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Thanksgiving Travel; Bluetooth Dating; Prosecutor Probing Katrina Fraud Complaints; Cutting-Edge Treatments on Cancer; Abu Ali Guilty of Plotting to Assassinate Bush

Aired November 22, 2005 - 15:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: T-minus two days, Thanksgiving, that is, and America is on the move. If you're trying to get somewhere today, you have got lots of company -- many airports packed, as millions of Americans try to get a head start on the holiday.
The roads are pretty busy, too. AAA says that more than 80 percent of travelers will drive. And many of you are in store for rough -- rough weather.

Live shot out of Chicago, Illinois, right now -- conditions look pretty good, but I hear it's pretty cold, too. Forecasters expect below-normal temps and snow showers in the Midwest. And a strong storm is giving parts of the Northeast an early taste of winter.

Let's check in with our meteorologist Bonnie Schneider, keeping a close eye on weather conditions for you.

Hi, Bonnie.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Kyra.

If you are traveling, for Chicago today, this is the day to do it, because conditions will get worse from here on in. Currently, the sun is shining and it's 38 degrees. Live picture will show you that it's cold, but comfortable. In the coming days, by Friday, we will be seeing temperatures drop down to 27 degrees for a high by Friday. So, if you're heading to Chicago, make sure you pack the warm clothes.

You are definitely going to need it. Now, in the Northeast, it's a completely different situation. We have a nor'easter that's inland. And because it's inland, it's pulling warm, moist air ahead of it -- so, wet and windy weather for New York City, causing air delays right now at La Guardia, Kennedy airports, Newark, New Jersey, up through Boston Logan -- Logan, where the air -- where air -- and air -- the air is going to be -- the airport is going to be seeing more delays tonight due to some strong winds. The winds are just picking up now. And we are expecting more delays as a result of that today and into tonight.

Now, here's a look at our surface feature map. We have our nor'easter for today. Here it is, working its way across New England, pulling down that -- cold conditions right on it behind it.

Now, for tomorrow, it's a completely different setup. We have another storm, a second storm coming in. This one is an Alberta Clipper. It's a fast-moving snowstorm that comes down from Canada, pulls down much colder air behind it. And, tomorrow, even though it's beautiful right now in Chicago, we will be looking at some snow showers developing, not accumulating, but definitely going to make for some messy travel -- Minneapolis as well.

Cleveland, Ohio, will see snow accumulate. A couple of inches is expected tonight and into tomorrow. But, notice, tomorrow, we don't really see the snow just yet in the afternoon for Boston, New York, Washington, D.C. It will mostly be rain. But, by Wednesday night, into Thursday for Thanksgiving, any of these cities here will be seeing rain changing over at times to snow.

So, what we're looking at are two different storms. One that is moving through now is a nor'easter, bringing wind and rain, a second one pulling down much colder temperatures behind it. And it's going to make for some very, very brutally cold conditions.

Here's our map for Thursday. The cold temperatures penetrate all the way to the Northeast, blustery weather -- just getting colder by the minute from Wednesday, Thursday, and especially on Friday, which is the big shopping day. So, folks will definitely be buying scarfs and hats, I guess, on Friday.

PHILLIPS: Thank, Bonnie.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

PHILLIPS: Well, bad weather and big crowds are making it a day of delays at New York's La Guardia Airport.

CNN senior correspondent Allan Chernoff is there.

And, Allan, is the situation any better this afternoon than it was this morning?

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: It has improved quite a bit, Kyra.

This morning, we had lightning in the New York area. And, as you know, lightning is the sort of thing that can shut down an airport. They didn't do that here, but there were delays all over the place.

In terms of departures, at least one-third of the flights from this terminal, where American Airlines is based, had been delayed. The worst delay of all was a flight leaving here going to Bangor, Maine. It took five-and-a-half-hours for that flight to take off.

In terms of arrivals, well, the situation even worse -- more than two-thirds of the flights coming in this morning had been delayed. It's improved somewhat, but, still, the majority of flights coming in are delayed.

And we have somebody with us, Kaitlin Maguire. She just arrived from Atlanta.

Kaitlin, how long did you have to wait? KAITLIN MAGUIRE, AIRLINE PASSENGER: It's about an hour-and-a- half to two hours.

CHERNOFF: Waiting in Atlanta?

MAGUIRE: In Atlanta, in the terminal.

CHERNOFF: And did they tell you why the delay?

MAGUIRE: Not really. I just knew that it was weather up here, because it was sunny down there.

CHERNOFF: Now, your strategy was to get home early for Thanksgiving?

MAGUIRE: Yes. I missed two classes today, so I could get home early to be with my family.

CHERNOFF: Good strategy. Previously, had you ever traveled the day right before Thanksgiving?

MAGUIRE: No. I never had to do that.

CHERNOFF: OK. Well, Kaitlin, glad you're home.

