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Trying Day in Sunni Triangle; Kerry Stumps in Florida
Aired October 01, 2004 - 13:59 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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It is another day of trying -- a trying day at the Sunni Triangle. But Iraqi officials are also claiming triumph in the cauldron of conflict known as Samarra. That city, north of Baghdad, re-fell to Iraqi and foreign insurgents when the occupation ended and U.S. patrols at the end of June.
Today, thousands of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers swept in. And after hours of battle and scores of enemy casualties, Iraqis say mission mostly accomplished.
CNN's Jane Arraf, the only television reporter in town, she joins us with the First U.S. Infantry, and she's with us now on the line with an update.
Jane, just bring us up to date, please.
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Miles, a day essentially after that battle started, it is still going on in parts of the city. We've just come back from the main mosque where there was scattered gunfire.
Now, an extraordinary scene earlier. We were with U.S. troops as they walked through the streets, darting from alleyway to alleyway, looking for gunmen, shooting back at insurgents who were firing at them from rooftops and from alleyways in those very narrow streets in the old city near the sacred mosque.
Military officials here tell us that they have retaken about half of the city and plan to continue going through it sector by sector. This is (UNINTELLIGIBLE), and they have swept through the city (UNINTELLIGIBLE) 100 insurgents.
Now, again, military officials tell us they have killed an estimated (UNINTELLIGIBLE) suspected insurgents. Some U.S. soldiers wounded. We're not getting full details on that. But so far, they seem to have control of the essential parts of the city, key government buildings, that main mosque, with the help of Iraqi forces. And that seems to be holding -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Jane, transmission is not great. You are coming in and out of things. But if you could just give us a sense of why Samarra and why now, do you suppose? Is the military giving you any indication on that?
ARRAF: Well, military officials tell us that essentially it was a case where this city has been taken hostage. There are 200,000 people here, and this is the place where pilgrims Shia pilgrims come from all over the world.
It has a very important shrine here. Two of the 12 imams are buried. And, more importantly, the 12th imam is believed to have disappeared there and will rise again.
So it's a place that normally bustles with commerce and activity. They say insurgents have taken it over and were terrorizing the local population, and they say Iraqi officials invited them in. That's the why now.
As for the longer-term outlook, this is a key city in the Sunni Triangle. It is, in a sense, linked to Fallujah, linked to Najaf. It's one of those places that U.S. forces feel they have to get control of if this country is to remain stable, is to ever be stable -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: So let's just clarify, then, Jane. You say it has some important sites for Shias, and yet it is part of the Sunni Triangle. Just out of curiosity, is it possible that what the military is contending with there might have some links back to that siege of Najaf which we witnessed a month or so ago?
ARRAF: It has links in the sense that they're dealing with a very tricky situation. And one of the most astounding sights today was to see the streets to that holy shrine lined with U.S. soldiers, lines of them crouched down, guns at the ready, waiting to secure the area around there.
It was Iraqi special forces, backed by U.S. Special Forces, who blew out the doors of that mosque, another extraordinary moment, so they could go in and secure it. But this is very much a U.S. military operation, although it has been fronted by the Iraqis in an attempt to control an ongoing insurgency.
Unlike Najaf, it's not one militia loyal to one man. They say that here these are foreign elements, perhaps 60 foreign fighters, but mostly Ba'ath party loyalists, former Saddam loyalists who managed to seize control of the city. It's similar to that extent.
We were in Najaf seeing essentially the same things, the same difficulties in fighting very narrow streets, urban warfare at it's most difficult. And an insurgency that has been very hard to put down -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Jane, forgive me if you covered this. Your transmission went in and out there. We do know anything about U.S. casualties right now?
ARRAF: We know very little. We know that several U.S. soldiers have been wounded. We don't know if any have died. The military is not releasing that information.
We know that there are considerable Iraqi casualties. More than 90 suspected insurgents, and that means that there would have been civilian casualties caught in the crossfire as well. But so far, Miles, we have no real hold on U.S. casualties. They are not thought to be extensive -- Miles. O'BRIEN: Jane Arraf embedded with the U.S. military as the battle for Samarra wages on. Thank you very much.
The CIA once again analyzing a recording attributed to Ayman al- Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's second in command. Now, like so many others, this tape was broadcast first on the Arab network Al Jazeera. But unlike other speeches from al-Zawahiri, this one raises the prospect of top al Qaeda leaders being captured or killed. In that event, the speaker says Muslims should carry on -- and we quote now -- "a century of resistance against the U.S. and its allies."
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now to the debate, the day after. President Bush and Senator John Kerry already back on the campaign trail after last night's match-up at the University of Miami. Both campaigns are claiming victory, but what did viewers think?
A CNN-"USA Today"-Gallup poll finds that 53 percent thought Kerry did a better job. Thirty-seven percent say that President Bush was the winner. Well, the poll was taken among debate watchers immediately after the match-up, and we should tell you that initial reactions to a debate can change after a few days have passed.
Well, Kerry is lingering in Florida today to stump the votes in the crucial showdown state. CNN's Frank Buckley joins us now live from Tampa.
Hi, Frank.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Kyra.
We're at the University of South Florida, where Senator Kerry just a few moments ago wrapped up a major rally. Thousands of people in attendance here.
The Kerry campaign very happy about the results of the debate last night. They believe that they were successful in achieving some major objectives in the debate that focused on foreign policy and homeland security. Making arguments, they believe, that Senator Kerry could be the stronger commander in chief, and putting President Bush on the defensive about his policies in Iraq and in the war on terror. Senator Kerry continued here at this rally his criticism of President Bush on those points, and also defended himself against some of -- some of President Bush's criticisms.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And the president keeps trying to debate himself on this. He keeps trying to -- he keeps trying to say, well, we're not -- we don't -- you know, we don't want somebody who wants to leave.
