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CNN Live Today
Fight for Falluja; Update on Yasser Arafat; Jurors Still in Deliberation in Scott Peterson Trial
Aired November 09, 2004 - 10:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome back to CNN LIVE. Here's what's happening right now in the news.
U.S. troops are pushing their way into the heart of Falluja on day two of the offensive to retake the city from insurgents. Some of the fighting is described as street by street. But the military says resistance has been sporadic. We're going to have a live report from both the Pentagon and from there in Falluja in just a minute.
A Palestinian foreign minister says that Yasser Arafat is in a coma and critical condition, but he is still alive, they say. In a phone interview, he told CNN that the Palestinian prime minister was allowed to see Arafat briefly today. We're going to go live to Arafat's Paris hospital in just a couple of minutes.
Now, an Afghan government sportsperson supporting progress in the effort to free those three kidnapped U.N. workers there, relatives say two of the hostages have called home to say that they're OK, and one of them says that she hopes to be released soon. The Taliban splinter group is holding the workers captive. The group is threatening to kill the hostages if its demands are not met.
Also, school officials in Stockwell, Indiana, say at least three students were injured today when a truck slammed into the rear of their bus. The superintendent says one child was flown by helicopter to a hospital.
Keeping you informed, this is CNN, the most trusted name in news.
And here we go. We do have a lot to report. It's 1100 a.m. on the East Coast, 8:00 a.m. out West. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Rick Sanchez.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, once again. I'm Daryn Kagan. The fight for Falluja tops this hour.
As we turn to the battle of Falluja, U.S. and Iraqi forces are fighting their way into the heart of the city today. It is 24 hours after they began their offense to drive out the insurgents. Troops are dodging sniper fire and destroying booby traps as they push forward into Falluja.
Our Jane Arraf is embedded with U.S. Army forces and joins us now on the phone -- Jane.
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Daryn, after more than a day of airstrikes, heavy artillery and bombardment of the city, there has been a lull. But there is sporadic fighting in parts of the city.
We were in the industrial section, which had been thought to be a stronghold of foreign fighters. Most of those seem to have fled. But as we were going through that part of the city, the Army unit that I was with took gunfire and rocket-propelled grenade fire from some of the buildings there. A lot of the buildings in that sector have been damaged.
The belief is that there's hardly any civilians there. And the feeling is that they weren't there because the insurgents had weeks ago told them to stay away. And as we drove through, we were indeed shown entire streets that were barricaded and then rigged to explode. These were detonated by Army troops as they cleared the way forward for the Marines. That process is still happening -- Daryn.
KAGAN: And as you -- as you're embedded with these troops, do you get a sense of their surprise by the reaction or the lack of reaction that they're getting?
ARRAF: They're slightly surprised by the lack of reaction. They have really felt this would be a much more intense battle in many places.
In some parts of the city, it has been an intense battle. But probably more than a day of the artillery fire and all sorts of other attacks on the city have really set the stage for the armored unit that we were with, for instance, to roll in with tanks, and to make sure that the major part of the resistance had at least been neutralized enough to go forward.
Now, that doesn't mean there won't be fighting. There will be. The battle is not over yet -- Daryn.
KAGAN: And you said some of the shelling had subsided right now. If you could describe what the atmosphere is?
ARRAF: The atmosphere in the part of the city we were in -- and again, that is an industrial section that had thought to be home to quite a lot of foreign fighters, very few civilians left there. In fact, we didn't see a single person on the streets. We did see evidence of people shooting at us from windows, but there were no apparent civilians there.
The atmosphere is quite eerie: blackened buildings, some of them demolished. Almost every block had either a home or a building that had been leveled.
We're still hearing artillery here in the background. A lot of these had been strikes, targeted strikes on suspected either terrorist or insurgent safe houses, on weapons, on other targets like that. Others were targets of opportunity. When they saw people firing at them, they fired back whether it was with artillery or airstrikes -- Daryn.
KAGAN: It was 24 hours ago, as were talking to you, that this operation began. Are they giving you a sense, Jane, how long they expect it to go on?
ARRAF: They're not giving us a formal sense. But it would be completely logical if it went on for several days.