MAGUIRE: Thank you.

(LAUGHTER)

CHERNOFF: OK.

Glad you arrived safely.

MAGUIRE: Thank you.

CHERNOFF: And, Kyra, it's something that people here at La Guardia, unfortunately, are used to, because, so far this year here at La Guardia Airport in New York, one-third of the flights have arrived late -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Well, any ways to avoid all that congestion in the crowds, Allan?

CHERNOFF: You know, it's not terribly crowded today, although airport officials do tell me that more people these days are flying days in advance of the day just before Thanksgiving. It used to be that the day right before Thanksgiving was the busiest travel day of all. And, of course, Sunday, you have the rush of people returning.

But it seems, now, it's more scattered. People extend their Thanksgiving holiday, starting a few days earlier -- but, at moment, not all that crowded here at La Guardia Airport.

PHILLIPS: Allan Chernoff, thanks.

Ceremony, symbolism and a touch of sinister today in Tikrit. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... central Iraq.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: It still amazes me how calm that soldier is. It's a mortar shell landing some 300 yards from where the U.S. troops and the VIPs were handing over a prized chunk of real estate to the Iraqi government. And we mean a chunk, 1,000 acres of 18 -- and 18 of Saddam Hussein's former presidential palaces, what the Americans had dubbed Forward Operating Base Danger.

Well, no one was hurt in that mortar strike. And the handover went on as scheduled.

A far more serious attack in Kirkuk, 18 Iraqis killed, many more hurt in a devious attack on a local police -- on local police, rather -- at nightfall. One officer was killed by a grenade. When other officers and civilians responded, a suicide car bomber drove right into that crowd.

The end game is square one in the ongoing fight on the home front over the war in Iraq to Democratic lawmaker John Murtha and his supporters, who want the U.S. to pull out posthaste. Supporters of the White House ask, what then?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R), TEXAS: Really, what I think we ought to try to do now is talk about, OK, what is your plan? Now, the president's plan, to secure Iraq, so that the fledging democracy can thrive, then they -- they can take over their own security needs and bring larger peace to the greater Middle East, I think, is -- is a pretty constructive plan.

But, right now, I hear the critics into this he said/she said argument that I think gets pretty boring pretty quickly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: But Murtha doesn't buy the idea utter catastrophe would follow a summary exit of U.S. forces. The suddenly high-profile ex-Marine and veteran congressman was in "THE SITUATION ROOM" with CNN's Wolf Blitzer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN MURTHA (D), PENNSYLVANIA: What I have said, Wolf -- and I believe this very strongly -- there will be less terrorism.

Just because the president, just because the White House says there's going to be more terrorism if we withdraw doesn't make it so. He said there's going to be weapons of mass destruction. He said oil was going to pay for it. They said there was an al Qaeda connection. That's not necessarily true. I predict the opposite. I think there will be less terrorism. We have become the target. We're the ones that have become the enemy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And another warning from the United Nations secretary- general about Darfur. Kofi Annan says that he fears the troubled region of Sudan is descending into complete lawlessness.

In his monthly report to the Security Council, he cites an increase in violence and death in Darfur over the past two months. U.N. figures show that, so far, more than one million people have been forced from their homes in western Sudan. About 130,000 of them have fled across the border into Chad.

And, in just the past year, as many as 50,000 people, mostly black villagers, have been killed -- all that despite a cease-fire and continuing peace talks between Sudanese leaders and the rebels.

Well, a few more facts on the people caught in the middle -- most are black African farmers. The militia, known as the janjaweed, come from Arab communities, camel-herders by trade, both groups dark- skinned and Muslim.

Three-and-a-half years in custody, now an indictment -- remember so-called enemy combatant Jose Padilla? Well, he's a U.S. citizen who was picked up in Chicago back in May 2002 and held without being charged with anything ever since. He has asked the Supreme Court to intervene, but today comes word from the Justice Department that Padilla's name is being added to an existing terror indictment out of Miami.

Those charges include supporting terrorism and planning jihad in other countries. Trial is scheduled for next September.

Not a kidnapping case -- prosecutors in Pennsylvania now believe that 14-year-old Kara Beth Borden willingly went with the young man accused of killing her parents. They say the suspect told them Kara Borden hoped they would get married. And she is still considered a crime victim, but is still being investigated.

Court documents indicate that her boyfriend, David Ludwig, claims he intended to shoot her parents after the father forbade them to see each other anymore.

Panic in China -- millions of people without water. Find out why the Chinese government has shut off the supply in one major city.

The news keeps coming. We are going to keep bringing it to you -- more LIVE FROM straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: News around the world now.

A basic necessity of life is a precious commodity right now in one part of China. Officials in the city of Harbin have decided to cut off the water for four days. They will be checking to see if it was contaminated by a chemical plant explosion earlier this month. That set off panicked buying of bottled water among three millions residents now. And prices have doubled, despite the city -- city government's vow to crack down on the price-gouging.

