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Terri Schiavo's Parents File Emergency Petition; Jesse Jackson Working with Florida Lawmakers on Schiavo Case; Pope Begins Using Feeding Tube

Aired March 30, 2005 - 13:00   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.


MILES O'BRIEN, CO-HOST: This hour the president is in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, moments away from a speech pushing Social Security reform. Will he convince Congress to make some big changes?
From the CNN center in Atlanta, I'm Miles O'Brien.

CAROL LIN, CO-HOST: And I'm Carol Lin, in for Kyra Phillips. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

O'BRIEN: It's far from the miracle but for Bob and Mary Schindler and their many supporters and advocates, it's a glimmer of hope, of rare and slender opportunity after consistent rejection by the courts.

On the 12th day after Terri Schiavo's feeding tube was disconnected, the federal appeals court in Atlanta allowed her parents to file an emergency petition. We get the latest from CNN's Rick Sanchez, just a few blocks from where I'm standing, and Bob Franken, at Schiavo's hospice in Pinellas Park, Florida.

Rick, start us off.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a bit of a complicated situation, Miles, but the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals that you see behind me has a decision that essentially could prolong the life of Terri Schiavo at this time for several reasons. But first let's try and break it down this way, by telling you what the court is being asked to consider, which they've accepted to do so.

What they're being asked to consider is a decision whether some of the other courts that looked at this case in the last couple of weeks as we've been following this, specifically that court in Tampa, remember the district court, whether that specific court did enough to look into or review this case.

See, as the argument that Bob and Mary Schindler's attorney is posing is quite simple. He says you should have looked at the entire arguments. You should have looked at all the dicta, all the data that was in this case, not just a part of it. They say that if they go into that and that if this court rules that, in fact, that is the truth and that's the way that they need to rule on it, then in fact, they can do several things.

The first thing, of course that Mary and Bob Schindler are going to be looking for is a TRO. We've heard about it so much, a temporarily restraining order, which essentially could put the feeding tube back in Terri Schiavo.

The second thing is a decision that this court, in fact, has to relook at that. That's the district court in Tampa. And they have to do it this time by looking at the entire record.

And then the third thing, of course, is that they're hoping that that court will rule in their favor, look at the entire record and see things as Mary and Bob Schindler do.

So it's a bit of a complicated procedure but that's where we are at this point here outside the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals at this time. We should tell you what they really hope to be able to accomplish with this is the following, and this is what they hope they will find. This is what Mary and Bob Schindler hope they will find.

That when they relook at the record they will find that Terri Schiavo never really said to Michael Schiavo that "I do not want to be on life support." In fact, they say there's information there that if they relook at it they'll find indeed one hospice worker actually testify that Michael Schiavo repeatedly told her that he and Terri never even discussed what they would do if ever she found herself in this condition.

So a lot of things have to happen. We're going to be watching it here outside the 11th Court of appeals.

O'BRIEN: All right.

SANCHEZ: Miles, back to you.

O'BRIEN: Rick Sanchez in Atlanta, thank you very much -- Carol.

LIN: Miles in the meantime Michael Schiavo's lawyer appeared today at Terri Schiavo's hospice. And CNN's Bob Franken brings us up to date from there -- Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, Carol there is some simplicity in the litigation that Rick just described. Let me read from the filing, quote, "Absent a TRO, Terri Schiavo will surely die," plain and simple and that temporary restraining order has to happen quickly.

Michael Schiavo's lawyer, George Felos, did go into the hospice some time ago. We do not have an indication whether he has been in the room with Terri Schiavo.

We do know that the other side of this bitter dispute is in the hospice right now. Bob Schindler, who is the father of Terri Schiavo, in such a bitter battle with Michael Schiavo to try and get the tube reconnected, went in with some friends just a short while ago. Everybody involved in this case agrees that Terri Schiavo is getting closer and closer to death.

The feelings here are quite strong this morning. A man decided to do as so many others have and go into the hospice and present water to Mary Schiavo. The police tried to stop him as they always did, ready to charge him with trespassing, but as they did he smacked away the arm of one of the officers. So add to the charge a charge of assault on a police officer, which is a much more serious situation.

But right now, everybody is pretty much in the dark. Have no idea whatsoever what the appeals court is going to do and are unwilling, as far as the family is concerned to get their hopes raised, since they've been dashed so many times. But everybody is hoping, as one of the people here said, for a miracle -- Carol.