The first phase, it isn't just the fighting, Daryn. As we've seen Samarra and Najaf and other places, first there's the intense fighting that you get, and then there's a period that's perhaps even more difficult. Some of the insurgents may have gone to regroup. They may come back.
A key part of this will be making sure that civilians who have been killed and damage that's been done to civilian properties is compensated for. And that's going to be another struggle. Then there's the fight to actually get a government up and running, and security forces. All of this together making Falluja stable again, if it indeed is going to be stable. It's going to take quite a long, long time.
KAGAN: And a huge job there. Jane Arraf reporting from around Falluja as she is embedded with the U.S. Army. Thank you .
SANCHEZ: For another perspective on this, let's go to the Pentagon now. We're starting to get some new casualties figures from the fighting in Falluja. And our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, is tracking developments from her post. She is joining us now with an update on that and other parts of the story.
Hi, Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Rick.
Pentagon officials now saying that there have been six U.S. troops killed in action since the Falluja operation began. As many as 10 wounded in action. Two others killed in a vehicle accident. Of course, these numbers may, perhaps, grow in the hours and days ahead.
This is all indicative of a broader picture of violence across Iraq at the moment. Over the last 24 hours, seven additional troops killed in attacks across the country.
And, of course, Prime Minister Ayad Allawi now imposing that nighttime curfew in Baghdad. But in Falluja, Rick, the battle, of course, does go on, as Jane Arraf and others are reporting.
Troops now pressing towards the center of the city. The key question, where are the insurgents? Why so far has the coalition not encountered the massive organized battle of resistance that it expected?
One military official telling CNN, "We believe that most of the Zarqawi senior leadership has departed Falluja." An indication that the senior leadership loyal to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi may have left before this operation began. Many of the insurgents, they now believe, have probably so-called melted away, gone away before the fighting began to regroup in another place. What officials are saying now is the goal is to restore local Iraqi control to Falluja. That is their main goal. And if the insurgents have melted away, they say, so be it. As long as they can't regroup and fight. Again, the top priority now for this mission is to restore local control to Falluja -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: Barbara, I wonder if you could help us understand what you mean when you say the Zarqawi insurgents or the Zarqawi leadership is not there or has not been there to meet the U.S. Marines. What's the difference between the Zarqawi insurgents and perhaps other insurgents? If you could delineate that for us.
STARR: Right. Absolutely. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian- born terrorist, long believed to be operating out of Falluja with many foreign fighters loyal to him and his ideology. Foreign fighters that have come in from a number of other countries across the Syrian border and other places that have long believed to have been operating in the Falluja area, causing violence and attacks there, intimidating the local population.
That is one group of insurgents believed to be operating in Falluja. But it is deeper than that.
The U.S. feels there are Sunni, Ba'ath loyalists in that area that simply are fighting to restore their power base that they had under Saddam Hussein. So this is sort of a multi-headed monster situation, if you will.
The belief now is that Zarqawi and his followers, those foreign fighters, have largely dispersed. What they may be facing from the Ba'ath Sunni loyalists may be a different situation -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: Barbara Starr, thanks so much for explaining that to us. We'll be getting back to you as the situation develops there.
Meanwhile, the battle rages on in Falluja, and bloody attacks do continue in other parts of Iraq as well. Police are saying at least three people were killed when a car bomb exploded north of Kirkuk. The attack was aimed at a Iraqi National Guard base there.
Militants carried out attacks on two police stations near Baquba. Pardon me. Authorities there are saying that foreign insurgents died, 15 people were wounded.
Now, Iraq's interim prime minister has imposed a curfew in Baghdad. Mortar explosions rang out in the capital earlier today. Fifteen people have died in attacks in Baghdad over the last 24 hours.
KAGAN: To Paris now, where doctors say Yasser Arafat's condition took a turn for the worse today. Let's talk to CNN's Fionnuala Sweeney. She is outside the Palestinian leader's hospital in Paris.
Fionnuala, hello.
FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, indeed, that hospital statement coming earlier this morning, saying that Yasser Arafat's condition had deteriorated overnight. He had fallen into a deeper coma, and the doctors are failing to give any prognosis. They reserved any prognosis.
This as a senior Palestinian delegation is in town. They met the French foreign minister earlier in the day before spending two-and-a- half hours or thereabouts here in the hospital talking to doctors. And one of the delegation, Ahmed Qorei, being allowed to the bedside of Yasser Arafat.
