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Andrea Yates to Get Second Trial; School Shooting Suspect May be Tried as Adult; Oil Execs Answer Tough Questions on Capitol Hill; Oil Execs Take Home Big Paychecks; Terror Attack in China Warned Against

Aired November 09, 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: From the CNN Center's headquarters here in Atlanta, I'm Kyra Phillips. Here's what we're working on for you right now.
Andrea Yates, the Texas mom convicted of killing her kid, gets a second chance to defend herself.

Probing profits: why are oil companies making record money while you're paying more for gas?

And President Bush, speaking live. You'll see it here.

LIVE FROM starts right now.

Her case was splashed across the headlines and triggered a national debate on postpartum depression. Now Andrea Yates, the Texas mother who drowned her five children, is getting a new trial.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is live with the details -- Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

Well, this is an effort that has been long in coming, ever since Andrea Yates was convicted of murdering her children back in 2002. Her attorneys have been trying very hard.

One of the things and the one issue that appears to have really made the difference in this appeal for a new trial was the testimony of the prosecution's star witness. And that is a doctor by the name of Park Dietz, a psychiatrist who interviewed Andrea Yates and testified for the prosecution, saying that at the time that Andrea Yates drowned her five children, that she knew right from wrong. And that is the language in Texas law that really makes the difference in all of this.

Prosecutors say they were able to successfully show that Andrea Yates did know that the moment she was drowning her five children, that she did know right from wrong.

But in the course of that doctor's testimony, he made reference to an episode of a "Law & Order" television show which this doctor consults for and he says that perhaps in some sort of way that Andrea Yates may have seen an episode of "Law & Order" about a mother who kills her children and got away with it. And the suggestion and the atmosphere in which that was said in the courtroom, during that trial, the defense argues perhaps led those jurors to believe that might have influenced Andrea Yates.

But the problem with that episode of "Law & Order" is that it never existed. It was never made, and because of that, this case was brought up on appeal and that is why the court of criminal appeals in Texas have issued a new trial for Andrea Yates.

Now, what happens from here isn't exactly clear. There could be a new trial. They could settle on a plea bargain. We know that both sides will begin working that out, as it appears clear that this will have to go to a new trial now -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Ed, we'll continue to talk to you more about this case.

Meanwhile, Yates' attorney welcomed today's ruling, but he it's a mixed blessing. George Parnham says that Yates will now have to relive the horror of her children's deaths, and he says that she is not looking forward to a new trial. But Parnham says a retrial will help focus attention on women's mental health issues. He talked with Daryn Kagan this morning on "CNN LIVE TODAY."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEORGE PARNHAM, ATTORNEY FOR ANDREA YATES: The forensic psychiatrist who was the state's expert witness, Park Dietz, testify his falsely during the guilt or innocence phase. That testimony was used by the prosecution in cross examining one of our expert, as well as in arguing to a jury that she was calculated and cold, doing what she did.

That testimony, of course, was false. And the case was reversed. And the court of appeals reversed it on those grounds. And the court of criminal appeals rejected the state's petition to reverse the reversal. That's it.

DARYN KAGAN, HOST, "CNN LIVE TODAY": So as you were saying, this will now go back to the beginning, like standing over with a fresh, new trial? That means the evidence...

DIETZ: Yes.

KAGAN: How is your client doing? What's her mental state? And is she up for this trial?

DIETZ: I missed that last -- is she up for trial?

KAGAN: Is she, is she, her mental state?

DIETZ: Yes. Andrea is -- is much, much better. She has been receiving, I think, the best cure that the penitentiary system has available to it. Quality of care doesn't meet the standards in the civil community, but she obviously is very aware of the tragedy and lives with it every day of her life. (END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And another top story that we're following for you right now: a 15-year-old student suspected in a deadly school shooting could be tried as an adult. That's according to the prosecutor in yesterday's shooting in Jacksboro, which has left the town in shock.

CNN's David Mattingly joins us once again from that area with the latest -- David.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, classes are closed today. The school will not be open for the rest of the week. Counseling is available for teachers and students who might need it. But members of the community have been engaging in some of their own form of therapy. I want to share that with you right now.

