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Baghdad Violence Continues as Referendum Nears; Bush Gives Address About War on Terror; Former Marine Investigated for Espionage; Vaccine May Prevent Cervical Cancer; Firefighters Battle Southern California Wildfires

Aired October 06, 2005 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: As opinion polls show American support for the war in Iraq is waning, the president insists the entire war on terror is at stake.
From the enemy without to an enemy within, a former Marine accused of swiping classified secrets in a White House computer hack attack.

One hundred percent effective. Can a new vaccine vanquish the virus that causes cervical cancer?

From B Control at the CNN center in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips. CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.

Wounded, but capable. President Bush's take on al Qaeda terror mongers four years and almost one month post-9/11. In a speech we brought you live on CNN, a speech originally scheduled for 9/11/2005, but delayed because of Katrina, the president accused Muslim radicals of seeking, and we quote, "a radical Islamic empire that spans from Spain to Indonesia."

Though America, he adds, is by no means off their radar screen and vice versa.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Overall, the United States and her partners have disrupted at least 10 serious al Qaeda terrorist plots since September the 11th, including three al Qaeda plots to attack inside the United States. We've stopped at least five more al Qaeda efforts to case targets in the United States or infiltrate operatives into our country.

Because of the steady progress, the enemy is wounded. But the enemy is still capable of global operations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Mr. Bush's right-hand ally in the war on Iraq accuses Iran or its surrogate militia, Hezbollah, of turning up the danger facing coalition reports.

British Prime Minster Tony Blair spoke amid news reports that Iran's Revolutionary Guard was the likely source of the bomb making know-how blamed for several British deaths since May. Mr. Blair is hosting the president of Iraq, Jalal Talabani.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: What is clear is that there have been new explosive devices used, not just against British troops but elsewhere in Iraq. The particular nature of those devices lead us either to Iranian elements, or to Hezbollah, because they're similar to the devices used by Hezbollah, that is funded and supported by Iran. However, we cannot be sure of this at the present time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: The bombings continue, as do the warnings from U.S. commanders not to expect any letup before the constitutional referendum next week.

At least 10 people died in two suicide car bombings in Baghdad today, as Iraqis nationwide got their first good look at the charter that they'll be voting on, or boycotting, in the case of some Sunnis. October 15, that's the day.

CNN's Aneesh Raman joins me now live with the latest -- Aneesh.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, good afternoon.

The escalation and attacks continued today, ahead of that October 15 vote. A suicide bomber this morning in the capital boarded a minibus of police recruits and detonated just outside of Iraq's oil ministry. At least 10 people were killed in that attack. Eight others wounded.

Meantime, another suicide car bomb a short time earlier detonated just as a convoy of American contractors was passing by. At least eight Iraqi civilians were wounded in that incident.

And to the south of the capital in the town of Hillah, the residents there today grieving the dead. At least 36 killed, 95 others wounded, when a suicide bomber, just about 24 hours ago, detonated inside a Shiite mosque there as a funeral was taking place for someone who had been killed by an explosion just days before.

So we are seeing a rise in these attacks as we head towards that vote, as the polling stations get set up throughout the country.

The president in his speech today, while talking about security, while talking about terror worldwide, also spoke to the political progress here in Iraq, the very fact that in 2 1/2 years we've seen an interim, then transitional government, now a constitution set to go to the people. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: We've already suggested that Iraq's democracy must be on shaky ground because Iraqis are arguing with each other. But that's the essence of democracy: making your case, debating with those who you disagree -- who disagree, building consensus by persuasion, and answering to the will of the people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAMAN: But, Kyra, the disagreements here, politically at least, are deepening. These are critical times ahead, and that constitution, a document meant to bridge divides, seems to be doing the opposite.

The Sunnis have come out viscerally against any constitution that will include any notion of federalism. The president said earlier that he thinks a democratic federalist structure is what Iraq needs.