We're hearing as they go now to see the French president, Jacques Chirac, that Mahmoud Abbas, who is the former prime minister, has said to reporters that he is still alive. Nabil Shaath, the foreign minister in the delegation, also saying that all his vital organs are functioning.
Also, we're hearing from Ramallah Saeb Erekat, who is the chief Palestinian negotiator, saying that Yasser Arafat has suffered a brain hemorrhage, but he is still alive. And in the event of his death, he will be buried in Ramallah in the West Bank -- Daryn.
KAGAN: And tell us more about the relationship between the Palestinian leadership and the French government. We haven't talked much in recent days about why Yasser Arafat was brought to Paris in the first place.
SWEENEY: Well, the French government has always had a close relationship with the Palestinian leadership down through the years. And it was when Yasser Arafat fell ill, about two weeks ago or so, in fact, a month, really, when he first began to feel ill, that the French government offered their assistance. And he was flown by private jet from Amman in Jordan here to the hospital here.
Now, the problem that the French government has had in recent days is that, as the next of kin, Suha Arafat, his wife, has really been the sole person who can authorize what kind of statements and how much information is released to the public. And this was not to the satisfaction of the Palestinian Authority, who said he wasn't merely Yasser Arafat's -- or rather Suha Arafat's husband, he was the father of the Palestinian people.
And so the French government really, despite this close relationship with the Palestinian leadership, also feeling that they had to obey really the constraints of their own legislation, their own laws. But they have been somewhat caught in the middle here. And there was a point when the Palestinian delegation first boarded the plane to Paris that they might not be able to see Yasser Arafat or indeed visit the hospital.
But it seems that there has been some kind of rapprochement between the two sides there, Suha Arafat on one, and the Palestinian leaders on the other. And the French government acting sort of as a broker in between.
Indeed, now, the delegation is at this very moment meeting the French president, Jacques Chirac. And we're expecting a news conference in a little under an hour from now for more information on that. But it would seem, Daryn, that Yasser Arafat, his struggle between life and death, is coming to an end.
KAGAN: Fionnuala Sweeney with the latest from Paris. Fionnuala, thank you.
SANCHEZ: You just heard moments ago when we were talking to Barbara Starr that she was explaining or breaking down for us the insurgency within the insurgency inside Falluja. We're going to do that further. In fact, including we're going to have a close look at these insurgents, who they are, what their strategy is, and what, in this situation, they have to gain or lose.
KAGAN: Back here in the U.S., the fight for the hearts and minds of the jurors in the Scott Peterson trial. Can the judge help them reach a verdict?
SANCHEZ: And then later on, from children to Chihuahuas, to cheese and crackers, how some people are showing their feelings on the presidential election to the rest of the world.
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SANCHEZ: Jurors in the Scott Peterson murder trial are going to get back to work this hour. Their fourth day of full deliberations, and boy is it getting strange.
There are hints the jury is having trouble reaching the verdict with themselves. The judge summoned them to the courtroom to hammer home several points and try and remind the jurors to try and get along and keep an open mind.
Earlier, jurors got a look at Peterson's fishing boat. Several people climbed inside and rocked it from side to side. That's the jurors I'm talking about.
Now, Peterson's lawyers say it would be impossible to leave Laci's body from the boat without tipping the boat over. And that's part of the argument they may have been examining, but it's not confirmed.
Now, psychologist and attorney Robert Gordon, he's a jury analyst and he's the founder of the Wilmington Institute. It's a legal strategy center. And he's good enough to join us this morning to try and figure out what we are having a real tough time doing.
Thanks for joining us this morning.
ROBERT GORDON, JURY ANALYST: Thanks, Rick, for inviting me.
SANCHEZ: Mr. Gordon, let me start with this: what's wrong with these people?
GORDON: To the contrary, the people don't have anything wrong with them. They're doing what they believe to be their heartfelt job. They're mentally and emotionally trying to reach a consensus to seek the truth and justice as they individually interpret it. But they simply can't agree.
SANCHEZ: But the reason I asked the question in that form is the following: for five months, both sides have presented their case, mostly the prosecution. More on that in a minute. They've been in there for maybe three or four days and reports are they are having a tough time getting along. Doesn't that seem a little soon for that?