And, in the United States a female head of state exists only in a prime-time TV show. But, in Germany, it's reality. Angela Merkel was sworn in today as the country's first female chancellor. She's also the first former East German to hold the post. Voters ousted the government of her predecessor, Gerhard Schroeder, in September. But the tight election forced Merkel's Conservative Party to form a grand coalition with Schroeder's Social Democrats.

It's a bittersweet independence day in Lebanon. For the first time in 29 years, the country is marking the occasion without the presence of Syrian troops. There was a military parade in Beirut, but many people are also remembering former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. His assassination in February prompted the massive protests that led Syria to withdraw. Lebanon's prime minister today called Hariri a martyr.

Now a story that we might as well call how a cell can cast a spell. Teenagers everywhere are using technology to find new ways to meet and mingle. But, in places where such mingling is virtually impossible, cell phones with a special feature are allowing wireless wooing.

CNN's John Vause reports from Dubai.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a culture and a region where the old story of boy meets girl is not only frowned on, but downright discouraged, love, or at least adolescent yearnings, will often find a way.

ELHAM ALI, STUDENT IN DUBAI: The guys actually send their numbers.

VAUSE (on camera): Yes?

E. ALI: They -- they -- they -- they write their numbers and send it to the girls. And a lot of people, they have a relationship in this way.

VAUSE (voice-over): Elham Ali, a university student in Dubai, is talking about Bluetooth dating, where young men and women seek each other out by cell phone.

MAJID ALI, STUDENT IN DUBAI: We select the Bluetooth. Then we get a choice, more devices.

VAUSE: Bluetooth is a relatively new wireless technology which allows cell phones to talk to each other, sending anonymous messages to any phone within 50 feet. It doesn't take long to work out who is sending what to who.

M. ALI: They send a picture. And she reply picture, notes, and -- and dating.

VAUSE (on camera): And then dating?

M. ALI: yes.

VAUSE (voice-over): In coffee shops, cinemas and restaurants, young women are often overwhelmed with messages.

REEM AL ALIEH, STUDENT IN DUBAI: Well, here they start with flirting. So, they go, oh, you look so pretty today, or, wow, you know, the moon is here today or something, some stupid Arabic words and stuff.

(LAUGHTER)

VAUSE (on camera): Traditionally, in Islamic cultures, when a young man wants to make his first romantic approach to a young woman, it should be done through their parents with nothing less than a proposal of marriage.

NADIA BUHANNAD, PSYCHOLOGIST: Most of them date behind of their parents back. I mean, this culture, dating is not accepted. I mean, you cannot say open, frankly, that you date.

VAUSE (voice-over): Although, for some, like these students from conservative Saudi Arabia, it's all just un-Islamic.

TURKI AL SHEHAIL, STUDENT FROM SAUDI ARABIA: So, I respect girls, to the extent that I don't believe it's a good way to approach her, just by Bluetooth.

VAUSE: But, for a growing number of teenagers in Dubai and many others in the Middle East, it seems their fingers are not only doing the walking; they are doing the talking as well.

John Vause, CNN, Dubai.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, as the song says, there's no place like home for the holidays.

But where do you go when you can't go home? Victims of Hurricane Katrina are facing that challenge. A lot of them are. Ruth and Milton Creecy from New Orleans' Ninth Ward will join me live to talk about why this Thanksgiving is going to be quite a challenge.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The city of Atlanta is about to welcome 100,000 new residents. Most of them are cold fish, but that's the point.

CNN's Fredricka Whitfield takes us on a tour of the spectacular new Georgia Aquarium and introduces us to the man who says he just had to make it happen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Making a huge splash in their Atlanta debut, marine life from around the world, a dream four years in the making.

BERNIE MARCUS, HOME DEPOT CO-FOUNDER: I've got to have this.

WHITFIELD: The brain child and primary financial backer, Bernie Marcus.

MARCUS: I wanted to do something.

WHITFIELD: At 76, the co-founder of the Georgia-based home improvement chain Home Depot said it's not just something he wanted to do but had to do.

MARCUS: I owed something. I look at what I have today, and I would never have had it without these people that did it for me.

WHITFIELD: He made millions selling hammers and saws at his Home Depot stores.

MARCUS: Stock was going up.

WHITFIELD: And because Marcus doesn't do anything on a small scale, he figured this time, why not small and really big scales! With more than $200 million of his own money, he helped bring hammerheads and saw fish to the mother of all fish tanks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gracie, up.

WHITFIELD: Among the creatures warming up to their new state-of- the-art home, five beluga whales, two of them rescued from a noisy amusement park in Mexico City.

Also a pair of Taiwanese whale sharks, now 18 feet long, but they could grow to more than 50 feet.