So two numbers we're looking for on October 15, Kyra, voter turnout. Expectations are it will be higher than what we saw in January. But, also, by what margin, if this constitution does pass, does it do so? If the Sunnis vote against it but the constitution still passes, a huge political debate, huge political consequences will be felt, Kyra, on the ground.

PHILLIPS: Aneesh Raman, live from Baghdad, thank you.

The dictator's gone, as we know. Democracy on the move but 2 1/2 years into the war, Iraq remain, in President Bush's words, the central front in the war against terror.

Joining me with thoughts on how these conflicting realities fit together is global security analyst and Harvard scholar and longtime friend of LIVE FROM, Jim Walsh.

Jim, good to see you.

JIM WALSH, GLOBAL SECURITY ANALYST: Good to see you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, you said you were pretty surprised; you thought this speech was dark.

WALSH: yes, I was very surprised. I thought, with the election in Iraq a week away, the president was going to use this as an opportunity to sort of frame the upcoming election, which normally leads to a boost in poll numbers for him when they have elections that work. And that it would be all about the progress and the success we're having.

Instead, we got "Fear Factor." We got a speech that was dark, threatening, a lot of metaphors, not of a post-9/11 era, but reaching back to Hitler, talking about fascism, talking about this threat in terms of communism. I thought it was sort of a scary speech.

PHILLIPS: And he said that word you were not sure you were going to hear, appeasement.

WALSH: Yes, the "a" word. A longtime student of international security, that's sort of an inside joke. Normally, when nations are at war and popularity for that war is declining, and the president or the prime minister's facing a tough time, you begin to see the appeasement word. And that's -- that's pretty heavy emotional baggage to sort of throw at your opponents. PHILLIPS: All right. You talk about it being dark. But at the same time, the president pointed out 10 terrorist plots that were prevented, three here in the United States. Let's take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: Overall, the United States and her partners has disrupted at least 10 serious al Qaeda plots since September the 11th, including three al Qaeda plots to attack inside the United States. We've stopped at least five more al Qaeda efforts to case targets in the United States or infiltrate operatives into our country.

Because of the steady progress the enemy is wounded, but the enemy is still capable of global operations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: I want to hear details. I want to fill in the blanks and tell us what exactly was prevented.

WALSH: Exactly. What's missing here is any dates or any sense of how big these threats were. Was it two guys who might have been part of al Qaeda or maybe just self-affiliated who showed up and took pictures of a building?

The other key point in that line is it says since 2001. It may be that those occurred earlier, not later. I think most people, including President Bush's own Central Intelligence Agency, the CIA, and the Defense Intelligence Agency, have said that since the war in Iraq, actually, the problem of religious extremism and terrorism has gotten worse, not better.

And that's exactly what leads me to the next part of the speech. President Bush addressed Iraq. And I want to talk more about it being a breeding ground for insurgents. This is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: The terrorists regard Iraq as the central front in their war against humanity. And we must recognize Iraq as the central front in our war on terror.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now, Jim, he says central front. And a lot of critics would say, you know, this wouldn't even be a central front for all these extremists if the war would have never happened.

WALSH: You're right, Kyra. And I thought that was one of the more interesting parts of the speech. He goes directly after his critics. He says we would have been attacked. We were attacked on 9/11. And, you know, we weren't in Iraq then. And so what's your argument here?

I think the argument that both his own agencies, his intelligence agencies have made, and that the critics have made, is by going into Iraq, you've actually increased the number of total terrorists.

The total number of people who want to do harm to the U.S. has increased since the war in Iraq, and they are flowing into Iraq because that's where the U.S. is. The U.S. is in Iraq and we're easier targets in Iraq than we are back here in the U.S. right now.

PHILLIPS: Meanwhile, talking about Muslim popular opinion. It seemed a large chunk of that speech, he was aiming at reaching the Muslim community. Actually quoting one of my favorite verses from the Quran, chapter 5, verse 32, one that is constantly used for the insurgents and also for Muslims that say, no, no, no, the Quran does not talk about killing innocent people. Let's listen to how he actually quoted this verse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: The most vital work will be done within the Islamic world itself. And this work has begun. Many Muslim scholars have already publicly condemned terrorism, often citing Chapter 5, verse 32, of the Quran, which states that killing an innocent human being is like killing all humanity and saving the life of one person is like saving all of humanity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now, Jim, I'm getting a hard time from my staff here in the control room. They said, OK, Kyra is that really your favorite verse? And yes, we have that verse up in our home, believe it or not, our Christian/Muslim home.

