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Live From...
President Bush Lays Out Plan For Winning Strategy in Iraq; Record Hurricane Season Officially Ends; Mac Attack in Pennsylvania?
Aired November 30, 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: Well, to some, it's just a chunk of tile, but, in Tinseltown, it's one of the highest honors there is. And now someone is in a "Peck" of trouble for swiping a star from the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The purloined piece of pavement belongs to the late, great Gregory Peck, who died in 2003. But he will live forever as Atticus Finch in "To Kill a Mockingboard" -- "Mockingbird," rather -- and Captain Ahab in "Moby Dick" and scads of other cinemas classics. Work is already under way on a replacement star. It's reported to be the fourth time a star has been stolen from the Walk of Fame.
Well, in other entertainment news, the who's-who of Hollywood's highest paid actresses is out.
CNN's Brooke Anderson here to tell us who is commanding the biggest bucks.
Hey, Brooke.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kyra.
Yes, we're talking about bulging bank accounts. From Julia and Reese, to Angelina and Jennifer, Hollywood's most powerful actresses command powerful paydays. "The Hollywood Reporter" is out with its annual list of the highest paid actresses.
Topping that list for the second year in a row is this woman, Julia Roberts. Now, although 38-year-old Roberts has recently made motherhood her top priority, she can still pull in a fat paycheck at a hefty $20 million per film. Nicole Kidman is the second highest paid actress, bringing home the bacon at the tune of about 17 million bucks per movie.
Other Tinseltown sweethearts seeing a whole lot of green, Reese Witherspoon, star of the current film "Walk the Line," earn about $15 million per project. Drew Barrymore and Renee Zellweger round out the top five. Now, you have got Angelina Jolie, Cameron Diaz, Jodie Foster, Charlize Theron. And there you have Jennifer Aniston in her year post-"Friends." She's making the list at number 10 with $9 million per film.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Well, since we are going to be working together. (END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: This film, "Brokeback Mountain," it's gaining momentum heading into the awards season. Fresh off an Independent Spirit best feature film nomination, the movie had its world premiere in Hollywood last night, and we were there.
Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger top-line this powerful story of two Wyoming cowboys caught in a forbidden love. Gyllenhaal told us what really drew him to this character.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAKE GYLLENHAAL, ACTOR: Sort of, I fell in love with the story. I thought it was a beautiful love story. Whether or not it was about two guys or it was about a guy and a girl, to me, the idea behind it was what was most powerful. And, like I said, like, maybe it was naive that I kind of jumped into it, but that was the thing that was more powerful to me than the -- than the idea of them being in a gay relationship.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: "Brokeback Mountain" opens in limited release December 9.
OK, it's been a long time coming, but, finally, rocker Rick Springfield is back, but not as you might expect. Springfield will reprise his role as Dr. Noah Drake on ABC's daytime soap opera "General Hospital." He was one of the show's biggest stars in the early 1980s, before he left to focus on his music career. Springfield returns on Friday.
And one of the world's best rock bands will take the stage at next year's Super Bowl, coming up in January. Rock legends "The Rolling Stones" will perform at Super Bowl 40 at Detroit's Ford Field.
The Rolling Stones are currently touring to promote their latest album, "A Bigger Bang," but will take a break to do this halftime performance. And, Kyra, Super Bowl XL happens on February. Talk about some musical and football satisfaction, right?
PHILLIPS: Yes. There you go.
All right, Brooke, thanks so much.
ANDERSON: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Well, from CNN's world headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, I'm Kyra Phillips.
Here is what we are working on right now, as we begin our third hour of LIVE FROM, a winning strategy for America in Iraq. The president lays out his plan. We are going to get reaction from men who have been on the front line. Some of our favorite vets join us live. Storm season -- the worst hurricane season on record ends. Just why was it so bad?
And life-saving technology -- a mother's life saved by her son half-a-world away, thanks to some quick thinking and a Web camera.
This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.
So, which comes first in the fight for Iraq, the end of the insurgency or the exit of U.S. troops? For President Bush, it's no contest. In a speech that you may have seen live here on CNN, the president told midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy that terrorists have to go, one way or the other, before American forces can.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is an enemy without conscience, and they cannot be appeased. If we're not fighting and destroying this enemy in Iraq, they would not be idle. They would be plotting and killing Americans across the world and within our own borders. By fighting these terrorists in Iraq, Americans in uniform are defeating a direct threat to the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, the American people, according to polls, are a lot more critical of the war and President Bush than they used to be. And Democrats are leading that charge.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: And the truth is that the president draws a false line in trying to make his case to America.
