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Judiciary Committee Approves Alito Nomination; Attorney General Defends Warrantless Wiretaps; White House Received Warning of Katrina; Saddam Trial Delayed Again

Aired January 24, 2006 - 13:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, live in B Control. A big step for Samuel Alito. The Senate Judiciary Committee just approved Alito's Supreme Court nomination, as expected, on a party line vote. That, too, was expected.
Our Ed Henry is on Capitol Hill with all today's action and the drama still to come.

Hey, Ed.

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Good afternoon, Kyra. In fact no real suspense here. We were expecting this. There's an old saying that applies here, a political saying that everything that needs to be said has been said. It's just that not everyone has said it yet.

And that's why we heard so many impassioned speeches today. We'll hear more starting tomorrow on the Senate floor. A lot of talk on both sides, mostly about the hot button issue of abortion. And we really saw some fireworks back and forth when we heard from Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein and Republican Lindsey Graham. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D), CALIFORNIA: I, for one, really believe that there comes a time when you just have to stand up, particularly when you know the majority of people think as you do. And I truly believe that.

I really believe the majority of people in America believe that a woman should have certain rights of privacy, modified by the state, but certain rights of privacy. And if you know this person is not going to respect those rights, but holds to a different theory, then you have to stand up.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: I really do worry that we're going to take the Supreme Court nominating process and boil it down to abortion. That won't be good for the country, but that's definitely the direction we're headed.

And let me tell you another thing that's not good for the country. With a little chance of stopping Judge Alito, confirmation to the Supreme Court, Senate Democratic leaders urged their members Tuesday to vote against him in an effort to lay the groundwork for making a campaign issue of the decisions on the court. I'll just tell you right now, we'll welcome that debate on our side. We'll clean your clock.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENRY: You heard it there from Lindsey Graham, "We'll clean your clock." The politics back and forth. The nomination now goes to the Senate floor for debate starting tomorrow.

It's pretty clear the Republican leadership has the 51 votes they need to confirm Judge Alito. They may not reach the 60 votes to break off a filibuster, but it really won't matter. Democrats privately acknowledging they really will not be able to muster and sustain a filibuster anyway. They really haven't been able to show any ability to stop Judge Alito. He's expected to be confirmed early this week or early next week, just in time, in fact, for President Bush's State of the Union address Tuesday night. So we could see him in the audience as Justice Alito -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Ed, I'd like to talk more about cleaning someone's clock, but maybe -- maybe we should do that another time. How about any potential filibuster for Democrats?

HENRY: We really don't see it coming. I mean, right now, what's interesting, when you contrast it to what happened with Chief Justice Roberts, he got 78 votes last year. That's because he had 22 Senate Democrats on board.

So far, only one Democrat, Ben Nelson of Nebraska, on board for Judge Alito. We're expecting maybe two or three more Democrats getting on board.

Again, they'll probably fall short, the Republican leadership will, of reaching 60 votes to stop a filibuster. But what we're hearing from Democrats privately, they think a filibuster, even though they might have the votes to sustain one, it might backfire politically. So we don't really expect Democrats to take that step, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, Ed Henry, live on the Hill. Thanks, Ed.

HENRY: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Gonzales at bat today for warrantless wiretaps. The Bush administration's defense of his domestic spying program continues with an appearance by the nation's top law enforcement officer in Georgetown Law School.

CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena joins us now from Washington. Kelli, did the attorney general say anything new in defense of the NSA?

KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No. And this is a very consistent argument that the administration has been making.

Its first point was that there's precedent that dates back to revolutionary times for surveilling without warrants during wartime. He says that the president's position as commander in chief gives him the constitutional authority to fight the war on terror, as he sees fit.

And he also makes reference, as we've heard before, to that congressional resolution that was passed just after the September 11 attacks, giving the president authorization to use military force against terrorists. He says that basically fills in the legal gaps, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Critics say the resolution doesn't mention surveillance.

