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CNN Live Today

Bush Chooses Rice as Secretary of State; U.S. and Iraqi Troops Launch a Mosul Offensive; Marines Investigate the Killing of an Unarmed Insurgent

Aired November 16, 2004 - 10:00   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.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN CO-ANCHOR: We do have a lot.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: A lot on the plate.

KAGAN: Welcome to you.

NGUYEN: Thank you.

KAGAN: The girls will take over now.

NGUYEN: That's right.

KAGAN: We're doing just fine. Thank you very much.

(LAUGHTER)

KAGAN: A lot of breaking news, especially coming out of the White House. We will have the latest on that. Right now, though, here's a look at what's happening now.

NGUYEN: President Bush is expected to nominate Condoleezza Rice to be secretary of state. That will happen today. Now, Rice would take over for Colin Powell who announced his resignation yesterday. The 50-year-old Rice would become only the second woman to be secretary of state. Now, her nomination would have to be confirmed by the Senate.

And CNN has also learned that the No. 2 person at the State Department, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage handed in his resignation yesterday.

The president's announcement is expected at 12:30 p.m. Eastern. CNN will bring that to you live when it happens.

In the meantime, U.S. military officials say the Iraqi city of Fallujah is secure. But fighting goes on to remove remaining pockets of insurgents. Overnight, U.S. warplanes dropped highly accurate 500- pound bombs on suspected hideouts in the southern part of the city. U.S. and Iraqi forces are conducting house-to-house searches.

Spanish officials said al Qaeda linked militants blew up commuter trains last March. And today a 16-year-old goes on trial in the first case linked to that attack. The teen is accused of transporting the explosives. He says he had no idea what he was carrying. And after a scrub yesterday, NASA will attempt the third and final test flight today for a scramjet, as it's called. If today's flight goes as planned the unmanned X-43A aircraft should reach speeds of nearly 10 times the speed of sound. Now, that's news.

Well, good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen sitting in for Rick Sanchez this morning.

KAGAN: And I'm Daryn Kagan. We have a little bit of musical chairs happening around the network today.

NGUYEN: Yes.

KAGAN: But I won this round so I'm glad to have you around. Thank you so much.

NGUYEN: Well, thank you, Daryn. Appreciate it. Good to be here.

KAGAN: Good to be here for some breaking news. And we have more changes to tell you about in President Bush's cabinet. We are following a developing story out of the Bush White House. Two senior administration sources telling CNN that Homeland Security Chief Tom Ridge will be leaving his post. Now, when we called the Department of Homeland Security, spokesman says simply, "well, that's news to us."

To help us sort through this and today's other cabinet developments, let's bring in our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.

Suzanne, it seems like a case like a last one gone turn, out the lights at the White House.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Daryn, as you know, of course, there is a lot of movement that's taking place at the White House. And we certainly expect more official announcements about people's departure, as well as their status in the days to come.

But what we can tell you is that President Bush, about 12:30 today in the Roosevelt Room, will announce who he is choosing for his secretary of state replacement. And the White House not making an official announcement about who it is. But of course, senior administration officials telling us that his choice is National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. He will also announce at that ceremony who her replacement will be. That is Deputy National Security Adviser Steve Hadley.

Now as you know, of course, this is a clear sign of where the State Department is going. Much more in step with the president's thinking. Rice is one of his closest confidants/advisers. Rice is really considered a member of President Bush's family. Now, even Democrats say that she will confirmed in the Senate. They believe that that is the case.

But they are going to challenge her on a number of issues. Most notably, of course, her ability, her role in actually vetting intelligence. Intelligence that ended up being faulty that the president used in making the case for war. As far as Steve Hadley is concerned, he doesn't have to go through that process of the Senate hearing confirmations.

But he is also come under fire before, took the blame for that one sentence the president used in last year's State of the Union Address, about Iraq trying to obtain uranium from Niger to build up weapons of mass destruction program. Later, he had to acknowledge that in fact, that came from some documents, some forged documents and that that, in fact, wasn't the case.

Now, as you mentioned, as well, we do have news on Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge. There are two senior administration sources who tell us that we will leave his post. He's likely to go on to private sector work, as well. The Department of Homeland Security, its spokesman saying that that is news to them. That he has not made a decision. We have been told do not expect any official announcements from the White House from his department as well, while he is out of Washington, out of town. He is in Hawaii. We do expect, however, Daryn, that there will be more official announcements on people in the days to come.