LIN: Bob, Reverend Jesse Jackson, who interestingly is a pro- choice religious national leader, actually is siding with the family, with the parents I should say in this case. And he met with Governor Jeb Bush. We're going to hear what Jeb Bush had to say about that meeting.

But what insight do you have on that meeting and how influential Jesse Jackson can be? I mean, it's a bit like preaching to the choir having Jesse Jackson go to Jeb Bush, because they're in agreement. They both want the feeding tube reinstated.

FRANKEN: Well, Jesse Jackson is somebody who comes down on the pro-abortion rights side of that dispute, but as he explained, this is something that requires that every effort be made to preserve the life. And so he was in the unusual position of being in lock step with some of his usual adversaries.

He's meeting in Tallahassee with a number of political figures, urging them, we're told, to somehow come up with some sort of official action which would reverse the matter right here and reinsert the feeding tube.

As we found out, Governor Jeb Bush says that he would be on the wrong side of the law if he were to act over the wishes of the court. So he has not been doing anything. These meetings are a part -- are an effort on the part of Jesse Jackson to convince somebody that he has the power to act and the moral obligation to act.

LIN: Any update on Terri Schiavo's condition right now? She's about to enter day 14 without food or water.

FRANKEN: The condition is described by both sides of this is that she is deteriorating, consistent, of course, with what the experts say, which is somebody cannot go on without food or water, particularly in a state like this for more than two weeks.

LIN: All right, Bob Franken thank you very much -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Artificial feeding also the headline today from the Vatican, the latest troubling turn of events in the fragile health of the pope.

Here's CNN's Rome bureau chief, Alessio Vinci.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Vatican officials insist the pope continues a slow and progressive recovery and that the decision to feed him through a tube was taken in order to improve his calories intake and not as an emergency procedure to keep the pope alive.

Nevertheless, his health continues to be a concern, both inside and outside the Vatican. The surgery to his throat, coupled with the Parkinson's Disease, is making it difficult for him to swallow liquid or even semisolid food. And, therefore, the need to feed him temporarily through this tube inserted into his nose, a procedure which the pope began on Tuesday morning, which did not require emergency surgery.

Vatican officials insist this is a temporary measure. The pope continues his day-to-day activities, they say, at the Vatican and that he remains lucid.

Analysts meanwhile caution against making any parallels between the pope and Terri Schiavo, the woman in Florida whose feeding tube was removed by court order.

JOHN ALLEN, CNN VATICAN ANALYST: The pope is not unconscious. The pope continues to be lucid, therefore, we have to assume is calling the shots for himself about his course of treatment. Obviously, Terri Schiavo is not.

Secondly, this is not immediately life-threatening in the case of the pope. In the case of Schiavo, if the -- obviously, when the water and nutrition is withdrawn, she dies. With the case of the pope this does not appear to be that kind of situation.

VINCI: The pope made an appearance on Wednesday morning from the window of his apostolic palace overlooking St. Peter's Square and did look in pain and in a great deal of discomfort. He has, indeed, lost some weight but clearly, he looked alert, although he is still having a hard time speaking.

Meanwhile, the Vatican also says there are no plans at this time to take the pope back at the hospital. The procedure to feed the pope through this tube is performed under the supervision of his own doctor at the Vatican.

I'm Alessio Vinci, CNN, reporting from Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: And while we keep an eye on the pope's health, we're going to be talking Social Security right here in the United States. In fact, right now in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, President Bush is getting ready to talk about one of the cornerstones of his second term, overhauling Social Security. And I'm going to be talking about some of the hurdles that he's facing, straight ahead with CNN's Candy Crowley.

Also later, a killer lurking in the locker rooms. Doctors concerned about a super bug outbreak with potentially deadly consequences.

And also ahead, scout's tarnished honor. A former Boy Scout official pleads guilty to child porn charges. We've got details on that case.

ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Almost two days to the minute after Monday's powerful earthquake, a strong aftershock rattled parts of Indonesia today. A 6.3 magnitude tremor struck just off of Sumatra.

