanker previously slated to go to U.S.-based Boeing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHIAVONE: Lou, analysts say that overall foreign defense contracting occupies no more than 5 percent of total Pentagon business, but, as we have discussed many times before, this question crackles with two big preoccupations of a recovering economy, buy American contracting and U.S. jobs -- Lou.
DOBBS: Thank you very much.
Louise Schiavone.
And that brings us to the subject of our poll tonight. The question: Do you believe the Pentagon should award weapons and weapons systems contracts to only U.S. companies? Yes or no. Cast your vote at cnn.com/lou. We'll have the results for you later in the broadcast.
Coming up next, the Scott Peterson guilty verdict. We'll have a live report from Redwood, California.
Tackling the third rail in presidential politics. Social Security and the president's plan to reform it. Our series of special reports continue on the Bush agenda.
And the inspiring story of a Marine wounded in Iraq tonight, a young man committed to both country and his family, our hero of the week.
All of that and more still ahead. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Four people are dead and four are injured after a fiery crash on a St. Louis-area bridge this morning. Authorities say a commuter van carrying workers for Boeing collided head on with a tractor-trailer. That bridge connecting East St. Louis with the City of St. Louis was shut down for five hours. Eighteen people in Atlanta have been indicted for allegedly employing illegal aliens in gasoline stations and convenient stores. The U.S. Attorney's office charging the people with conspiracy and encouraging illegal aliens to live in the United States. Those aliens apparently paid in cash and through paychecks using fake Social Security numbers.
A disturbing story tonight out of California where Border Patrol agents found that one of a number of pinatas was a little heavier than others. The reason: A little girl was sealed inside. The little girl along with her mother and brother were being smuggled into this country. She was not injured. A spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protections says no one will be prosecuted in the case, in part because of the shear volume of human smuggling cases.
Turning now to our top story. A jury in California today found Scott Peterson guilty of first-degree murder in the death of his wife and second-degree murder in the death of their unborn son.
For the very latest, we're going to Ted Rowlands outside the courthouse in Redwood City, California -- Ted.
ROWLANDS: Lou, Scott Peterson remains jailed here in Redwood City, California, and will remain here until this same jury can deliberate and decide his sentence. They will take a week off and then be back the following Monday to start the sentencing phase in this case.
Both sides will provide evidence to their side as to whether or not -- the prosecution will try to convince this jury that the crime that Scott Peterson was convicted of was so heinous that he deserves to die by lethal injected. The defense will bring on witnesses to try to spare his life.
The same jury will then decide that, and, at that point, Scott Peterson will either go to San Quentin and serve on death row or be put into the California correctional system for the remainder of his life. The best-case scenario for Peterson now is the life without the possibility of parole.
When the jury verdicts were read this afternoon here in Redwood City, California, hundreds of people had gathered around the courthouse. They erupted in applause because, in the court of public opinion, Scott Peterson has been considered guilty since shortly after his wife was reported missing.
Inside the courtroom, it was a much different scenario. Peterson showed absolutely no emotion at all when the verdicts were read. Laci Peterson's family, Sharon Rocha, her mother, and others held each other and sobbed as they learned that Scott Peterson was found guilty in the first degree -- Lou.
DOBBS: Ted, thank you very much. Ted, we appreciate your reporting.
And we conclude this week our series of special reports on the Bush agenda. Tonight, a critically important issue for every working man and woman in this country -- Social Security. The Social Security system is simply running out of money, and it's in urgent need of reform. President Bush has vowed to take on the challenge.
Bill Tucker reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL TUCKER, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In his first press conference after winning reelection, President Bush firmly grasped the fabled third rail of American politics.
BUSH: Let's start on Social Security now. We'll start bringing together those in Congress who agree with my assessment that we need to work together.
TUCKER: Efforts at reform are already under way. This past July, a bill was introduced in the House, aimed at letting workers direct some of their current payroll taxes into personal savings accounts where they then could then invest them in stocks or bonds. The proposal is similar to recommendations from the president's bipartisan commission to strengthen Social Security.
OLIVIA MITCHELL, WHARTON UNIV. OF PENNSYLVANIA: Our proposal would move from the current system to a funded system gradually. Not overnight, not with massive privatization. Rather, we propose to change in the benefit formula, so that over a period of 50 to 75 years, the system would return to solvency, and it really would be a safety net, which it's not today.