ARENA: Well, that's right. And we have -- that is the big controversy. Many members of Congress saying that that wasn't what they had in mind when they voted for that resolution. Gonzales tried to answer that criticism today. Let's hear a little bit of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALBERTO GONZALES, ATTORNEY GENERAL: Some have suggested that the force resolution did not authorize intelligence collection inside the United States. That contention cannot be squared with the reality of the 9/11 attacks, which gave rise to the resolution, and with the language of the authorization itself, which calls on the president to protect Americans, both at home and abroad and to take action to prevent further terrorist attacks against the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ARENA: The attorney general also added that there was a Supreme Court case regarding Yasser Hamdi, who was a U.S. citizen, who was detained after September 11.

He says that the courts' interpretation of that resolution was very broad. It didn't say anything about detaining American citizens, but that the Supreme Court ruled that it was applicable in that case. And so he says in the very same way it's applicable here. It doesn't have to necessarily spell out everything that the president is doing, but it does give him this broad authority, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Kelli Arena, thanks so much.

ARENA: You're welcome.

PHILLIPS: Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

Could they have been saved, the hundreds of people who died when Hurricane Katrina overwhelmed the levees in New Orleans? Well, a lengthy e-mail has come to light, showing the White House received a warning just before storm hit that the levees might go. Our homeland security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve, is working the angles in Washington.

Tell us about this memo, Jeanne.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, President Bush has said that he did not believe that anyone anticipated a levee failure in New Orleans, but an analysis sent to the White House situation room hours before Katrina made landfall does exactly that.

The document, prepared by the Department of Homeland Security, predicted a Category 4 storm would result in levee breaches and severe flooding that could leave parts of New Orleans submerged for weeks or months. It added, "Overall, the impacts described herein are conservative. Due to the unpredictable nature of this event, we are hesitant to predict higher end damage levels."

One witness before a Senate committee today said Katrina could have been even worse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JESSE ST. AMANT, PLAQUEMINES PARISH, LOUISIANA: As sad and tragic as it is, this was not a direct hit. This was a glancing blow. If that mile -- excuse me that eye wall of the hurricane had been 12 miles further west, I would not be here giving this testimony and a lot of other people wouldn't be on the face of the earth.

(END VIDEO LIP)

MESERVE: Democratic Senator Joseph Lieberman says the White House has given Senate investigators only a small portion of the documents requested, opposed efforts to interview White House personnel and hinder the Senate's ability to get information from other agencies. That, he said, is unacceptable.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan said he would not do a play by play analysis until White House review of the Katrina response had been completed -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: I think a lot of people, whether it be New Orleans, any part of the Gulf Coast and in Florida wondering what if another hurricane hit? Are we prepared? Will we ever see what happened in New Orleans happen again?

MESERVE: Well, you know, this hearing was held to look at Hurricane Pam, which was a fictional hurricane, around which a preparedness exercise was done in 2004. The witnesses today said many of the lessons that could have been drawn from Pam weren't implemented because of a lack of money, because of the lack of attention.

At the conclusion of the hearing, one of the senators asked, "Well, what next?" Hurricane season is approaching and the consensus of the witnesses there today was that still, state federal and local officials are not ready for hurricane season, and it is only 127 days away.

PHILLIPS: Jeanne Meserve, thanks.

Four people are dead now after a fiery plane crash in California. The small private jet was landing at an airport 30 miles north of San Diego this morning when it skidded off the runway, hit a storage shed and burst into flames. The FAA says all of the occupants were killed.

The air traffic control tower was closed at the time, though the airport itself was open. The FAA says the plane was just trying to land in a tailwind.

A short but unforgettable journey aboard a Continental Airlines jet. The plane was getting ready to take off from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, when a passenger yelled that he wanted to get off. He banged on the windows and the cockpit door. When people tried to restrain him he allegedly bit another passenger.