None of this came easily. The whale sharks had to be transported from Taiwan in special life support tanks on board a UPS 747. And Marcus himself made waves by arguing that Atlanta's downtown business district and the expected tourist draw to his aquarium would be hurt by existing panhandling. He wanted the city to ban it. Three months before opening day, Marcus got his way, despite public outrage.

And, now, with the major hurdles behind him, this week is show time.

MARCUS: It's not like a regular aquarium. We took it three steps further. It's theater. The lighting, the music, the ambiance is so different than any aquarium we've been in.

WHITFIELD: The star attraction, a six million gallon tank the size of a football field, 30 feet deep. MARCUS: I was brought up this way. My mother brought me up to share with people.

WHITFIELD: Bernie Marcus, a billionaire businessman accustomed to big returns, is hoping this latest venture yields great reviews.

MARCUS: But they all say one word, Wow. And that's what I want to hear. And that will be the payback, as far as I'm concerned.

WHITFIELD: Fredricka Whitfield, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, if you're thinking that looks pretty amazing, guest what? You can see it tomorrow on LIVE FROM. We're going to be there live all afternoon, as Atlanta prepares to unveil its new aquarium.

So, we wanted to take you a moment to update you on the status of aquariums hit by Hurricane Katrina as well. Although the Audubon Aquarium didn't sustain much physical damage, it lost most of its animals when the life support system lost power. Sea otters, penguins and other creatures that did -- did survive are being cared for at other aquariums until the one reopens, possibly by next summer.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: And I'm laughing because there's some serious noise that is going on outside the control room.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: And I'm so sorry, because everyone is trying to figure out where it's coming from.

All right, for those of you...

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: It's a whale. I'm told there's a whale coming through the control room.

All right, if you're following the Gulfport eight -- on a serious note now -- the octet of dolphins washed out of their tanks in Gulfport, Mississippi, you will remember that they were later rounded up. And now all eight continue to recover from their adventure at a special Navy facility.

And we just talked to our Gary Tuchman, who hints of some big news in the next couple of weeks. We are going to keep you posted on all those aquariums.

All right, you might want to tuck some singles in your wallet the next time you fly. You could get charged for everything from pillows to peanuts.

Susan Lisovicz has more from the New York Stock Exchange.

Susan, just when we were starting to get a little bit back...

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: ... now they're penny-pinching again.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's -- I think it's always dangerous when you get nickel-and-dimed for things you used to get for free.

"The Wall Street Journal," in fact, Kyra, is calling the latest airline trend a fee frenzy. A seat, for instance, in an exit row, you know, the ones with more legroom, could set you back an extra $99 on most United flights, unless you're an elite level frequent flyer. And, as of this month, a pillow, just a little pillow, on most Air Canada flights costs you $2.

Some airports charge $2, plus tip, to use the services of a skycap to check a bag. And Northwest is charging a dollar for a bag of Trail Mix to go with your beverage.

And, by the way, it's BYOP on American and Northwest. Both airlines have stopped serving pretzels to coach passengers on many domestic flights. Perhaps it's just as well. Those bags were getting so small.

Let's turn to the markets now. Stocks picked up late in the session on the release of the minutes from the last Federal Reserve meeting, which showed that policy-makers talked about an end -- talked about it, at least -- the current rate-tightening cycle -- Dow industrials up 40 points, the Nasdaq adding more than half-a-percent.

And Google has a new tool to help out holiday shoppers. A new feature on its Froogle shopping site will pinpoint stores selling a specific product within a specific zip code. In addition to a map showing all the local stores carrying the item, Froogle also will list any price differences, so you can find the cheapest one. Google launched the comparison shopping site three years ago.

And that's the latest from Wall Street.

LIVE FROM continues right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, a reprieve for thousands of Hurricane Katrina evacuees. For those still staying in hotels, FEMA will continue to pick up the tab through December 15 in all states.

And the deadline has been extended to January 7 for the 10 states housing most of the evacuees. The extension is intended to give evacuees extra time to find more permanent housing.

Now, too often, after tragedies like Katrina, we see people trying to make a quick buck. And now investigators have to figure out whose claims are legit and who is scamming the system.

CNN's Joe Johns takes a look at the claims from one Mississippi community.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN CAPITOL HILL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jackson, Mississippi, isn't exactly shoreline. It's a three-hour drive to New Orleans, for example.

So, alarm bells started going off after Hurricane Katrina when a slew of people in Jackson put in for and got millions in relief money from FEMA and the Red Cross. If you look around, it just didn't seem like there was enough hurricane damage in Jackson to justify the payout, by one estimate, more than $60 million.