Also today, there was a moment of joy amidst the misery and the disaster there. A man who was buried for 36 hours in the rubble of a collapsed building was pulled out alive. The rescue took place on hard-hit Nias Island, and CNN's Hugh Riminton is there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HUGH RIMINTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm standing on what was the rooftops of the commercial district of the town of Gunungsitoli, the main town on the island of Nias. Every building along this stretch has collapsed, simply collapsed in on itself. Nothing is standing as it was before. It's not simply damaged. It has been obliterated.

As you can see behind me, there are efforts being made to -- to find the dead, to look for any survivors. As we've seen in the course of the last few hours several bodies being removed from buildings around here. We've not seen any evidence that there was anyone still alive in the rubble. Of course, that could always change, but we have not seen any rescues of that nature so far.

As you can see, all of the rescue efforts that are being made at this stage are ad hoc. They are simply local people trying with whatever they've got to do their own search and rescue work through the rubble. A little bit of advice perhaps from the local police or army but that's it.

This is no expertise at all that has yet come in, apart from one assessment team. A French assessment team has come in and is starting to do its assessment. Pretty much people are still fundamentally left to themselves.

Among the other difficulties on the island of Nias at the moment, the hospital is likely to be evacuated in the next 24 hours. It was badly damaged in the earthquake. One of the doctors was killed. It is short on medicine. It is simply overwhelmed in any event, and it's been judged to no longer be safe.

So an attempt is being made to bring the people who have been injured -- there were many of them -- bring them into a makeshift clinic. The worst of them, the worst hurt of them are being triaged by experts and they're been medevaced when helicopters are becoming available. A couple of dozen have been moved out already. A few more are expected to be moved in the next hour or so.

Officially, the death toll now is starting to edge up from the 330 that was being put in the last 24 hours. It's up now more towards 1,000.

I've spoken to a leader of the Chinese community here. He believes that within his community, a minority community on the island of Nias, there are 300 people who are dead. That might give some indication of the wider death toll.

There is, of course, the relief that there was no tsunami this time, but that's precious little relief for the people who today are mourning the loss of entire families in this devastating earthquake.

In Gunungsitoli, the island of Nias, Indonesia, Hugh Riminton for CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Well, first lady Laura Bush is headed back to Washington from her whirlwind visit to Afghanistan. The first lady spent a mere five hours in Kabul, where she met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and dined with American troops at Bagram Air Base, but the focus of her trip was improving education among women. To help make that possible, Mrs. Bush promised more than $17 million to help construct an American university.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN (voice-over): Next on LIVE FROM, Boy Scout scandal. A former top scouting official facing federal child porn charges. We'll have the latest on the case as he heads to court today.

Later on LIVE FROM...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's a new silent killer.

O'BRIEN: A super bug striking athletes with fatal consequences. Two families share their stories.

Also, Britney baby buzz. Are the pregnancy rumors true? We'll check it out later on LIVE FROM.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Operation Predator has netted doctors, police officers, teachers, camp counselors and coaches. And today a former top official with the Boy Scouts pleads guilty in federal court to receiving and distributing child pornography.

CNN's Ed Lavandera in Ft. Worth, Texas, with more on the latest case to raise the hackles of parents all across the country.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sixty-one-year-old Douglas Smith Jr. pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing child pornography. Federal investigators say that on his home computer they discovered more than 500 images, sexually explicit images, of boys under the age of 18 engaged in sexual acts.

However, the prosecutors are saying that these images were only tied to his home computer, that his affiliation with the Boy Scouts -- Mr. Smith had been working with the Boy Scouts as the national director of programs. But the Boy Scouts say that he had no connection, had not been working closely with young people. But prosecutors say that none of these images were found on his work computer. In fact, they say that this interest in child pornography was something completely separate from his work with the Boy Scouts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was able to discipline his addiction just to his home computers. And certainly that is a relief to the Boy Scouts of America, that literally there are no ties to the Boy Scouts in this case. It was all just on his own on his home computers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I also hope that people realize this is a man for his entire life has been a good man, has been a good family man, has been a good representative of the Boy Scouts. And I would hate even though there is the inclination, I'm sure, I would hate for his entire life to be judged by one stupid act.

LAVANDERA: Mr. Smith will be sentenced in July. But until then he will remain free. He faces between five to 20 years in prison, but the judge in the case says he does not consider him to be a danger to others and that's a sentiment that prosecutors in this case are echoing, as well.