And finally we did find out that Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage is making it official later today. There will be more details coming out of his office. But he has confirmed that he has actually submitted his letter of resignation yesterday, and he's going to be stepping down from his position, as well -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Not too surprising on Dick Armitage. If Colin Powell is going, his No. 2 would go as well. That's not the most shocking news.

Let's get back to the shuffling that is taking place. Some critics saying there's so much inbreeding within the administration here. And because you have someone so close to President Bush in Condoleezza Rice, that that's not a good relationship to have between state and the White House.

MALVEAUX: Well, certainly the Bush administration would argue that the president really values people who are close to him that he trusts that are competent and credible. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice certainly being one of those people. But you're absolutely right. The critics are saying this does not give enough room for diversity. For diverse opinions or thought. That they could run in to problems in terms of not being able to really reach out to allies in the way that they would like.

But you have to realize as well, Daryn, that Rice also played a role sometimes in supporting some of Powell's positions, in trying to convince the president for example, to engage in those multinational talks with North Korea. That, that was something that Powell had initiated, something that Rice supported, and ultimately something that the president backed.

KAGAN: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House. Suzanne, thank you.

And you can stay with CNN for the latest news on the cabinet moves. We'll have live coverage of President Bush's formal nomination of Condoleezza Rice, as the nation's next secretary of state. That is scheduled for 12:30 Eastern.

NGUYEN: On Capitol Hill today, Congress returns to session. And for many members it will be their last. But important decisions await this lame duck session, including infighting over committee assignments and the naming of new Democratic leadership.

CNN congressional correspondent Joe Johns joins us now from the Hill with more on all of this.

Good morning to you, Joe.

JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Betty. The Congress operating on a couple different tracks today. Obviously trying to tie off the loose ends from the last year, as well as some planning. Democrats trying to put in place Harry Reid as their new leader over on the Senate side. All of this as Capitol Hill gets organized for the new Congress that starts in January.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS (voice over): Seven Republican senators-elect, six of them current or former House members and one a former cabinet secretary, all determined to put a conservative stamp on the Congress. Representing a significant shift in the political center of gravity.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know our biggest problem in this country is people campaign on promises and then don't try to carry them out, let alone carry them out.

JOHNS: Of course, they won't even be sworn in until January, but their mere presence on Capitol Hill says something about the direction of the next Congress. All pledged bipartisanship but said Democrats will have to recognize the new political reality.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Messages have been sent. Lessons have been learned.

JOHNS: At the top of the freshman agenda: healthcare and Social Security reform, getting floor votes for conservative judges, cutting taxes and reining in government spending. However, this group will have to sit on the sidelines while the 108-Congress, in its last breath, wrestles with a mammoth spending bill and a bill to reform the nation's intelligence community.

After weeks of stalled talks, House Republicans Monday reporting progress on the intelligence bill, including the sticky issue of giving a new National Intelligence Director the power to handle the purse strings.

REP. PETE HOEKSTRA (R), MICHIGAN: I think on budget authority, budget control, we -- we may have an agreement on language.

JOHNS: Democrats are warning that failure to finish the entire bill now means that Congress will have to start all over again next year.

REP. JANE HARMAN (D-CA), SELECT INTELL. CMTE: The requirement is, within the next 24 hours, to come to agreement on a consensus product. If we don't get now and it dies this week, it won't be back in the next Congress.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS: The Congress also has to tackle raising the debt ceiling again. Democrats have pushed hard for a stand-alone vote on that. The Treasury Department says something has to be done, and soon. Betty, Mmm.

NGUYEN: Joe, let's talk a little bit about Arlen Specter. I understand he's meeting with Senate Republicans today. What's expected to come out of that?

JOHNS: Well, he's meeting with Senate Republicans and the Senate Republican leadership. Of course, there's been a lot of controversy about whether he ought to take over the reins of the Senate Judiciary Committee in January. This is his opportunity to make his case before those members of the United States Senate. He's come under fire from conservative groups who say he's simply not conservative enough. Of course he's long been considered a moderate in the United States Congress.

Just this morning, Senator Trent Lott telling us through his press secretary, he of course a very influential Republican on Capitol Hill, that he believes Senator Arlen Specter will be the next chairman of the Judiciary Committee -- Betty.