The troops don't belong to his point of view. They belong to America and to Americans. They are Americans. And the best way to protect the troops, the best way to stand up for the troops, is to provide the best policy for success in Iraq.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Earlier on LIVE FROM, I talked to senior political analyst Bill Schneider about the administration's strategy for victory.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: In a way, it's reminiscent of what George Aiken, the former senator from Vermont, said back during the Vietnam era. He said the solution to the Vietnam problem was, declare victory and go home. Well, in some ways, that's what President Bush is beginning to do.
PHILLIPS: Democrats have their own dilemma too, though, right?
SCHNEIDER: Yes, Democrats do.
They're under just as much -- as President Bush is under pressure to win, Democratic -- the Democratic base is under -- puts the Democrats under pressure to withdraw.
And you just heard Senator Kerry, who said the very presence of American forces in Iraq is making the problem worse, because it's creating a target for the insurgency, which is a justification for withdrawal.
While the Democrats want to put Bush -- they're demanding a plan from Bush. And what they're saying to the president is, we don't trust you. We want to see real evidence that we're making progress.
They are -- many Democrats are stopping short of demanding a precise timetable, but they're saying, we want evidence. We want benchmarks.
The risk there for Democrats is, if they demand tougher standards and benchmarks, that means the troops may have to stay longer.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: As always, progress in Iraq depends on where one looks and how one defines progress.
CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson has seen it all, and he weighs in from Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, President Bush talked about 120 Iraqi army and police battalions being ready -- about 40 of those battalions now ready to lead the fight, about 80 of those battalions ready to fight alongside U.S. troops.
It's not really clear how to define those categories of leading the fight and ready to fight. What we've seen on the ground, though, is, there is a wide disparity between the readiness of some Iraqi battalions and the readiness of others. President Bush talked about it as being uneven.
And, certainly, the commanders, U.S. commanders here, who -- who help oversee the -- the training of Iraqi troops here, they say that the unevenness is because of the lack of good leadership in the Iraqi army. They say some leaders are good, some not so good.
Another comparison we could look at here, measuring what President Bush was saying in his speech to what we see on the ground, he talked about the September offensive in Tal Afar two months ago, compared it to the Fallujah offensive in November last year.
The Fallujah offensive, he said, by far, U.S. troops outnumbering Iraqis. In the Tal Afar offensive, he said 11 Iraqi battalions, five U.S. battalions, Iraqis leading the way. But talking to journalists who were there for that offensive, they say, look, it was a U.S. plan. It required absolutely the use of heavy U.S. armor, U.S. airpower, U.S. helicopters, and, from the perspectives of some of the journalists there, they saw it as the U.S. troops leading the way on the ground.
And, also, if we look at two other recent offensives, Steel Curtain up on the Syrian border about three or four weeks ago, and a new offensive just started in the west of Iraq, it is still U.S. troops outnumbering Iraqi troops at least four to one. And I think this gives a clear idea and -- that the Iraqi troops, while getting ready, they still very much need the U.S. troops -- U.S. troops still very much in the lead, despite the fact, in Tal Afar, the Iraqi troops did outnumber the U.S. troops.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: So, winning the war in Iraq, is it possible? A resounding yes today from President Bush.
Joining us to talk with their take on the president's speech, Paul "Buddy" Bucha, a Vietnam vet, Medal of Honor recipient, and Gulf War veteran Steve Robertson.
PAUL "BUDDY" BUCHA, MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENT: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Love bringing you guys back. Good to see you both.
BUCHA: Thank you.
STEVE ROBERTSON, GULF WAR VETERAN: It's good to be back.
PHILLIPS: So, the last time we talked, guys, we -- we talked a lot about the Bush administration not having a clear mission in Iraq.
So, here we are. They release this "Victory in Iraq," 30-plus pages from the National Security Council, national strategy. And in it is a section that says, "Strategy For Victory in Iraq."
And it reads: "Our strategy is clear. We will help the Iraqi people build a new Iraq with a constitutional representative government," and then it goes on to say, "and security forces sufficient to maintain domestic order and to keep Iraq from being a safe haven for terrorists. Our strategy involves three integrated tracks, political, security, and economic." And then it lays out specifics under political, under security, under economic.
Buddy, was this enough for you?
BUCHA: No, it isn't.
PHILLIPS: Why?
BUCHA: It's very simple. These are all wishes, dreams, ambitions, or strategies, as they choose to call them, but there's no clear objective.
And, again, I would repeat, the military teaches, in its War College, that you have to have objectives, you have to have ways, and you have to have means. In business, we teach people that you need to have finite objectives that give you a course of action and a tool of measurement.
There's no difference in -- in the two sectors. We have to a finite objective, with a tool of measurement that's clear when it's over, so the kids will know, I have accomplished my mission and I can get home.
