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Brief Tour of Damage Given by Hezbollah; NOLA Hospital Death News Conference; Meredith Tay Stuck In Lebanon; Latest on the U.S. Military Mission in Lebanon

Aired July 18, 2006 - 15:01   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, a welcome sight for Americans anxious to get out of Lebanon.
Here's what we know about the crisis in the Middle East right now.

A U.S. chartered cruise ship has arrived on the Lebanese coast, preparing to evacuate hundreds of U.S. citizens. The Orient Queen plans to leave tomorrow morning. Meantime, U.S. military helicopters have flown out dozens of other Americans, and U.S. warships are en route from the Red Sea to help.

When will Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice head to the Mideast? She says when it's appropriate. Rice also says there should be a cease-fire only when conditions are conducive, so it will last.

In Congress, meantime, Democratic leaders say that Americans shouldn't have to foot the bill to leave Lebanon. As it stands now, the State Department may ask evacuees who can't pay up front to sign IOUs. Democrats plan to introduce a bill that would waive those costs.

In the past five days, the southern suburbs of Beirut, where Hezbollah has its heartland of support, have been the target of Israeli raids. Hezbollah has sealed off the worse-hit areas and made it almost impossible to discover exactly what's been hit.

The Israelis say they're targeting Hezbollah military and leadership.

And, today, a Hezbollah media representative and a Hezbollah security team took CNN's Nic Robertson on a very brief tour of the damage.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Where are we going now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now we are moving to where Israeli jet fighters bombed what it called Hezbollah headquarters. I am going to show you on the ground that this is -- these are buildings inhabited by civilians, innocent civilians.

ROBERTSON: We are moving around very quickly here, I noticed. Are you concerned that there could be strikes at any times?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You never know when Israeli jet fighters come and hit any target in this area. So, now we are objected to any fire from Israel.

ROBERTSON: It could come down right here at any moment?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now, right here. There's now jet fighters in the sky.

ROBERTSON: There's jets in the sky right now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exactly. So, you never know when they hit this area.

ROBERTSON: And what -- what happened here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is one of the bombs that fell. And look what happened to this building, which is all, like, inhabited by innocent civilians living there, people who are just working, like everybody else, no military...

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: All right. We are going to take you back to that exclusive footage with our Nic Robertson overseas.

But we want to take you back to New Orleans right now, that news conference we have been telling you about, getting more information on those three nurses arrested in those NOLA hospital deaths.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

CHARLES FOTI, LOUISIANA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Those people died.

Initially, we made a charge against Saint Rita's in Saint Bernard Parish, which is a nursing home. And we have a number of hospitals and nursing homes still under investigation.

Today, we are here to talk about Memorial Hospital, which is in New Orleans, Louisiana. Some may say, well, look, it took a long time, 11 months. And it did take a long time.

First of all, the bodies had to be recovered. Then, a disaster team had to do the autopsies. Then, the autopsies had to be looked at by a pathologist. And we had to take tissue samples, and send those tissue samples out of state.

After the tissue samples came back with the readings, we had to go to forensic pathologists to take a look at that. And during this particular time, in this case, we went up twice to the Supreme Court on -- on some other matters.

And you say, well, why do you do that? It's not just your duty, because it is. But it is for your mother, my mother, father, brother, sister, a loved one. Somebody goes to the hospital or nursing home, you want to feel that they're safe. And you want to feel that whatever happens would be done with good judgment and medically necessary.

As we started this case, the attorneys for Lakeside came to our office and self-reported. And that's how the term euthanasia got in, that euthanasia happened. This is not euthanasia. This is a homicide.

We feel that the facts indicate -- and we will go over some of the facts -- and all of you have a copy of the arrest warrant that we -- that we had filled out.

You know, my heart goes out to all the people that have suffered, whether in Hurricanes Katrina or Rita, that lost loved ones, and especially if you don't know the answers to why they did -- why they did it.

Let me go back. Memorial Hospital is a hospital in the city of New Orleans, a big hospital, been there a long time. Inside that hospital, they have another hospital called Lakeside. Lakeside has acute-care patients, has acute-care patients. In that acute-care patients, these were some of the people that it was alleged that they were killed by lethal injection.

As you go through the system, you see that the hospital in this acute-care section were removed and said they didn't want -- you don't have to participate.

One of the people we arrested was a doctor. The statements we have allege that she says: You don't have to participate. We will take care of it.