It turns out that this case was brought about because of an interesting twist in November of 2003. German investigators were looking into a man they suspected to be involved in trafficking child pornography. That's where they came across Douglas Smith's e-mail address, and they continued to correspond with him. And that's where they say that they noticed that these pictures were being transmitted over the Internet.

Investigators then passed that information along to investigators with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Washington, where they tracked down Mr. Smith, confiscated his computers and found more than 500 images on his home computer. But, again, they say that he was not in any of the pictures and that this in no way was connected to any of his work with the Boy Scouts.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Ft. Worth, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: In the meantime, today Social Security is the big story at the White House, and it is now another day and another pit top for the president as he tries to continue on his tour to push privatizing parts of Social Security, allowing people to invest in stocks with a percentage of their deposits to the government.

Well, today he's in Iowa, which happens to be the home state of Senate finance chairman Charles Grassley. The legislation to change Social Security will come from Grassley's committee. But in recent interviews he's expressed pessimism it will -- that it will even get that far.

So let's get a reality check from CNN's Candy Crowley, who's got more from Washington on a bill that seems almost impossible to even draft.

Candy, as we take a look at the president here addressing this audience, give me an idea of exactly who are these town hall meetings aimed at because senior citizens, at least AARP, have spoken out about their criticism. They're against privatizing parts of Social Security.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, in fact, the AARP has a huge ad campaign going on now against the president's plan for a privatization plan.

The fact of the matter is, these town hall meetings are aimed at wherever it will hit, wherever it will stick. What the president needs is to move some of the poll numbers, because poll numbers move politicians.

So what he needs is to convince enough people that, A, Social Security is a problem. That's his first mission. And the second mission then of privatizing some part of Social Security will, if not help the system, which he has said it might not help insolvency, will at least give people a chance to save and invest.

So look, he's looking to move Congress, but before you can move Congress you have to move the American people. And that's what this 60-state -- 60-stop tour is about.

LIN: Well, how optimistic is the White House that they're going to get very far if they don't have the backing of the American Association of Retired People, who are absolutely bound and determined that privatizing parts of Social Security will not go through?

CROWLEY: absolutely. Look, you -- it is a lot tougher if you don't have the AARP with you and really tough when they're against you.

Having said that, the president is a man of great optimism. He is a man of great confidence in his ability to lead and move people. So while they are -- obviously have conceded from time to time that the American people still need to be convinced, they do not concede that he cannot convince them. So it's still full steam ahead.

LIN: All right, and then there's poor Senator Charles Grassley, who seems to be the 71-year-old point person in Iowa for the president. He himself says there's, what, 50 percent or less than 50 percent chance that a Social Security bill as the president envisions would actually even pass.

CROWLEY: Well, first of all, in a reality check, there is no Social Security bill. There's not one from the Democrats. There's not one from the president. Right now all of the focus has been on these private accounts.

What Charles Grassley is doing basically is sort of looking at reality, and the reality is that there is not yet the political will to take on either Social Security as a larger issue or privatization as a part of it. So there's sort of a large task here that has yet to be fulfilled.

Grassley has said, "Look, I'm committed to doing something about Social Security. I think it's a problem." But he cannot do that in a vacuum. There are, after all, Democrats on the committee, Democrats in the Senate. So they need to have some kind of leverage. And generally that leverage is the American people saying, we need to do something about Social Security, and we need to do it now.

And what Democrats have found, and there's a memo circulating, in their polling and in their focus groups, that most people don't see an urgency here and that there is time to fix it. And they -- Democrats take that as meaning, look, we don't have to come up with a plan right now. They're perfectly happy to let the president go out there and try to sell something which as yet is not popular.

LIN: Right. Interesting. Well, the president continues on his tour and if they're saying Social Security is going to fail in 2042, it sure sounds like there's a lot of time straight ahead.

Thanks very much, Candy. We'll see you later in the day, because we know that she's going to be hosting "INSIDE POLITICS." Judy is out today. And of course, Candy is going to have more on the political consequences of the Terri Schiavo case, including an interview with Reverend Jesse Jackson. That's this afternoon at 3:30 Eastern right after LIVE FROM.

O'BRIEN: Well, I guess you could call it irreconcilable differences: Miramax and Disney finally calling it quits officially. Susan Lisovicz joining us from the New York Stock Exchange with that and so much more.