(CHEERING)
KERRY: You know, he says, we don't want to wilt or waver. I don't know how many times I heard that. Well, Mr. President, nobody is talking about leaving. Nobody is talking about wilting and wavering. We're talking about winning and getting the job done right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BUCKLEY: Now the Kerry campaign is pivoting to domestic issues. The next major presidential debate he's going to focus on domestic issues next Friday.
The Kerry campaign believes that some of the same arguments that they've made on foreign policy in Iraq will apply to domestic policy. They've been able to say on Iraq, for example, that the president can't fix problems if he won't acknowledge them, and that he's made many wrong choices. They say they can apply that same argument to the -- some of the domestic policy issues.
Here at this rally, Senator Kerry mocked President Bush, who suggested that Senator Kerry's proposals for homeland security would create a tax gap. Senator Kerry saying that it was the tax cuts on rich Americans that made it -- created a tax gap.
So the strategists see that as an opening, this idea of the tax gap. And they're going to be talking about domestic policy in the days ahead -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Frank Buckley, traveling with John Kerry there in Tampa, Florida. Thank you so much.
And President Bush is also focusing his attention on showdown states. He campaigned in Pennsylvania earlier today.
New Hampshire is next on the list. Bush is scheduled to make remarks in Manchester in about two hours.
CNN's Suzanne Malveaux joins us now live from the White House with more on this day after the debate.
Hi, Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, hello, Kyra.
President Bush arrived in Manchester, New Hampshire, about 20 minutes ago. The president, of course, visiting those key battleground states -- New Hampshire, earlier today, Pennsylvania.
We are told that the president is not paying attention to and not reading this analysis of the debate. That debate, as you had mentioned, showing that Kerry won by about 20 percentage points, according to voters who at least watched the debate.
Now, traveling with the president, of course, in Allentown, Pennsylvania, very important is that moderate, that maverick, Republican John McCain. He said to reporters earlier today about Kerry's performance, he says, "He came out slugging. He did a nice job in the last six weeks. In the last six weeks it was probably his brightest moment."
But he also said that Kerry did not reconcile some of his inconsistencies. And that is what the Bush administration, the president, is really emphasizing, that Kerry has what they call inconsistencies in his Iraq policy. President Bush earlier today using Kerry's comments from yesterday about coalition building to make the case that he believes Kerry is weak on defense.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Senator Kerry last night said that America has to pass some sort of global test before we can use American troops to defend ourselves. He wants our national security decisions subject to the approval of a foreign government.
(BOOING)
BUSH: Listen, I'll continue to work with our allies and the international community, but I will never submit America's national security to an international test.
(CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Now, Kyra, of course reaction to that poll. A senior Republican official who I spoke with saying that they believe President Bush wears better when it comes to the American voters. They say it's one thing to score better points in terms of being a debater, and a whole other matter when it comes to becoming a better president.
They believe, of course, that President Bush really didn't change any minds when it comes to those undecided voters. They believe pretty much that it was a draw.
Another thing I should also note as well is that they said that the priority of the president last night was essentially to show resolve, to remain calm, that they really did not feel as if he had to, what they say, punch Kerry in the nose to get his point across. They are very confident about his performance last night -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Suzanne Malveaux live from the White House. Thank you so much.
And as you know, this is a story we've been following for quite some time, and that is the alleged murder of Lori Hacking. You know we've been telling you that police have been searching the Salt Lake Valley landfill possibly for her remains.
You know police believe that her husband, Mark Hacking, shot and killed his wife, allegedly confessing to his brothers he had done so. He is now being held on a $1 million bail.
We want to go straight to Salt Lake City now, where KSTU reporter Todd Hansen is standing by on what they believe definitely could be her remains now.
What can you tell us, Todd?
TODD HANSEN, REPORTER, KSTU: Kyra, potentially huge news here this morning. About 8:20 Mountain Time this news broke, and we were told the remains, human remains were found in the area where they have been searching for Lori Hacking.
What they have done now is they put a tent over that area. They are processing that scene, going through hand by hand.
We are not sure what condition these remains are in at this point, but at some point they say they will take these remains -- the medical examiner will take them to the state crime lab. There they will determine whose remains these actually are.
They are not going to confirm even yet that they are specifically human remains, but that is their speculation. If it is indeed the case, then what we have is some closure for the Hacking and the Soares families, Lori Hacking's family. And then we have a case that is being built for Mark Hacking.
He's already been charged with murder. They said they were confident to do that, even without a body. But now at this point, this would help kind of solidify that case.
His next court appearance is October 29. That is the latest from the Salt Lake Valley landfill.
Kyra, back to you.
PHILLIPS: Todd Hansen, thank you so much. We'll continue to check in with you throughout the day as you get more information. We appreciate it.
Straight ahead, a devastating crisis for the people of Haiti. Just ahead, a CNN correspondent who covered Tropical Storm Jeanne shares some of his amazing stories. Karl Penhaul with us in the house.
And the battle and the ballot. American soldiers with a lot at stake in this year's election may not even vote.
Also ahead, Mount St. Helens. Is the rumbling volcano about to spew into action once again? Miles O'Brien with his in-depth, exclusive, first-hand visit to that volcano.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Recovering from Jeanne, Haiti sure suffered a huge death toll and widespread devastation when the hurricane swept through that island. But the problems didn't end there. Recovery efforts are now being hampered by mob violence and political fighting.