That taking care of it meant that the four -- three people -- the four people we have charged with today, a homicide was committed. So, based on this, we arrested yesterday afternoon, Dr. Anna M. Pou, a doctor, nurse Lori Budo and nurse Cheri Landry for four counts of second-degree murder, principal of second-degree murder.

And you -- some say, well, why did you do it principal? Because, in doing the investigation, there are still some things open. And principal means that you assisted or participated with the act.

At the conclusion of this arrest, the first -- the next step of the justice system comes in play. This then thing will be referred to the district attorney's office, and has been referred to the district attorney's office in New Orleans, who convened a grand jury, and will start talking about and listening to, and reading all the affidavits that we have taken, and talking, and bringing other witnesses to testify about what happened in this particular case.

When we go through all of this, it becomes disturbing, as you see what is -- we have alleged has happened. Now, once again, I want to say that this is an allegation. Every person, under our Constitution, has a right to trial and is presumed to be innocent.

But, as part of the process, we take -- took it to a judge, a criminal district court judge in Orleans Parish, where he read the affidavit. After reading the affidavit, he agreed with us that we had probable cause to arrest those people.

And you say, what caused a crime? The crime was that they took morphine and midazolam and -- and injected it into the patients without their permission. We had forensic pathologists look at the records prior to this occurrence, and none of them were receiving either one of these drugs.

And you may say, what are these two drugs? These drugs, both together, are central nervous system depressants. When you use both of those drugs together -- either one of them can kill you -- but when you use both of them together, it becomes a lethal cocktail that guarantees they are going to die.

And, then, as you go through the affidavits, they talk about, you are seeing there where they made sure that they had the sterile water in the I.V. And that is to make sure that you flush out the tube, and that every bit of the substance that was injected goes into the bodies of those patients that was done.

This is a homicide. It is not euthanasia. The only time that we have euthanasia in the state of Louisiana is twice, or maybe three times. Once is in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, which says that the state should not euthanize anybody. And that's for criminals. You can't euthanize criminals.

Now, this is our Bill of Rights. So, if you can't euthanize criminals, it would seem to me that you can't euthanize you and me and ordinary people.

The other time it's used is putting animals to sleep. The legislature, on more than one occasion, says every person has a right to be charged -- in charge of his own medical care. Now, sometimes, they will come up and say, let's divert you, but do not resuscitate. Do not resuscitate means that, if you have a heart attack, that they have the doctor and the patients have agreed that they will not use heroic methods in order to resuscitate you to come to life.

As you go back through the statutes, you will also see they have a prohibition against assisted suicide in a criminal statute. So, as you go through all of these things, you can come to only one conclusion on our part, that we had probable cause to make the rest of these individuals., that we feel that they had abused their rights as medical professionals.

Now, when we say that about Memorial or when we say that about any place, we are not talking about the medical profession. We are not talking about the hundreds of nurses, doctors, or janitors, nursing assistants, and physicians that, under very adverse circumstances, over and above their own protection, their own potential loss of -- of not only their homes or their family, but went out there to give. They give care and took care of people.

We're talking about people that pretended that maybe they were God, and they made that decision. It goes without saying that we did not take this case lightly. We did not rush to judgment. We, at one time, had to resort to subpoenas to get the owners of the hospital to cooperate. We were met with obstacles at every turn.

But we are entrusted to look after the safety of our senior citizens, our children, the people that need help. Now, at some instances, there was a song that once says, for those voices that cannot speak, we will speak. And this system has started.

I would like to take a few minutes to thank the members of the team that puts this together. Although I appear here today, this was a team effort with this whole department, Fred Duhy, who is the head of our Medicare fraud unit, George Capagno (ph), who is the chief investigator, Virginia Ryder (ph), who is our lead -- was our lead case agent, the entire Medicare fraud control unit, and active cooperation and partnership with the Department -- the United States Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of Inspector General, Richard Easley (ph), Bill Root (ph).

We were a partner with this, and we worked together, and we will continue to work together.

At the conclusion of all our many investigations of this, we will be issuing a report that looked at every hospital and every nursing home in the Katrina-affected area, and also the Rita-affected area to tell you what they did to prepare for the investigate -- for the -- you know, for the hurricane, what they didn't do, what they're doing now, and what other legislative steps we think or administrative remedy steps -- thinks should be taken to protect those men, women and children that go into nursing homes.