Hello, Susan.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired March 30, 2005 - 13:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CO-HOST: This hour the president is in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, moments away from a speech pushing Social Security reform. Will he convince Congress to make some big changes?
From the CNN center in Atlanta, I'm Miles O'Brien.

CAROL LIN, CO-HOST: And I'm Carol Lin, in for Kyra Phillips. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

O'BRIEN: It's far from the miracle but for Bob and Mary Schindler and their many supporters and advocates, it's a glimmer of hope, of rare and slender opportunity after consistent rejection by the courts.

On the 12th day after Terri Schiavo's feeding tube was disconnected, the federal appeals court in Atlanta allowed her parents to file an emergency petition. We get the latest from CNN's Rick Sanchez, just a few blocks from where I'm standing, and Bob Franken, at Schiavo's hospice in Pinellas Park, Florida.

Rick, start us off.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a bit of a complicated situation, Miles, but the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals that you see behind me has a decision that essentially could prolong the life of Terri Schiavo at this time for several reasons. But first let's try and break it down this way, by telling you what the court is being asked to consider, which they've accepted to do so.

What they're being asked to consider is a decision whether some of the other courts that looked at this case in the last couple of weeks as we've been following this, specifically that court in Tampa, remember the district court, whether that specific court did enough to look into or review this case.

See, as the argument that Bob and Mary Schindler's attorney is posing is quite simple. He says you should have looked at the entire arguments. You should have looked at all the dicta, all the data that was in this case, not just a part of it. They say that if they go into that and that if this court rules that, in fact, that is the truth and that's the way that they need to rule on it, then in fact, they can do several things.

The first thing, of course that Mary and Bob Schindler are going to be looking for is a TRO. We've heard about it so much, a temporarily restraining order, which essentially could put the feeding tube back in Terri Schiavo.

The second thing is a decision that this court, in fact, has to relook at that. That's the district court in Tampa. And they have to do it this time by looking at the entire record.

And then the third thing, of course, is that they're hoping that that court will rule in their favor, look at the entire record and see things as Mary and Bob Schindler do.

So it's a bit of a complicated procedure but that's where we are at this point here outside the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals at this time. We should tell you what they really hope to be able to accomplish with this is the following, and this is what they hope they will find. This is what Mary and Bob Schindler hope they will find.

That when they relook at the record they will find that Terri Schiavo never really said to Michael Schiavo that "I do not want to be on life support." In fact, they say there's information there that if they relook at it they'll find indeed one hospice worker actually testify that Michael Schiavo repeatedly told her that he and Terri never even discussed what they would do if ever she found herself in this condition.

So a lot of things have to happen. We're going to be watching it here outside the 11th Court of appeals.

O'BRIEN: All right.

SANCHEZ: Miles, back to you.

O'BRIEN: Rick Sanchez in Atlanta, thank you very much -- Carol.

LIN: Miles in the meantime Michael Schiavo's lawyer appeared today at Terri Schiavo's hospice. And CNN's Bob Franken brings us up to date from there -- Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, Carol there is some simplicity in the litigation that Rick just described. Let me read from the filing, quote, "Absent a TRO, Terri Schiavo will surely die," plain and simple and that temporary restraining order has to happen quickly.

Michael Schiavo's lawyer, George Felos, did go into the hospice some time ago. We do not have an indication whether he has been in the room with Terri Schiavo.

We do know that the other side of this bitter dispute is in the hospice right now. Bob Schindler, who is the father of Terri Schiavo, in such a bitter battle with Michael Schiavo to try and get the tube reconnected, went in with some friends just a short while ago. Everybody involved in this case agrees that Terri Schiavo is getting closer and closer to death.

The feelings here are quite strong this morning. A man decided to do as so many others have and go into the hospice and present water to Mary Schiavo. The police tried to stop him as they always did, ready to charge him with trespassing, but as they did he smacked away the arm of one of the officers. So add to the charge a charge of assault on a police officer, which is a much more serious situation.

But right now, everybody is pretty much in the dark. Have no idea whatsoever what the appeals court is going to do and are unwilling, as far as the family is concerned to get their hopes raised, since they've been dashed so many times. But everybody is hoping, as one of the people here said, for a miracle -- Carol.