NGUYEN: All right, we'll see how that shakes out. Joe Johns on Capitol Hill today for us. Thank you, Joe.

KAGAN: As you can tell that doesn't mean the former insurgent stronghold is under complete coalition control just yet. Insurgent forces are intensifying their attacks elsewhere.

U.S. and Iraqi forces are advancing street by street in Fallujah. The insurgents have ignited new flashpoints elsewhere in the country, while that's taking place.

For all the latest on the fighting, let's go to the capital and CNN's Karl Penhaul.

Karl, hello.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Daryn. In Fallujah, as far as Fallujah is concerned, there has been sporadic fighting there in the course of day. But we do understand that the level of that fighting is much less than on previous days. It's still going to be a long time though, before civilians can think about returning to the city. Most of the population had left before this ground assault began. But we're told by coalition commanders that it could be days if not weeks, before the water and electricity is restored there. What we also know from attacks around other parts of Iraq, that the fighting in Fallujah has not crushed the resistance once and for all. The Iraq interior minister was talking about this in a press conference this afternoon. This is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FALAH AL NAKIB, INTERIOR MINISTER, IRAQ (through translator): The operation of Fallujah is not the end of everything. It is part of a long process; it's part of a series of operations. But the most important thing that their main stronghold in Fallujah has been destroyed. Now they are trying in Mosul, Diala and Baquba.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PENHAUL: Outside of Fallujah the heaviest clashes over the last few days have been in the northern city of Mosul. We're told, though, by the U.S. military today that things are a lot calmer than they were before. That the police stations that have been a focal point of insurgent attacks over the last few days, are all now back under control of the U.S. military or the Iraqi government. But the U.S. military does say that they will be fighting over the next few days against pockets of resistance there -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Well, and the military did say that they found fewer insurgents than originally expected in Fallujah. Those people had to go somewhere. Is there a sense that they went into Mosul and these other places? And this fight will just have to take place on a different battleground now?

PENHAUL: That could be a possibility. The coalition had initially estimated between three and 5,000 fighters could have been holed up in Fallujah. It's been very difficult to get a read on exactly how many insurgent fighters may have been killed, or captured inside of Fallujah. It's still early days. And obviously there's a lot of wreckage there to do a full body count.

But what does seem likely as you suggest is that some of those fighters may have seeped away to other cities inside of Iraq. In fact, that's what insurgents were vowing to do, to launch a series of rear guard attacks around the rest of Iraq, to divert some of the military muscle away from Fallujah. This seems to be very much in the nature of guerrilla war, and it's what the U.S. military and Iraqi government are going to have to face in the weeks and months before the elections in January -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Karl Penhaul in Baghdad. Karl, thank you.

NGUYEN: A U.S. Marine commander says an investigation is under way into the fatal shooting of an Iraqi prisoner who was wounded and apparently unarmed. And it was caught on videotape.

CNN's senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre has that videotape. And we do want to warn you now that it does contain some disturbing images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(GUNFIRE)

JAIME MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On Friday, U.S. Marines stormed a Fallujah mosque after taking fire from insurgents inside. The Marines killed 10 fighters and wounded five others, who were given some medical treatment and left to be picked up later. The next day, last Saturday, a different Marine unit went back into the mosque in response to reports insurgents had returned. Gunfire could be heard as the Marine unit that had been there Friday, and an embedded television reporter, arrived at the mosque minutes later.

As they enter, three of the previous days' wounded lay dying, apparently shot again. It's unclear the Marines who were already there knew the wounded had been captured and disarmed the day before. One severely wounded man is then shot in the head by one of those Marines at point blank range.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's (BEEP) faking he's dead!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, he's breathing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's faking!

(GUNFIRE)

MCINTYRE: CNN has chosen not to show the actual killing due to the explicit nature of the video. Afterward, one man tells the television reporter in Arabic that he was among the prisoners captured on Friday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happened?

MCINTYRE: And the TV reporter relays that to the Marine. He replies, "I didn't know, sir. I didn't know." That Marine, who is said to have suffered a gunshot wound to the face the day before, is now under investigation. If he knowingly shot a wounded captive, who did not pose a threat, it would be a war crime.

LT. COL. BOB MILLER, U.S. MARINE CORPS: They would have to be using force in self-defense, yes. Enemy wounded, and in this case, insurgents who don't pose a threat, would not be considered hostile generally. I think that's a fair statement.