I will open it up for questions. You will have to speak a little louder, because I have got a head cold, and I am all jammed up.

(CROSSTALK)

FOTI: But I will attempt to answer, but I am not going to comment on the evidence. I'm -- I -- I think that you have the public document in front of you that says that we set out to give probable cause, and, hopefully, you can take that.

Yes, sir.

QUESTION: General, what's the motive? What's the motive for this alleged crime?

FOTI: It is not my job or duty to say what the motive was. It is my job and duty to find probable cause that people acted illegally, took steps that committed a homicide, and four people died.

PHILLIPS: "They pretended they were God" -- those words straight from the Louisiana attorney general, Charles Foti, there, talking about the three, one doctor and two nurses, charged in a patient's death after Katrina.

He said this was homicide and euthanasia, that they were involved in mixing a lethal cocktail that took the lives of patients. And now a doctor and two nurses are booked on second-degree murder charges, after this extensive investigation to uncover whether hospital staff killed some of the patients after Hurricane Katrina.

You heard from the Louisiana attorney general. He says these that three are guilty of that. They have been arrested.

However, we will say, we do have one statement from Anna Pou's attorney, Rick Simmons. He has issued a statement, saying that his client is innocent of the charges, and that he intends to vigorously contest them -- Rick Simmons speaking out on behalf of his attorney.

Now, Foti has been investigating for months whether these hospital and medical staff euthanized some patients. He outlines -- you just heard in the news conference what he thinks happened to some of the 45 Memorial Hospital patients who were found dead after the August hurricane evacuations.

In October, it was our Drew Griffin who exclusively reported that, after deteriorating conditions, with food running low and no electricity, that some medical staff openly discussed whether patients should be euthanized.

But, according to the attorney general, this was homicide, not euthanasia. And now he has gone forward with those charges and those arrests in the two doctor -- in the one doctor and two nurses that are now behind bars.

But getting word our Drew Griffin will join us after the break with more on this, the story that he broke with -- concerning these three. And, actually, they are -- are not in jail. They were booked and released around midnight on $100,000 bond, according to jail officials.

We will get more from our Drew Griffin after the break.

Meanwhile, our Nic Robinson -- Robertson, rather -- in the southern suburbs of Beirut. A Hezbollah security team took him on a very rare tour of the damage there. We started to see it before we had the breaking news out of New Orleans. We will go back to that exclusive report as soon as we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, Meredith Tay, along with her husband and small children, are among thousands of Americans waiting to get out of Lebanon.

She's on the phone with us now. And her mother, Leigh Galey, is with us live in New Orleans. We wanted to connect the two and talk about what a struggle this has been.

Leigh, I want to start with you, if you don't mind.

And just tell me, how did you find out...

LEIGH GALEY, MOTHER OF AMERICAN TRAPPED IN LEBANON: That's fine. PHILLIPS: Or how did you finally get in touch with your family?

GALEY: I got in touch with her first -- well, we had been keeping in touch before. She's been there since the end of June. And what she would do, e-mail me, and she would call me. And she was having a great time. And told me what a beautiful city it was. And the beaches were there. The mountains were there, and what a marvelous place it was.

And then, Wednesday, I think it was, I heard about all the shelling that had started. And Meredith told me she and Tarek were weighing their options at this point, whether to come home or not. And, then, Thursday morning, my elder son called me and said that things had gotten very bad over there, and that the airport had been bombed, and they couldn't get out. And it's been very difficult ever since.

PHILLIPS: Leigh, the first thing I thought of, here you are living in New Orleans. You had to endure the hurricane. Now you get word that your daughter and her family are in the middle of this overseas. This has, no doubt, been a -- a trying year for you.

GALEY: Very, very trying. But I'm -- I'm weathering it, somehow.

PHILLIPS: Well, let's hear her voice.

Meredith, are you there?

MEREDITH TAY, TRAPPED IN LEBANON: Yes, I'm here.

PHILLIPS: How have you been comforting your mom?

TAY: Yes.

Well, you know, trying my best, you know, just -- just living day by day, trying my best.

PHILLIPS: Meredith, what took you and the family to Beirut?

TAY: My husband is from Lebanon.

PHILLIPS: So, this was to go back and see in-laws and family members?