These are the gates just outside the school property. These blank boards were put up last night. Today, they're almost filled with comments and thoughts about the fallen vice principal, Ken Bruce, who was killed during that shooting here yesterday, almost exactly 24 hours ago.

And there's so many warm and heartfelt messages here, showing just how well thought of he was. Students describe him as very caring, very accessible, a kind of teacher, they said, who would give you lunch money if you forgot to bring your own that day.

So his passing having a great effect on this community today. As are the details that we're learning today of the shooting from yesterday.

Authorities today tell us that the 15-year-old suspect -- administrators at the school were tipped off that he was carrying a gun. So they took him out of his class, took him to the office. But at the time he was in the office, they verbally confronted him. And during the questioning, he pulled his gun and fired shots at two assistant principals and the principal of the school, hitting all of them, of course, killing Mr. Bruce, the other two wounded.

The principal, after wounded, managed to make it to the microphone and was still able to order the school into lockdown, an act that probably prevented any students here from being injured during this event.

The other vice principal, though wounded, we are told by investigators, is believed to have been helpful in trying to disarm the student after that shooting.

So these two men, still working very hard to protect the safety of the students and teachers at this school. No one else was hurt in this. And it was probably because of some of those actions that that took place.

But today, the district attorney putting an information lockdown on all authorities. They want to be very careful about their case. They have numerous juvenile charges pending against the 15-year-old, including first degree murder. And they say they will attempt to have him tried as an adult.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL PHILLIPS, DISTRICT ATTORNEY: That this juvenile be remanded to be tried as an adult, based upon his age. Based upon the charges and other information that we have, we believe it to be appropriate that he be tried as an adult.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: And, Kyra, this is a very small community, very tight-knit. There's very -- be very hard to find anyone here who does not know someone who worked at that school or attended classes there. And indeed, a great many people also know the suspect in this case.

A lot of mixed emotions right now. Some of them being played out right here on the fence of this school, people leaving flowers, well wishes, balloons, anything that comes to mind, in letting the people know, the people at this school know that they are being remembered today -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: David Mattingly, thank you so much.

And a bit more now on why -- not why in this case, that's unknowable at this point, but why in so many other cases? Because even though it's too soon to tell whether this one fits a pattern, there is a pattern. Bitter experience teaches that.

Here's CNN's Heidi Collins.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Columbine. Springfield. Pearl. Red Lake, Minnesota, this past march. And now Jacksboro, Tennessee. It is a list that conjures up images of screaming children, injured victims and gun wielding kids. Different towns with tragically similar stories.

What makes these young men snap, and what qualities, if any, do school shooters share?

According to the FBI, there are dozens of risk factors when it comes to school violence, but there is no one definitive profile of this type of criminal. Most often, the perpetrator was a white male, age 11 to 18, who was described as feeling picked on or bullied by his peers.

DAN KINDLON, AUTHOR, "RAISING CAIN": We allow boys to be angry and aggressive, but we don't allow them to express fear and sadness and other more vulnerable emotions. So hence, when they get rejected or they get disappointed, they have a harder time dealing with that, and it often come out in anger.

COLLINS: Most of the shooters, like you see in this video of Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris from Columbine High School, had a fascination with firearms or violent video games. DYLAN KLEBOLD, COLUMBINE HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTER: I heard you got some beef with me.

COLLINS: And while there were signs or warnings about their intentions, they were not taken seriously at the time.

RANDY BROWN, FATHER OF COLUMBINE STUDENT: The sheriff's department didn't respond to our reported threat by Eric Harris against our son for 13 months. Columbine would not have happened if they had investigated that to begin with.

COLLINS: Classmates say Klebold and Harris, who brought terror to Littleton, Colorado in 1998, and Jeff Weisz, the Red Lake Minnesota teen who killed nine people and wounded seven before fatally shooting himself, all wore dark trench coats and were fans of Marilyn Manson.

Kip Kinkle, who killed two students in Springfield, Oregon, was a fan of Manson's music, as well. According to the FBI, all of the shooters may have felt the desire to defend narcissistic views of themselves and had very low self-esteem.

Luke Woodham killed two students in Pearl, Mississippi.

LUKE WOODHAM, SHOOTER IN PEARL, MISSISSIPPI: I guess the world's going to remember me now. I'm probably going to get pretty famous.