PHILLIPS: So, Buddy, it's not clear, when it says in this report, our strategy for victory is clear, and, underneath, it says the political track, isolate, engage, build, the security track, clear, hold, build, the economic track, restore, reform, build, are you saying this is just a bunch of mumbo jumbo, still not specific enough?
BUCHA: Well, if you say clear, hold, yield, turn over, twist, whatever words you want to use...
(LAUGHTER)
BUCHA: ... the real question is, when is it done?
The military operates under a principle that you can say, mission accomplished. That means the commander on the ground can say, the objective has been seized. The objective has been successfully taken. Then they consolidate the battlefield and they go on to the next mission.
This particular force needs a very clear, crystal-clear, finite objective. It doesn't have it, even in the training. When the president described the training, he said, when there are enough troops. Well, what is enough? It's time for us determine that.
The thing I liked about everything that was said today, finally, we have an admission of mistakes being made. That's the only way you can correct a course. But the thing that is still missing, the thing that everybody needs, and American people need, as well as the soldiers and the sailors, the Marines, they need to have a finite, concise statement of the objective that they are to attain.
PHILLIPS: All right, Buddy, we are going to get back to that point that you said about the word mistake.
But, Steve, I want to give you a chance to respond. Was the president's speech, and is this "Victory in Iraq" strategy that everybody's getting to read now define what the mission is and -- and make things more clear for the American people?
S. ROBERTSON: Well I thought the president did a good job.
And -- and, in fact, I think that he gave us as much unclassified information that he felt comfortable releasing. I thought his audience was exactly appropriate, the young men and women that he may someday have to put into combat. And the fact that it was an institution where we teach leadership, I -- I think that was important.
The -- the American Legion has been advocating talking about the positives. And the president went through a checklist of the achievements we have made. You know, I -- I respect Paul, but the -- the one part that I disagree with him is, on a battlefield, it's always a changing environment.
And there's going to have to be adjustments made in any strategy that you develop. I think the overall strategy is clear. How you achieve that is going to be based on the day-to-day developments. Training military members that have never been in leadership positions to become military leaders is not something that happens overnight.
I think we're on the right course, and I think we need to stay that course.
PHILLIPS: Steve, do you think that was a smart move, when the president actually named commanders on the ground, like Casey and others, to talk specifically about Fallujah, Tal Afar, and -- and naming -- and having -- and quoting these commanders with regard to what Iraqi forces have done with regard to -- to weeding out terrorists in those specific areas.
S. ROBERTSON: I would absolutely trust the input that I'm getting from my on-site battlefield commanders, much more so than I get from media clippings or any other media sources that may not be giving me an accurate, up-to-date, feet-on-the-ground, this-is-what's- happening input.
I thought it was very, very important that the president identify the atmosphere that's over there, the -- the people that are on our side and the people that are not on our side, to include identifying the terrorists as the biggest problem we have got.
PHILLIPS: All right, let's get back to what Buddy mentioned about the president admitting that he made a mistake.
But I want to -- I want to emphasize that word after we listen to what the president did say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: When our coalition first arrived, we began the progress of creating an Iraqi army to defend the country from external threats, and an Iraqi civil defense corps to help provide the security within Iraq's borders.
The civil defense forces did not have sufficient firepower or training. They proved to be no match for an enemy armed with machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars. So, the approach was adjusted.
(END VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: OK. He didn't say, we made a mistake, or, I made a mistake. He said, our approach was adjusted.
Buddy?
BUCHA: Well, I...
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: Is that a mistake?
(LAUGHTER)
BUCHA: I would say that they underestimated the enemy. They underestimated the situation on the battlefield. People weren't throwing rose petals and grapes at the arriving troops. In fact, they were throwing Molotov cocktails and hand grenades and firing AK-47s.
They adjusted, which is absolutely right. Steven (ph) is correct. You adjust on the battlefield. But, again, the thing we have to get back to, he's talking about what they did. He's talking about what they are doing. He has not yet stated -- and I would ask Steven (ph) to do it, if he can clearly state it -- what is it that the American forces have to achieve that they can report back and say, done; we're coming home? The problem...
PHILLIPS: Steven (ph), tell him.
BUCHA: Go ahead.
PHILLIPS: Go ahead, Steven (ph). Tell him.
S. ROBERTSON: Well, obviously, that Iraq has to be able to defend itself. That's -- that's one point that's clear, that the government is established, that there -- it is a government of the people, by the people, for the people, not necessarily the American style of government, but a democracy that is geared for the Iraqi people, all of the Iraqi people, not just one section of the American -- of Iraq, and -- and, finally, getting their economic stability back on -- on track.
Until there's peace in that area, few companies are going to invest capital in -- in any kind of economic prosperity that that country's going to accept, other than maybe the oil field business.