TAY: Yes. We have two small children, a 2-year-old and a 6- month-old, and had been in 2001. And I absolutely loved it. And, then, you know, now that we have expanded our family, we wanted to bring our two small boys, you know, to meet the rest of the family.

PHILLIPS: So, Meredith, did your husband ever say to you: "Look, you know, we want to go back to my country, see family, but I got to warn you, there's always the -- the possibility that things could happen, things might get violent; it's -- it's is a part of the culture"?

TAY: No.

PHILLIPS: So, you have...

TAY: No. I mean...

PHILLIPS: You have never been worried?

TAY: No, never. Never. It's -- it's been quiet for so long. I guess I -- I took that for granted.

PHILLIPS: What has your husband told you now?

TAY: That we will not come back to Lebanon until there is no more Hezbollah.

PHILLIPS: Wow.

So, tell me where you are right now. And how are you planning to get the family home?

TAY: I am in a town located right next to the embassy. And I am just waiting on the embassy. I am just waiting for a call for the evacuation.

PHILLIPS: Leigh, have you been able to help your daughter at all from here, stateside?

GALEY: I am trying, as best I can. I have been in touch with senators. I have been in touch with the State Department.

And I can tell you, the biggest thing I have done is pray. I have -- I am in prayer a lot, and I have a lot of friends who are praying, too. And I would like to ask everybody who is watching this broadcast to please pray, hard, to get these people home again, where they belong.

PHILLIPS: And, Leigh, there is -- there is a strong Lebanese community in New Orleans, right? I mean, this is very much a part of your life and culture there.

GALEY: Yes.

PHILLIPS: And...

GALEY: Yes, there is.

PHILLIPS: So, are you able to find any understanding? Are you finding any peace at all within the community?

GALEY: Some. Some.

But this is so foreign to me, everything that has happened, that I just -- I can't imagine being in the situation that my daughter is in. It's just overwhelming.

PHILLIPS: Meredith, give your mom... TAY: Yes.

PHILLIPS: ... some peace of mind. What can you tell her that you haven't been able to tell her since -- since you last talked?

TAY: You know, we got word from the embassy that -- his words were that we were more than likely to be evacuated tomorrow, and how do we feel about riding in a helicopter.

So, that is all that I have to go on. And that's it. I mean, we are packed. I have hardly any clothes with me. I left everything that I own. I brought everything that I wore that I owned, all my nice things, and that was it. And I had to leave it and pack a couple of things, at their request, a small bag.

PHILLIPS: Leigh, has it given you any peace of mind?

GALEY: Yes. But I will have real peace of mind when I see her and Tarek and my two little grandchildren. That's when I will have real peace of mind.

PHILLIPS: You want that little 2-year-old and 6-month-old in your arms again, grandma, I'm sure.

GALEY: I absolutely do.

PHILLIPS: Well...

GALEY: I absolutely -- I can just -- I can just feel them.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: Your son-in-law owns Byblos there in New Orleans, a very popular Lebanese restaurant.

(CROSSTALK)

GALEY: Byblos.

PHILLIPS: Yes.

How is the restaurant doing? Is it still open? Is it shut down? Who is running the restaurant?

GALEY: Oh, my goodness, it's going great guns. I was just there last night. It's -- he owns two restaurants in New Orleans -- well, three, really, if you count the one in the food court at the mall.

But they are doing very, very well. It's wonderful food. You could eat Lebanese food all day. It's good for you, as well as tasting good. It's just a great, great place.

PHILLIPS: I have no doubt there will be a huge celebration, Meredith, once you get back with the kids and your husband.

Final words, Meredith. Anything you want to say to your mom? TAY: Ma, I love you. And the prayers have been working so far. We have gotten out by the skin of our teeth, barely. They bombed the town that we were in. And, so, you know, that's it. And, hopefully, we see you at home soon, mommy.

PHILLIPS: Go ahead, Leigh.

GALEY: I hope so, honey. I can't wait. I absolutely -- I'm just on pins and needles. And I can't wait until I see all of you again.

PHILLIPS: Leigh Galey...

TAY: Well, the prayer...

PHILLIPS: Oh.

TAY: The prayer is working.

PHILLIPS: Meredith Tay, we will stay in touch with you.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: And, Leigh, also you.

Thank you both so much.

TAY: Thank you.

GALEY: Thank you very much. Thanks for all your help. Thanks.