COLLINS: Famous for two things that seem to unite all of these young men: no one believed they were capable of committing such terrible acts and no one was able to stop them.

Heidi Collins, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And three days after a tornado devastated their lives, residents of an Indiana Mobile home park are returning home but just for two hours. That's how long they have to search for their things in the rubble and leave. The focus now, helping them and other tornado victims rebuild.

Eighteen people died at the park and four more in a neighboring county when the twister struck early Sunday morning. Newly released 911 calls reveal the horror of that aftermath.

(BEGIN AUDIOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my god, there are cars inside there. I need to go see if there are people in these houses!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no house there?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's nothing, there's no houses. There's nothing around us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, are you able to get out the area, then do that. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you think -- if you see someone injured, then let us know, OK?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my god, ma'am, you don't understand. Our house is upside down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, no, no! Our house just fell down! Please help! I'm at (UNINTELLIGIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You've got to quit screaming. I can't understand your address. What is it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My house just fell down! My house!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, what's the address?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 2620 Long Point (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 2620 Long Point (ph)? What happened?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What happened?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Help!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What happened?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The house! Please come.

(END AUDIOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And just in, we're getting reports now of severe weather in the northeast. For more, let's get straight to meteorologist Chad Myers. Chad, what do you have?

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Chad Myers, thanks so much.

Stay with us, everyone. You're live inside CNN's world headquarters. After the break, more news that affects you.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. PETE DOMENICI (R), NEW MEXICO: Most Americans in most of the polls show that our people have a growing suspicion that the oil companies are taking unfair advantage of the current market conditions to line their coffers with excess profits. (END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Back here in "B" control, we're talking about record prices and record profits. Top oil execs have some explaining to do on Capitol Hill.

Top executives of Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Conoco Phillips, BP America and Shell Oil USA were called to make an a accounting of their accounting at a joint hearing of the Senate energy and commerce committees.

All the scrutiny comes on the heels of reports that the industry's third quarter profits jumped 62 percent to nearly $26 billion. And to top off a full tank of consumer outrage, well, news that could be a jump of 50 percent or more in home heating bills this winter.

But even before that hearing started, sparks flew as senators squabbled over whether the execs should have to swear to tell the truth before the panel.

CNN congressional correspondent Ed Henry with more now from Capitol Hill, which could prove to be a slippery slope for big oil today. If I can say that -- Ed. Smoothly.

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, some grilling and drilling as well, these oil executives.

You know, you're right. It was less than a minute into the hearing when the first fight came up. The fireworks came from the fact that Democrats were pushing to get these oil executives to actually have to get out of their seat, stand up, raise their right hands and be officially sworn in that they were going to tell the whole truth, just like those tobacco executives infamously had to do several years ago.

The Republican chairman, Ted Stevens, rejected that, saying it already -- under current law, they had to tell the truth. That was already implied. They had to follow that. They don't have to go through any theatrics.

So after they got that out of the way, lawmakers in both parties did kind of come together in one goal, which is to demand some answers as to how these oil companies are raking in such vast profits at a time when consumers are feeling very little relief either at the pump or in home heating oil costs.

In their defense, the executives say that they are not engaging in price gouging. They also say that this proposal to institute a windfall profit tax, basically, here on the Hill would not work. It would actually increase the U.S. dependence on foreign oil in their estimation.

Take a listen to this exchange between Democrat Ron Wyden and the head of Exxon Mobil.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEE RAYMOND, CHAIRMAN, EXXON MOBIL: ... industry, some other people...

SEN. RON WYDEN (D), OREGON: You would have no problem -- because I'm on the finance committee, and I'm going to offer an amendment to take back the $2.6 billion of brand-new tax breaks and use that money to help people who are hurting? You said you're not getting any.

RAYMOND: As far as my company is concerned, it doesn't make any difference whether it's there or not.

WYDEN: Good, I'm glad you'll support me on Thursday. Sir...

RAYMOND: That's a different question.

WYDEN: Sir?

RAYMOND: That's a different question.

WYDEN: I think you summed it up, just a yes or no answer.

RAYMOND: It's impossible to...