PHILLIPS: You know, you bring up an interesting point about, there -- as a matter of fact, it was in this article. I'm trying to actually find the quote, as I'm looking for it, Buddy. But it was why Iraq has no army. James Fallows, you know, at "The Atlantic Monthly" wrote this article.
BUCHA: Correct.
PHILLIPS: And he had actually quotes in here where commanders had said, look, we -- we had this amount of Iraqi security, Iraqi soldiers ready to go, and then, a few months later, another commander came forward and said, no, that -- that really wasn't right; it's really less than that.
I will keep looking, actually, for the quote.
So, I guess a lot of people are wondering, OK, how do we -- how do we know what numbers are real and -- and -- and it -- how do we know that there are more trained and ready soldiers, when we're just not necessarily seeing it or seeing a piece of paper with the names and the titles and, OK, check off; they have been trained; here we go; we're seeing that it's this many battalions and this many men and women ready to fight?
BUCHA: Well, I think the hard part here is, when we are -- when we are looking at these questions, Steve gave some objectives that he said we're there to attain, when they have a -- a stable government.
Someone could suggest that, back in the 1960s, the United States government wasn't that stable, when we had troops going to Detroit for the race riots. We could be at this for 200 years. They said, when the economy is up. We go through an up and a down economy in our own strongest economy on the face of the Earth. So, having a strong economy, a stable government, a functioning democracy, these are not military objectives.
Those are overall goals and ambitions for a country. The military needs to know what it is that they have to say. It's finite, not something that is a -- my college professor once wrote on a newspaper -- or a term paper of mine, "a glittering generality." We are done with that. We need to have a specific objective.
Now, if you want to say, what is the number of troops, I would suggest that 600,000 troops, certificated as Western-trained, along with the training facility, the infrastructure that goes with it, that's sufficient for that country to maintain its own security and its own stability. Why? That's what we had before we toppled him.
It seems to me, that's the number of troops they need. Now, if someone says, no, it's 400,000 or 800,000, that's fine. But at least it's a quantified objective. And we can attain that.
PHILLIPS: All right. Now, I found the quote.
Last summer, Marine General Peter Pace said that three Iraqi units had reached the fully capable level. In September, a U.S. military commander in Iraq, Army General George Casey, lowered that estimate to one. So, it's this back-and-forth of numbers.
Finally, I want to ask you guys a question. The Army today came out with an article. It's looking for thousands of former service members, hoping they will sign up for another go.
And I'm curious. Steve, would you go to Iraq now and fight?
S. ROBERTSON: If I could pass the P.T. test, I probably would. I'm getting kind of long in the tooth these days.
(LAUGHTER) PHILLIPS: Buddy, what about you?
BUCHA: Well, no one has asked me.
But there are Vietnam veterans serving in Iraq. And I think the thing we better be very careful -- and I know Steve and I agree on this one, because American Legion has been at the forefront -- as you start sending people back with four to six months between tours, and 14 to 18 months active combat, we run the risk of sending home hundreds of thousands of troops afflicted with PTSD. And that would be a very, very tragic thing to behold.
PHILLIPS: Buddy Bucha, Steve Robertson, guys, always a pleasure. Thanks so much.
S. ROBERTSON: Thank you.
BUCHA: Pleasure, Kyra. Thanks.
PHILLIPS: You bet.
Straight ahead, it's a huge debate wrapped up in a tiny little package. Should illegal immigrants be given legal status in the U.S. if their babies are born on this side of the boarder? We are going to take a closer look at that controversy when LIVE FROM continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: This year's devastating Atlantic hurricane season officially ends today and will go into the record books. We saw 26 named tropical storms. Thirteen of them became hurricanes. Four became major hurricanes.
Sadly, more than 1,500 people died. And Hurricane Katrina is expected to become the most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history. So, what lessons have been learned? And what needs to still be done?
CNN's John Zarrella takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is some of the debris left behind from Hurricane Wilma more than a month ago Right here on the corner of First Street, the water was said to be four to six feet deep. Many of the people here lost just about everything. You can see refrigerators, washers and dryers.
With hurricane season now coming to an end, emergency managers, from Florida to Texas, are already working on how to be better prepared for year.
(voice-over): Less than 24 hours after Wilma struck, thousands lined up for water and ice. Gas stations with generators couldn't pump it fast enough. More than 100,000 people, like Regina Douglas, waited in lines for emergency food stamps. REGINA DOUGLAS, BROWARD COUNTY RESIDENT: I have never had to come to the government for assistance, but it's here, and it's nice. It's nice to have it.
ZARRELLA: Floridians were thought to be better prepared.