GORDON: No, to the contrary, there will be those who are trying to impose their will on others. You have alliances that have formed in the hallways and the private cafeterias where they're eating. And so these alliances and also the leadership formations are having their effect.
But ultimately, jurors come together. They're strangers, they have intense experiences, they leave and they never see each other again. But they do have great incentive to reach a verdict.
SANCHEZ: So you're saying this is normal, this is the way juries behave when they get in there, and they're passionate about their particular views. When you have a jury like this, which we obviously seem to have in this case, do you, in your experiences, see them being able to break out of this and find some kind of compromise?
GORDON: Yes, I do. And it could be that the second count, which does not require premeditation, is the way in which they can do it.
I think the court is also putting intense pressure on them to reach an agreement. And the reason, Rick, is that this is the jury, but there's also the American jury and the world jury. So this jury is vitally concerned about how the jury of the world will view their decision or indecision.
SANCHEZ: Let me make you the judge. Instead of Delucchi, I'm going to make you the judge in this case. You're going to have to talk to these folks and tell them what their responsibility is and what they need to do to find some type of compromise. What would you say to them?
GORDON: I would say to them that they have to first define what is justice. Is justice truth, is justice doing the right thing?
Secondly, that there is an intense and important reason for them to reach a conclusion because that makes the system work. And if somebody has to compromise or make some concessions, that's what they need to do. And what they must not do is make it a personality or an interpersonal antagonism.
SANCHEZ: Robert Gordon, jury consultant. Thanks so much, sir, for bringing us up to date and sharing your insight with us.
GORDON: Thank you, Rick.
SANCHEZ: All right -- Daryn. KAGAN: Here's another note from a courtroom. Kobe Bryant's accuser may drop her civil lawsuit in Colorado and re-file it in California. That's because Colorado law would limit her damages to about $750,000.
Prosecutors dropped the criminal case against Bryant when the woman said she didn't want to participate. She accuses Bryant of rape. He says the sex was consensual.
SANCHEZ: There is a new weight loss drug out there that could help your heart as well. Is it a magic weight loss pill that we've all been waiting for? Well, we're going to be breaking this one down for you.
KAGAN: But first, take a look at this. It's creators call it a sea-going monster truck. I think it looks more like Flipper on steroids. I'll have you take a look.
SANCHEZ: Maybe he took the pill.
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KAGAN: Well, Flipper might flip over this robotic creation. An American and a New Zealander teamed up to create the bionic dolphin. It took them five years, $100,000, and the canopy from an F-16 fighter jet. It's always handy when you have one of those hanging around the house.
The rider sits underneath the canopy as the bionic dolphin flips, spins and dives in and out of the water. It can hit speeds of up to 31 miles an hour.
SANCHEZ: Wow, look a that.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That was fun. Just for fun?
SANCHEZ: You want one? I'll get you -- you want that for Christmas?
KAGAN: Just for kicks. Yes, I'll take that.
SANCHEZ: I'll get you a holiday gift and you'll...
KAGAN: Not a lot of places to ride that around Atlanta here, but...
SANCHEZ: I'd be a little claustrophobic in that thing.
KAGAN: In that thing?
SANCHEZ: Wouldn't you?
JERAS: It looks pretty calm. Maybe a little bit. Being under water and locked in.
KAGAN: Yes, the whole submarine effect, not for me. SANCHEZ: I don't like it.
JERAS: Yes, me neither. Anyway...
KAGAN: That water is chilly out there.
SANCHEZ: Hi, Jacqui.
JERAS: Hello.
KAGAN: Good to have you here with us.
JERAS: Thank you.
KAGAN: I think we have some pictures of Washington, D.C., to take look at as well.
JERAS: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Oh, really?
JERAS: It's kind of chilly across parts of the Northeast. Oh, look at that, though, beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful.
KAGAN: Yes, Washington Monument, White House.
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KAGAN: Very good. Jacqui, thank you for that.
JERAS: You're welcome.
KAGAN: Well, so far, they are targeting U.S. and Iraqi forces with sniper fire and booby traps.
SANCHEZ: Yes. And in some cases, they're not seeing some of the insurgents they expected to see. We're going to bring you all the developments, and we'll look at what else the insurgents in Falluja have in their arsenal as well. Also, how much of a fight can they put up?