SEN. TED STEVENS (R), ALASKA: Senator will suspend...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: You heard senator Stevens jumping in there. Lee Raymond from Exxon Mobil giving that response.

Democrats like Wyden say they believe there's a lot of talk at this hearing but they're not sure Republicans are actually going to act -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Now Ed, is this the first time hearings like this have ever taken place? I mean, we've known for years how much money these companies make.

HENRY: No, in fact, there have been previous hearings. And Senator Barbara Boxer of California actually entered into the record a photo of previous executives being sworn in, oil executives when they were called in back in the '70s, I believe. She was hauling that out.

But I think there's been a lot of talk over the years, but not too much action. Very few energy bills, as you know, have been actually passed. It's been stalled for years. It finally passed earlier this year. It was signed into the law by the president, this energy reform bill. But consumers now wondering why it has not really had any effect at the pump, while they're watching these record windfalls for the actual companies.

That's why there has been mostly Democrats pushing, but some senior Republicans, as well, getting on board for this windfall tax, basically saying that the oil companies should channel some of those profits into some relief for consumers -- Kyra. PHILLIPS; Ed Henry. Yes, we definitely want that relief. Thank you so much.

Well, as you watch the digits whiz by at the gas pump, don't you wonder where all that money is going? CNN's Chris Huntington has the unleaded truth on the compensation for those head honchos of big oil.

Hi, Chris.

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.

Well, consider this fact, that Exxon Mobil made more money in the third quarter this year than any other company in the history of capitalism, nearly $10 billion. Or, another way to look at it, about $75,000 a minute, every minute, during July, August, and September, when, as you know, gas prices were going above $3 a gallon.

CEO Lee Raymond, very well compensated for that kind of performance. And the compensation for the rest of the oil executives did not escape the attention of Barbara Boxer who brought this type of tough exchange to today's hearings.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARBARA BOXER (D), CALIFORNIA: Gentlemen, to all of you, I hope I can give you a bit of a reality check. Working people struggle with high gas prices, and your sacrifice generally appears to be nothing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTINGTON: Now, let's take a look at some of the pay packages for the executives that were there today.

Lee Raymond -- that's Lee Raymond right there -- chief executive of Exxon, far and away the biggest pay package of those at the hearing today, $38 million. That's combining salary bonus and stock options.

Seven million dollars for the CEO of Chevron, $6.3 million for Conoco Phillips. They're not even close to the highest paid in the oil business, in the U.S. oil business. That title, at least for last year, belongs to Ray Irani. He's the chairman and CEO of Occidental Petroleum, who last year took home total compensation of about $64 million.

But the fact is that these guys, as big as these pay packages are, Kyra, they're not even close to the top of the list of pay packages in American companies.

Take a look at these salaries. This is an annual list compiled by "Forbes" magazine of the highest paid executives. And we're just going to give you the top three. And these numbers are astounding.

Terry Semel, the CEO of Yahoo!, last year took home total compensation of $230 million.

Barry Diller, $156 million. William McGuire, who runs United Healthcare, took home $125 million.

CEO compensation is a huge issue. It has been exploding, relative to average wages, for a decade now. What's going on in the oil business is not unique. It is, however, a particular thorn in the side of Americans who, as you pointed out, as Ed pointed out, continue to pay high prices at the pump and for heating their homes -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Now Chris, some of these company CEOs, these oil company CEOs, come forward and say we're taking a lot of these profits and we're re-interesting in research and other ways to find alternatives to fuel. I'm reading that not everybody does do that.

HUNTINGTON: You have to go company by company. And the fact is that these -- remember, that these companies are in the business -- in the petroleum business.

So, indeed, they are reinvesting, many of them, in basic petroleum exploration and in trying to keep, basically keep serving our thirst for oil product.

The degree to which they are investing in alternative fuels differs from company to company. They certainly are wise enough to know that if there is a big shift to alternative fuels that they want to have that market, as well.

But by and large what has been made clear in the last year or so is that, with regard profits, there is a increasing exploration and money put into research and development. It's probably not as much as they could do given those profits -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Chris Huntington, thanks so much.

We want to talk about medical news. Women, if you think that you're going to need one more latte to get through the day, well, drink up. Because a study in the latest issue of "The Journal of the American Medical Association" suggests that coffee drinking doesn't seem to cause long-term high blood pressure in women.