Now the federal prosecutor for these parts is sifting through about 1,000 complaints of alleged fraud from those who said people were scamming the system to get money they were not entitled to. The director of the county emergency department claims there's a huge discrepancy between the number of people claiming they're displaced and the number of destroyed homes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The figure now is closer to 6,100 or 6,200 people who claim that they have been displaced needed immediate food and sheltering during the storm. I still can't go that high. Twenty to 30 I will take into consideration as a possibility that I did not see every home in the city of Jackson. But I still would not go over 45 or 50 homes that were considered unlivable.

JOHNS: Make no mistake. There were some Katrina-related problem here, but the storm damage that occurred was much less extensive than on the coast, most of it the result of power blackouts. The Red Cross isn't so sure there was as much fraud as some suspect.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We know that Jackson was a hub for evacuees. So we know that we had a lot of evacuees that came in from south Mississippi. We know we had evacuees who relocated there from Louisiana. So it's very possible that a lot of the assistance we gave out in the Jackson area was to people who relocated there from other parts of the country because of the hurricane.

JOHNS: There hasn't been a firm accounting yet but there are a lot of anecdotes including nagging reports that some people here got relief checks and went on spending sprees, not for the necessities of life, but for things like electronics and jewelry as first reported by the "New York Times."

The U.S. attorney's office, which has been monitoring a 1-800 fraud complaint hotline, says there could be an announcement of some indictments as early as Tuesday. They hope vigorous investigation will serve as a deterrent. The officials we talked to said there was no mechanism in place to monitor an emergency assistance program of this magnitude.

(END VIDEOTAPE) PHILLIPS: Once again, that was our Joe Johns. Now, no one knows exactly how many thousands of people lost almost everything to Hurricane Katrina. And no one knows how many of them will go back and rebuild. Some may decide it's easier to start over someplace and someplace else, possibly.

Ruth and Milton Creecy had a home in New Orleans just before the storm. Now they are here in Atlanta living with family. And we just want to sort of update how you guys were doing because we have been following your progress, of course, with many other families. You actually went back and saw your home for the first time over the weekend, right, Ruth?

RUTH CREECY, KATRINA EVACUEE: Yes.

PHILLIPS: All right. Tell me about it.

R. CREECY: It was horrible. It was just a mess. Everything is all tumbled up inside. All the couches and beds and the dressers and everything is turned over. And just -- it's just a mess.

PHILLIPS: And now do you guys live in the Lower Ninth Ward?

R. CREECY: Yes.

PHILLIPS: OK, so that's the area that got hit the hardest.

R. CREECY: Right.

PHILLIPS: So what do you think, Milton? Should that area be rebuilt? There's been so much controversy about whether that area should be rebuilt because it's a low-lying area and it just got devastated.

MILTON CREECY, KATRINA EVACUEE: I would like for it to be rebuilt, but I don't know what is going to happen afterwards. Might be another storm come in. But we don't have any money to go anyplace else. So I'd like to try to clean it and move back in it. I don't have nothing else. I'm 81 years old. I can't get a job in here or nowhere else. Nobody hire nobody at 81.

PHILLIPS: So Milton wants to go back, Ruth. Do you want to go back to that home? Do you want to salvage what is there?

R. CREECY: Yes, I wish I could. There's nothing to salvage. It's just a building that's going to be there. And we have to clean everything out. See my beautiful kitchen they are showing. I had a beautiful kitchen.

PHILLIPS: Were you able to save anything? I noticed you guys were able to pull some artwork out of there, some pictures. What could you save?

R. CREECY: That's it.

PHILLIPS: That's it. R. CREECY: What you see right there, that's the only thing we got out. We got three pictures out of there.

M. CREECY: All my grandchildren is in there, pictures.

R. CREECY: You know, and I had about 20 albums.

M. CREECY: My retirement papers. Also everything is in there.

PHILLIPS: So, how do you go about -- I mean, I can't even imagine but how do you go about just dealing with everything from, you know, taxes to paperwork to -- I mean, let alone pictures right, of kids and grandkids. But what about all the things you need to keep track of your lives? I mean, what have you had to do, Milton, on that respect?

M. CREECY: Well, we have a few things left but that's about it.

PHILLIPS: and who are you staying with here in Atlanta?

M. CREECY: My brother had a house he wasn't using and his son was in it but the son is not here right now, so we staying in it.

PHILLIPS: Do you feel that you're getting everything you need from the insurance companies, from FEMA?

M. CREECY: No.

PHILLIPS: No. All right, let's talk about that for a minute. I'm going to have both of you talk about that. You just -- you gave me that look, Ruth, like oh, don't even want to talk about it. What's the problem?

R. CREECY: In the first place, we didn't have flood insurance. Because we -- this is our second flood. We were in Betsy, too.

PHILLIPS: Did you own this home or were you renting?

R. CREECY: No, we own. We paid for it, everything.

PHILLIPS: So, did insurance ever say you had to have flood insurance?