Stay with us.
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Aired November 9, 2004 - 10:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome back to CNN LIVE. Here's what's happening right now in the news.
U.S. troops are pushing their way into the heart of Falluja on day two of the offensive to retake the city from insurgents. Some of the fighting is described as street by street. But the military says resistance has been sporadic. We're going to have a live report from both the Pentagon and from there in Falluja in just a minute.
A Palestinian foreign minister says that Yasser Arafat is in a coma and critical condition, but he is still alive, they say. In a phone interview, he told CNN that the Palestinian prime minister was allowed to see Arafat briefly today. We're going to go live to Arafat's Paris hospital in just a couple of minutes.
Now, an Afghan government sportsperson supporting progress in the effort to free those three kidnapped U.N. workers there, relatives say two of the hostages have called home to say that they're OK, and one of them says that she hopes to be released soon. The Taliban splinter group is holding the workers captive. The group is threatening to kill the hostages if its demands are not met.
Also, school officials in Stockwell, Indiana, say at least three students were injured today when a truck slammed into the rear of their bus. The superintendent says one child was flown by helicopter to a hospital.
Keeping you informed, this is CNN, the most trusted name in news.
And here we go. We do have a lot to report. It's 1100 a.m. on the East Coast, 8:00 a.m. out West. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Rick Sanchez.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, once again. I'm Daryn Kagan. The fight for Falluja tops this hour.
As we turn to the battle of Falluja, U.S. and Iraqi forces are fighting their way into the heart of the city today. It is 24 hours after they began their offense to drive out the insurgents. Troops are dodging sniper fire and destroying booby traps as they push forward into Falluja.
Our Jane Arraf is embedded with U.S. Army forces and joins us now on the phone -- Jane.
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Daryn, after more than a day of airstrikes, heavy artillery and bombardment of the city, there has been a lull. But there is sporadic fighting in parts of the city.
We were in the industrial section, which had been thought to be a stronghold of foreign fighters. Most of those seem to have fled. But as we were going through that part of the city, the Army unit that I was with took gunfire and rocket-propelled grenade fire from some of the buildings there. A lot of the buildings in that sector have been damaged.
The belief is that there's hardly any civilians there. And the feeling is that they weren't there because the insurgents had weeks ago told them to stay away. And as we drove through, we were indeed shown entire streets that were barricaded and then rigged to explode. These were detonated by Army troops as they cleared the way forward for the Marines. That process is still happening -- Daryn.
KAGAN: And as you -- as you're embedded with these troops, do you get a sense of their surprise by the reaction or the lack of reaction that they're getting?
ARRAF: They're slightly surprised by the lack of reaction. They have really felt this would be a much more intense battle in many places.
In some parts of the city, it has been an intense battle. But probably more than a day of the artillery fire and all sorts of other attacks on the city have really set the stage for the armored unit that we were with, for instance, to roll in with tanks, and to make sure that the major part of the resistance had at least been neutralized enough to go forward.
Now, that doesn't mean there won't be fighting. There will be. The battle is not over yet -- Daryn.
KAGAN: And you said some of the shelling had subsided right now. If you could describe what the atmosphere is?
ARRAF: The atmosphere in the part of the city we were in -- and again, that is an industrial section that had thought to be home to quite a lot of foreign fighters, very few civilians left there. In fact, we didn't see a single person on the streets. We did see evidence of people shooting at us from windows, but there were no apparent civilians there.
The atmosphere is quite eerie: blackened buildings, some of them demolished. Almost every block had either a home or a building that had been leveled.
We're still hearing artillery here in the background. A lot of these had been strikes, targeted strikes on suspected either terrorist or insurgent safe houses, on weapons, on other targets like that. Others were targets of opportunity. When they saw people firing at them, they fired back whether it was with artillery or airstrikes -- Daryn.
KAGAN: It was 24 hours ago, as were talking to you, that this operation began. Are they giving you a sense, Jane, how long they expect it to go on?
ARRAF: They're not giving us a formal sense. But it would be completely logical if it went on for several days.
The first phase, it isn't just the fighting, Daryn. As we've seen Samarra and Najaf and other places, first there's the intense fighting that you get, and then there's a period that's perhaps even more difficult. Some of the insurgents may have gone to regroup. They may come back.