TUCKER: But are there at least 35 million people in the way of any massive overhaul of the Social Security system. The American Association of Retired People.
DAVID CERTNER, AARP: We need it make some changes but we can make modest changes now to ensure that we have a long-term solvency for this system. We don't need to fundamentally restructure the program.
TUCKER: Among the changes the AARP would like to see are wages above $90,000 taxed. But the group has not suggested what the new cap should be. They would also like to see the Social Security trust fund diversified beyond treasury bonds. The AARP is not the only obstacle. Transitional costs move to a plan where workers would self-direct some of their Social Security are high and they vary widely with some estimating the cost as high as $2 trillion. Any change would add to an already bulging budget deficit.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCKER: All right, now, can Bush grasp that third rail and succeed? Much may depend on how quickly he pushes his reform agenda through Congress. Republicans currently control the House and Senate, but Lou, midterm elections are already looming large on the horizon and they're only two years away.
DOBBS: You just had to remind us.
TUCKER: I did.
DOBBS: Bill Tucker, thank you. We're now joined by three of the nation's very best journalists. Ron Brownstein of the "Los Angeles Times," Karen Tumulty, "TIME" magazine joining us tonight from Washington, Mark Morrison here in our studios, "Businessweek" magazine. Good to have you all here. Let me begin, Karen, with you. Yasser Arafat, both Tony Blair and President Bush saying this is an opportunity. Do you think it's one that can be successfully seized upon?
KAREN TUMULTY, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Well, first of all, the fact is that Tony Blair did not get what he came to Washington looking for. As he was coming to Washington, British officials were leaking to reporters that Bush might be open to perhaps appointing an envoy to the peace process to perhaps agreeing to some sort of peace conference. Neither of these two concrete steps were things that the president agreed to or even suggested he might agree to. So I think at this point the administration is still trying to keep its distance. The president has said once again today that this is essentially in the hands of the Palestinians who have to show that they in fact are desirous of democracy.
DOBBS: And, Ron, the president with the announcement today, the word from the White House today that Education Secretary Rod Paige is preparing to leave. Three cabinet positions turning over. Your reaction?
RON BROWNSTEIN, "LOS ANGELES TIMES": Well, I think the expectation of people in the administration, Lou, is that there is going to be more change in the cabinet than in the White House. More stability in the senior White House staff. Obviously Andy Card, the chief of staff, indicating that he's going to stay on for a second term. Very unusual. Karl Rove still going to be there. Dan Bartlett, the people who have been at the core. In the cabinet, there may be more change. The Education Secretary Rod Paige has been important in implementing the education reform. But really wasn't an architect of it. That was, like many of the policy initiatives of this White House -- administration, driven out of the White House. So, so far I think the changes sort of at the periphery in a way, because the core people that have been driving the decisions whether it's Josh Bolten at OMB or the people that we've not mentioned are still going to be there.
DOBBS: And, Mark, this market has moved up smartly since President Bush's re-election. Is this a Bush rally?
MARK MORRISON, "BUSINESSWEEK": It is a Bush rally. Of course there is also the price of oil's had a big break. So you have that going for the market as well, but I think the Bush election is the biggest part of it and we're out from the uncertainty that the market didn't like as the election unfolded. The other thing you have to consider is that the economy looks ahead, and I think it's beginning to see signs of a very healthy recovery in '05. DOBBS: And, Karen, this president engaged obviously still in Iraq, our troops engaged in Falluja. Do you expect to see when Congress does reconvene, a more strident voice from the loyal opposition?
TUMULTY: Well, I think that that is very much going to depend on events on the ground, because when Congress comes back, next year when the new Congress comes in, one of the first things that we're going to be facing is the question of whether in fact these Iraqi elections can be held in January as scheduled? And if things are falling apart on the ground militarily and politically, yes, I do think you're going to hear increasing criticism from opponents of this war, and by the way, more Republican voices among them.
DOBBS: Ron, you just heard Mark Morrison declare that this economy is booming. That we're going to see the stock market move up smartly. I shouldn't even say that facetiously for fear someone might think I was being serious on it, but the fact is taking on tax reform, taking on Social Security, as Bill Tucker just reported, how likely is it in your judgment that we're going it see real movement on these two particular issues.