R. CREECY: They -- in our area we really should have had flood insurance but it got to the point where it got expensive for me. So I let it go because it had been 40 years and I said, you know, we will never get this water again.

PHILLIPS: Sure.

R. CREECY: That's what I thought anyway.

PHILLIPS: And so now dealing with insurance.

R. CREECY: Well, I've talked to my insurance agent. He's telling me that the only damage he could find was a little wind damage to my roof.

PHILLIPS: What? Look at that video of your home. How can you say there's only a little wind damage to your roof? You've got mold, and the whole inside of your home is a mess. I don't understand.

R. CREECY: It's a mess. It's a mess, and they're telling me that that was caused by the water. It had nothing to do with -- the patio blew clean off.

M. CREECY: the patio had the cover off. It blew the top off, the roof tiles are scattered all over, some of them on the ground. And he claimed that we just had a roof put on it, and we had -- the inside had a -- the unit in the attic, put a new one of those in.

We put a new hot water heaters in, bought a new furniture in the front room, the den area, and bought another van, paid for everything, and then the storm came and overnight we're broke. Over 40, 50 some years, everything is gone.

PHILLIPS: What about FEMA? Are you getting money from FEMA? We've been told ...

M. CREECY: We got the money that they gave us.

PHILLIPS: OK.

M. CREECY: But that's not enough to do anything with. We've had to use that right here.

PHILLIPS: Do you feel like you're getting enough instruction from the city leaders on what to do and how to go for more financial support?

M. CREECY: Nobody is telling us anything. All -- the insurance don't want to pay nothing. Now I heard that FEMA was going to give us -- what was it? $26,000 or $27,000 and we haven't received any of it, or talked to anybody. The insurance company talking all kind of crazy talk. They are not giving you nothing.

PHILLIPS: So what do you do next? What are you going to do now?

M. CREECY: I don't know.

R. CREECY: We don't know. That's the hard part. We aren't sure what we going to do.

PHILLIPS: So, have you been able to link up with any advocacy groups to give you more instruction on what to do?

R. CREECY: Well, one lady told me -- we got in with HUD. I put my name in, our name in, with HUD to try to get a house. And they had -- one real estate lady said she had a program where they would give us a house, lease to own, for 18 months. They would pay for it for 18 months and if after that 18 months if we decided to keep it, we could, you know, start making payments on it.

PHILLIPS: What is your insurance company? What insurance company do you deal with?

R. CREECY: State Farm.

PHILLIPS: So, I need to do some checking on State Farm and find out what is going on. I wish we had them on here with you so we could have this discussion. But you're not letting that go. You're keeping conversations going and try to figure something out.

R. CREECY: Right.

M. CREECY: Unless we can get ahold of Oprah Winfrey or some of these people who are giving away stuff.

PHILLIPS: Oprah Winfrey? Hey, we're going to start right here on CNN, all right?

M. CREECY: Yes, some of those people that are -- either called our ex-president or somebody would donate us a house or something.

(CROSSTALK)

M. CREECY: I can't start from scratch and start all over again.

PHILLIPS: Well, I'll tell you what. We need to stay in touch. We need to follow-up on what is happening with you financially. But, meantime, on a positive note, you guys are going to be celebrating your 50th wedding anniversary.

M. CREECY: That's right.

PHILLIPS: God bless you both.

M. CREECY: Christmas Day.

PHILLIPS: Christmas Day. You've got Thanksgiving this week. Your grandkids, 23 grandkids is that right?

M. CREECY: At least.

PHILLIPS: At least. There might be more on the way, who knows.

M. CREECY: They're going to come around and they look like -- they'll say, grandpa. I asked them what they want.

R. CREECY: No, we used to, anyway.

M. CREECY: We used to do that.

R. CREECY: Now there's nothing we can do.

M. CREECY: Can't do it now.

PHILLIPS: But you've got them. You've got them and they are healthy and your kids are healthy.

M. CREECY: They all are. PHILLIPS: Well, there's something to be thankful for.

M. CREECY: That's right.

PHILLIPS: All right, Mr. and Mrs. Creecy, we're going to keep in touch with you both. All right? Is that a deal? You'll keep us updated and tell us what is going on with State Farm, and we'll continue to follow-up.

M. CREECY: OK. This is the week to do it. I know you can.

PHILLIPS: You know. All right, Milton, Ruth, thank you.

R. CREECY: All right.

M. CREECY: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Boy, a lot of stories to keep following up on after Katrina, no doubt. Also, straight ahead, we're going to move on to other news in addition to that. And that's in the U.S., it strikes half of men and a third of women.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's the worst feeling I have ever had in my entire life. It felt like you were going down a well, falling face first down a well with your arms tide behind your back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: We're talking about cancer but new drugs are offering hope we're being told. We're going to tell you about them as soon as we come back. LIVE FROM continues right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, he knew the presidents like few reporters, few outsiders ever do.