PHILLIPS: You bet.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: Well, in the past five days, the southern suburbs of Beirut, where Hezbollah has its heartland of support, have been the target of Israeli raids. And Hezbollah has sealed off the worst-hit areas and made it almost impossible to discover exactly what's been hit. The Israelis say that they're targeting Hezbollah military and leadership.

And, today, a Hezbollah media representative and a Hezbollah security team took CNN's Nic Robertson on a very brief tour of the damage.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON: Where are we going now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now we are moving to where Israeli jet fighters bombed what it called Hezbollah headquarters. I am going to show you on the ground that this is -- these are buildings inhabited by civilians, innocent civilians.

ROBERTSON: We are moving around very quickly here, I noticed. Are you concerned that there could be strikes at any times?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You never know when Israeli jet fighters come and hit any target in this area. So, now we are objected to any fire from Israel.

ROBERTSON: It could come down right here at any moment?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now, right here. There's now jet fighters in the sky.

ROBERTSON: There's jets in the sky right now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exactly. So, you never know when they hit this area.

ROBERTSON: And what happened here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is one of the bombs that fell. And look what happened to this building, which is all, like, inhabited by innocent civilians living there, people who are just working, like everybody else, no military bases, nothing, no anti-aircraft fire, just building, people living there.

ROBERTSON: How many people were -- were killed and injured in this particular attack here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks God, people evacuated these buildings early. And, luckily, no one was killed in this -- in such attacks.

But I want to tell you something. Where is the international community? Where is the Security Council? Where is the United Nations? Where is the whole world? We are under fire.

ROBERTSON: You are really worried about another strike here right now, yes?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course, of course.

ROBERTSON: How dangerous is it in this area at the moment?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is very, very dangerous. It's -- we are now the most dangerous place in the most dangerous moment.

ROBERTSON: In civilian housing.

Well, what was here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just look. Shoot. It is civilians, buildings. Look at this building. Is it a military base? Is it a military base, or just civilians living in this building?

ROBERTSON: Are you going to have -- go for this cease-fire? Are you have going to hand back the soldiers they asked for?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We always teach Israel a lesson. We always teach it a lesson. Now we will teach Israel a lesson, again. I tell Ehud Olmert we will not surrender. We will not surrender. We will not surrender.

ROBERTSON: Even though your civilians are coming under fire?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are people, the sons of Hamas Hussein. We are ready to die for our cause, for our dignity. We will not live in humiliation. We will not live in humiliation. This is a war. Whether we achieve victory, whether we (INAUDIBLE) find the injustice or we will die. It's better for us to die than to live in humiliation. OK, hurry up. Hurry up.

This, I will show you something. Excuse me. This is here, where they said secretary-general of Hezbollah is living. This is wrong. Here are civilians living in those buildings.

ROBERTSON: This looks like a bunker busting bomb has been used here to go down below ground level.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was destroyed by Israeli. The Israelis are cowards. They don't come to fight us face-to-face. They come with jet fighters from high above the sky.

ROBERTSON: Is that what you want them to do, fight you face by face?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If they are brave enough, face us. You know, we want to fight you face-to-face, you don't get to do it.

ROBERTSON: How long is this going to go on for?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's up to Israel. Israel is the one that initiated the attack against civilians.

ROBERTSON: They say you initiated because you went across and kidnapped two soldiers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Israel been occupying Lebanon for more than 23 years. Israel is the one that keeps Lebanese hostage in Israeli prisons. Israel is the one that keeps more than 10,000 Palestinian refugees. Israel that destroyed Lebanon since 1982.

At this moment, do we have nuclear weapons? Do we have F-16s? Do we have jet fighters? Do we have warships? (INAUDIBLE). We are fighting for our land. We have never been to Israel. We have never attacked Israel. Our action is always reaction, it's never an action.

ROBERTSON: They say you are killing civilians.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now there are jet fighters, we have to move.

ROBERTSON: We have been told that we have to get out of the area. They believe more planes are coming and that we need to get out of this area right now for our safety.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Once Again that was our Nic Robertson surveying the destruction of the southern suburbs of Beirut with a Hezbollah official. It's an area where Hezbollah operates from and has much public support, as for whether any of those destroyed buildings housed military equipment or Hezbollah fighters, Nic tells us he did not see any evidence of that, however he points out it was a quick and dangerous tour and he can't know for sure.