TONY CARPER, BROWARD COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGER: I think we need to do a better job on giving them the information and -- and the how- to in their preparations.
ZARRELLA: In the Florida Keys, mandatory tourist evacuations were called for on three separate occasions. It was the worst impact on Key West in 50 years. Widespread flooding from Wilma alone ruined 10,000 cars in the Keys.
The catastrophic effects of Dennis, Katrina, Rita and Wilma have government and emergency officials from Florida to Texas already working on preparedness plans for next year.
In Texas, there are two big issues: how to smoothly and safely evacuate millions of people, and finding housing for the tens of thousands who relocated here from Louisiana.
BILL WHITE, MAYOR OF HOUSTON, TEXAS: We're having 500 or so folks a day move from hotels to the apartments. It's going to be tight.
ZARRELLA: In South Florida, it's how to stockpile emergency supplies that have a limited shelf life.
CARPER: The thing we will be looking for is -- is production means, you know, if -- can we produce our own ice and package it in a -- a time frame that would make sense in getting it out?
ZARRELLA: In New Orleans, the issues are more critical: housing, jobs, and:
RAY NAGIN (D), MAYOR OF NEW ORLEANS: I need levees. I need my levees.
ZARRELLA: And the sooner the better. The outlook for the future isn't good.
MAX MAYFIELD, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: You bet I'm -- I'm worried about next year and several years after that, just because everyone agrees that we are in this active multi-decadal period that's going to last another 10 and 20 more years.
ZARRELLA: The big lesson from this year, experts say, is that too many people weren't prepared before the storms hit, and they expected too much too soon from the government after the storms passed.
(on camera): Adding insult to injury, as hurricane season ends, a cold front moved through South Florida yesterday, and many people whose roofs were compromised by Hurricane Wilma ended up losing those roofs yesterday and are today looking for someplace to live.
John Zarrella, CNN, Key West, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: A daring heist at U.S. Naval Academy which the school hopes is just a big prank. Missing is the commander in chief's trophy. It disappeared from the football team's locker room Monday night. That trophy is awarded every year to the winner of the football competition among the Army, Navy and Air Force.
This coming Saturday, it's the Army-Navy game, so most Midshipmen think Army cadets carried off with the 170-pound trophy. In the past, Army has borrowed the Navy's mascot, the goat, before the big game.
We will stay on top of it, let you know what happens.
Well, a high school football coach will spend at least a year on the sidelines for doing a little too much to help his team win. Paul Bryan, an assistant coach at San Pedro High School in California, was caught on videotape moving the down marker during an October game. He was caught right here on this videotape. San Pedro -- San Pedro got a first down on that play and won the game. Well, Bryan has been a coach at that school for 23 years, though the principal called what he did a pretty blatant act.
Poor sportsmanship isn't just linked to adults or pro athletes. A study of youth sports coming out tomorrow shows that kids will cheat, taunt other players, even try to hurt an opponent. Researchers at three universities looked at kids between the ages of 9 and 15, as well as parents and coaches. And nearly one in 10 kids admitted cheating. Thirteen percent had tried to hurt an opponent. Nearly a third had argued with an official. A few of the young athletes say their coaches encouraged them to cheat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHARON MASON, RESIDENT OF MOON TOWNSHIP, PENNSYLVANIA: What kind of grandmother would do anything like that?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Maybe this grandma? You have already heard about the tempest in a teapot, but what about the scandal on a stove top?
We will dish the details on an attempted mac attack coming up on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Now to Moon Township, Pennsylvania, where a community is left reeling over allegations of attempted assault by macaroni.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MASON: What kind of grandmother would do anything like that?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, Nancy O'Donnell, age 56, is accused of trying to poison her adult daughter and the daughter's live-in boyfriend by allegedly spiking their mac and cheese with bleach.
The couple and their two small children all live with O'Donnell. The daughter says she left the kitchen while the food was cooking. And, when she came back, she smelled the bleach. She sampled the dish, spit it out, confronted her mom, and then called police.
According to court records, Nancy O'Donnell said she wanted to sicken her daughter because -- quote -- "You don't deserve those children."
She's now charged with four counts of aggravated assault. And she's being jailed, where she awaits a mental health eval -- evaluation.
EBay was the clear winner for the official start of the online holiday shopping season.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: One of the hottest of the hot-button issues is back before the Supreme Court. As demonstrators massed outside, the high court heard arguments today over a New Hampshire abortion law. The case is drawing heavy attention because it's the first time the court has tackled the abortion issue in five years and it's the first abortion case for the new chief justice, John Roberts.