BROWNSTEIN: It's interesting. The first question is going to be the sequencing of those issues. Both of which have to go through as you know the finance committee and the Senate ways and means in the House. President Bush is basically, I think, is still searching for where he wants to go in tax reform. He's probably going to appoint a commission to look at that. So that would argue that Social Security from what I'm hearing will have to come first. Now this is something he's talked about for four years. Has never moved forward. And the backdrop of a declining stock market really hasn't provided the political context you'd want for this, but now they are in a position with majorities in both chambers where there's probably the best chance Republicans have ever had to undertake fundamental reform. The big question will be, one, how scared they are the senior lobby and two, the point that Bill made, can they find the money to finance the transition costs which are very formidable? Will Republicans sit still for simply passing this onto the debt and the future generations?
MORRISON: I agree with Ron that Social Security's probably going to be one of the first things. But he is also going to very quickly move to make his tax cuts permanent. That, you talked about the market a minute ago, or we both did and that's one of the things that the market's very happy about. That capital gains and dividend tax rates are going to stay at the levels they've been lowered to.
DOBBS: We didn't even mention -- I am sorry, go ahead.
TUMULTY: If I could just add. One of the reasons that the president didn't do Social Security in his first term was that Denny Hastert the speaker of the House asked him not to. He's really got to move quickly on this because he cannot be doing it in the same year as a midterm election.
BROWNSTEIN: And it makes sense in this sense, Lou, also to do it first. Tax reform, it usually is less partisan issues. Social Security is going to be an intensely partisan fight. There are very few Democrats attracted to the idea of carving out part of the payroll tax for private investment. Whereas when you get to tax reform, it becomes more of a technocratic issue that you can build I think more of a bipartisan alliance on. It maybe easier to do in an election year.
TUMULTY: And not to mention, it's the best fund-raising vehicle possible for all of these congressmen running for re-election.
DOBBS: And Mark Morrison, the fact is that with the tax reform, Social Security, also comes a couple of little minor issues called budget deficits. The twin deficits, trade and the federal budget deficit. How high do you think that will be? How successful do you think this president can be in constraining both?
MORRISON: It's impossible to say right now. The fact that the economy looks like it's going to be growing at a healthy rate means tax revenues and that's of course good for the deficit. It'll at least be going the right direction but whether Bush takes on real cost-cutting, he's got a lot of priorities here. And you'd like to see him spend some of his political capital on cost-cutting, but I don't see that he's talking about that much.
DOBBS: Mark Morrison, Ron Brownstein, Karen Tumulty, thank you very much, have a great weekend.
Just ahead, Hispanic voters helped secure this president's second term. Will they be rewarded? We'll have that special report coming up.
Also tonight, a nation of overmedicated hypochondriacs? A look at the increasing number of drugs flooding the shelves and the consumers who demand them and the doctors who prescribe them. Those stories and much more still ahead here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: The support of Hispanic Latino voters critical for the president in his election victory. A rising number of Hispanics are now voting Republican. Bill Schneider has the story from Los Angeles.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: On November 2, a political earthquake shook the Hispanic community. Four years ago, George W. Bush took 35 percent of the nation's Hispanic vote, this year, Bush's share skyrocketed, 44 percent.
ADAM J. SEGAL, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: Even if you buy into the idea that Bush did not do nearly as well among Hispanic voters as the exit poll demonstrates, there still is an overwhelming consensus among Democrats that the Republicans did better than they did in 2000, likely better than they have ever done among Hispanic voters.
SCHNEIDER: Take Florida, where many Cuban-Americans have criticized President Bush's restrictions on contacts with Cuba. And where non-Cuban Hispanics now outnumber traditionally Republican Cuban-Americans. In 2000, Florida Hispanics voted 49 percent for Bush. This year, Bush got 55 percent among Florida Hispanics.
Bush got a solid majority from Hispanics in his home state of Texas. Both Bush and John Kerry ran Spanish-language ads. Bush's mostly negative Spanish language ads targeted Kerry's positions on national security to a community that has strong ties to the military.
And social issues.
SEGAL: In particular, the Bush campaign focused on abortion and the issue around gay marriage. And really used those issues to create a wedge between Kerry and the Hispanic community, in particular the religious segment of the Hispanic community.
SCHNEIDER: Experts estimate that half of Hispanic families in the U.S. live in households where English is the main language. They got the same campaign messages as other voters. And they tended to vote like other voters.