And it's true, this is a verse that is constantly used in different ways. But when you read it, it is saying that the Quran does not push killing innocent people, that you kill off all humanity if you think of that, take it in that way.

WALSH: You're absolutely right, Kyra. And I think this was one of the more welcome parts of the president's speech.

I think there's a lot of misunderstanding here in the U.S. and in the western world about Islam. And I know that my work with Muslim scholars, a bunch of us all got together to talk about the morality of nuclear weapons. And it was clear that the Quran has many passages that question the legitimacy of nuclear weapons, weapons of mass destruction, says you shouldn't harm innocent people, shouldn't harm noncombatants.

And I think what's happened is the terrorists, the extremists have appropriated the Quran for themselves so everyone thinks the Quran means what they say it does. It really doesn't. People should go and read the Quran for themselves and also consult with their friends and neighbors who are Muslim. And I think they'd get a very, very different picture.

PHILLIPS: Jim Walsh, thank you so much for your time. It's always a pleasure.

WALSH: Thank you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Moving on to talk about that ex-Marine, former White House staffer, rookie FBI analyst, pilferer of classified computer files. Three facts and one allegation regarding this man, Leandro Aragoncillo, a Filipino-borne U.S. citizen who spent three years in the White House offices of Al Gore and Dick Cheney.

CNN's Bob Franken has the details -- Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A gunnery sergeant in the Marines, Kyra, who was there acting in the security detail in the White House, and according to investigators was downloading, or possibly downloading -- they're investigating now -- downloading material from the White House computers of a classified nature, which he then passed on to opposition groups in the political turmoil of the Philippines.

He served in the White House for three years. Then he retired from the Marine Corps as a gunnery sergeant, went to the FBI as an analyst. Last month, he was taken into custody. The criminal complaint cites the charges that he shared foreign -- or classified material with foreign nationals.

The investigation continues to find out if that involved his time at the White House, which would probably be unprecedented.

Now, there's a speculation among government officials that there is another indictment coming, that from his alleged associate. Michael Aquino is that man's name. He is identified as a former member of the Philippine secret service.

Aquino is expected to be indicted. I should point out, that Aragoncillo has not been indicted. Sources tell us that he is cooperating with the investigation.

The White House would say very little about this. Scott McClellan, the president's spokesman, said just a short while ago only that he can't talk because this is an ongoing investigation.

Similar comment or lack of comment from the Justice Department should point out that in the Philippines, as I said, there is tremendous amount of turmoil. The president, the current president, Gloria Arroyo, was almost impeached recently, according to the government officials. This was information that was turned over to her opposition.

The investigation goes on, as I said. It's a very sensitive matter. Still under investigation. It could be unprecedented if it involved White House computers -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: We'll continue to follow up with you. Bob Franken, thank you so much.

A guilty plea from a Pentagon analyst accused of passing secrets on Iran to lobbyists for Israel. Larry Franklin told a federal judge in Virginia yesterday that he never intended even for a moment to harm the United States. He says he merely was frustrated by U.S. policy.

The lobbyist worked for AIPAC, American Israel Public Affairs Committee, but they don't anymore. They, too, face federal charges. Franklin could face 10 or more years in prison.

CNN is committed to providing the most reliable coverage of news that affects your security. Stay tuned to CNN for the latest information day and night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS (voice-over): Next on LIVE FROM: a medical breakthrough delivers a knockout punch to a cancer-causing virus.

Later, another potential killer provokes an international response as dozens of countries join forces to fight a possible bird flu pandemic.