Our Karl Penhaul just got back from the small Caribbean nation. He joins us live just to talk about some of the personal stories and what's taking place there. You know, you and I, first of all, were talking about Haiti. I think what grabbed us here back at home, seeing you surrounded by these people, not being handed aid, but it was like a mob scene. How did you handle that, and how did you get through to talking to people? And, I mean, did you feel guilty even drinking a water while you are there doing your report?
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was those basic things, as you say, the images of supposedly aid distribution, complete chaos. Certainly the first few days. We understand it's getting better now, but to see masses of hands in the air, grasping, flailing in the air, getting nothing, and you know that there's a woman there who is fighting against her friend and a neighbor because she wants to fill her children's bellies.
So you have to get over those images first and just pull yourself together and say, what is going on here? And then the whole issue, yes, food was limited, even for us going in as journalists.
So we laid by our store some tins of food, maybe, and also water, very important in such very high temperatures. But you can't just in front of thousands of starving people pull that stuff out.
First of all, it's a security aspect, but also just from a moral aspect. There's no way in front of a starving person you're going to be eating and drinking water. So you have to go away to one side, find a private spot and take some drinks of water, and then go back and do the story, that basic.
PHILLIPS: Well, here we were at home already deal with devastation here. I mean, people left homeless, people starving, just in Florida.
So there you are in Haiti. You are seeing this just horrible poverty and what's taking place. Do you think you reached people here? And was that on the forefront of your mind, like how do I get people to listen to this story and pay attention and see how bad it is.
Because so many become desensitized to this story. Oh, yes, there's Haiti, it's a poor country. How did that affect you in the reporting? Because the pictures you had were just unbelievable.
PENHAUL: Yes. I mean, even on a good day what we realize is that people have got their own genuine concerns at home. It might be as basic as getting the kids off to school, what's for breakfast, what's on the front page of the newspaper.
But it's been a bad year. So as you say, people in Florida have had a real hard time. People dead there. People left homeless there also.
So our challenge is to take something going on in a different nation and take that into their homes at breakfast time, at their lunchtime, when they've got 1,001 other concerns on their plate, and kind of grab them by their hand or grab them by the sleeve of their jacket and say, hey, come with me for a few moments. I want to take you somewhere else.
And so through the TV we've got to try to take them somewhere else and show them, let them hear, let them smell, let them feel. If we really can do our job, to let them feel what those people are feeling and help them feel that hurt, because that way they can understand just a little bit better.
PHILLIPS: Well, let me tell you, we all felt it when you introduced us to this young man, this 17-year-old kid that rescued his 9-year-old sister. Tell us about the story again, because it was unbelievable.
PENHAUL: By this time, by the time we met (UNINTELLIGIBLE), we'd been there almost a week. We'd seen a lot of horrible scenes there. Oh, yes, another guy, another survivor's tale.
Far from that. A 17-year-old, height of the storm. It was 9:00 at night at that stage.
He woke up from a nap, he heard his sister screaming. He looks out the window of their -- this is their home. He looks out of the window, this window, and he says, "Where is my sister Adline (ph)? I can hear her crying."
He leaps into the floodwater. It's around his neck, at this stage, pitch black outside.
He swims. He swims through floodwater. You know how difficult it is to walk in floodwater.
PHILLIPS: Oh, it's so fast, too.
PENHAUL: It's so fast.
He dives in there. His sister clings on to his neck. A tiny little 9-year-old clings on to his neck and he swims, clinging on to debris, clinging on to bits of houses.
After 30 minutes, he gets his sister and himself on to a roof top. What do they do? They spend all night on that rooftop watching dead bodies float by.
That kid is traumatized now. He has nightmares every night of these dead bodies floating by.
But then in the morning, he opens up his eyes, he's in another nightmare. And that nightmare is crushing poverty. Whatever happens now, there's no heroes' welcome for (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Every morning he's got to get on with daily life. And daily life for him is grinding poverty. It's as good as it gets.
PHILLIPS: Well -- and also, quickly, for you it's grinding. You've got to do everything on your own.
This is the videophone. We wanted to show viewers real quickly, you know, what it looks like. It's you, it's this videophone, and you are working the story and bringing it to us via this technology. It's pretty incredible, isn't it?
PENHAUL: Well, just recently in Jamaica, and also in Haiti, we're working as a small two-person team. But very compact, small technology.
This is one of the video -- one of the satellite phone antennas. And basically, we are hooking up to computers to this, to that, and that will enable us to go live from any part of the world at any time of day.
Great, it's just giving us this edge to be able to get a little bit further and to be able to bring these stories so that we can bring those kind of stories back to the people back here. And it's thanks to the technology and thanks to all the team who's behind that as well that we can do that.
PHILLIPS: Well, and it's thanks to you to being passionate enough to go for those great stories. Karl Penhaul, we're glad you are here, we're glad you're safe. We look forward to more reporting. Thank you.
PENHAUL: Thanks.
PHILLIPS: All right -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right. We've been talking a lot about Mount St. Helens. About nine years ago, I visited that particular volcano, actually flew on a helicopter right to that lava dome at the center of that crater.
Boy, that was a ride. And spent a lot of time with the people who take all the measurements. It is perhaps the -- as well studied as any volcano on the surface of this planet. We'll tell you all about it in just a little bit.
RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Rhonda Schaffler at the New York Stock Exchange. Fans of the Toyota hybrid may not have to wait so long to get their cars. I'm going to tell you that story coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, it's got the shakes, and it's frothing at the mouth. And that could mean trouble.
Experts say there's a 70 percent chance there could be some sort of eruption from Mount St. Helens. That's where things get a little murky. They don't know what or when.