Police say when the pilot depressurized the cabin, the man opened the door, jumped from the moving plane and ran toward the terminal. Deputies had to zap him with a stun gun to arrest him. He faces a variety of charges, including criminal mischief.

Trial delayed, a new twist in the trial of Saddam Hussein. We're live from Baghdad.

Plus, an update on Jill Carroll, the American hostage being held in Iraq.

The news keeps coming. We'll keep bringing it to you. More LIVE FROM next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Too few witnesses, one more setback in the trial of Saddam Hussein. Proceedings failed to resume on schedule today after a month-long recess and a shakeup on the bench.

CNN's Aneesh Raman joins me now from Baghdad with the latest postponement and where we go from here -- Aneesh.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, good afternoon.

Four hours after the court was set to convene this morning, a spokesman for the Iraqi high tribunal came down to the media gallery, where we were all sequestered, and issued a short statement that said the court would not meet today, would not meet until Sunday.

Why? Because there weren't any witnesses to testify. They could not come to court. Some, the spokesman said, were out of the country because of the Hajj pilgrimage.

Now, there are any number of issues with that statement. First, the Hajj pilgrimage ended nearly two weeks ago. Second, why did the court not know these witnesses couldn't come before today? And third, why did it take four hours for this issue to be resolved this morning?

No answers from the court on any of those questions, but Saddam's defense team answered them all by saying essentially that statement was a lie. They were privy to more of what happened in the courthouse today. They say that there was an argument among the five-judge panel, which now includes two new judges, about how this trial should proceed.

So clearly, more legal chaos in this first trial of Saddam Hussein -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Aneesh, two questions for you quickly. Looking at what has happened to the makeup of this court, from attorneys being assassinated, to the chief judge stepping down, critics saying he wasn't tough enough, Saddam Hussein was taking too much control in the courtroom. Other judges in the tribunal being shifted. What's going on and how do we know that the judge now that has been appointed chief judge is the one that can finally move this court forward without any more problems or distractions?

RAMAN: Well, we hope to have an early answer today by seeing how the new chief judge went about conducting the -- the issues of the court. He's in the mid-60s. He's from -- he's a Kurd from the town of Halabja, where in 1988 Saddam had some 5,000 people killed with seranin DX (ph) gas.

But now again, we have to wait until Sunday. We have to see him in practice and see whether he brings more control to this court than, as you mentioned, his predecessor, Rizgar Mohammed Amin, who was criticized heavily for allowing Saddam Hussein to speak too much at will and for the court to essentially veer off track often -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Aneesh Raman, thank you so much. We continue to check in with you, of course, especially on Sunday.

Well, a family, a nation, much of the world is still awaiting word on the fate of an American journalist kidnapped in Iraq. Jill Carroll was ambushed and taken hostage in Baghdad 17 days ago. Her captors were last heard from a week ago today, when they issued a 72- hour ultimatum for the U.S. to free Iraqi women prisoners or else.

The militant Palestinian group, Hamas, is now calling for Carroll's release.

Well, journalists live in constant danger in Iraq, and often staying safe can stand in the way of getting to the story. Kevin Flower knows this first hand. He has spent two years as CNN's bureau chief in Baghdad. The term is coming to an end. No doubt, pretty amazing position that you took, and one that came with a lot of risk. When you first agreed to do it, were you hesitant?

KEVIN FLOWER, FORMER CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: In the beginning, no, I wasn't hesitant. It was an exciting story. U.S. troops had just taken over Iraq. A period of extreme promise. When I first started, we had no idea how things were going to change or progress in Iraq. So when I went there, it was a totally different place than what it's become now.

PHILLIPS: It's interesting. It's like the war in Iraq. A lot of people, I think, didn't expect for things to be where they are now with regard to the insurgency. We certainly didn't know as journalists. Well, that changed how you operate, how we operated, how we were able to go out and cover stories. Looking at the situation with Jill Carroll, even before that, when the story came out about Daniel Pearl, a lot of changes were made about how we were to go out and cover stories in a safe manner, right?