MCINTYRE: The investigation will determine if the Marine violated any rules or should be charged with any crime. The Marines point out that in the fog of war, it's not always clear who is a threat.

In a separate incident the same day, a Marine was killed and five others wounded when they came across a dead body that was booby- trapped.

(on camera): U.S. commanders are worried about the impact of the video, which seems to show a prisoner being unjustly killed. They're worried that instead of surrendering, it could encourage the insurgents to fight on to the death.

Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: The ad was racy, and to some controversial. But more importantly, did it disclose the full truth? Still to come, the FDA yanks Viagra's "wild thing" ad. We will tell you why.

NGUYEN: Plus, they're usually packed with sugar and chocolate chips. But these cookies have one extra ingredient that's landed the baker in some hot water. We will explain.

KAGAN: And to a lemonade stand's touched people in her city, also nationwide. And although she's gone, Alek's dream is now a reality and it continues to grow. I'll have a chance to talk with her mom coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Want to take a look now at stories making news "Coast to Coast" today.

KAGAN: In Conway, New Hampshire, a 17-year-old high school student is accused of selling cookies bursting with flavor, chocolate chips; sounds good. And marijuana.

NGUYEN: What?

KAGAN: Yes. A teacher tipped off police and a drug-sniffing dog confirmed the suspicions. The teen is now charged with possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute in a school zone. Not a good thing there.

NGUYEN: All right. Take a look at this. In Delaware, Ohio, the pilot of this crashed plane was able to escape despite two broken legs. The plane, though, apparently clipped some power lines and slammed into a reservoir about three or four feet deep. Now, the pilot was able to drag himself the 25 yards to shore and was rescued a short time later.

KAGAN: To suburban Seattle, a 17-year-old girl is back home after recovering from surgery, after surviving eight days in her wrecked car. That car plunged 200 feet down a ravine and escaped notice from a number of police searches. That is -- get this, until a family friend said she followed vivid dreams to the crash site.

NGUYEN: Hmm.

KAGAN: The girl suffered severe facial injuries. She was dehydrated, but should recover completely.

NGUYEN: See all those dreams that we have? There's a reason for those.

KAGAN: Yes. JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I had weird dreams last night.

KAGAN: Any lost people out there that you can help?

NGUYEN: Find?

(LAUGHTER)

JERAS: We won't get into it.

KAGAN: Jacqui Jeras is here with a dream weathercast, hopefully.

NGUYEN: We hope.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: well, ever wonder what your neighborhood looked like in the '30s? What was that corner store? Was it always there? Well still to come, a look at the Big Apple during the Great Depression. And how 70 years later some things, well, they never change.

KAGAN: But first, one major retailer gives a big boost to the cause of a lemonade stand. It was once run by one very special little girl. Alek's story coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

NGUYEN: Well, still to come here on CNN LIVE TODAY, all packed up and ready to go, McGreevey heads out, as New Jersey's new governor takes his first day on the job.

KAGAN: But first, the first suspect in connection with the deadly Spain train bomb heads to trial today, and he's not even an adult. We'll take you live to Madrid for the latest on that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: We're coming up on the half hour. Welcome back. I'm Betty Nguyen.

KAGAN: And I'm Daryn Kagan. Here's what's happening now in the news.

Two hours from now, President Bush is expected to formally nominate Condoleezza Rice as his next secretary of state. Rice now serves as the president's national security adviser. She would succeed Colin Powell who announced his resignation yesterday.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS ORUSE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired November 16, 2004 - 10:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN CO-ANCHOR: We do have a lot.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: A lot on the plate.

KAGAN: Welcome to you.

NGUYEN: Thank you.

KAGAN: The girls will take over now.

NGUYEN: That's right.

KAGAN: We're doing just fine. Thank you very much.

(LAUGHTER)

KAGAN: A lot of breaking news, especially coming out of the White House. We will have the latest on that. Right now, though, here's a look at what's happening now.

NGUYEN: President Bush is expected to nominate Condoleezza Rice to be secretary of state. That will happen today. Now, Rice would take over for Colin Powell who announced his resignation yesterday. The 50-year-old Rice would become only the second woman to be secretary of state. Now, her nomination would have to be confirmed by the Senate.

And CNN has also learned that the No. 2 person at the State Department, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage handed in his resignation yesterday.