Now, the crater could cause lava or shoot a cloud of ash. Or, they say, she could just go back to sleep.
Well, the latest surge in activity started about a week ago. Let's go to Miles now, who has more on this cranky old lady with a fiery temper. And we're not just talking about me. He's got an up close and personal with me and also this other fiery, cranky old lady.
O'BRIEN: You are definitely not old. As far as the cranky stuff...
All right. Let's talk about Mount St. Helens first. And for those of you who aren't intimately familiar with the geography and what this particular volcano looks like, let's go, first of all, to our keyhole technology, some of our satellite imagery.
And we're going to zoom right in on St. Helens. If we go to that right now we're going to go on St. Helens. There we go.
Let's zoom in to the Pacific Northwest, and there you see Mount St. Helens. The summit's about 8,700 feet. And we'll go in a little bit closer here.
And I want to show you right in the center there, right around that area is the dome of the volcano. It's kind of an upward push which comes from beneath of magma, which causes a lot of pressure on the surface and kind of bulges out right in the center of that crater.
Let's go a little bit closer in, and we'll tell you a little bit about that. It's -- it is a volcano that, of course, in 1980, when it erupted, in a pyroclastic burst, caused the death of more than 50 people.
Now, let's take a look at my adventure on St. Helens, which happened now about nine years ago. But what is interesting about it is a lot of the technology from monitoring St. Helens, which is as heavily monitored as any volcano in the world, really hasn't changed.
Pictures there. We went in the spring time, and still a lot of snow there.
Up we went in the helicopter. Swirling winds around that crater made it impossible for us to land on the dome itself. That was one hairy landing attempt. Actually, multiple landing attempts.
Ultimately, you see here the scientists arrive. And they arrived a little later in the day and were able to land on the top there. We had to hike up about 900 feet from the base of the crater up to the top of the dome.
Now, what we found up there were some really intrepid scientists. If only you could smell that gas, Kyra. That it is 100 percent sulfur. It is really very pungent.
These are scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey, truly do heroic work trying to do, among other things -- that particular device gives them a sense of the seismicity (ph), are there any earthquakes there. In addition to that, they have specific sensors which measure the width of crack, sometimes using laser beams, sometimes just using metal type, quite literally.
There you see some of the laser and sighting technology that is used to carefully monitor any sort of movement in that dome. Over time, that movement tells them a lot about what's going on.
That gives you a sense of how they send it back. That's essentially a wireless modem that gives that information.
Let's take a look at a little more impressive image which we have of Mount St. Helens from space, if we can bring that one shot up from space imaging. There you see from high above space. And you can see in the center that cone with that bulge that I was telling you about. Of course, there's a lot of upward pressure that is put on the bulge.
And let's -- by showing you a graphic, if we can move to that next graphic there, we can give you a sense. If you could run that through the telestrator, we can show you exactly that what happens is the magma kind of flows up there, and over time kind of builds up pressure and -- on that dome. And as it builds up the pressure near the top here, eventually that dome gets so much pressure underneath it that you get some sort of eruption or event.
They know all of this because of all those earthquakes they've been seeing and all the movement of the dome that we just showed you about. And that's how they find that out.
Kyra, is that one landing that I will never forget.
PHILLIPS: And Miles, you actually scaled part of the volcano, didn't you?
O'BRIEN: We did.
PHILLIPS: You're leaving out the personal aspect here.
O'BRIEN: Well, there was one little personal aspect which is worth pointing out. We hired a guy, I forget his name, to be our sound tech. We land at the crater. We're at altitude about 10,000 feet. He promptly passed out and couldn't, obviously, do it. I grabbed his gear, called on the radio. Got the helicopter to come back and pick him up. Up we went and I was the sound tech for the day. Nevertheless got the story done. It was quite a day.
PHILLIPS: Amazing stuff. Miles, thank you so much. Let's check in with business. Rhonda Schaffler is standing by.
RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi. We're going to switch gears and tell you what's going on in the auto industry because Toyota is trying to get those environmentally conscious consumers to buy its Prius. It says it's going to double the number of Prius cars that it sends to the U.S. to 100,000 units annually. These are the hybrid cars and demand for these Japanese- made sedans are running well ahead of supply. Buyers in some parts of the U.S. are waiting up to six months for their cars to arrive. Toyota has sold more than a quarter million hybrid vehicles globally since the introduction of the Prius in December, 1997. Toyota will also begin selling two more hybrid vehicles in the U.S. early next year, the Lexus RX and Toyota Highlander SUV. For the uninitiated, hybrids combine gas and electric power.
PHILLIPS: Now there's two other carmakers boosting incentives?
SCHAFFLER: You know, we just don't stop telling you about these incentives and here we go again. General Motors and Ford now sweetening the pot a bit. The two biggest domestic automakers have been dealing with falling market share and slowing sales. GM offering cash rebates of up to $6,000 on most of its 2004 sport utility vehicles and up to $2,500 on many of its new 2005 pickups. GM by the way just reported September sales were up 20 percent helped by all of these incentives. And Ford is upping cash rebates on some 2005 models by between $500 and $1,000. Automakers typically boost incentives in early autumn to try to clear out some older models. These rebates also apply to new pickups, but only until Monday.
Investors driving some strong gains here on Wall Street this afternoon. The Dow Industrials flirting with a 100-point gain. There it is. Nasdaq up 2 percent. That's it from Wall Street.