It's been 50 years since the murder of Emmett Till. His death lit the fuse on America's civil rights struggle. Will a new documentary finally bring closure to his family? And justice to those who took part in killing an innocent 14-year-old boy?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: A possible medical breakthrough. Drug giant Merck has unveiled a vaccine it claims can prevent one type of cancer. If so, Gardasil would be the first cancer vaccine.

Our senior medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, takes a closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A few years ago, Rose Dennis, a 53-year-old healthy woman, went in for a routine pap smear, one of the most common procedures done in the world. As she felt fine, she really thought nothing of it until she got a life-altering call from her doctor. She had cervical cancer.

ROSE DENNIS, CERVICAL CANCER SURVIVOR: During that time, it was -- I don't want to really remember it. It was just horrible.

GUPTA: Dennis is one of thousands of women in this country who suffers from cervical cancer, which is actually caused by a virus called human papillomavirus, or HPV. It is often transmitted sexually.

Now, this cancer is curable if treated early. But now there may be a way to prevent the disease from ever occurring in the first place: a vaccine. It wasn't easy to develop such a vaccine, as there are more than 70 different types of HPV. But researchers honed in on two of them, numbers 16 and 18, because those are the most dangerous types.

DR. KEVIN AULT, EMORY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: In this particular vaccine, there are four types of human papillomavirus that are covered. They're probably the four most common types. Sixteen and 18 are responsible for about 70 percent of cervical cancer.

GUPTA: Best news of all, the vaccine prevented 100 percent of those two strains.

AULT: We don't think of most vaccines as being 100 percent effective, so I think that's good news overall. And certainly a pleasant surprise for those of us who have been doing this research for a number of years.

GUPTA: The vaccine is called Gardasil and Merck and Company, Inc., the manufacturer, says it plans to apply for a license before the end of the year. If approved, this vaccine may become extremely common, recommended to all women in their teenage years before they become sexually active.

Rose Dennis had no such option. She had to endure a hysterectomy, chemotherapy and radiation to become cancer free. For her and possibly thousands of others, a vaccine would make all the difference.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And the latest on the fight against breast cancer. That's the topic of "HOUSE CALL" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta this Saturday and Sunday morning at 8:30 Eastern only here on CNN.

Much more still ahead on LIVE FROM. Sparks fly in southern California, fueling new wildfires and new worries. We'll have a live report from Riverside County.

And Holy Bat Blazes! Bruce Wayne's mansion goes up in flames. Details coming your way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Now in the news: FEMA says it will go back and re-bid contracts given out for Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts. A Senate panel is investigating FEMA's storm response.

There was little or no competition for more than 80 percent of FEMA's contracts after the storm. And FEMA's chief told senators that the rebidding will prevent waste or abuse.

Also during that hearing, FEMA chief David Paulison says that cities and counties can use FEMA loans to pay salaries of law enforcement officers, if they want to use the money that way. But he says federal law puts a $5 million cap on those loans.

And hoping to put a boat that capsized back Sunday in the water this afternoon for tests. That's what authorities want to do. Twenty passengers died when the boat turned over Sunday on New York's Lake George. A boat similar to the Ethan Allen failed a stability test performed by the National Transportation Safety Board yesterday.

A house fire in California claims an icon of '60s television. A Tudor-style mansion used in the "Batman" TV series was gutted by fire last night. The home's owners had been remodeling the 16,000-square- foot mansion.

New wildfire worries today in Southern California. And right now, crews are fighting to gain control of a fire in Riverside County. That's just east of Los Angeles. More than 6,000 acres have already burned.

CNN's Thelma Gutierrez joins us live from the scene there to give us a feel for what it's like -- Thelma.

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, I can tell you that the good news is that currently there are no structures, no homes, that are being threatened at this particular time. It seems as though the fire has moved behind the ridge that you see behind me and into the remote canyons.

Now, the bad news is that temperatures are expected to reach 90s today. Humidity is low. And as you can tell, the winds are starting to kick up. Those are all factors that make firefighters very nervous.