FLOWER: Well, when we started covering Iraq after the war, we started in a fashion -- we would travel around the country freely, driving. We were concerned about security. That was always an issue.

But there came -- there came a certain point in the beginning of 2004 where things really started to change. Journalists started to be targeted, kidnapped. The insurgency started to ramp up. And so we necessarily had to change the way we covered the stories there. It became much more of a process, much more of sort of a strategy: OK, how are we going to cover this story today? How are we going to get what we need to do and do it safely?

PHILLIPS: What were the questions you asked yourself? I know that all of you would sit in the bureau. Somebody would toss out a story, and there were a number of questions that went through your head, and a lot of people debated the answers that were given. Tell me about that process. What would you ask?

FLOWER: Well, the No. 1 thing we would ask, is this story worth it? Is the -- you know, if we're going to be going out and taking a risk, we're going into a risky environment, is this a story that needs to be told?

So one example of a story that we worked on was that there was a constant spate of bombings against army recruitment centers, Iraqi army recruitment centers, and it was happening all of the time. And we as journalists were really interested in why Iraqis kept showing up to volunteer for the army, despite these bombings. So we decided, you know, one day, that we should really visit one of these recruitment centers.

It took us a full day of planning and decision making and back and forth to sort of determine how could we do this safely? So we had to work with our security advisers. We made dry runs over there with our security people, going to check it out, doing sort of a reconnaissance trip...

PHILLIPS: Wow.

FLOWER: ... to see where you can go, where you couldn't go, how we could get out safely if something were to happen. So there were lots of involved, protracted discussions about certain -- certain elements, certain stories that we want to shoot like that.

PHILLIPS: So is there a debate that's going on about how low profile or high profile you should be? Obviously, a television crew, we've got sound people, camera people, the journalist, the producer, so many more than a print journalist. Do some people say, "Look, I think it's safer to go with less of an entourage" or vice versa? FLOWER: There are different -- there are different schools of thought about that. A lot of print journalists and print journalists like Jill Carroll would not always operate with as much security. They would go lower profile. Cars that would blend in more. Maybe not in a large convoy. And so some people felt -- feel safer doing that.

But the bottom line sometimes, as in her case, something happened. Did she -- if she had had more security, would it -- would it have helped? It's impossible to know. And it's impossible to know whether -- if you have lots of security with you when you go out in Iraq, whether that attracts more attention or not.

So every time you go out, it's a crap shoot. It's a real gamble. You don't know what's going to happen.

PHILLIPS: And is it totally different for American journalists versus, say, Al Jazeera or Al Arabiya. When you go out into the field, do they have big security entourages?

FLOWER: Well, Al Jazeera is not operating sort of officially in Iraq right now.

It's -- it's an issue of profile. American journalists, western journalists, certainly stand out more than those of Arab descent. But every news organization, be it Arab, be it western, they are concerned about security and make precautions, do things to ensure their security.

PHILLIPS: Final question, the good stories. Was there ever a time where you were sitting in the bureau and you thought, "Wow, I would love to go cover that positive story but you know what? It's just not safe for my crew"?

FLOWER: Tons of stories like this. Tons of stories like that. Even -- even just going to Kurdistan -- and Kurdistan is, you know, a relatively stable place compared to...

PHILLIPS: We're seeing the tourism commercials now about coming there and visiting and vacationing.

FLOWER: Exactly. Exactly, they're building hotel, et cetera. That's a very difficult place for us to go. We can fly there. But that takes even -- we even have to operate with security on the ground there. And to drive there from Baghdad, it's perilous for us.

So lots of economic revitalization stories, you know, positive political stories sometimes we can't -- that we can't cover the way that we'd like to.

PHILLIPS: But we keep moving forward. Kevin Flower, thank you so much.