The court is reviewing a law that requires minors seeking an abortion to notify a parent in advance. It makes an exception when the woman's life is in jeopardy. Opponents say also there also needs to be an exception when the woman's health is in danger.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
JENNIFER DALVEN, ATTY. FOR PLANNED PARENTHOOD: The unfortunate reality is that some pregnant teens experience medical emergencies for which the appropriate care is an immediate abortion.
As the nation's leading medical authorities have explained, delaying appropriate care for even a very short period can be catastrophic and puts the teen at risk of liver damage, kidney damage, stroke and infertility.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA, SUPREME COURT: Let's assume New Hampshire sets up a special office, open 24 hours a day and this is the abortion judge and he can be reached anytime, anywhere. It takes 30 seconds to place a phone call.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, your honor.
SCALIA: This is really an emergency situation?
(END AUDIO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: The court also heard arguments today in another abortion case. It's being asked to decide whether abortion opponents can be sued for threats of violence made in connection with demonstrations outside clinics where abortions are performed.
Now, according to one recent study, one out of every ten babies born in this country is born to illegal immigrant parents. Those children automatically get U.S. citizenship, because they're born on American soil. And there's a move taking place right now to change that.
Here's CNN's Thelma Gutierrez.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A new life comes into the world on the U.S. side of the border. By birthright, these children are citizens of the United States. But not all of their parents are citizens. In fact, some are illegal immigrants.
Critics of birthright citizenship call these infants anchor babies, because they are entitled to social benefits that can lead to legal resident status for their families, the critics say, an incentive for illegal immigrants to give birth in the United States.
That fear has been fueled by a report released this year by the Center For Immigration Studies, a Washington think tank that wants stricter limits on immigration. It claims that 383,000, or 42 percent of births to immigrants, are to illegal immigrant mothers.
Steve Camarota was the author of the study.
STEVE CAMAROTA, DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH, CENTER FOR IMMIGRATION STUDIES: One of the things we did was, we looked at birth certificate records. This is a source of information that's very valuable on immigrants, because it's one place where all immigrants, at least when they have children, come into contact with state authority.
GUTIERREZ: The study alleges that birth to illegals now account for nearly one out of every 10 births in the United States, a number disputed by a Mexican-American advocacy group.
JOHN TRASVINA, MEX.-AMERICAN LEGAL DEFENSE FUND: It's really an exaggeration, both the number and the extent of this notion of anchor babies.
GUTIERREZ: John Trasvina says the study is flawed, because birth certificates don't reflect the citizenship of the parents, just their place of birth. TRASVINA: I don't how they could come up with that number, because hospitals don't take into account the citizenship status of pregnant mothers who come in to have children at hospitals. So, how they get their number is really unclear to me and unclear to a lot of other demographers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... foreign and domestic.
GUTIERREZ: Whatever the facts, the results have touched off a national debate about who has the right to be an American and what so- called anchor babies cost the rest of American society.
But both sides agree, the debate should not be focused on the issue of birthright citizenship, but on reforming immigration altogether, the same complex issue that has challenged this country for generations.
Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Israeli troops entered the West Bank today, reportedly to arrest a wanted Hamas operative. They clashed with crowds of Palestinians, young people mostly, who threw rocks and firebombs. Israeli forces tell CNN at least 11 Palestinians were hurt and that their operations in West Bank are ongoing.
The news gets worse each day since a massive below ground explosion in China. The state news service now reporting at least 161 coal miners dead and not all of them are accounted for. No word on what caused the explosion Sunday night. It's estimated that between 5,000 and 10,000 people dine in Chinese mine accidents every year, the highest in the world by far.
Don't let the bed bugs bite. Something you heard as child, right? But those tiny pests are becoming a big problem for both kids and adults. Keep it here on LIVE FROM. We'll explain.
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PHILLIPS: Bird flu spreading westward in China, that's according to China's agricultural ministry, which report that 30 birds found dead last week were indeed infected with the H5N1 strain of the flu. Plans are in the works to destroy more than 100,000 birds in the country's northwest, to try and stop the virus's spread. Three cases of human infection have so far been reported in China.
From townhouses to the most humble hubbles, New York City is being invaded by bedbugs. CNN's Mary Snow shows us the city's growing infestation and what's causing it.
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MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): At Pest Away Exterminating in New York, enemy number one these days, bed bugs. JEFFREY EISENBERG, PEST AWAY EXTERMINATING: Eight years ago we might have gotten 30 bed bugs call a year. Today we get probably 8,000 to 10,000.
SNOW: Many of those calls he says come from posh hotels and prestigious New York addresses dispelling the myth that bed bugs only reside in filth.
Bed bugs feed on people's blood and bite people when they're in bed, hence the name. Since they only come out at night, they're hard to detect often to peoples disbelief.
EISENBERG: We'll show them by cutting open the mattress and seeing thousands of them living deep in the mattress.