Now there are firefighters that are positioned on the ground. They're in those remote canyons right now, trying to put out the hot spots and some of the hidden fires in the brush.

Now while there are no visible flames, firefighters are cautiously optimistic, because, they say, all it takes it for those gusts to pick up and then suddenly you have this raging wildfire to deal with.

Now, this area is very steep. It's very rugged. It's very difficult for firefighters to actually get in and out of, and so what they've been doing is flying helicopters and air tankers through the area, dropping fire retardant and water on to those hotspots to be able to control them.

Now, firefighters do say that they believe that this fire is within a perimeter that they feel they can control at least for now, and so that is some very good news.

With me is engineer Rick Griggs with the California Department of Forestry.

And you have said that your firefighters are very exhausted. They've been working nonstop for days now.

RICK GRIGGS, CALIF. DEPT. OF FORESTRY: Some of the crews that are assigned to this incident have been on since before last Wednesday when we had our first episode of wind, which caused the fires up in the L.A. area. Some of these people have been working almost nonstop for 10 to 12 days.

GUTIERREZ: You said that you were very cautious, cautiously optimistic, because right now, we don't see flames. But you're not willing to say that it's over with yet?

GRIGGS: Absolutely not. We've got a lot of territory out there. We've got over 6,000 acres that's burned, burned very rapidly. We're in the process of trying to search through those area, find that hidden fire you were talking about a minute ago are and try to extinct distinguish it completely. We're utilizing the helicopters in some of the rough area to get into those deep, steep canyons. We've also got firefighters on the ground working their way back into those areas as well.

One of the things that's also going on is we're making sure that these lines we established last night based on these roads are going to hold.

GUTIERREZ: It doesn't look like we see flames, at least from this vantage point.

GRIGGS: No, it doesn't. And a lot of brush has been consumed, and it looks like our efforts we made last night may have paid off.

GUTIERREZ: That's very good news. Thank you so much for being with us.

And, Kyra, so many people out here were actually in a position to evacuate. They were packing up their horses and their animals, and they were ready to leave, they're just waiting for word. Thankfully, they didn't have to do that. Back to you.

PHILLIPS: That's good news. We're hearing a lot of those good stories.

Thelma Gutierrez, thank you so much.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Well, the search for truth in New Orleans. Our Drew Griffin reports on the mixed messages about rape in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. You won't want to miss that report.

Also ahead, bird flu. Find out what the State Department plans to do about what could be the next global epidemic.

More LIVE FROM, right after this. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Taking precautions in this case -- or in case this country falls prey to bird flu pandemic, the best and brightest from the world's scientific community are meeting in Washington today and tomorrow. Their focus, how to prevent the spread of the virus. Now first diagnosed in humans eight years ago, and since then, 65 people have died in Southeast Asia. But U.S. health experts fear that the virus will mutate and spread worldwide with catastrophic results.

CNN has learned that White House officials also will meet with members of the pharmaceutical industry tomorrow, urging them to work on a vaccine.

Joining us now from the State Department, which has helped bring all scientists together, is Paula Dobriansky, undersecretary of state for global affairs.

Nice to have you, Miss Secretary

PAULA DOBRIANSKY, UNDERSECRETARY FOR GLOBAL AFFAIRS: Thank you. Pleased to be here.

PHILLIPS: Well, I guess I was actually not aware of the pharmaceutical industry tomorrow -- as I read that, that was something I just learned. What do you make of that? That's interesting.

DOBRIANSKY: Well, you know, in terms of dealing with avian flu, I think that there is really a collective effort, all stakeholders are very involved and there's a lot of reach -- outreach.

For us here at the State Department, what we are hosting, we are bringing in not only diplomats, but also members of the science community, as well as the health community, to come together and to talk about preparedness, about the importance of prevention, about looking at what our national action plans, how we can enhance capacity and capability of countries abroad who have been affected, and to those to which it has spread to.

So our focus is very much specifically on international collaboration and effort. But as you can see, I think with the meetings that are taking place on the domestic side as well, that the focus is what needs to be done, what steps need to be taken?