This week, Hispanic voters got something for their vote -- President Bush's nomination of Alberto Gonzales to be the nation's first Hispanic attorney general. A man with strong ties to the Hispanic community.
ALBERTO GONZALES, WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL: Tell them that within the Hispanic community, there is a shared hope for an opportunity to succeed. Just give me a chance to prove myself, that is a common prayer for those in my community.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHNEIDER: Issues like civil rights and union rights and jobs have traditionally tied Hispanic to the Democratic Party. Republicans have discovered other issues this year that move Hispanic voters, Lou.
DOBBS: You know, Bill, you're really describing a melting pot that is working. And it may be one of the greatest positive in this whole election. That is, as you say, they're voting like every other American, the Hispanic voter. In point in fact, they are like every other American, are they not?
SCHNEIDER: They are voting like traditional ethnic groups have always voted. That is, as they succeed in the United States, gain power, income, wealth, status, they become more assimilated, more culturated. That's exactly how Hispanic-Americans have voted. And we saw a real breakthrough this year. For now on, they're going to be treated as they should be treated, as a swing vote.
DOBBS: And, I think that's, as I say, a great positive that you've brought to our attention. And I noticed Henry Cisneros is trying to say that wasn't a very large change in the Hispanic Latino vote. It turns out it was a rather large change, was it not?
SCHNEIDER: It was a large change. The highest Hispanic vote we'd ever seen for a Republican presidential candidate was Ronald Reagan in 1984 who got about 40 percent of the Hispanic vote. Bush broke 40 percent. And as we saw in Texas, he got a clear majority of the Hispanic vote. At least according to the exit poll. And most expert, while they may quarrel with the exit poll figures, say that they agree that he did reach the high water mark.
And interestingly, despite criticism of his immigration policy in the Hispanic community, that doesn't have seem to have done him any harm.
DOBBS: Thank you very much. Bill Schneider have, a great weekend.
Merck CEO today defending the company's reputation in full-page newspaper ads. The company pulled Vioxx from the shelves last month, but the damage to Merck in the finger-pointing in Washington has only begun. Christine Romans reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Merck now phases an avalanche of lawsuits over Vioxx. Turns out the miracle painkiller it's been pumping may cause heart attack and stroke.
JOHN ABRAMSON, AUTHOR, "OVERDOSED AMERICA": They spent more marketing Vioxx than was spent marking Pepsi or Budweiser beer in 2000. And they needed to spend that much money to push this product to create the aura that Vioxx was a superior drug.
ROMANS: Drug companies, in fact, spends as much on aura and image these days as they do on science, and you can see it in their sales. Last year the big drug companies sold $154 billion in drugs, 3 times more than just a decade ago. Helped by lifestyle drugs, and soaring popularity of anti-depressants.
Pfizer is under investigation for marketing its powerful adult anti-depressant, Zoloft, to children without FDA approval. And there are new questions about the safety of its anti-arthritis drug, Bextra.
Connecticut and New York are probing whether drug companies routinely suppressed unfavorable clinical data, keeping doctors and patients in the dark, all while bombarding them with sales messages about their drugs. Consider the long lines to get a flu shot that's now rationed, you have got a drug industry in crisis.
JERRY AVORN, AUTHOR "POWERFUL MEDICINES": We have allowed the use and manufacture in regulation of medicines to be treated as if it is just another commodity out there in the marketplace like cars or computers or shampoo. And many of us in medicine feel that that's really not the best way to approach it. That there is something special, almost sacred about medicines and about health care in general.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMANS: The nation's two biggest drug companies, Merck and Pfizer, look like they are in trouble here and trouble. And trouble too, for the Food and Drug Administration. Merck and FDA officials face a grilling next week on Capitol Hill, Lou.
DOBBS: Well, indeed with all that is happening, a grilling seem to be well in order.
This off label marketing that is going on. The idea that any company could move a product that's not approved by the FDA into the system for someone that's under age, how in the world does that work?
ROMANS: Well in the case of Zoloft, they're trying to find out if Zoloft, which is a proved for adults, was being pushed by doctors on the side to be treated to be used on children, without any kind of FDA approval for use in children.
DOBBS: Would there also be a liability there for the doctors themselves?
ROMANS: Well the doctors say they don't have the whole story. That they are being told by the drug company, hey, maybe this works. The doctors say they only have the information that's as good as the drug company that gives them.