SNOW: Jeffrey Eisenberg has shed his old nickname the rat catcher.
EISENBERG: Now it's, you know, the bed bug guy. And it is parts psychiatry and part your pest control.
SNOW: Part psychiatry Eisenberg says because it is not a problem people want to share with anyone but the exterminator. He says he is often asked not to wear his uniform and hide his identity so neighbors won't find out.
A victim who showed us her bed bug bites, but didn't want to be identified says it cost her $4,000 to eliminate the pests.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think there is a lot of concern that you're going to spread it to other people.
SNOW: In looking at the numbers the problem is multiplied. The city's housing agency says three years ago it counted just two complaints of bed bugs. In the last four months alone the number was 450. Doctors cite a number of reasons including bans on potent pesticides such as DDT.
PHILIP TIERNO, MICROBIOLOGIST: We've eliminated most of the pesticides that are useful against bed bugs. We have increased our travel in multiple ways.
SNOW: Experts say recycled mattresses are another way the bugs are spreading. And while doctors say the bugs don't pose any serious health risks for anyone who is familiar with the childhood nursery rhyme, having bed bugs can make sleeping a real nightmare. Mary Snow, CNN, New York.
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PHILLIPS: Making things worse, experts say that the products used to kill those bed bugs can be toxic and dangerous, and it can take more than one attempt to get rid of them once and for all.
Well, alone and unconscious. A mother's live is saved thanks to an international rescue effort, put in motion because of a web cam. The amazing story straight ahead on LIVE FROM.
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PHILLIPS: Well, imagine you're home alone when a medical emergency leaves you helpless. That happened two weeks ago to a California woman. Her Web cam rescue coordinated from Norway and the Philippines, well it's probably going to amaze you.
CNN's Ted Rowlands explains.
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KARIN JORDAL, DIABETIC: When I woke up, my living room was filled with all these paramedics. I wondered what was going on.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Karin Jordal says she'd be dead had it not been for this, a Web camera on top of her home computer.
JORDAL: My son put it up for me.
ROWLANDS: Both her sons, Tore (ph) and Ole live thousands of miles away overseas. They use Web cameras to stay close to their mother and to save money on long distance bills. Luckily, Karin's camera was left on the afternoon she went into insulin shock.
JORDAL: When you're into an insulin shock, you can't even take the phone and call anybody. You can't.
ROWLANDS: She was out cold all alone in her remote California home, in need of immediate medical care. More than 7,000 miles away in the Philippines, her son Tore noticed his mother lying in a strange position on her couch.
TORE JORDAL, SON OF DIABETIC (on phone): It was terrifying. I knew she was sick and I knew we had to get an ambulance because I've seen her sick like that before and I'm diabetic, too.
ROWLANDS: Unable to call 9-11 from the Philippines, Tore called his brother Ole in Norway, whose wife eventually got through to the San Bernardino County sheriff's department.
DISPATCH: Has she been ill?
TAMMY JORDAL: Has she been ill?
OLE JORDAL: I don't know.
T. JORDAL: She's diabetic. Her other son lives in the Philippines and they have a cam on, a live cam, and she's on the floor.
DISPATCH: OK, what is her name?
T. JORDAL: Karin.
ROWLANDS: The call was a first for the operator.
FIRE DISPATCH: Hello.
SHERIFF'S DISPATCH: Hi. We have kind of a weird thing here. The lady that called was calling from Norway. They have a live cam to their mother-in-law's house, at this house here. She's a diabetic and she's on the floor.
ROWLANDS: Captain Doug Nelson and his crew were sent on the call. CPT. DOUG NELSON, SAN BERNARDINO FIRE DEPARTMENT: The most unusual medical aid call I've been on.
ROWLANDS: Tore, who was still watching from the Philippines, was sending computer messages to the rescue crew. Captain Nelson heard the messages coming in and then saw the camera.
NELSON: At that point, I sat down, or kneeled down at the computer, and continued to talk with the family in the Philippines, trying to get as much information from them as I could about their mom.
ROWLANDS: The text of the instant messages from the Philippines is still on Karin's computer, the desperate attempts from a son trying to contact his mother, to a heartfelt thank you to paramedics.
Karin spent three days in the hospital. Her blood sugar level was so low, doctors say if help hadn't arrived when it did, she would have most likely suffered serious brain damage. Now home and healthy, Karin is back on the computer, talking to her sons, saving money with the Web camera that she says saved her life. Ted Rowlands, CNN, Pinion Hills, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Well, the family says that Karin had already been unconscious two hours when her son saw her and she happened -- or he happened, rather -- to check in on her just in the nick of time.
Well, there seems to be an extra benefit to being creative. Those people are more successful, and that's just not financially. Getting creative seems to be connected to getting busy.