My team's going to be happy.

But women in the study who drank caffeinated colas were at greater risk of developing high blood pressure. OK, now some of my folks on the staff will not be so happy.

Most experts believe that caffeine can cause short-term spikes in blood pressure.

Straight ahead, President Bush live talking about earthquake relief in Southeast Asia. Thousands of people still left homeless months after the quake. It's a very deadly situation. A briefing by the president, straight ahead. We're going to take it for you live.

You're in "b" control and this is the LIVE FROM team. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: Back here in "B" Control, talking now about a terror alert out of a country not known for them: China. The U.S. embassy in Beijing is warning American and other travelers that Islamic extremists already in China may attack upscale hotels in the near future.

Chinese police are reportedly ramping up security and investigating the threats that prompted this warning.

Today's terror alert from China is unique for a country that doesn't often tip its hand when it come to internal problems. But Beijing does acknowledge that there is a home grown extremist threat.

Ken Lieberthal is a onetime presidential advisor on Asia and now a China expert at the University of Michigan.

Good to see you, professor.

KEN LIEBERTHAL, CHINA EXPERT, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: My pleasure. Good to be here.

PHILLIPS: Let's talk about the Weigers (ph) and this province in China. Learned a lot about this through you, actually, in just the past day.

LIEBERTHAL: Well, this province is up in northwest China. It's overwhelmingly -- the indigenous population is overwhelmingly Muslim. If you go out there, they look like they're Turkish, rather than what we normally think of as ethnically Chinese. This is a group of Muslims that are not well assimilated into China.

There are -- there's a large Muslim population in eastern China, too. They are well assimilated. But the ones in the west do not have very good relations with the Han, and there has been a terrorist organization out there that that's been a source of some concern.

PHILLIPS: Well, Ken have there been attacks? I mean, I can't -- we looked through scripts and things that we have recorded and talked about here at CNN, and I couldn't find anything about any type of massive terrorist attack in China.

LIEBERTHAL: Well, there haven't been massive attacks but there have been individual attacks. Back in the mid-'90s, there was a bus that was blown up in Beijing out in the Singjin (ph), which is a very remote place, not well covered in the international media.

There have been individual assassinations and sabotage operations and that kind of thing.

So there is an issue out there. Thank God it hasn't produced a massive casualty list from any individual incident. But as we all know with terrorists, you have to be very careful.

PHILLIPS: And when the United States invaded Afghanistan, soldiers did come across, Chinese Muslims, active in Al Qaeda, they're in Gitmo now, right? What did interrogations tell us about them? LIEBERTHAL: Well, we picked up a small number of Chinese Muslims when we invaded Afghanistan. They were in an Al Qaeda training camp. As you mention, they're now in Gitmo. What they said is they were training to carry out terrorist activities on behalf of what's called the "East Turkistan Independence Movement." This goes back to a time before the communist revolution in 1949, when for an period of time what is now Sing Jon (ph) became an independent state, calling itself East Turkistan, and these folks want to reestablish an independent state, and they've been willing to, if necessary, move to terrorist action in order to promote that objective.

PHILLIPS: So how do you think the Chinese government is doing with regard to dealing with these extremists?

LIEBERTHAL: Well, you know, with terrorism, you seem to be doing fine until you don't catch someone. So it's always a little hard to know. China is a country, as we know, that has a very extensive police system. They have cooperated with the U.S. on counterterrorism initiatives in Central Asia and elsewhere. We think they've been doing a pretty good job. We always worry that in the name of counterterrorism, they're going to also go after other people who are legitimate political dissidents, and that's always a tough line to define and from a distance tough to know whether they are going too far.

But on balance, this is a state that should do relatively well in keeping control over terrorism. It, after all, is an authoritarian state with a very substantial police component to it.

PHILLIPS: So now the president is getting ready to visit Beijing. There is this security alert that everybody is taking note of. Do you see it as a big threat?

LIEBERTHAL: I think that this is something you can be sure the secret service has very high on its radar screen. I would be very surprised if there is a successful terrorist action in the next couple of weeks. The level of security in Beijing is going to go up to very high levels, because of the president's visit. And, frankly, with a known terrorist threat, they will up that security quite a bit in any case. So, you know, please God, it won't happen. I think Beijing remains one of the safer cities, one of the safer capital cities around the world in general.