One company is saying "you're fired" to its chief and no, it's not Donald Trump, but I'll tell you who did get the boot later this hour. Stay tuned. More LIVE FROM coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired October 1, 2004 - 13:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It is another day of trying -- a trying day at the Sunni Triangle. But Iraqi officials are also claiming triumph in the cauldron of conflict known as Samarra. That city, north of Baghdad, re-fell to Iraqi and foreign insurgents when the occupation ended and U.S. patrols at the end of June.
Today, thousands of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers swept in. And after hours of battle and scores of enemy casualties, Iraqis say mission mostly accomplished.
CNN's Jane Arraf, the only television reporter in town, she joins us with the First U.S. Infantry, and she's with us now on the line with an update.
Jane, just bring us up to date, please.
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Miles, a day essentially after that battle started, it is still going on in parts of the city. We've just come back from the main mosque where there was scattered gunfire.
Now, an extraordinary scene earlier. We were with U.S. troops as they walked through the streets, darting from alleyway to alleyway, looking for gunmen, shooting back at insurgents who were firing at them from rooftops and from alleyways in those very narrow streets in the old city near the sacred mosque.
Military officials here tell us that they have retaken about half of the city and plan to continue going through it sector by sector. This is (UNINTELLIGIBLE), and they have swept through the city (UNINTELLIGIBLE) 100 insurgents.
Now, again, military officials tell us they have killed an estimated (UNINTELLIGIBLE) suspected insurgents. Some U.S. soldiers wounded. We're not getting full details on that. But so far, they seem to have control of the essential parts of the city, key government buildings, that main mosque, with the help of Iraqi forces. And that seems to be holding -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Jane, transmission is not great. You are coming in and out of things. But if you could just give us a sense of why Samarra and why now, do you suppose? Is the military giving you any indication on that?
ARRAF: Well, military officials tell us that essentially it was a case where this city has been taken hostage. There are 200,000 people here, and this is the place where pilgrims Shia pilgrims come from all over the world.
It has a very important shrine here. Two of the 12 imams are buried. And, more importantly, the 12th imam is believed to have disappeared there and will rise again.
So it's a place that normally bustles with commerce and activity. They say insurgents have taken it over and were terrorizing the local population, and they say Iraqi officials invited them in. That's the why now.
As for the longer-term outlook, this is a key city in the Sunni Triangle. It is, in a sense, linked to Fallujah, linked to Najaf. It's one of those places that U.S. forces feel they have to get control of if this country is to remain stable, is to ever be stable -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: So let's just clarify, then, Jane. You say it has some important sites for Shias, and yet it is part of the Sunni Triangle. Just out of curiosity, is it possible that what the military is contending with there might have some links back to that siege of Najaf which we witnessed a month or so ago?
ARRAF: It has links in the sense that they're dealing with a very tricky situation. And one of the most astounding sights today was to see the streets to that holy shrine lined with U.S. soldiers, lines of them crouched down, guns at the ready, waiting to secure the area around there.
It was Iraqi special forces, backed by U.S. Special Forces, who blew out the doors of that mosque, another extraordinary moment, so they could go in and secure it. But this is very much a U.S. military operation, although it has been fronted by the Iraqis in an attempt to control an ongoing insurgency.
Unlike Najaf, it's not one militia loyal to one man. They say that here these are foreign elements, perhaps 60 foreign fighters, but mostly Ba'ath party loyalists, former Saddam loyalists who managed to seize control of the city. It's similar to that extent.
We were in Najaf seeing essentially the same things, the same difficulties in fighting very narrow streets, urban warfare at it's most difficult. And an insurgency that has been very hard to put down -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Jane, forgive me if you covered this. Your transmission went in and out there. We do know anything about U.S. casualties right now?
ARRAF: We know very little. We know that several U.S. soldiers have been wounded. We don't know if any have died. The military is not releasing that information.
We know that there are considerable Iraqi casualties. More than 90 suspected insurgents, and that means that there would have been civilian casualties caught in the crossfire as well. But so far, Miles, we have no real hold on U.S. casualties. They are not thought to be extensive -- Miles. O'BRIEN: Jane Arraf embedded with the U.S. military as the battle for Samarra wages on. Thank you very much.
The CIA once again analyzing a recording attributed to Ayman al- Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's second in command. Now, like so many others, this tape was broadcast first on the Arab network Al Jazeera. But unlike other speeches from al-Zawahiri, this one raises the prospect of top al Qaeda leaders being captured or killed. In that event, the speaker says Muslims should carry on -- and we quote now -- "a century of resistance against the U.S. and its allies."
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Now to the debate, the day after. President Bush and Senator John Kerry already back on the campaign trail after last night's match-up at the University of Miami. Both campaigns are claiming victory, but what did viewers think?
A CNN-"USA Today"-Gallup poll finds that 53 percent thought Kerry did a better job. Thirty-seven percent say that President Bush was the winner. Well, the poll was taken among debate watchers immediately after the match-up, and we should tell you that initial reactions to a debate can change after a few days have passed.
Well, Kerry is lingering in Florida today to stump the votes in the crucial showdown state. CNN's Frank Buckley joins us now live from Tampa.
Hi, Frank.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Kyra.
We're at the University of South Florida, where Senator Kerry just a few moments ago wrapped up a major rally. Thousands of people in attendance here.
The Kerry campaign very happy about the results of the debate last night. They believe that they were successful in achieving some major objectives in the debate that focused on foreign policy and homeland security. Making arguments, they believe, that Senator Kerry could be the stronger commander in chief, and putting President Bush on the defensive about his policies in Iraq and in the war on terror. Senator Kerry continued here at this rally his criticism of President Bush on those points, and also defended himself against some of -- some of President Bush's criticisms.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And the president keeps trying to debate himself on this. He keeps trying to -- he keeps trying to say, well, we're not -- we don't -- you know, we don't want somebody who wants to leave.