Flashback to last summer, waters were rising, living conditions deteriorating, murder allegedly afoot at a New Orleans hospital in the wake of Hurricane Katrina? Details straight ahead on a breaking investigation. Our Drew Griffin joins us live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: A fight for survival in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina but in one corner of New Orleans three health care workers stand accused of killing some of the very people they were supposed to save. A dramatic development in a story CNN's Drew Griffin broke last Fall. Drew joins me now live from Baton Rouge. Bring us up to date, Drew.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: The headline this morning Kyra, two nurses and one doctor arrested, charged with four counts each of second degree murder, not euthanasia according to the attorney general. He said it three times in a news conference that aired live here on LIVE FROM. But this is homicide. But the headline coming out of that news conference is that this investigation is far from over.

This case, as filed, centers around four patients who the attorney general says were murdered with a lethal cocktail of Morphine and another drug called Versed. When combined together, the attorney general said there's no other purpose but to kill people with this drug. And he said that deadly cocktail was, quote, found in a number of bodies have this inside of them. As many as 45 bodies were found in Memorial Hospital, 34 were there after or died during or after Hurricane Katrina.

So this investigation far from over. Both in the bodies that were recovered and potentially in the people who may face charges in this case. The attorney general says it is his job to protect these people, these families who brought their loved ones to the hospital. Take a listen to what he said about why he is pursuing this case against medical personnel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FOTI: Somebody goes to the hospital or nursing home, you want to feel that they are safe and you want to feel that whatever happens will be done with good judgment and medically necessary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN: Some of the points that the attorney general said, the doctor involved in these allegations, Dr. Anna Pou was not the doctor for any of these four patients and the two nurses involved were not treating these particular patients. They all came in on that last and final day before the hospital was evacuated.

The affidavit released was filled with quotes but one chilling quote that came out of the attorney general at this news conference Kyra, that you may not have heard because we broke away for breaking news was that one patient reportedly said "that burns," when injected with this cocktail. So this story far from over. Eleven month investigation only getting started according to the attorney general here in the state of Louisiana.

We're live in Baton Rouge. Drew Griffin, back to you Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Drew, anything on a motive? Some people back at home might think well maybe they were just trying to put people out of their misery. How do we know the patients didn't ask for this, seeming how desperate the situation was at that time. Do we know anything about a motive and why they did this?

GRIFFIN: We have heard from our sources, nurses who were there, others who were inside the hospital, who said the conditions were very desperate at the time, that the doctors and nurses were fearing for their lives, fearing that the chaos and violence surrounding the hospital was about to come into the hospital and there was no evacuation going on. A lot of the help had already been evacuated. That is all coming from our sources, our witnesses on the scene.

The attorney general said today he flatly refused to discuss a motive and said it wasn't his business to discuss a motive. But he did answer one question, would these people have died anyway? Were they dying? Were they on their death bed? Would they have died in the Katrina episode?

The answer he said emphatically was no. The only reason these people died, he feels, is because they were injected with this lethal cocktail that he says was perpetrated by a doctor and two nurses at New Orleans Memorial Hospital

PHILLIPS: Our investigative correspondent Drew Griffin broke this story, now we are following up. Drew thanks so much.

The air bridge is busy but the sea assets are still taking shape. Let's get straight to CNN's Jamie McIntyre at the Pentagon for the latest on the U.S. military mission in Lebanon.

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well Kyra, one week into this crisis and we are finally seeing some evidence that the U.S. evacuation effort is getting into high gear. That commercial ship that was chartered by the U.S. government, the Orient Queen, is now docked at the port of Beirut. It is expected to leave tomorrow with between 800 and 1,000 Americans en route to Cyprus. That will be the first significant departure of a large number of Americans since this began.

The helicopter evacuations have continued over the past three days, taking out perhaps as many as 200 Americans, the neediest cases we are told and that operation will continue for urgent evacuations, but for now the focus will be turning seaward. The next ship due will be the USS Nashville, it's an amphibious assault ship and it that can take as many as 800 Americans again on that trip from Lebanon to Cyprus.

Today the U.S. commander of the operation, Vice Admiral Patrick Walsh confirmed that amphibious war ships of the U.S. Navy will be used not just for security and backup but for primary transportation to accelerate the pace of evacuations.