PHILLIPS: Dr. Ken Lieberthal, it's a pleasure, thank you so much.

LIEBERTHAL: Good to talk to you.

(MARKET REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Right now, live pictures from the Roosevelt Room. Reporters waiting to hear from the president of the United States. He's going to step up to the mic any moment now and talk about Southeast Asia relief efforts since the earthquake devastated that area. As soon as he steps up to the podium, we'll take it live. After four days of house-to-house fighting, U.S. Marines and Iraqi troops have secured right now a strategically important town near the border with Syria. A Marine spokesperson says that insurgents have been cleared out of the town of Husayba, a key objective of Operation Steel Curtain.

Now most of the 3,000 Marines continue another goal of that offensive, wiping out as many insurgents as possible. Steel Curtain it is the latest and biggest operation in western Iraq this year and it's been seen as a major test for Iraqi troops. They will remain in the town in a bid to prevent insurgents from reoccupying it once those Marines pull out. We are going to talk with the Marine colonel in charge of that effort in 2:00 p.m. Eastern hour.

Now there apparently were civilian casualties during the heavy fighting for that town of Husayba, and residents took a CNN crew to two homes that residents say received direct hits in U.S. airstrikes.

The CNN crew saw seven bodies in one home, we're told. And residents say that 17 civilians were killed in the other one. The U.S. military said that it takes careful and deliberate actions to minimize collateral damage.

Now of all types of fighting and war, perhaps the most dreaded fighting is street to street, house to house, and that horrifying fact of life confronted the Marines every step of the way during that battle.

CNN's Arwa Damon was embedded with the troops. Here's her exclusive report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At daybreak, the marines and their Iraqi army allies start looking for the insurgents, and the insurgents are looking for them. They will find each other.

Gunnery Sergeant Jeff Cullen (ph) leads India Company's 1st Platoon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, the windows are boarded up right here.

DAMAN: House to house. Gunfire erupts nearby. The enemy is close. The fighting lasts all morning. Suddenly, unsettling silence. The silence won't last for long. But there is no way to know that now.

Civilians begin to come out of their homes. One family opens its vegetable stand. The children sweeping debris from the battle.

Up the street, a suspected insurgent is being treated for a broken arm and hip. He wreaks of urine. The man insists he is not a fighter, but the Marines say they found him with an AK-47 and this remote control, called a spider, two batteries and some wires, which can set off improvised-explosive devices.

Down the block, India company scans for insurgents.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It came from the rooftop on the left side of the road.

DAMON: The insurgents have found them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those tracks need to shoot about 100 meter down the road. That's where it came from.

DAMON: Gunnery Sergeant Cullen and his men advance toward the suspected enemy stronghold.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Reloading! Reloading!

DAMON: Cullen sees a target.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Call Yankee Six! Tell them that same building the first sergeant was looking at, we had guys in the windows. We had a guy in a white manjim (ph) with an AK-47 running through the window.

DAMON: The platoon must push forward.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right there, hold the wall, right there, go, go, go, go.

DAMON: The enemy is barely a football field away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roger, we're going to try and push forward. Don't shoot over our heads.

Cover that alleyway! Somebody get with them!

DAMON: The fighting around them intensifies, firing on all sides.

Gunny Cullen holds back his platoon, an agonizing wait.

(on camera): The target building is right behind this pile of rubble. U.S. Marines have spotted an individual carrying an AK-47 running around the bottom floor of the building, and the windows are sandbagged.

(voice-over): The men move to a rooftop, even closer to the target. Gunny calls for a rocket shot into the building.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cover your ears, it's going to be a little loud.

Eyes up, eyes up. Get down, get down!

DAMON: The men search the building, but the enemy has disappeared. One day in what the Marines call straight-up urban combat.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Husayba, Iraq. (END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And the U.S. military is reporting the death a Marine wounded in combat in western Iraq earlier this week. That Marine was wounded by a roadside bomb in the Anbar province. His death raises the total number of American troops killed since the start of the Iraq war two years to 2,058.