(CHEERING)
KERRY: You know, he says, we don't want to wilt or waver. I don't know how many times I heard that. Well, Mr. President, nobody is talking about leaving. Nobody is talking about wilting and wavering. We're talking about winning and getting the job done right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BUCKLEY: Now the Kerry campaign is pivoting to domestic issues. The next major presidential debate he's going to focus on domestic issues next Friday.
The Kerry campaign believes that some of the same arguments that they've made on foreign policy in Iraq will apply to domestic policy. They've been able to say on Iraq, for example, that the president can't fix problems if he won't acknowledge them, and that he's made many wrong choices. They say they can apply that same argument to the -- some of the domestic policy issues.
Here at this rally, Senator Kerry mocked President Bush, who suggested that Senator Kerry's proposals for homeland security would create a tax gap. Senator Kerry saying that it was the tax cuts on rich Americans that made it -- created a tax gap.
So the strategists see that as an opening, this idea of the tax gap. And they're going to be talking about domestic policy in the days ahead -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Frank Buckley, traveling with John Kerry there in Tampa, Florida. Thank you so much.
And President Bush is also focusing his attention on showdown states. He campaigned in Pennsylvania earlier today.
New Hampshire is next on the list. Bush is scheduled to make remarks in Manchester in about two hours.
CNN's Suzanne Malveaux joins us now live from the White House with more on this day after the debate.
Hi, Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, hello, Kyra.
President Bush arrived in Manchester, New Hampshire, about 20 minutes ago. The president, of course, visiting those key battleground states -- New Hampshire, earlier today, Pennsylvania.
We are told that the president is not paying attention to and not reading this analysis of the debate. That debate, as you had mentioned, showing that Kerry won by about 20 percentage points, according to voters who at least watched the debate.
Now, traveling with the president, of course, in Allentown, Pennsylvania, very important is that moderate, that maverick, Republican John McCain. He said to reporters earlier today about Kerry's performance, he says, "He came out slugging. He did a nice job in the last six weeks. In the last six weeks it was probably his brightest moment."
But he also said that Kerry did not reconcile some of his inconsistencies. And that is what the Bush administration, the president, is really emphasizing, that Kerry has what they call inconsistencies in his Iraq policy. President Bush earlier today using Kerry's comments from yesterday about coalition building to make the case that he believes Kerry is weak on defense.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Senator Kerry last night said that America has to pass some sort of global test before we can use American troops to defend ourselves. He wants our national security decisions subject to the approval of a foreign government.
(BOOING)
BUSH: Listen, I'll continue to work with our allies and the international community, but I will never submit America's national security to an international test.
(CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Now, Kyra, of course reaction to that poll. A senior Republican official who I spoke with saying that they believe President Bush wears better when it comes to the American voters. They say it's one thing to score better points in terms of being a debater, and a whole other matter when it comes to becoming a better president.
They believe, of course, that President Bush really didn't change any minds when it comes to those undecided voters. They believe pretty much that it was a draw.
Another thing I should also note as well is that they said that the priority of the president last night was essentially to show resolve, to remain calm, that they really did not feel as if he had to, what they say, punch Kerry in the nose to get his point across. They are very confident about his performance last night -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Suzanne Malveaux live from the White House. Thank you so much.
And as you know, this is a story we've been following for quite some time, and that is the alleged murder of Lori Hacking. You know we've been telling you that police have been searching the Salt Lake Valley landfill possibly for her remains.
You know police believe that her husband, Mark Hacking, shot and killed his wife, allegedly confessing to his brothers he had done so. He is now being held on a $1 million bail.
We want to go straight to Salt Lake City now, where KSTU reporter Todd Hansen is standing by on what they believe definitely could be her remains now.
What can you tell us, Todd?
TODD HANSEN, REPORTER, KSTU: Kyra, potentially huge news here this morning. About 8:20 Mountain Time this news broke, and we were told the remains, human remains were found in the area where they have been searching for Lori Hacking.
What they have done now is they put a tent over that area. They are processing that scene, going through hand by hand.
We are not sure what condition these remains are in at this point, but at some point they say they will take these remains -- the medical examiner will take them to the state crime lab. There they will determine whose remains these actually are.
They are not going to confirm even yet that they are specifically human remains, but that is their speculation. If it is indeed the case, then what we have is some closure for the Hacking and the Soares families, Lori Hacking's family. And then we have a case that is being built for Mark Hacking.
He's already been charged with murder. They said they were confident to do that, even without a body. But now at this point, this would help kind of solidify that case.
His next court appearance is October 29. That is the latest from the Salt Lake Valley landfill.
Kyra, back to you.
PHILLIPS: Todd Hansen, thank you so much. We'll continue to check in with you throughout the day as you get more information. We appreciate it.
Straight ahead, a devastating crisis for the people of Haiti. Just ahead, a CNN correspondent who covered Tropical Storm Jeanne shares some of his amazing stories. Karl Penhaul with us in the house.
And the battle and the ballot. American soldiers with a lot at stake in this year's election may not even vote.
Also ahead, Mount St. Helens. Is the rumbling volcano about to spew into action once again? Miles O'Brien with his in-depth, exclusive, first-hand visit to that volcano.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Recovering from Jeanne, Haiti sure suffered a huge death toll and widespread devastation when the hurricane swept through that island. But the problems didn't end there. Recovery efforts are now being hampered by mob violence and political fighting.