A key part of this will be making sure that civilians who have been killed and damage that's been done to civilian properties is compensated for. And that's going to be another struggle. Then there's the fight to actually get a government up and running, and security forces. All of this together making Falluja stable again, if it indeed is going to be stable. It's going to take quite a long, long time.
KAGAN: And a huge job there. Jane Arraf reporting from around Falluja as she is embedded with the U.S. Army. Thank you .
SANCHEZ: For another perspective on this, let's go to the Pentagon now. We're starting to get some new casualties figures from the fighting in Falluja. And our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, is tracking developments from her post. She is joining us now with an update on that and other parts of the story.
Hi, Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Rick.
Pentagon officials now saying that there have been six U.S. troops killed in action since the Falluja operation began. As many as 10 wounded in action. Two others killed in a vehicle accident. Of course, these numbers may, perhaps, grow in the hours and days ahead.
This is all indicative of a broader picture of violence across Iraq at the moment. Over the last 24 hours, seven additional troops killed in attacks across the country.
And, of course, Prime Minister Ayad Allawi now imposing that nighttime curfew in Baghdad. But in Falluja, Rick, the battle, of course, does go on, as Jane Arraf and others are reporting.
Troops now pressing towards the center of the city. The key question, where are the insurgents? Why so far has the coalition not encountered the massive organized battle of resistance that it expected?
One military official telling CNN, "We believe that most of the Zarqawi senior leadership has departed Falluja." An indication that the senior leadership loyal to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi may have left before this operation began. Many of the insurgents, they now believe, have probably so-called melted away, gone away before the fighting began to regroup in another place. What officials are saying now is the goal is to restore local Iraqi control to Falluja. That is their main goal. And if the insurgents have melted away, they say, so be it. As long as they can't regroup and fight. Again, the top priority now for this mission is to restore local control to Falluja -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: Barbara, I wonder if you could help us understand what you mean when you say the Zarqawi insurgents or the Zarqawi leadership is not there or has not been there to meet the U.S. Marines. What's the difference between the Zarqawi insurgents and perhaps other insurgents? If you could delineate that for us.
STARR: Right. Absolutely. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian- born terrorist, long believed to be operating out of Falluja with many foreign fighters loyal to him and his ideology. Foreign fighters that have come in from a number of other countries across the Syrian border and other places that have long believed to have been operating in the Falluja area, causing violence and attacks there, intimidating the local population.
That is one group of insurgents believed to be operating in Falluja. But it is deeper than that.
The U.S. feels there are Sunni, Ba'ath loyalists in that area that simply are fighting to restore their power base that they had under Saddam Hussein. So this is sort of a multi-headed monster situation, if you will.
The belief now is that Zarqawi and his followers, those foreign fighters, have largely dispersed. What they may be facing from the Ba'ath Sunni loyalists may be a different situation -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: Barbara Starr, thanks so much for explaining that to us. We'll be getting back to you as the situation develops there.
Meanwhile, the battle rages on in Falluja, and bloody attacks do continue in other parts of Iraq as well. Police are saying at least three people were killed when a car bomb exploded north of Kirkuk. The attack was aimed at a Iraqi National Guard base there.
Militants carried out attacks on two police stations near Baquba. Pardon me. Authorities there are saying that foreign insurgents died, 15 people were wounded.
Now, Iraq's interim prime minister has imposed a curfew in Baghdad. Mortar explosions rang out in the capital earlier today. Fifteen people have died in attacks in Baghdad over the last 24 hours.
KAGAN: To Paris now, where doctors say Yasser Arafat's condition took a turn for the worse today. Let's talk to CNN's Fionnuala Sweeney. She is outside the Palestinian leader's hospital in Paris.
Fionnuala, hello.
FIONNUALA SWEENEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, indeed, that hospital statement coming earlier this morning, saying that Yasser Arafat's condition had deteriorated overnight. He had fallen into a deeper coma, and the doctors are failing to give any prognosis. They reserved any prognosis.
This as a senior Palestinian delegation is in town. They met the French foreign minister earlier in the day before spending two-and-a- half hours or thereabouts here in the hospital talking to doctors. And one of the delegation, Ahmed Qorei, being allowed to the bedside of Yasser Arafat.