PHILLIPS: Let me ask you, why now? Why are we seeing so much attention on this issue? We've been talking about it, of course, in the media, but we even hear the president of the United States talking about it now, and talking about the military helping out.

DOBRIANSKY: Well, we've seen a pattern. Over the last years, avian flu has spread, and we have seen a number of deaths. Over recent time, the deaths have increased, albeit at a very, you know, small or lower level.

Having said that, it's not new in the sense that action has been taken. We have provided capacity through, for example, the United States Agency for International Development, as well as our Department of Health and Human Services, in helping those affected countries build their capacity.

But what is of concern now is that we are witnessing a trend, a trend where the numbers have gone up and also the number of deaths have gone up of humans. And in this sense, we're concerned. We want to make sure that we are prepared, and that we take those kinds of measures and actions at an international level, not only on the national level.

PHILLIPS: Well, and we heard not only the president talk about the military intervention but the key word, quarantine. I think that really -- Americans perked up and wanted to hear more. How would that happen? Are we ready for something like that? Are we prepared for that? What would the military do? How would it be involved?

DOBRIANSKY: Well, I will say this. At least for our international discussion, countries will focus on the kinds of steps that they're contemplating and looking at what are the most appropriate measures. I think that all responses are essentially on the table, but one doesn't know. One doesn't know the scale and the scope of what might happen.

So you have to look at this from what is the best case scenario to the worst case scenario. And what we're trying to achieve through this forum is to have that kind of international exchange, to compare notes with others, and to network. We're also working very closely with the World Health Organization, which is preparing a world preparedness plan and prevention plan on avian flu.

PHILLIPS: Paula Dobriansky, undersecretary of state for global affairs. Thank you for your time, Madam Secretary. I appreciate it.

DOBRIANSKY: Thank you so much.

PHILLIPS: Hundreds of experts gathered in Washington this week to look for ways to protect kids from the drug trade and they tell CNN that America's methamphetamine epidemic is a big part of the problem.

The Drug Enforcement Administration's recent Operation Wildfire shut down 50 meth labs. Our Brian Todd had exclusive access to law enforcement teams in that sweep and saw how close children are to that problem.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We approach the house in a government helicopter. Our DEA contact says agents have just seized a suspected methamphetamine lab. Our first view from the air, it looks like a nice house in a pretty setting, with police, fire crews and hazmat teams are swarming.

(on camera); Agents say this scene is typical, an obscure house in the middle of the countryside. When law enforcement teams entered this house not long ago, they say they found an active meth lab, the drug still cooking. They didn't find the suspects but there was a large family inside, including four children.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why don't we go over and sit by the bike, OK?

TODD (voice-over): The children seem to think it's an adventure, an adventure that includes shedding their clothes, decontamination and donning of scrubs. Some don't have much clothing to begin with.

These children could have just been exposed to some meth making ingredients that would literally make your head spin. Aside from the cold medication ephedrine, throw in a type of ammonia, phosphorous, and strong solvents like acetone or starter fluid, sometimes brake fluid, just some of the toxic ingredients heated during the cooking process. One veteran police officer has seen what it does to children.

SGT. DOUG HAMMERBERG, KALAMAZOO POLICE: The chemicals line the walls, they line the ducts -- the air ducts in the house. And that's -- all those chemicals these children are breathing and it will affect them for the rest of their lives. They will have respiratory problems. They will have health issues. They'll have, you know, ADD.

TODD: That's if they avoid another hazard.

JOE, FORMER METH TRAFFICKER: If you have any scratches in your glassware, stuff like that, the whole thing can go up on you, which results in fire.

TODD: This man, who we will call Joe, is a former meth addict and trafficker who is now a police informant. For more than 20 years, law enforcement agents say, he'd sell to anyone, not much caring if families like this were on the periphery.

JOE: I've been a predator my whole life.

TODD: Now that he's been turned, detoxed and cooperating for about three years, does he have any remorse?