Our Karl Penhaul just got back from the small Caribbean nation. He joins us live just to talk about some of the personal stories and what's taking place there. You know, you and I, first of all, were talking about Haiti. I think what grabbed us here back at home, seeing you surrounded by these people, not being handed aid, but it was like a mob scene. How did you handle that, and how did you get through to talking to people? And, I mean, did you feel guilty even drinking a water while you are there doing your report?
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was those basic things, as you say, the images of supposedly aid distribution, complete chaos. Certainly the first few days. We understand it's getting better now, but to see masses of hands in the air, grasping, flailing in the air, getting nothing, and you know that there's a woman there who is fighting against her friend and a neighbor because she wants to fill her children's bellies.
So you have to get over those images first and just pull yourself together and say, what is going on here? And then the whole issue, yes, food was limited, even for us going in as journalists.
So we laid by our store some tins of food, maybe, and also water, very important in such very high temperatures. But you can't just in front of thousands of starving people pull that stuff out.
First of all, it's a security aspect, but also just from a moral aspect. There's no way in front of a starving person you're going to be eating and drinking water. So you have to go away to one side, find a private spot and take some drinks of water, and then go back and do the story, that basic.
PHILLIPS: Well, here we were at home already deal with devastation here. I mean, people left homeless, people starving, just in Florida.
So there you are in Haiti. You are seeing this just horrible poverty and what's taking place. Do you think you reached people here? And was that on the forefront of your mind, like how do I get people to listen to this story and pay attention and see how bad it is.
Because so many become desensitized to this story. Oh, yes, there's Haiti, it's a poor country. How did that affect you in the reporting? Because the pictures you had were just unbelievable.
PENHAUL: Yes. I mean, even on a good day what we realize is that people have got their own genuine concerns at home. It might be as basic as getting the kids off to school, what's for breakfast, what's on the front page of the newspaper.
But it's been a bad year. So as you say, people in Florida have had a real hard time. People dead there. People left homeless there also.
So our challenge is to take something going on in a different nation and take that into their homes at breakfast time, at their lunchtime, when they've got 1,001 other concerns on their plate, and kind of grab them by their hand or grab them by the sleeve of their jacket and say, hey, come with me for a few moments. I want to take you somewhere else.
And so through the TV we've got to try to take them somewhere else and show them, let them hear, let them smell, let them feel. If we really can do our job, to let them feel what those people are feeling and help them feel that hurt, because that way they can understand just a little bit better.
PHILLIPS: Well, let me tell you, we all felt it when you introduced us to this young man, this 17-year-old kid that rescued his 9-year-old sister. Tell us about the story again, because it was unbelievable.
PENHAUL: By this time, by the time we met (UNINTELLIGIBLE), we'd been there almost a week. We'd seen a lot of horrible scenes there. Oh, yes, another guy, another survivor's tale.
Far from that. A 17-year-old, height of the storm. It was 9:00 at night at that stage.
He woke up from a nap, he heard his sister screaming. He looks out the window of their -- this is their home. He looks out of the window, this window, and he says, "Where is my sister Adline (ph)? I can hear her crying."
He leaps into the floodwater. It's around his neck, at this stage, pitch black outside.
He swims. He swims through floodwater. You know how difficult it is to walk in floodwater.
PHILLIPS: Oh, it's so fast, too.
PENHAUL: It's so fast.
He dives in there. His sister clings on to his neck. A tiny little 9-year-old clings on to his neck and he swims, clinging on to debris, clinging on to bits of houses.
After 30 minutes, he gets his sister and himself on to a roof top. What do they do? They spend all night on that rooftop watching dead bodies float by.
That kid is traumatized now. He has nightmares every night of these dead bodies floating by.
But then in the morning, he opens up his eyes, he's in another nightmare. And that nightmare is crushing poverty. Whatever happens now, there's no heroes' welcome for (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
Every morning he's got to get on with daily life. And daily life for him is grinding poverty. It's as good as it gets.
PHILLIPS: Well -- and also, quickly, for you it's grinding. You've got to do everything on your own.
This is the videophone. We wanted to show viewers real quickly, you know, what it looks like. It's you, it's this videophone, and you are working the story and bringing it to us via this technology. It's pretty incredible, isn't it?
PENHAUL: Well, just recently in Jamaica, and also in Haiti, we're working as a small two-person team. But very compact, small technology.
This is one of the video -- one of the satellite phone antennas. And basically, we are hooking up to computers to this, to that, and that will enable us to go live from any part of the world at any time of day.
Great, it's just giving us this edge to be able to get a little bit further and to be able to bring these stories so that we can bring those kind of stories back to the people back here. And it's thanks to the technology and thanks to all the team who's behind that as well that we can do that.
PHILLIPS: Well, and it's thanks to you to being passionate enough to go for those great stories. Karl Penhaul, we're glad you are here, we're glad you're safe. We look forward to more reporting. Thank you.
PENHAUL: Thanks.
PHILLIPS: All right -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: All right. We've been talking a lot about Mount St. Helens. About nine years ago, I visited that particular volcano, actually flew on a helicopter right to that lava dome at the center of that crater.
Boy, that was a ride. And spent a lot of time with the people who take all the measurements. It is perhaps the -- as well studied as any volcano on the surface of this planet. We'll tell you all about it in just a little bit.
RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Rhonda Schaffler at the New York Stock Exchange. Fans of the Toyota hybrid may not have to wait so long to get their cars. I'm going to tell you that story coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, it's got the shakes, and it's frothing at the mouth. And that could mean trouble.
Experts say there's a 70 percent chance there could be some sort of eruption from Mount St. Helens. That's where things get a little murky. They don't know what or when.