Coming up on LIVE FROM, he may be public enemy No. 1, but turns out Osama bin -- bin Laden, rather, has clout with American readers. We're going to have more on that, straight ahead on LIVE FROM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

PHILLIPS: An author gets an unexpected boost after an on-air endorsement. But stand aside, Oprah.

Check out Amazon.com, and you'll see that William Blum's "Rogue State" has rocketed up the best-seller charts like a shoulder-fired missile. We're talking 200,000 range two weeks ago to as high as No. 15. All thanks to mention from a well-known literati, Osama bin Laden.

Bin Laden, who recently dropped in on the Al Jazeera network via audiotape, worked in the plug between knocking President Bush and promising more terror attacks on U.S. soil. Blum's book blames U.S. foreign policy for inspiring terrorism against America and tells "The Washington Post" he's not repulsed by bin Laden's thumb's up.

"Rogue State" isn't a new book. It was published back in 2000. But you can't blame bin Laden for the tardy review. It's kind of hard for the book mogul to make it to his local neighborhood.

And if you're looking to buy a house in the Golden State, watch out. They call it that for a reason, rather. Susan Lisovicz has the details now, live from the New York Stock Exchange.

Hey, Susan.

(STOCK REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Is Pakistan mad at the U.S. or not? On a visit to Washington, Pakistan's prime minister is playing down tensions to which he himself had contributed over a U.S. air strike that killed 13 civilians on Pakistani soil.

The U.S. says it was targeting top al Qaeda members, but no bodies have been found. The issue surely came up at a meeting this morning with President Bush.

CNN's Elaine Quijano has the latest on that from the White House.

How was the exchange?

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Kyra.

Well, you know, it was really a sense of warm words and smiles. No hint of any tension between the two countries.

And of course, Pakistan is a key ally of the United States in the war on terror. And as we had seen that since January 13th airstrike, that there have been thousands of Pakistanis taking to the streets in protest, because they said civilians had been killed in that airstrike as well.

Now officially the White House is not commenting on this at all. But U.S. officials had said they believe they were targeting at least four al Qaeda members on that January 13th hit in Pakistan.

Now, today, again, in the brief public comments, the discussion with reporters that they had really wasn't much of a discussion. The two leaders took no questions, declining to answer a question at the very end of their brief comments about the airstrikes.

Afterwards, the Pakistani prime minister, all he would say, Kyra, is the two countries discussed having some closer cooperation.

PHILLIPS: So, Elaine, do you think the president will be going to Pakistan? And also do you think they will talk more openly about sharing responsibility along the border and in military action? The foreign minister has come forward saying, we need to be able to handle our own intel and own mission, whereas you see a situation like the U.S. military and this bombing, you wonder if they'll work together or not.

QUIJANO: Well, that's exactly the point, it's very delicate situation for both countries. On the one hand, you have Pakistani's own internal workings. It is a very difficult area for them to control. And so the U.S., going in with that airstrike on January 13th in an effort to root out these al Qaeda terrorists. At the same time, though, we saw what happened with the backlash of that. Both leaders, again, emphasizing today that they are working closely together. Each country considers each other vital in this terrorist fight. And President Bush will likely send that message that Pakistan is a value ally for the United States, but also emphasizing what good the U.S. is doing in that region an well.

The president set to visit there in March. He's going to also visit India, and likely emphasize on that trip to the region that the United States is contributing millions of dollars to Pakistan earthquake relief efforts and, as well, emphasizing the United States military is doing much to help the Pakistani people as well -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Elaine Quijano, live from the White House. Thanks, Elaine.

Capitol Hill sends a message to the coal mining industry: Make mining safer, and that's an order. After sharing hearings on the deadly Sago and Aracoma accidents, Republican Senator Arlen Specter said he wants laws requiring state-of-the-art safety equipment inside the nation's mines. He also wants stiffer penalties for safety violations and wants to stop letting operators reduce their fines during appeals.