We're hearing as they go now to see the French president, Jacques Chirac, that Mahmoud Abbas, who is the former prime minister, has said to reporters that he is still alive. Nabil Shaath, the foreign minister in the delegation, also saying that all his vital organs are functioning.
Also, we're hearing from Ramallah Saeb Erekat, who is the chief Palestinian negotiator, saying that Yasser Arafat has suffered a brain hemorrhage, but he is still alive. And in the event of his death, he will be buried in Ramallah in the West Bank -- Daryn.
KAGAN: And tell us more about the relationship between the Palestinian leadership and the French government. We haven't talked much in recent days about why Yasser Arafat was brought to Paris in the first place.
SWEENEY: Well, the French government has always had a close relationship with the Palestinian leadership down through the years. And it was when Yasser Arafat fell ill, about two weeks ago or so, in fact, a month, really, when he first began to feel ill, that the French government offered their assistance. And he was flown by private jet from Amman in Jordan here to the hospital here.
Now, the problem that the French government has had in recent days is that, as the next of kin, Suha Arafat, his wife, has really been the sole person who can authorize what kind of statements and how much information is released to the public. And this was not to the satisfaction of the Palestinian Authority, who said he wasn't merely Yasser Arafat's -- or rather Suha Arafat's husband, he was the father of the Palestinian people.
And so the French government really, despite this close relationship with the Palestinian leadership, also feeling that they had to obey really the constraints of their own legislation, their own laws. But they have been somewhat caught in the middle here. And there was a point when the Palestinian delegation first boarded the plane to Paris that they might not be able to see Yasser Arafat or indeed visit the hospital.
But it seems that there has been some kind of rapprochement between the two sides there, Suha Arafat on one, and the Palestinian leaders on the other. And the French government acting sort of as a broker in between.
Indeed, now, the delegation is at this very moment meeting the French president, Jacques Chirac. And we're expecting a news conference in a little under an hour from now for more information on that. But it would seem, Daryn, that Yasser Arafat, his struggle between life and death, is coming to an end.
KAGAN: Fionnuala Sweeney with the latest from Paris. Fionnuala, thank you.
SANCHEZ: You just heard moments ago when we were talking to Barbara Starr that she was explaining or breaking down for us the insurgency within the insurgency inside Falluja. We're going to do that further. In fact, including we're going to have a close look at these insurgents, who they are, what their strategy is, and what, in this situation, they have to gain or lose.
KAGAN: Back here in the U.S., the fight for the hearts and minds of the jurors in the Scott Peterson trial. Can the judge help them reach a verdict?
SANCHEZ: And then later on, from children to Chihuahuas, to cheese and crackers, how some people are showing their feelings on the presidential election to the rest of the world.
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SANCHEZ: Jurors in the Scott Peterson murder trial are going to get back to work this hour. Their fourth day of full deliberations, and boy is it getting strange.
There are hints the jury is having trouble reaching the verdict with themselves. The judge summoned them to the courtroom to hammer home several points and try and remind the jurors to try and get along and keep an open mind.
Earlier, jurors got a look at Peterson's fishing boat. Several people climbed inside and rocked it from side to side. That's the jurors I'm talking about.
Now, Peterson's lawyers say it would be impossible to leave Laci's body from the boat without tipping the boat over. And that's part of the argument they may have been examining, but it's not confirmed.
Now, psychologist and attorney Robert Gordon, he's a jury analyst and he's the founder of the Wilmington Institute. It's a legal strategy center. And he's good enough to join us this morning to try and figure out what we are having a real tough time doing.
Thanks for joining us this morning.
ROBERT GORDON, JURY ANALYST: Thanks, Rick, for inviting me.
SANCHEZ: Mr. Gordon, let me start with this: what's wrong with these people?
GORDON: To the contrary, the people don't have anything wrong with them. They're doing what they believe to be their heartfelt job. They're mentally and emotionally trying to reach a consensus to seek the truth and justice as they individually interpret it. But they simply can't agree.
SANCHEZ: But the reason I asked the question in that form is the following: for five months, both sides have presented their case, mostly the prosecution. More on that in a minute. They've been in there for maybe three or four days and reports are they are having a tough time getting along. Doesn't that seem a little soon for that?