Now, the crater could cause lava or shoot a cloud of ash. Or, they say, she could just go back to sleep.
Well, the latest surge in activity started about a week ago. Let's go to Miles now, who has more on this cranky old lady with a fiery temper. And we're not just talking about me. He's got an up close and personal with me and also this other fiery, cranky old lady.
O'BRIEN: You are definitely not old. As far as the cranky stuff...
All right. Let's talk about Mount St. Helens first. And for those of you who aren't intimately familiar with the geography and what this particular volcano looks like, let's go, first of all, to our keyhole technology, some of our satellite imagery.
And we're going to zoom right in on St. Helens. If we go to that right now we're going to go on St. Helens. There we go.
Let's zoom in to the Pacific Northwest, and there you see Mount St. Helens. The summit's about 8,700 feet. And we'll go in a little bit closer here.
And I want to show you right in the center there, right around that area is the dome of the volcano. It's kind of an upward push which comes from beneath of magma, which causes a lot of pressure on the surface and kind of bulges out right in the center of that crater.
Let's go a little bit closer in, and we'll tell you a little bit about that. It's -- it is a volcano that, of course, in 1980, when it erupted, in a pyroclastic burst, caused the death of more than 50 people.
Now, let's take a look at my adventure on St. Helens, which happened now about nine years ago. But what is interesting about it is a lot of the technology from monitoring St. Helens, which is as heavily monitored as any volcano in the world, really hasn't changed.
Pictures there. We went in the spring time, and still a lot of snow there.
Up we went in the helicopter. Swirling winds around that crater made it impossible for us to land on the dome itself. That was one hairy landing attempt. Actually, multiple landing attempts.
Ultimately, you see here the scientists arrive. And they arrived a little later in the day and were able to land on the top there. We had to hike up about 900 feet from the base of the crater up to the top of the dome.
Now, what we found up there were some really intrepid scientists. If only you could smell that gas, Kyra. That it is 100 percent sulfur. It is really very pungent.
These are scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey, truly do heroic work trying to do, among other things -- that particular device gives them a sense of the seismicity (ph), are there any earthquakes there. In addition to that, they have specific sensors which measure the width of crack, sometimes using laser beams, sometimes just using metal type, quite literally.
There you see some of the laser and sighting technology that is used to carefully monitor any sort of movement in that dome. Over time, that movement tells them a lot about what's going on.
That gives you a sense of how they send it back. That's essentially a wireless modem that gives that information.
Let's take a look at a little more impressive image which we have of Mount St. Helens from space, if we can bring that one shot up from space imaging. There you see from high above space. And you can see in the center that cone with that bulge that I was telling you about. Of course, there's a lot of upward pressure that is put on the bulge.
And let's -- by showing you a graphic, if we can move to that next graphic there, we can give you a sense. If you could run that through the telestrator, we can show you exactly that what happens is the magma kind of flows up there, and over time kind of builds up pressure and -- on that dome. And as it builds up the pressure near the top here, eventually that dome gets so much pressure underneath it that you get some sort of eruption or event.
They know all of this because of all those earthquakes they've been seeing and all the movement of the dome that we just showed you about. And that's how they find that out.
Kyra, is that one landing that I will never forget.
PHILLIPS: And Miles, you actually scaled part of the volcano, didn't you?
O'BRIEN: We did.
PHILLIPS: You're leaving out the personal aspect here.
O'BRIEN: Well, there was one little personal aspect which is worth pointing out. We hired a guy, I forget his name, to be our sound tech. We land at the crater. We're at altitude about 10,000 feet. He promptly passed out and couldn't, obviously, do it. I grabbed his gear, called on the radio. Got the helicopter to come back and pick him up. Up we went and I was the sound tech for the day. Nevertheless got the story done. It was quite a day.
PHILLIPS: Amazing stuff. Miles, thank you so much. Let's check in with business. Rhonda Schaffler is standing by.
RHONDA SCHAFFLER, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi. We're going to switch gears and tell you what's going on in the auto industry because Toyota is trying to get those environmentally conscious consumers to buy its Prius. It says it's going to double the number of Prius cars that it sends to the U.S. to 100,000 units annually. These are the hybrid cars and demand for these Japanese- made sedans are running well ahead of supply. Buyers in some parts of the U.S. are waiting up to six months for their cars to arrive. Toyota has sold more than a quarter million hybrid vehicles globally since the introduction of the Prius in December, 1997. Toyota will also begin selling two more hybrid vehicles in the U.S. early next year, the Lexus RX and Toyota Highlander SUV. For the uninitiated, hybrids combine gas and electric power.
PHILLIPS: Now there's two other carmakers boosting incentives?
SCHAFFLER: You know, we just don't stop telling you about these incentives and here we go again. General Motors and Ford now sweetening the pot a bit. The two biggest domestic automakers have been dealing with falling market share and slowing sales. GM offering cash rebates of up to $6,000 on most of its 2004 sport utility vehicles and up to $2,500 on many of its new 2005 pickups. GM by the way just reported September sales were up 20 percent helped by all of these incentives. And Ford is upping cash rebates on some 2005 models by between $500 and $1,000. Automakers typically boost incentives in early autumn to try to clear out some older models. These rebates also apply to new pickups, but only until Monday.
Investors driving some strong gains here on Wall Street this afternoon. The Dow Industrials flirting with a 100-point gain. There it is. Nasdaq up 2 percent. That's it from Wall Street.
One company is saying "you're fired" to its chief and no, it's not Donald Trump, but I'll tell you who did get the boot later this hour. Stay tuned. More LIVE FROM coming up.
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