Psychologists at two British universities found that poets and artists, men and women, have between four and ten sexual partners. The less creative had an average of three. They also found out that as creative output went up, so did the average number of sexual partners.
Time to check in with the ever so creative Wolf Blitzer. He's standing by in Washington to tell us what's coming up at the top of the hour in THE SITUATION ROOM. Hi, Wolf.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Kyra, thanks very much.
President Bush's vision for victory. What's his plan, and is it enough to get the job done? We're checking the facts.
Plus, inside the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice John Roberts, for the first time on tape.
Also, the world's first partial face transplant. No, it's not the movies. It's real live surgery. And get this. In our 7:00 p.m. Eastern hour, Chrismahanukwanzakah. Find out why one retail giant is wrapping all the holidays together.
All that, coming up here in THE SITUATION ROOM -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Can you say that again three times really fast?
BLITZER: No, I can't. It's hard enough to say it even once.
PHILLIPS: I'm impressed. Thanks, Wolf.
Well, it's that time of year. Time to drive around the neighborhood and look at holiday decorations. Coming up, we're going to take you to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for a glimpse of some of the best Christmas decor in the nation. Your tour guide: none other than the first lady herself. Stay with us.
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PHILLIPS: Well, in Washington, the speaker of the House lobs a lump of coal in the direction of political correctness. Dennis Hastert issues a formal request that the sparkling spruce in front of the Capitol be officially renamed as the Capitol Christmas tree. Hastert's spokesperson say the switch from Christmas to holiday tree was made unceremoniously without any documentation in the mid-1990s, and that the speaker believes a Christmas tree is a Christmas tree and it's just as simple as that. Congressional sources say the architect of the Capitol will honor Hastert's request.
Well, the halls are decked and the stockings are hung. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the White House and Laura Bush is no scrooge when it comes to holiday decorations. The first lady took us on a tour.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: Hello, everyone. Welcome to the White House during the holiday season. The theme this year is all things bright and beautiful. We wanted to use real and fresh flowers and garlands, and fruits, and that's what we've done. These are obviously real tangerines. The arrangements are boxed. The garlands are boxed with garlands. The wreaths in the windows are boxed with wreaths. They're all fresh. You can see how magnificent the gingerbread house is this year, this gingerbread house. And it's so perfect for this year's decorations. It's so elegant.
Well, the Christmas tree is always the centerpiece, the big, huge Christmas tree that's in the Blue Room traditionally. We have to remove the chandelier from the Blue Room to put the tree up, because it's so large.
And I think every year I think it's the prettiest year, but this year I really do think it's the prettiest year. And I think it shows how elegant the White House is.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Ali Velshi. Very elegant individual. But does he have his decorations up? Ali?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I'm not so organized that way.
PHILLIPS: Really? Why not?
VELSHI: I'm not sure I've cleaned up from the party from last Christmas.
PHILLIPS: You're definitely a festive guy.
VELSHI: I look at people's home and I say boy, I would love to do that, but it hasn't quite happened for me yet.
PHILLIPS: No tree, a little holy, no mistletoe? You of all people, no mistletoe?
VELSHI: A little hovel, I think, is more like it. Yes, it's a little tight. My place is a little snug. These Manhattan apartments are a little snug. Although, I should be thankful. You know, I've been looking at property values and how much people make and stuff like that across the country.
PHILLIPS: Right, following the numbers.
VELSHI: Yes. I mean, these numbers are interesting. The median household income, this is -- these are census numbers from 2003, but they've just come out now. The median household income in the United States, about $43,318. Now you're looking at the top -- those are medium incomes. Half above and half below.
Connecticut is the highest, at $56,000. That's your list of the top five. Now, there are other counties in other states that are -- you know, that have higher incomes.
But look at low end of this thing. The lowest is Mississippi at $32,397. But the fourth lowest is Louisiana. In 2003, it had the fourth lowest income. You can imagine after all of the people put out of the work there as a result of hurricanes, that that number has been hit, you know, even more.
So it's kind of sobering numbers when you look at that, you know? A lot of people...
PHILLIPS: And in some of these -- I mean, in some of these states -- like, I've lived in Louisiana, Mississippi, you can live pretty well. But then if you look at, what, $50,000 in some of the other states like Massachusetts, I mean, those are expensive places to live.
VELSHI: That's right. That's right. And that's exactly the point, that it is hard to make that work in some places. They're still quite a disparity in the country.
PHILLIPS: Closing bell, I guess I have to say goodbye.
VELSHI: But we will talk again tomorrow, Kyra, thank you.
PHILLIPS: OK.
VELSHI: Good to see you.
PHILLIPS: Good to see you.
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