LIN: Bob, Reverend Jesse Jackson, who interestingly is a pro- choice religious national leader, actually is siding with the family, with the parents I should say in this case. And he met with Governor Jeb Bush. We're going to hear what Jeb Bush had to say about that meeting.

But what insight do you have on that meeting and how influential Jesse Jackson can be? I mean, it's a bit like preaching to the choir having Jesse Jackson go to Jeb Bush, because they're in agreement. They both want the feeding tube reinstated.

FRANKEN: Well, Jesse Jackson is somebody who comes down on the pro-abortion rights side of that dispute, but as he explained, this is something that requires that every effort be made to preserve the life. And so he was in the unusual position of being in lock step with some of his usual adversaries.

He's meeting in Tallahassee with a number of political figures, urging them, we're told, to somehow come up with some sort of official action which would reverse the matter right here and reinsert the feeding tube.

As we found out, Governor Jeb Bush says that he would be on the wrong side of the law if he were to act over the wishes of the court. So he has not been doing anything. These meetings are a part -- are an effort on the part of Jesse Jackson to convince somebody that he has the power to act and the moral obligation to act.

LIN: Any update on Terri Schiavo's condition right now? She's about to enter day 14 without food or water.

FRANKEN: The condition is described by both sides of this is that she is deteriorating, consistent, of course, with what the experts say, which is somebody cannot go on without food or water, particularly in a state like this for more than two weeks.

LIN: All right, Bob Franken thank you very much -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Artificial feeding also the headline today from the Vatican, the latest troubling turn of events in the fragile health of the pope.

Here's CNN's Rome bureau chief, Alessio Vinci.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Vatican officials insist the pope continues a slow and progressive recovery and that the decision to feed him through a tube was taken in order to improve his calories intake and not as an emergency procedure to keep the pope alive.

Nevertheless, his health continues to be a concern, both inside and outside the Vatican. The surgery to his throat, coupled with the Parkinson's Disease, is making it difficult for him to swallow liquid or even semisolid food. And, therefore, the need to feed him temporarily through this tube inserted into his nose, a procedure which the pope began on Tuesday morning, which did not require emergency surgery.

Vatican officials insist this is a temporary measure. The pope continues his day-to-day activities, they say, at the Vatican and that he remains lucid.

Analysts meanwhile caution against making any parallels between the pope and Terri Schiavo, the woman in Florida whose feeding tube was removed by court order.

JOHN ALLEN, CNN VATICAN ANALYST: The pope is not unconscious. The pope continues to be lucid, therefore, we have to assume is calling the shots for himself about his course of treatment. Obviously, Terri Schiavo is not.

Secondly, this is not immediately life-threatening in the case of the pope. In the case of Schiavo, if the -- obviously, when the water and nutrition is withdrawn, she dies. With the case of the pope this does not appear to be that kind of situation.

VINCI: The pope made an appearance on Wednesday morning from the window of his apostolic palace overlooking St. Peter's Square and did look in pain and in a great deal of discomfort. He has, indeed, lost some weight but clearly, he looked alert, although he is still having a hard time speaking.

Meanwhile, the Vatican also says there are no plans at this time to take the pope back at the hospital. The procedure to feed the pope through this tube is performed under the supervision of his own doctor at the Vatican.

I'm Alessio Vinci, CNN, reporting from Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: And while we keep an eye on the pope's health, we're going to be talking Social Security right here in the United States. In fact, right now in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, President Bush is getting ready to talk about one of the cornerstones of his second term, overhauling Social Security. And I'm going to be talking about some of the hurdles that he's facing, straight ahead with CNN's Candy Crowley.

Also later, a killer lurking in the locker rooms. Doctors concerned about a super bug outbreak with potentially deadly consequences.

And also ahead, scout's tarnished honor. A former Boy Scout official pleads guilty to child porn charges. We've got details on that case.

ANNOUNCER: You're watching LIVE FROM on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Almost two days to the minute after Monday's powerful earthquake, a strong aftershock rattled parts of Indonesia today. A 6.3 magnitude tremor struck just off of Sumatra.

Also today, there was a moment of joy amidst the misery and the disaster there. A man who was buried for 36 hours in the rubble of a collapsed building was pulled out alive. The rescue took place on hard-hit Nias Island, and CNN's Hugh Riminton is there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HUGH RIMINTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm standing on what was the rooftops of the commercial district of the town of Gunungsitoli, the main town on the island of Nias. Every building along this stretch has collapsed, simply collapsed in on itself. Nothing is standing as it was before. It's not simply damaged. It has been obliterated.