He cited one case involving an Alabama mine where 13 people died in 2001. The owners got fines reduced from $435,000 to just $3,000. But after 14 deaths in three weeks, West Virginia isn't waiting for the federal government to act. State lawmakers took just eight hour to pass a mother lode of mine safety measures. Among them, stockpiles of emergency oxygen, personal tracking devices to help pinpoint trapped miners and a 24-hour emergency hotline for mine operators to report accidents. West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin demanded that bill and plans to sign it as soon as he gets back from Washington.

In a CNN exclusive, a survivor of last week's deadly accident in Melville relates that that nightmare -- or talks about that nightmare, rather, to our Chris Huntington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Throughout my years...

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This West Virginia miner is still trying to come to grips with the tragedy in the Aracoma Mine, the fire that he escaped, but that killed his friends, Don Bragg and Elvis Hatfield.

He has asked us not to reveal his identity out of respect for them and their families. Shortly after 5:30 this last Thursday afternoon, his group of 12 miners learned that a conveyor belt had caught fire. They immediately began their escape. But it was more than two miles to the nearest mine exit.

UNIDENTIFIED MINER: We started just smelling -- smelling the fire a little bit. And then we started running into some light smoke. And, at that time, nobody had their apparatuses on. We was all just kind of covering our faces and covering our mouths with our jacket.

HUNTINGTON: Were you scared?

UNIDENTIFIED MINER: Definitely. I faced -- I faced death right now. I really did. I thought -- I didn't think I was coming home to see my family.

HUNTINGTON: But then the smoke turned black and choking, and they had to put on their emergency breathing gear.

UNIDENTIFIED MINER: We was trying to put the apparatus on. And the smoke was so bad that I was -- myself -- and I can vouch that others around me was gagging, gasping for air, suffocating, and throwing up. I was throwing up. And I know a couple -- couple of my buddies was throwing up as well.

HUNTINGTON: This miner dropped his goggles. And he said others did, too. The smoke was so thick, they couldn't even see their miner lights. Moving single file, with each man holding on to the man in front, they felt their way blindly along a coal shaft for nearly the length of a football field, searching for an escape door they believed would lead to fresh air.

UNIDENTIFIED MINER: As we worked our way, you know, to the door, the guy in the back, which was the boss, you know, he assumed that they was 11 miners in front of him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, couples desperate to have a child of their own turning to the black market for fertility drugs, a story you'll see only on CNN. The news keeps coming; we keep bringing it to you.

More LIVE FROM next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Desperate for children, unable to conceive, embracing a risky choice. More and more couples are turning to the black market for cheap, relatively cheap, fertility drugs. Our Randi Kaye take us inside this dangerous and illegal trend.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): We'll call him Scott. He lives in one of 36 states where health insurers are not mandated by law to cover some part of infertility treatments. Without the mandate, neither his or wife's insurance will cover treatments.

So just a few weeks ago, he found himself in a parking lot of a KMart, exchanging an envelope of cash in an insulated cooler for a supply of drugs at a discounted price from a woman we will call Jennifer who had extra medications after IVF was no longer a viable option.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I felt like a drug dealer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We laughed nervously. This is the KMart connection, you know. We're passing drugs back and forth through a window.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't make any financial gain off it. That wasn't my intention. I had medication left over so I just thought the best thing to do would be to maybe sell it to somebody else who could use it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If the health insurance industry paid for the medications and the procedure there would be absolutely no reason to have to do a deal through a car window.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: You can see more of Randi's report on "ANDERSON COOPER 360" at 10:00 p.m. eastern, 7:00 pacific, right here on CNN.

We're talking about a wall of flames and towers of smoke. Firefighters across Southern California are battling two foes, small fires mushrooming into bigger ones, and the fierce Santa Anna winds.

People in the southern part of The Running Springs are under voluntary evacuation orders. Gusting winds have been hampering firefighting efforts for three days. They've also knocked down power lines, leaving thousands of people without electricity.