DOBBS: Christine, thanks a lot. Christine Romans.
And you're going to be on this story, I think, for quite a while.
ROMANS: Absolutely.
DOBBS: A reminder now to vote in our poll tonight. The question, "Do you believe the Pentagon should award weapons and weapons systems contracts to only U.S. companies?" Yes or no. Cast your vote at cnn.com/lou. We'll have the results coming right up.
Next, we'll share some of your thoughts on the invasion of illegal aliens into this country.
And in "Heroes," the inspiring story of a U.S. Marine from California. Serving in combat and Iraq, now the next step in his life. We'll have his story in just a moment. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Now, "Heroes," our weekly salute to the men and women who serve and defend our country. Tonight, the story of Marine Lance Corporal Adrian Souza, who was wounded in Iraq during his second tour of duty. Casey Wian has his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Pismo Beach, California, the town turns out early to honor a local hero.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE; Next up, ladies and gentlemen we have our grand marshal, Lance Corporal Adrian Souza. WIAN: Adrian Sousa rides with his mom Angie and brother Seth, waving to the throngs of well-wishers who lined the streets to show their appreciation and support. Like so many small towns, Pismo Beach has a big heart.
The parade winds toward the pier, where crowds pay tribute to the veterans of all wars.
(SINGING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Freedom of liberty are the hall marks of our great nation. But freedom is never free.
WIAN: But day belongs to Adrian Souza.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The United States of America has awarded the Purple Heart to Lance Corporal Adrian M. Souza, United States Marine Corps, for wounds received in action on 9, September, 2004 in Iraq.
WIAN: Souza was shot in the leg when his foot patrol was ambushed near Ramadi. It was his second tour of duty in Iraq.
LANCE CORPORAL ADRIAN SOUZA, U.S. MARINE CORPS: We'd only gotten there a couple of weeks before. And I didn't really want to leave my unit. I didn't really feel the pain in it, I just felt kind of disappointed.
WIAN: He's had several surgeries and expects a full recovery. Souza isn't exactly comfortable being the center of attention, but on this day, he humbly accepts the thanks of the people of Pismo Beach.
ANGIE SOUZA, MOTHER: Our community has really has been behind him. And this is more proof that people support him. And whether you believe in it or not, you believe in the people that do it.
WIAN: Souza still needs months of physical therapy. But he intends to finish his military service next year. And go back to school to study science or law.
Casey Wian, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS: Still ahead here, we'll share some of your thoughts on the immigration crisis in this country. And the results of our poll tonight.
Also a preview of what of what's ahead next week. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Now the results of tonight's poll. 84 percent of you should award weapons and weapons systems contracts to only U.S. companies, 16 percent disagree.
Taking a look now at some of your thought, in particular on the immigration crisis.
Nate Rayburn of Burbank, California, "I am very worried about the immigration problems in our country. No one should be able to cross our borders unchecked. How can anyone talk about national security when people are crossing our borders by the thousands daily? Something needs to happen and it can be dealt with without being a race issue. It's a common sense issue.
Seth Walker of Knoxville, Tennessee, "It seems to me that giving illegal immigrants work permits is outsourcing jobs and helps no one but the companies who hire them. How can we possibly condone this outsourcing within our own country?"
And Jan Herron of Evergreen, Colorado, "Vicente Fox needs to know that good fences make good neighbors. Time magazine says there are 15 million illegal aliens in the United States and 4,000 of them are jumping Arizona's border nightly. Good grief, wouldn't you promote your own proposition 200 as well, if your state had to deal with that large of an invasion?"
We love to hear from you. Send us your thoughts at Loudobbs@CNN.com.
Thanks for being us here tonight. Please join us on Monday.
We begin our series of special reports "Broken Reports" on the immigration crisis in this country. Monday, we focus on the efforts to crack down on those who are employing illegal aliens in this country.
Also, we'll examine the highly partisan Supreme Court nomination and approval process. I'll be talking with the country's best known victim of partisan obstructionism, attorney and scholar Robert Bork.
And Pat Truman of the Family Research Council, and Nadine Strossen of the ACLU will be here to debate the standards of violence and language. And what should be the standards in prime-time broadcast television.
Please join us. For all of us here, thanks for being with us. Have a pleasant weekend. Good night from New York. "ANDERSON COOPER 360" is next.
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