Now recovery and relief efforts in South Asia may have slipped out of the headlines, but the human condition in northern Pakistan remains dire. The latest on the long list of concerns, indications that cholera may be spreading inside the displacement camps. If that's the case, an outbreak could easily kill thousands people. In addition, the harsh Himalayan winter is looming, and an estimated three-million people many remain homeless right now.

United Nations emergency officials have repeated their urgent call for more international assistance. Aircraft, food, medicine, and of course money is desperately need.

And we continue to wait for the president of the United States to step up to the podium live from the Roosevelt Room to talk about relief efforts in that area. We'll bring it to you as soon as he steps up to the mic. More LIVE FROM right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: And once again, we are waiting for the president to step up to the mic, live from the White House, actually in the Roosevelt Room. He's expected to talk about relief efforts regarding the Southeast Asia earthquake. We'll bring that to you live as soon as it happens.

Meanwhile, Democrats claim that the two biggest prizes on Election Day, and they credit George Bush for all the time. The New Jersey and Virginia governor's mansions will remain in Democratic hands. Tim Kaine and Jon Corzine won tough races for those seats yesterday. Republicans say that the issues were local, but Democrats insist the unpopularity of President Bush helped make it possible.

And the news isn't any better for Republicans out west. The most famous governor of all, Arnold Schwarzenegger, saw all four of his ballot initiatives go down to defeat. After wards, the Governator was ready to make peace, but his celebrity critics were a little busy celebrating.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: Californians believe we need reform, we need change, but the people of California are sick and tired of all the fighting, and they're sick and tired of all those negative TV ads.

WARREN BEATTY, ACTOR/ACTIVIST: You have, I believe, made this scam of an extra election, this abuse of the initiative process, backfire on the people who had the power to call it. (END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And short of compelling races maybe, but there was no shortage of issues in yesterday's elections that highlight the nation's cultural divide. Among the interesting story line, Texas voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional ban on gay marriage. Voters in Maine, however, rejected efforts to repeal a law banning discrimination based on sexual orientation.

The debate over teaching intelligent design cost almost the entire school board their jobs in Dover, Pennsylvania. All eight members who ordered the concept, taught alongside the theory of evolution, were defeated by candidates who opposed the idea.

And San Francisco upheld its left-coast reputation. Voters approved a measure making it illegal for any city resident to possess a handgun. They also made it official policy to oppose, but not forbid, military recruiters in public schools.

And we continue to wait for the president of the United States to step up to the mic in the Roosevelt Room to talk about aide to Southeast Asia. There he is side by side with former Presidents Clinton, among others. Let's listen in.

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GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... suffered its worst natural disaster in a century when a massive earthquake struck northeast of the capital city of Islamabad. The human toll is staggering. This disaster has taken the lives of more than 70,000 Pakistanis. It has injured almost 70,000 more, and left nearly three million people without their homes. In India, the earthquake killed more than 1,000 people and injured over 6,000 others.

As the harsh mountain winter approaches, millions of people in these affected areas will continue to need food, water, shelter and medical care. They will also need long-term help to get their lives and communities back on their feet.

Once again, the world is called to comfort those affected by a terrible natural catastrophe. People across our country pray for the people in Southeast Asia, and people in our country are willing to help as well.

The United States is playing a leading role in the relief-and- recovery efforts, in cooperation with the government of Pakistan.

We've already made $156 million available for relief and reconstruction needs. We provided food, water, blankets, tents, and medical care. We have disaster response personnel on the ground to assess needs and offer assistance.

Our military is playing a key role, as well. A Navy construction battalion is helping to clear roads and helping solve other engineering challenges. Our helicopters have flown over 1,000 missions to deliver aid to isolated areas and they have transporting thousands to people to places where they can receive medical treatment and shelter. We've also got a military hospital now operating in Pakistan.

I'm grateful to the men and women in uniform for the noble work they are doing. And they represent the best of America, the generous spirit of our country. Our government's response to this tragedy is -- should say to the people of the world, we care when somebody else suffers.

Last month, I announced that five distinguished American business leaders would work to encourage private and corporate contributions to help those affected by the natural disasters in Southeast Asia.