For 30 years, Hugh Sidey filled the presidency column in "Time" magazine with anecdotes from the personal sides of those in power. He was a witness to presidential triumphs and tragedies. In Dallas, you'll remember John F. Kennedy when he was assassinated 42 years ago today. Well, yesterday Hugh Sidey died after suffering a heart attack in Paris. He was 78 years old.

Thirty-four years ago when President Nixon declared war on cancer, the disease was a virtual death sentence. Today, cutting-edge treatments, while not a cure, can temporarily stop a killer cancer in its tracks. There's a whole new generation living with cancer now.

Here's CNN's Carol Lin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROL LIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Susan King loves every second of her life because she was once told she was going to die from an incurable cancer, chronic myeloid leukemia.

(on camera): What is going through your head?

SUSAN KING, CANCER SURVIVOR: I was in complete panic, complete panic. I said, "This -- I can't. I can't. I have these two little kids."

LIN (voice-over): She fell into a deep depression and was admitted into a psychiatric ward.

KING: It's the worst feeling I've ever had in my entire life. It felt like you were going down a well, falling face first down a well with your arms tied behind your back.

LIN: But four years later, Susan is very much alive -- tan, athletic and active -- yet the killer cancer is still inside her body.

She is one of a whole new generation of people living with cancer, controlled in Susan's case by a breakthrough drug.

Gleevec was FDA approved shortly after Susan's fatal diagnosis. Dr. Brian Druker developed the drug and talks about a new frontier in cancer treatment.

(on camera): So project me now, I don't know, 10, 20, 30 years down the road. What is the world of cancer to you? What is it going to be like?

DR. BRIAN DRUKER, OREGON HEALTH SCIENCE UNIV.: Cures at a higher rate, more survivors, but more survivors that are living and thriving despite their cancer.

LIN (voice-over): No painful piercing of needles, no more spending hours in the chemo lab, now Susan takes just six pills a day.

But Gleevec only controls the leukemia. On average, it's 4 percent less effective every year, which means patients like Susan King are living on borrowed time.

KING: The fear -- you know, week to week, I mean, my blood work could change next week and it could show all these blast cells and I could go into the next phase of my disease in that amount of time.

LIN (on camera): The National Institutes of Health predict that in the United States, half of all men and a third of all women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetimes.

But optimists like Dr. Druker also predict that cancer will soon be treated like any other chronic illness, like diabetes or arthritis.

(voice-over): Ellen Stovall remains cautious about breakthrough drugs and the patients taking them.

ELLEN STOVALL, NATIONAL COALITION FOR CANCER SURVIVORSHIP: What we don't know about these drugs is how long they're going to be effective. They're really the canaries in the coal mine. LIN: She is a cancer survivor and founded the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship. She's concerned that cancer patients will believe there's a magic pill for everyone. And some day, Gleevec won't help Susan King anymore, so she tells us what she tells her children.

KING: If it changes, Mommy's going to fight a new fight. And my son, Kyle (ph), just kisses me and says, "Mom, you're going to be here forever, I know it."

LIN: Carol Lin, CNN, Hartford, Connecticut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: We're going to take a quick break.

More LIVE FROM right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Developing news on that decision about a man being charged with a possible plot to assassinate the president of the United States.

Tony Harris working that story in the newsroom -- Tony?

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: That's right, Kyra.

Just a little more information on the story you reported first here on LIVE FROM.

A short time ago, a federal jury in Virginia has found Abu Ali guilty of plotting to assassinate the president. The jury found Ali guilty of all nine charges of conspiring with and aiding al Qaeda, and again the big one here, Kyra, of conspiracy to kill President Bush.

Ali claimed he was tortured into confessing by Saudi Arabian officials in June of 2003. That was a claim that was rejected by the jury out of hand.

The indictment against Abu Ali at the time read that he did knowingly and unlawfully conspire to provide material support and resources, knowing and intending that they were to be used in preparation for and for carrying out the assassination of the president of the United States.

Ali was arrested by Saudi authorities in June of 2003 and returned to the United States in February of 2004. Ali is now facing, Kyra, life in prison and sentencing is set for February 17th -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right.

Tony Harris, we'll stay on the story. Thank you so much.

Meanwhile, straight ahead, at age 72 a movie legend makes a major comeback and film buffs are going bananas, literally. The news keeps coming. We're going to keep bringing it to you.

More LIVE FROM straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: A beastly offering for vintage movie fans. At long last King Kong claws his way on to DVD. Every film geek knows that Fay Ray was the gorilla of Kong's dreams. But, bet you didn't know that the creature said to be 40-feet tall was, in fact, a mere 18 inches of wire mesh rubber and rabbit fur.

The screen classic has been painstakingly restored to its 1933 glory, including all the scenes that chicken-hearted sensors cut out when King Kong was released in 1938. Get the real deal now.