GORDON: No, to the contrary, there will be those who are trying to impose their will on others. You have alliances that have formed in the hallways and the private cafeterias where they're eating. And so these alliances and also the leadership formations are having their effect.
But ultimately, jurors come together. They're strangers, they have intense experiences, they leave and they never see each other again. But they do have great incentive to reach a verdict.
SANCHEZ: So you're saying this is normal, this is the way juries behave when they get in there, and they're passionate about their particular views. When you have a jury like this, which we obviously seem to have in this case, do you, in your experiences, see them being able to break out of this and find some kind of compromise?
GORDON: Yes, I do. And it could be that the second count, which does not require premeditation, is the way in which they can do it.
I think the court is also putting intense pressure on them to reach an agreement. And the reason, Rick, is that this is the jury, but there's also the American jury and the world jury. So this jury is vitally concerned about how the jury of the world will view their decision or indecision.
SANCHEZ: Let me make you the judge. Instead of Delucchi, I'm going to make you the judge in this case. You're going to have to talk to these folks and tell them what their responsibility is and what they need to do to find some type of compromise. What would you say to them?
GORDON: I would say to them that they have to first define what is justice. Is justice truth, is justice doing the right thing?
Secondly, that there is an intense and important reason for them to reach a conclusion because that makes the system work. And if somebody has to compromise or make some concessions, that's what they need to do. And what they must not do is make it a personality or an interpersonal antagonism.
SANCHEZ: Robert Gordon, jury consultant. Thanks so much, sir, for bringing us up to date and sharing your insight with us.
GORDON: Thank you, Rick.
SANCHEZ: All right -- Daryn. KAGAN: Here's another note from a courtroom. Kobe Bryant's accuser may drop her civil lawsuit in Colorado and re-file it in California. That's because Colorado law would limit her damages to about $750,000.
Prosecutors dropped the criminal case against Bryant when the woman said she didn't want to participate. She accuses Bryant of rape. He says the sex was consensual.
SANCHEZ: There is a new weight loss drug out there that could help your heart as well. Is it a magic weight loss pill that we've all been waiting for? Well, we're going to be breaking this one down for you.
KAGAN: But first, take a look at this. It's creators call it a sea-going monster truck. I think it looks more like Flipper on steroids. I'll have you take a look.
SANCHEZ: Maybe he took the pill.
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KAGAN: Well, Flipper might flip over this robotic creation. An American and a New Zealander teamed up to create the bionic dolphin. It took them five years, $100,000, and the canopy from an F-16 fighter jet. It's always handy when you have one of those hanging around the house.
The rider sits underneath the canopy as the bionic dolphin flips, spins and dives in and out of the water. It can hit speeds of up to 31 miles an hour.
SANCHEZ: Wow, look a that.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That was fun. Just for fun?
SANCHEZ: You want one? I'll get you -- you want that for Christmas?
KAGAN: Just for kicks. Yes, I'll take that.
SANCHEZ: I'll get you a holiday gift and you'll...
KAGAN: Not a lot of places to ride that around Atlanta here, but...
SANCHEZ: I'd be a little claustrophobic in that thing.
KAGAN: In that thing?
SANCHEZ: Wouldn't you?
JERAS: It looks pretty calm. Maybe a little bit. Being under water and locked in.
KAGAN: Yes, the whole submarine effect, not for me. SANCHEZ: I don't like it.
JERAS: Yes, me neither. Anyway...
KAGAN: That water is chilly out there.
SANCHEZ: Hi, Jacqui.
JERAS: Hello.
KAGAN: Good to have you here with us.
JERAS: Thank you.
KAGAN: I think we have some pictures of Washington, D.C., to take look at as well.
JERAS: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Oh, really?
JERAS: It's kind of chilly across parts of the Northeast. Oh, look at that, though, beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful.
KAGAN: Yes, Washington Monument, White House.
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KAGAN: Very good. Jacqui, thank you for that.
JERAS: You're welcome.
KAGAN: Well, so far, they are targeting U.S. and Iraqi forces with sniper fire and booby traps.
SANCHEZ: Yes. And in some cases, they're not seeing some of the insurgents they expected to see. We're going to bring you all the developments, and we'll look at what else the insurgents in Falluja have in their arsenal as well. Also, how much of a fight can they put up?
Stay with us.
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