As you can see behind me, there are efforts being made to -- to find the dead, to look for any survivors. As we've seen in the course of the last few hours several bodies being removed from buildings around here. We've not seen any evidence that there was anyone still alive in the rubble. Of course, that could always change, but we have not seen any rescues of that nature so far.

As you can see, all of the rescue efforts that are being made at this stage are ad hoc. They are simply local people trying with whatever they've got to do their own search and rescue work through the rubble. A little bit of advice perhaps from the local police or army but that's it.

This is no expertise at all that has yet come in, apart from one assessment team. A French assessment team has come in and is starting to do its assessment. Pretty much people are still fundamentally left to themselves.

Among the other difficulties on the island of Nias at the moment, the hospital is likely to be evacuated in the next 24 hours. It was badly damaged in the earthquake. One of the doctors was killed. It is short on medicine. It is simply overwhelmed in any event, and it's been judged to no longer be safe.

So an attempt is being made to bring the people who have been injured -- there were many of them -- bring them into a makeshift clinic. The worst of them, the worst hurt of them are being triaged by experts and they're been medevaced when helicopters are becoming available. A couple of dozen have been moved out already. A few more are expected to be moved in the next hour or so.

Officially, the death toll now is starting to edge up from the 330 that was being put in the last 24 hours. It's up now more towards 1,000.

I've spoken to a leader of the Chinese community here. He believes that within his community, a minority community on the island of Nias, there are 300 people who are dead. That might give some indication of the wider death toll.

There is, of course, the relief that there was no tsunami this time, but that's precious little relief for the people who today are mourning the loss of entire families in this devastating earthquake.

In Gunungsitoli, the island of Nias, Indonesia, Hugh Riminton for CNN.

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LIN: Well, first lady Laura Bush is headed back to Washington from her whirlwind visit to Afghanistan. The first lady spent a mere five hours in Kabul, where she met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and dined with American troops at Bagram Air Base, but the focus of her trip was improving education among women. To help make that possible, Mrs. Bush promised more than $17 million to help construct an American university.

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O'BRIEN (voice-over): Next on LIVE FROM, Boy Scout scandal. A former top scouting official facing federal child porn charges. We'll have the latest on the case as he heads to court today.

Later on LIVE FROM...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's a new silent killer.

O'BRIEN: A super bug striking athletes with fatal consequences. Two families share their stories.

Also, Britney baby buzz. Are the pregnancy rumors true? We'll check it out later on LIVE FROM.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Operation Predator has netted doctors, police officers, teachers, camp counselors and coaches. And today a former top official with the Boy Scouts pleads guilty in federal court to receiving and distributing child pornography.

CNN's Ed Lavandera in Ft. Worth, Texas, with more on the latest case to raise the hackles of parents all across the country.

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ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sixty-one-year-old Douglas Smith Jr. pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing child pornography. Federal investigators say that on his home computer they discovered more than 500 images, sexually explicit images, of boys under the age of 18 engaged in sexual acts.

However, the prosecutors are saying that these images were only tied to his home computer, that his affiliation with the Boy Scouts -- Mr. Smith had been working with the Boy Scouts as the national director of programs. But the Boy Scouts say that he had no connection, had not been working closely with young people. But prosecutors say that none of these images were found on his work computer. In fact, they say that this interest in child pornography was something completely separate from his work with the Boy Scouts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was able to discipline his addiction just to his home computers. And certainly that is a relief to the Boy Scouts of America, that literally there are no ties to the Boy Scouts in this case. It was all just on his own on his home computers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I also hope that people realize this is a man for his entire life has been a good man, has been a good family man, has been a good representative of the Boy Scouts. And I would hate even though there is the inclination, I'm sure, I would hate for his entire life to be judged by one stupid act.

LAVANDERA: Mr. Smith will be sentenced in July. But until then he will remain free. He faces between five to 20 years in prison, but the judge in the case says he does not consider him to be a danger to others and that's a sentiment that prosecutors in this case are echoing, as well.