(WEATHER REPORT) PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, the 'X' stands for exit. As a former porn star and exotic dancer tries to help other women get out of the business. That story when LIVE FROM... returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: She's been a stripper, a porn star, and now she's a woman on a mission. Heather Veitch wants to guide you through the seedy world where she used to make a living before a big loss changed her life. CNN's Kareen Wynter tell us her story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's after dark on one of the grittiest street corners in southern California. Heather Veitch goes to work.

HEATHER VEITCH, JC'S GIRLS: Doing something that's risky, that's dangerous, that you don't know what's going to happen to you.

WYNTER: Although she knows this world very well, it's impossible for Heather to feel at home here. The former stripper and adult film star says the business almost killed her.

Her poison -- the magnetic being draw of the glitzy Las Vegas strip. Easy money and celebrity clients. But wild night life enticed a 21-year-old from Los Angeles into a world of sex, alcohol and sometimes violence.

Heather says she feared for her life, addicted to alcohol and subjected to abuse by her customers. But it was the death of a close friend that drove her out of the business.

VEITCH: About three years ago, a dear friend of mine passed away that I used to dance with and I found out that she died of alcoholism.

WYNTER: Heather eventually gave up the bottle and quit the sex industry but didn't abandon it. Her new journey took her right back to the strip joints but with a new focus, a spiritual one. She turned to Christianity for redemption.

VEITCH: God, I pray you be in charge of this night...

WYNTER: Heather formed a missionary group, Jesus Christ's Girls.

VEITCH: Like, it really started hitting me that nobody cares about them, nobody. I started really thinking, like, is anybody reaching out to these girls.

WYNTER: Several former strippers joined her crusade, a unique but risky outreach program that involves late-night trips into some very rough neighborhoods. We went out on a mission with JC's Girls but they wouldn't let our cameras follow them into strip clubs because they want their meetings to be confidential and safe.

VEITCH: We don't want to endanger ourselves and also we don't want to create too much attention to what we're doing.

WYNTER: Inside, Heather and her crew split up.

(on camera): They even go as far as paying for private lap dances. And that's where the group's ministry begins, by preaching to these dancers.

TANYA HUERTER, JC'S GIRLS: It is simply planting a seed, getting the message out there because a lot of the girls don't hear that they can know about God. And so just by planting the seed that they can know about God if they want to doesn't matter who you are or what your life is about.

WYNTER (voice-over): JC's Girls have taken their message right into the lion's den attending international porn conventions where they hand out bibles wrapped in signature t-shirts.

VEITCH: You can come and start going to church and having a relationship with God.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No way.

VEITCH: Yeah. That's what we do.

WYNTER: It is an unlikely place to promote religion but Heather believes this is where she'll find people that need it.

VEITCH: We try to make it so that if you ever want to go to church ...

WYNTER: Not everyone here agrees.

CHRISSY, ADULT ENTERTAINER: They come to a porn convention and them to think they have to save us is kind of - kind of gets you out of the mood. It is like why are you even here?

WYNTER: Carol Leigh, a former prostitute, who now heads her own nonreligious outreach program in San Francisco doesn't approve.

CAROL LEIGH, SEX WORKER ADVOCATE: To couch it in a specific religious framework, I think that's problematic. And to make -- to point finger at these women and tell them there is something wrong with them, I don't think that's necessarily the best things for their lives.

WYNTER: Some people associated with the sex industry think Heather's ministry is harmless.

JOHN WESTON, ENTERTAINMENT ATTORNEY: The notion they're going weed them out or somehow lead them out of bondage, to me it is just silly.

VEITCH: Thursday, January 19th at 12:30.

WYNTER: Heather Veitch, who now styles hair for a living, has no illusions that she will bring down a multibillion dollar sex industry. But she thinks she can make a difference. Part of it is a successful Christian Web site she runs out of her bedroom. There are desperate emails from girls looking for help.