Jeff Immelt (ph) and Jim Kelly (ph), Hank McKinnell (ph) and Sandy Wyle (ph) are with us today, and I want to thank you all for being here. Anne Macaulay (ph) of Xerox is not here, but she's a part of the team. I want to thank them very much for their willingness to serve.

And some of them will be going over to Pakistan, along with Ambassador Hughes and others, to assess the situation as a part of a presidential delegation. When they come home from Pakistan, they're going to travel in our country to rally our citizens to help the victims of this disaster.

I ask all of our citizens and businesses to contribute generously to this cause. The international response to this disaster has been generous, but the needs are still great. And so I also urge other governments, peoples in other lands, to do whatever they can do to help.

In recent months, we've had our own disasters to deal with. We had the destruction on the Gulf Coast of our country, and I want to remind our citizens that people around the world came to help us. They offered not only money and equipment, but they offered their prayers. I know that nothing can take the grief away of those whose lives have been affected, but I also hope the people who've been affected by natural disasters know that there's a lot of people that care for them, a lot of people that want to help.

As families across Southeast Asia begin to rebuild their lives, we offer our sustained compassion, our prayers and our assistance. And we offer you our assurance that America will continue to be there to help.

I want to thank you all again for being here. Thank you for coming.

QUESTION: Mr. President, why is Ahmad Chalabi being welcomed into the United States?

PHILLIPS: Well that was interesting. The president of the United States there, giving a quick debrief on the situation there in Southeast Asia about relief efforts going on.

One question thrown out about Ahmad Chalabi. You know, there's been controversy over his position as the leader overseas. And we're going to actually talk more about that in the next hour and how there are possibly going to be protests before he makes his speech today, people demanding for his arrest. We'll get more into that and follow up on that question the reporter threw out after we take a quick break.

And then we're going to come back and talk more about Pakistan with Stan Grant. He's standing by live in the area. We'll be right back.

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PHILLIPS: Just moments ago, we brought you the president of the United States, live from the Roosevelt Room. He was talking about the efforts going on to try to save those that are suffering right now in Southeast Asia, after that devastating earthquake.

Our Stan Grant has been reporting on this story for weeks now, bringing us some extremely riveting reports. Stan, I'm thinking about one in particular, when you were right there, amidst all the people, in sort of makeshift hospitals, unable to get help, unable to get care. It was hard to get helicopter support and other type of supplies in there. Has it gotten any better since we've seen your reports?

STAN GRANT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Really would like to say yes, Kyra, but sadly, it hasn't. There are so many people, almost 200,000 people at last count, who still have not received the necessary aid. These are people who are sleeping outside in already freezing temperatures, and it's going to get a lot colder.

I spent the night high in the mountains about 9,000 feet above sea level with people crowded around a fire for warmth. They've lost their homes. Little children crying because of the cold. There are reports of pneumonia setting in, reports of severe diarrhea. There are fears of cholera now taking hold. We've seen secondary infections, particularly amongst children. And a large number of amputations having to be carried out as well. The situation here is very dire.

Spent some time with families in these tent villages that have been set up. And these tents, of course, are makeshift at best. They are not enough to hold out the cold. And these are people who are already dealing not only with the loss of all their possessions, but they're dealing with immense grief. Most of these people have lost family members. You have parents who have lost children and children who have lost parents. Older siblings now looking after their younger ones. It is a catastrophe on an enormous scale.

But you heard President Bush there saying the Americans are on the ground, and they're doing a lot of work. I've taken some of the trips with the American relief (INAUDIBLE), in helicopters there, dropping relief into some of these remote areas. The U.S. presence here is very, very strong. And the United States also contributing, as we heard from President Bush, about $156 million so far to this effort. Now sending out a delegation to see what else can be done, then go back and rally the U.S. people to give even more.

He reminded the people of United States about Hurricane Katrina and how the rest of the world contributed to Americans when they were facing the dark days of Hurricane Katrina. Asking the people now to chip in and give a bit more to the effort here in Pakistan. It's a similar call coming from the Pakistan government as well, Kyra. There is not enough here in the big theories. With winter coming, tens of thousands more may die.

PHILLIPS: All right. Stan Grant, we'll stay in touch with you and stay on the story. Thank you so much.

Meanwhile, we're moving on here.

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