It turns out that this case was brought about because of an interesting twist in November of 2003. German investigators were looking into a man they suspected to be involved in trafficking child pornography. That's where they came across Douglas Smith's e-mail address, and they continued to correspond with him. And that's where they say that they noticed that these pictures were being transmitted over the Internet.

Investigators then passed that information along to investigators with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Washington, where they tracked down Mr. Smith, confiscated his computers and found more than 500 images on his home computer. But, again, they say that he was not in any of the pictures and that this in no way was connected to any of his work with the Boy Scouts.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Ft. Worth, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: In the meantime, today Social Security is the big story at the White House, and it is now another day and another pit top for the president as he tries to continue on his tour to push privatizing parts of Social Security, allowing people to invest in stocks with a percentage of their deposits to the government.

Well, today he's in Iowa, which happens to be the home state of Senate finance chairman Charles Grassley. The legislation to change Social Security will come from Grassley's committee. But in recent interviews he's expressed pessimism it will -- that it will even get that far.

So let's get a reality check from CNN's Candy Crowley, who's got more from Washington on a bill that seems almost impossible to even draft.

Candy, as we take a look at the president here addressing this audience, give me an idea of exactly who are these town hall meetings aimed at because senior citizens, at least AARP, have spoken out about their criticism. They're against privatizing parts of Social Security.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, in fact, the AARP has a huge ad campaign going on now against the president's plan for a privatization plan.

The fact of the matter is, these town hall meetings are aimed at wherever it will hit, wherever it will stick. What the president needs is to move some of the poll numbers, because poll numbers move politicians.

So what he needs is to convince enough people that, A, Social Security is a problem. That's his first mission. And the second mission then of privatizing some part of Social Security will, if not help the system, which he has said it might not help insolvency, will at least give people a chance to save and invest.

So look, he's looking to move Congress, but before you can move Congress you have to move the American people. And that's what this 60-state -- 60-stop tour is about.

LIN: Well, how optimistic is the White House that they're going to get very far if they don't have the backing of the American Association of Retired People, who are absolutely bound and determined that privatizing parts of Social Security will not go through?

CROWLEY: absolutely. Look, you -- it is a lot tougher if you don't have the AARP with you and really tough when they're against you.

Having said that, the president is a man of great optimism. He is a man of great confidence in his ability to lead and move people. So while they are -- obviously have conceded from time to time that the American people still need to be convinced, they do not concede that he cannot convince them. So it's still full steam ahead.

LIN: All right, and then there's poor Senator Charles Grassley, who seems to be the 71-year-old point person in Iowa for the president. He himself says there's, what, 50 percent or less than 50 percent chance that a Social Security bill as the president envisions would actually even pass.

CROWLEY: Well, first of all, in a reality check, there is no Social Security bill. There's not one from the Democrats. There's not one from the president. Right now all of the focus has been on these private accounts.

What Charles Grassley is doing basically is sort of looking at reality, and the reality is that there is not yet the political will to take on either Social Security as a larger issue or privatization as a part of it. So there's sort of a large task here that has yet to be fulfilled.

Grassley has said, "Look, I'm committed to doing something about Social Security. I think it's a problem." But he cannot do that in a vacuum. There are, after all, Democrats on the committee, Democrats in the Senate. So they need to have some kind of leverage. And generally that leverage is the American people saying, we need to do something about Social Security, and we need to do it now.

And what Democrats have found, and there's a memo circulating, in their polling and in their focus groups, that most people don't see an urgency here and that there is time to fix it. And they -- Democrats take that as meaning, look, we don't have to come up with a plan right now. They're perfectly happy to let the president go out there and try to sell something which as yet is not popular.

LIN: Right. Interesting. Well, the president continues on his tour and if they're saying Social Security is going to fail in 2042, it sure sounds like there's a lot of time straight ahead.

Thanks very much, Candy. We'll see you later in the day, because we know that she's going to be hosting "INSIDE POLITICS." Judy is out today. And of course, Candy is going to have more on the political consequences of the Terri Schiavo case, including an interview with Reverend Jesse Jackson. That's this afternoon at 3:30 Eastern right after LIVE FROM.

O'BRIEN: Well, I guess you could call it irreconcilable differences: Miramax and Disney finally calling it quits officially. Susan Lisovicz joining us from the New York Stock Exchange with that and so much more.

Hello, Susan.

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