JOE: Yes, I wish I hadn't gotten caught. Would I still be doing it today? Oh yes. Oh yes.

TODD: Back at the house, the owner, who we call Susan and who gave us permission to take pictures, tell police the suspect they were looking for had rented a room from her. She said she had no idea he might have been cooking meth.

(on camera): Why are you scared?

SUSAN, HOUSED METH SUSPECT: Because I don't know what's going to happen. You know, and the house is tore apart now. And I don't where he's at. And I know he's here.

TODD: Are you afraid that he might come back and do something to your family?

(voice-over): Inside, law enforcement agents in protective suits have had to take swift action just to ventilate and try to get the fumes out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We broke out the glass doors, opened the windows, so we could ventilate the fumes out of here.

TODD: Later, we pressed Joe a little harder about children caught up in this epidemic.

JOE: Shame on those people that would put their children in jeopardy.

TODD: (on camera): Anything else you can say about that, because we saw a lot of them?

JOE: Well then, just (EXPLETIVE DELETED). I have got no use for them.

TODD: (voice-over): Small consolation about these children leaving a home that one agent says may have to be condemned. Brian Todd, CNN, in southern Michigan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Rebuilding the storm-torn Gulf coast means tough competition for workers. The "Times-Picayune" reports that Burger King in New Orleans is offering big bonuses for employees: $6,000 for full-time workers, 3,000 bucks for part-timers. Popeye's Chicken is boosting hourly pay to $8. And still a lot of people still don't have jobs because the hurricanes. The Labor Department says that the number of storm-related unemployed climbs to 363,000.

Meanwhile, New Orleans must rebuild its main hospitals. Charity and University Hospitals were flooded by the storms and have been vacant since then. After inspection, the hospitals' director says neither can be saved.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. CATHI FONTENOT, MEDICAL CTR. OF LA - NEW ORLEANS: The mold and mildew are unbelievable. There was asbestos in the ceilings of the basement, which now may be friable, that's the concern. We've had environmental construction engineers go through both buildings and they're telling us that they're just beyond repair.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Now just ahead in the next hour of LIVE FROM, we're going to have much more on the problems facing New Orleans. We'll go inside Charity Hospital for a look at the extensive damage suffered by the city's oldest hospital and talk live with the CEO of Charity.

Now, after the initial terror of Hurricane Katrina, there were shocking stories of rapes committed on survivors packed into the Superdome and New Orleans Convention Center. Other reports followed, saying there had been no sex crimes.

CNN's Drew Griffin reports the truth is just now coming to light. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They were caught between the storm and chaos. Trapped in a city being shrunk by floodwaters, the people of New Orleans fled to the only shelters they knew were still dry, and they came by the thousands.

All kinds of reports came out of the Convention Center and Superdome, some of rapes, fueled by a police chief who didn't know.

EDDIE COMPASS, SUPERINTENDENT, NEW ORLEANS POLICE DEPARTMENT: We have little babies in here. We have little babies getting raped.

GRIFFIN: And days later, denials from rank-and-file, who say nobody was raped.

LT. DAVE BENELLI, NEW ORLEANS POLICE DEPARTMENT: I'm the commander of the sex crimes unit. My unit handles all rapes. We had two reported attempted rapes.

GRIFFIN (on camera): Attempted?

BENELLI: Attempted rapes. And they were handled and the individuals were arrested.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): Now CNN is learning the truth may be much more disturbing and painful.

WANDA PEZANT, SEXUAL ASSAULT NURSE EXAMINER: Do I think that people were raped after and during Hurricane Katrina? Absolutely. Have I treated victims from New Orleans that were raped, either during or in the immediate 48 aftermath of Katrina? Yes.

GRIFFIN: Wanda Pezant says, over the last weeks, she has counted them; 18 victims, one as young as 13, have now come forward to this sexual assault nurse examiner to say, in the confusion of Katrina, they were raped. Caught in dark corners in the Superdome, in shelters across Louisiana, victims and predators, she says, were suddenly trapped in the same mess. And the predators saw opportunity.