VEITCH: I have been dancing for a year now but I'm about to be 21 and I don't want to be a drunk.

WYNTER: Heather now has kids and a husband but says her spiritual family is still growing.

VEITCH: I have hope for my life. I have a lot of hope for my own life because I know that my life consists of good. Of watching people change their lives, of seeing people have hope that didn't have hope before.

WYNTER: One of those people is stripper Roxann Elias who is now in a place she never imagined would embrace her, a church.

ROXANN ELIAS, EXOTIC DANCER: Made me happy. I don't feel worthless. I feel like even though I'm a dancer, God loves me and it is OK. I'm OK with my life. I can do something else.

WYNTER: Heather Veitch says her new calling will keep her on the streets. Trying to lead others away from the life she has escaped. Kareen Wynter, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Heather says she sometimes gets flack about the, shall we say, glamorous look of her JC's Girls' Web site, but she wants people to see that being Christian doesn't mean just staying home with the Bible.

In medical news, don't worry about finding Tamiflu if you've come down with regular flu this year. The anti-viral medication's maker says it's lifting restrictions on Tamiflu's shipments. Roche has been limiting shipments in areas with heavy seasonal flu, fearing hording by people who fear bird flu pandemic.

It changed its mind when the CDC declared other antiflu drugs, less than effective against this year's virus. Tamiflu won't cure the common flu but can help reduce the length and severity of the symptoms. LIVE FROM has all the news you want this afternoon. Stay with us, we'll have more after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Wow, Otis is bumping it up a notch back there in audio. All right, we're talking real estate news today. These Michigan Whipper Snappers snapped up a historic hot spot for an undisclosed sum shortly before it hit the auction block. Recognize this joint? Now known as Rosie's Diner. You should, if you're old enough. See if this helps jog your memory. Stand by for the only video clip we could find of a great moment television history.

But don't blink, you just might miss it. Yes, LIVE FROM favorite Nancy Walker as Rosie the waitress. There we go. The "quicker picker upper" inside the Silver Dollar Diner. Who can forget her thoughtfully showing how the tough towels could support a piping hot cup of Joe? Rerack one more time, there you go.

Well, talk about a "quicker picker upper." Folks in Manchester, New Hampshire, who don't frequent this Shirley D.'s Diner, might want to consider it. It's not the food or the atmosphere, but the amazing service that should get you to the counter. Sean McDonald of our affiliate WMUR has the story that might have you saying, "Gee, that's swell."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEAN MCDONALD, WMUR REPORTER (voice-over): If you're a regular at Shirley D.'s Diner, then you know waitress Kelly Rene. She's been serving customers here for 14 years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, you don't have to give your order if you've been a regular here.

MCDONALD: But what happened here Wednesday morning was hardly regular for the veteran waitress.

KELLY RENE, WAITRESS: Customer that's a regular, could tell he wasn't well.

MCDONALD: His name is Vinnie (ph), someone Kelly knows so well, she noticed his trip to the car was taking too long so she looked outside.

RENE: Was standing over here and I saw him grab the pole and I dropped the water, I dropped -- I broke the glass, the whole nine yards and ran outside.

MCDONALD: Outside the diner, it appeared Vinnie had a stroke. Kelly immediately threw him over her shoulder and brought him inside. Lucky for Vinnie, the waitress knows more than just eggs and coffee.

Kelly once went through medical training. The waitress put aside her orders and calmly helped Vinnie breathe easier, started getting his respiration rate and information on his medication for the 911 operator. When the EMTs came into the diner...

RENE: ... I told the paramedic everything, I had it all written down and he just shook my hand and said thank you.

MCDONALD: And Vinnie, too, thanked Kelly for saving his life.

When the commotion settled in the diner...

RENE: I went on with my day and served everybody else breakfast.

MCDONALD: You might say this day shift was hardly over easy.

In Manchester, I'm Sean McDonald, WMUR, News 9.

(END VIDEOTAPE) TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com