If you're really in the mood to go ape over King Kong, tune in to CNN's sister network Turner Classic Movie, for "I'm King Kong." It's an original documentary on the making of this landmark creature feature. That's tonight at 9:00 Eastern on TCM.

Time to check in with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, he's standing by in Washington. What coming up at the top of the hour in THE SITUATION ROOM? Going to be watching King Kong tonight, Wolf?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Maybe, maybe not. Kyra, coming up in THE SITUATION ROOM, two Americans accused of being terrorists. One allegedly plotted to kill the president. The other charged with conspiracy. We have the full story.

Also, war of words, Condoleezza Rice in THE SITUATION ROOM. We have an interview. Also, a ban on gay priests. The Vatican issuing a tough new policy with some loopholes.

And planes, trains and automobiles. Bad weather for some and high gas prices for all. Americans hit the road for the holidays.

That, all that, a lot more coming up at the top of the hour.

PHILLIPS: Alright, Wolf, look forward to it.

Well, if all dogs go to heaven, St. Peter is in a heck of a shock when Sam arrives at the pearly gates. He was rescued six years ago by Susie Lockheed (ph). Susie says her then boyfriend was so repulsed by the scary looking pooch that he broke up with her. They call Sam a dog? The pure bred Chinese Crested went on to fame and fortune after winning an ugly animal contest in California repeatedly. Limo rides, TV appearances and his own Web site followed. Sam died Friday at the age of 14, which would be 72 in human years. Susie says there will never be another like him, some people would think that's a good thing.

Well still ahead on LIVE FROM. Ali Velshi with one more reason why iPods could soon take over the music industry. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: You ever wonder how Santa stays in shape. A friendly elf and his helpers broke away from the workshop this weekend for the third annual Santa winter games. Some fifty Santas from around the world showed their stuff in events like sledge race, reindeer racing and chimney climbing. What else? And in case your wondering, the Golden Santa Winter Games medal went to the Santa Claus from Estonia.

From Santa Claus to Ali Velshi. How do I turn the corner here?

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Keep going. I was about to talk to you about gifts. It just sort of has come around that this has been the high-tech gift week to talk about things.

PHILLIPS: ITunes.

VELSHI: Are you an iTunes user?

It is where you go if you've got an iPod or you can use it to buy other things. But it is where you buy music.

PHILLIPS: I'm slowly -- I sort of -- when Stevie Wonder came out with that song "Shelter in the Rain," he dedicated and wanted to raise all the money to the hurricane victims then I checked out downloading it to donate money. That was the first time I actually logged on.

VELSHI: You know what we're talking about.

PHILLIPS: Kind of, sort of.

VELSHI: This is a little iPod mini. Itunes has now become the tenth -- sorry, the seventh largest seller of music in America. Now, this is -- comparing all the online and bricks and mortar places. The biggest seller of music is Wal-Mart, Best Buy is next, Target, Amazon, FYE, Circuit City and then iTunes.

They figured out, this is National Paper Diaries, NPD, those are the people who track sales of all sorts of things, they say 12 iTunes is equivalent to one CD. It beats Tower, it beats Sam Goody and it beats Borders. Kyra, kicking or screaming we are going to drag you into the 21st century.

You know the iPod video has come out.

PHILLIPS: My mom actually updated me on all this stuff. You remember my mom.

VELSHI: I do remember your mom. If your mom felt it was a little limiting what it can do -- because TiVo. Do you use a TiVo?

PHILLIPS: My parents are really hip to that, too. I haven't done it. Should I forget about it, or go get it?

VELSHI: TiVo has announced -- it's testing out a service that's going to allow users to download video on to an iPod or a PSP. Am I getting ahead of you here? I've got a PSP, it's somebody else's.

PHILLIPS: It's a Play Station Portable I'm being told.

VELSHI: It's a game thingy. Gaming thing. But Sony designed this. Hard to see the black. Designed it so you can do other things on it. has a much bigger screen than the iPod. You'll be able to download and watch video. The critics say it's not going to be very fast. It may take you longer to download than to actually watch something. And while we're talking about video games.

PHILLIPS: Xbox.

We did the big blowout.

VELSHI: Xbox 360 sold out all over the place. Wal-mart, you can't get one, Best Buy, you can't get one, I just looked on eBay. There supposed to sell from $299 to $399 a piece. The lowest I could find was $599 going up to $3500 a piece.

PHILLIPS: I hate to say this it doesn't look any difference than any other video game.

VELSHI: Your 10 years older than anyone that would know that. I'm 30 years older. I can't offer you anything more than that. What I can tell you about and sound smart about is the market which is closing, a nice strong day. Kyra, have yourself a fantastic evening and I will talk to you tomorrow.

PHILLIPS: Love and kisses. See you tomorrow.

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