PEZANT: When the predators are loose in the environment, unsupervised and unchecked by law enforcement, victimization happens.

GRIFFIN: The question for Judy Benitez is how much really did happen. Benitez runs Louisiana's Foundation Against Sexual Assault. Since the hurricane first struck, she says, her 15 crisis centers across the state have been getting calls from rape victims and those who witnessed rapes and either never went to the police or there were no police to go to.

JUDY BENITEZ, LOUISIANA FOUNDATION AGAINST SEXUAL ASSAULT: Some people have taken the view that, because something wasn't reported to the police, that it didn't happen. And that's not really an accurate way to look at things when you're talking about sexual assault. There are a lot of reasons, under normal circumstances, why victims don't report sexual assaults to the police, or they may -- may report them a couple of weeks later.

GRIFFIN: The truth is, says rape counselors, after the hurricane, when people lost jobs, homes and lives, reporting a rape became a lower priority than finding food and shelter.

BENITEZ: It's just one trauma and one tragedy inside another tragedy. I think it is going to be a while before we get anything that resembles true numbers.

GRIFFIN: Benitez is setting up a statewide reporting system in hopes of a more accurate count of post-Katrina sexual assaults.

(on camera): But, no matter what the count, there will be no way to make those who committed sexual assaults pay. Here, at the Superdome and across Louisiana, predators may have simply gotten away with it. Too many days have passed. Any evidence to be collected would be unusable.

What do you say to those people?

PEZANT: I tell them that I'm their nurse and that we are going to taking care of them -- and we have -- and that I can meet their medical need. I can't meet their legal need.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): It has been more than a month since Katrina hit. Rape victims are now finding new homes, reuniting with families, and finally having the courage to deal with what happened to them during the hurricane. The latest woman to report came forward just this week.

Drew Griffin, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Coming up in the second hour of LIVE FROM, his murder helped inspire the movement for racial equality. Now, 50 years after his death, Emmett Till has inspired a documentary aimed at righting a historic wrong.

But first, on the lighter side, have you ever pushed away from the table, thinking that maybe you ate just a little too much? Our John Zarrella says it turns out that great expectations are a problem across the animal kingdom.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's clearly a case where his eyes were bigger than his stomach. To the center and right of this photo are the hind legs and tail of a six-foot alligator, stuffed inside the belly of a beast that could be gaining supremacy in Florida's Everglades.

The beast, to the center and left of the photo, is what's left of a 12.5 foot Burmese python. The snake apparently won the fight but ultimately gorged itself to death.

SKIP SNOW, PARK BIOLOGIST: So you have your wild born, didn't buy it at a pet shop.

ZARRELLA: To park biologist Skip Snow and wildlife technician Lori Oberhoffer (ph) the tangle in the swamp is a growing concern. Alligators, the native, top of the food chain species here, may not be tough enough to control the python population.

SNOW: Once they get bigger, once they exceed the size of the native snakes -- seven, eight, nine feet, get sort of out of that range that our predators are comfortable with, if you will -- it's unlikely that they have much of a natural predator here.

ZARRELLA: Biologists say, pythons, which are not poisonous were first introduced into the park by people who had them as pets.

(on camera): Park biologists say that within the first two years of its life the Burmese python can grow to nine feet long and that, they say, is when people who keep them as pets decide they're much too difficult to handle.

(voice-over): In the past two years, Snow has documented more than 150 python captures. Before that, captures numbered only in the dozens. Last year, wildlife photographer Mike Mercier (ph) captured these images of another showdown between a giant python and an alligator. And it's images like these that are prompting park ranges to track, trap, and indicate this snake in the river of grass.

John Zarrella, CNN, in Everglades National Park.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Hurricane Katrina claims two more victims. New Orleans main hospitals face possible demolition. The Crescent City's medical system is in critical condition.

A mother's love turns to unspeakable loss and stunning courage. Now, a new film speaks justice 50 years after the murder of Emmett Till. Paying tribute to a woman who's personal tragedy became a catalyst for social change.

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