He explained the reason that U.S. war ships weren't there sooner, what he said was simply a time and distance problem. The ships were simply too far away, some were involved in exercises but they are now proceeding with what the Navy calls best speed. We should see over the next couple of days an acceleration of that evacuation process. In addition an additional commercial ship has been chartered that can carry between 1,200 and 1,400 and they are looking to charter more ships in the days to come, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, we will follow every move. Jamie McIntyre form the Pentagon, thank you. Some evacuees, have to pay the U.S. government for the ride, but some Democrats back in Washington say there ought to be a law.

CNN congressional correspondent Andrea Koppel has that from Washington. A lot of back and forth on who's liable Andrea?

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Exactly Kyra. In fact, as the days progress, we have seen Democratic leaders in both the House and Senate ramp up their rhetoric. They have seized upon this issue and they are taking the offensive.

We know that the Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi's office had a spur of the moment decision to hold a press conference in which Pelosi basically compared the way that the U.S. government is treating Americans in Lebanon to the way the Bush administration responded after Katrina hit. In the Senate that sentiment was echoed by Harry Reid who also called on the Bush administration to wave those travel fees.

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SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MINORITY LEADER: I personally think that that could be waved by the president. I have no doubt that's the case. Every other country has moved their citizens or are in the process of moving them out. We're not. We have 25,000 Americans in Lebanon today and I think it's too bad that this is being treated as a mini Katrina. These people are just being stranded in Lebanon. That's not a good reaction by this government lead by the White House.

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KOPPEL: Now also in the Senate, Democrat Debbie Stabenow of Michigan went one step further and she announced that she was going to introduce legislation to make it mandatory to wave this financial requirement for Americans to pay money to leave under emergency circumstances in Lebanon. It's not just Democrats, Kyra, you also got New Hampshire Republican John Sununu who said that he met with senior state department officials, telling CNN that he also called upon them to waive those fees, saying these are extraordinary circumstances.

PHILLIPS: All right Andrea Koppel on the hill. We will keep following it, all the developments.

It's somebody President Bush hasn't done in his five-plus years, veto a bill. But he's threatening to do so soon. Find out why, straight ahead.

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PHILLIPS: A sticky, stagnant, stifling, sure it's summer, but with temperatures again topping 100 degrees in cities coast to coast, it's a little more than hot. For some it's down right dangerous. The key is keeping cool, water wherever you can find it. The northeast could get a break in just a few hours from rain, but if you are in the southeast or southern plains, count on a few more days of oppressive heat. A number of cities are opening offices and libraries to people in search of air-conditioning and handing out free fans.

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PHILLIPS: All right. Well, a lot of people who want to get out of Lebanon don't know whether or when that's going to happen. Stuck with her family, American Renee Nakhoul. We have actually got her on the phone right now, while her brother, Fares Rached, and her father, Joe Rached, join me from Tampa.

We have been talking to those that have been stranded overseas and their family members here in the states all throughout the day. We wanted to bring this family together.

Rene, first of all, let's start with you. Where are you? How are you doing? Are you OK?

RENEE NAKHOUL, STUCK IN LEBANON: Good evening, Kyra. I am holding up here. I am in the mountains in northern Lebanon, just a little bit up from the city by the sea that is called Batroun.

PHILLIPS: How did you end up in that area, Renee, and why did you head to the area?

NAKHOUL: This is our family roots. My husband's roots and my father's roots are based in a village here called Sarat (ph). It's in the hills of the mountains here in northern Lebanon.

We were vacationing here and staying at a hotel down on -- by the Mediterranean, and when things broke out, of course, the first place we always headed, up to the mountains.

PHILLIPS: So do you feel that you are in danger where you are right now?

NAKHOUL: Well, obviously, we are at war here, so you are going to feel like you are in danger. Being that I'm not that experienced being in a war, I feel in danger, but I'm told it's a safe area. The Hezbollah has no posts, no -- nothing to do with this area. So they won't be, hopefully hitting this area, because the Hezbollah has not infiltrated in this area.

PHILLIPS: All right, Renee, let's talk to your father, Joe, in Tampa. Joe, this is your homeland and no doubt this is hard for you for a number of reasons, not only just to see your daughter stuck over there, but what's happening within your country. How do you feel about what's going on right now? Does it surprise you? Is it frustrating for you? It's got to be a tough time.

JOE RACHED, DAUGHTER STRANDED IN LEBANON: It's very frustrating, especially Lebanon. The people of Lebanon have nothing to do what's going on right now. What happened at the border with Israel was done by the Hezbollah movement.

The government of Lebanon did not sponsor or have any knowledge of what's going to happen there. So what happened, the people of Lebanon are caught in the middle now and this is a big shame, really and ...

PHILLIPS: And -- I'm sorry, Joe. Did you even think that this could have been a possibility when your daughter went back to vacation? Did you -- did it even come up that this could be a possibility that violence could break out, considering that this was a Democratic -- or is a Democratic government that is really struggling right now?

J. RACHED: Our government has been struggling for a long time but lately, since 1990, they formed a new government and two years ago had new elections, was kind of a Democratic election, and the majority now is ruling, in a way. But Hezbollah is part of this government, unfortunately, and people vote them in, but I had no idea that this was going to happen in Lebanon so soon and so fast.

PHILLIPS: Fares, what do you make of all this? How are you trying to keep your sister calm and cool, keeping your dad calm and cool, and just sort of holding the family together?

FARES RACHED, SISTER STRANDED IN LEBANON: Well, we are trying to talk to her as often as possible, give her the updates and information that we are hearing on our end, you know, just keeping in contact, keeping her spirits up. You know, that's the best we can do at this point.

PHILLIPS: Fares, anything you want to say to your sister right now?

F. RACHED: Well, Renee, everybody back in Tampa is waiting to see you. We are getting a lot of calls from your friends and a lot of concerned people. We are worried about you and hope you get back here real soon.

PHILLIPS: Renee, anything you want to say to your brother and your father, and any word you can give any of us about when you think you will be able to get out of there?

NAKHOUL: Well, I am confident in the United States of America and I am proud to be an American, and I am going down to the embassy tomorrow and I am going to try my hardest to get myself and my family, my children -- my three children -- and my husband on the next boat out of here. And I hope ...

PHILLIPS: Are your three kids and your husband with you right now?

NAKHOUL: Yes, the boys are sleeping and my husband is down at his -- his family lives right down the street from my father's family house. He's down there saying goodbye and, basically, we are telling them we are packing a bag and if we can get on that boat tomorrow, we are getting on it.

PHILLIPS: Renee Nakhoul, we will keep in touch with you, and your husband, and your kids. Fares and Joe, thanks for being with us. We will stay in touch with all of you, and I think everybody feels very positively about your daughter and sister getting back safely, and we will stay in touch with all of you.

F. RACHED: Let's hope so. Thank you, Kyra. It's nice to see you again.

J. RACHED: We hope so. Thank you very much.

PHILLIPS: Absolutely. It's our pleasure. Thanks guys.

J. RACHED: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Let's check in with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. He's standing by in "THE SITUATION ROOM" to tell us what's coming up. Wolf, I have no doubt you will be talking to these types of families and a number of leaders within the country and here at home about what's happening.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: There's no doubt. It's coming very, very close to home for some of our own colleagues, Kyra, at CNN as well. We're going to have that story coming up as well.

We will have all of the latest developments on the Middle East crisis, the United States speeding up its evacuation of Americans. There's some significant criticism though, and I will speak to the top U.S. admiral involved in getting U.S. citizens out and ask them why it's taking so long.

Should Washington be doing more to stop the guns and the rockets? Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright standing by to join us live.

We're also standing by to hear from President Bush his comments on the Middle East crisis. As soon as they happen, we will bring them to all of our viewers. Kyra, all that coming up at the top of the hour in "THE SITUATION ROOM."

PHILLIPS: Look forward to it. Thanks, Wolf.

Well, for Americans in Lebanon, it's been a case of hurry up and wait. but now many are finding a way out. Here's what we know right now about the crisis in the Mideast. A U.S. chartered cruise ship has arrived in Beirut. It will leave with hundreds of evacuees tomorrow morning. The U.S. has also chartered a second passenger ship. Vessels from Italy, Spain and Britain are on the way as well.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says she will head to the Mideast only when it's appropriate. Rice says that diplomats have to make sure their efforts have lasting value.

Now, a week of warfare has left more than 180 dead in Lebanon, at least 25 dead in Israel. The latest Israeli airstrikes killed 11 Lebanese soldiers and Hezbollah missiles killed one person in northern Israel.

We have been keeping an eye on oil prices, which are highly sensitive to the conflict in the Middle East. Ali Velshi live in New York with the "Closing Bell." He's going to give us a wrap of that and, Ali, I'm going to see you back here tomorrow.

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