The president's announcement is expected at 12:30 p.m. Eastern. CNN will bring that to you live when it happens.

In the meantime, U.S. military officials say the Iraqi city of Fallujah is secure. But fighting goes on to remove remaining pockets of insurgents. Overnight, U.S. warplanes dropped highly accurate 500- pound bombs on suspected hideouts in the southern part of the city. U.S. and Iraqi forces are conducting house-to-house searches.

Spanish officials said al Qaeda linked militants blew up commuter trains last March. And today a 16-year-old goes on trial in the first case linked to that attack. The teen is accused of transporting the explosives. He says he had no idea what he was carrying. And after a scrub yesterday, NASA will attempt the third and final test flight today for a scramjet, as it's called. If today's flight goes as planned the unmanned X-43A aircraft should reach speeds of nearly 10 times the speed of sound. Now, that's news.

Well, good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen sitting in for Rick Sanchez this morning.

KAGAN: And I'm Daryn Kagan. We have a little bit of musical chairs happening around the network today.

NGUYEN: Yes.

KAGAN: But I won this round so I'm glad to have you around. Thank you so much.

NGUYEN: Well, thank you, Daryn. Appreciate it. Good to be here.

KAGAN: Good to be here for some breaking news. And we have more changes to tell you about in President Bush's cabinet. We are following a developing story out of the Bush White House. Two senior administration sources telling CNN that Homeland Security Chief Tom Ridge will be leaving his post. Now, when we called the Department of Homeland Security, spokesman says simply, "well, that's news to us."

To help us sort through this and today's other cabinet developments, let's bring in our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.

Suzanne, it seems like a case like a last one gone turn, out the lights at the White House.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Daryn, as you know, of course, there is a lot of movement that's taking place at the White House. And we certainly expect more official announcements about people's departure, as well as their status in the days to come.

But what we can tell you is that President Bush, about 12:30 today in the Roosevelt Room, will announce who he is choosing for his secretary of state replacement. And the White House not making an official announcement about who it is. But of course, senior administration officials telling us that his choice is National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice. He will also announce at that ceremony who her replacement will be. That is Deputy National Security Adviser Steve Hadley.

Now as you know, of course, this is a clear sign of where the State Department is going. Much more in step with the president's thinking. Rice is one of his closest confidants/advisers. Rice is really considered a member of President Bush's family. Now, even Democrats say that she will confirmed in the Senate. They believe that that is the case.

But they are going to challenge her on a number of issues. Most notably, of course, her ability, her role in actually vetting intelligence. Intelligence that ended up being faulty that the president used in making the case for war. As far as Steve Hadley is concerned, he doesn't have to go through that process of the Senate hearing confirmations.

But he is also come under fire before, took the blame for that one sentence the president used in last year's State of the Union Address, about Iraq trying to obtain uranium from Niger to build up weapons of mass destruction program. Later, he had to acknowledge that in fact, that came from some documents, some forged documents and that that, in fact, wasn't the case.

Now, as you mentioned, as well, we do have news on Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge. There are two senior administration sources who tell us that we will leave his post. He's likely to go on to private sector work, as well. The Department of Homeland Security, its spokesman saying that that is news to them. That he has not made a decision. We have been told do not expect any official announcements from the White House from his department as well, while he is out of Washington, out of town. He is in Hawaii. We do expect, however, Daryn, that there will be more official announcements on people in the days to come.

And finally we did find out that Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage is making it official later today. There will be more details coming out of his office. But he has confirmed that he has actually submitted his letter of resignation yesterday, and he's going to be stepping down from his position, as well -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Not too surprising on Dick Armitage. If Colin Powell is going, his No. 2 would go as well. That's not the most shocking news.

Let's get back to the shuffling that is taking place. Some critics saying there's so much inbreeding within the administration here. And because you have someone so close to President Bush in Condoleezza Rice, that that's not a good relationship to have between state and the White House.

MALVEAUX: Well, certainly the Bush administration would argue that the president really values people who are close to him that he trusts that are competent and credible. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice certainly being one of those people. But you're absolutely right. The critics are saying this does not give enough room for diversity. For diverse opinions or thought. That they could run in to problems in terms of not being able to really reach out to allies in the way that they would like.

But you have to realize as well, Daryn, that Rice also played a role sometimes in supporting some of Powell's positions, in trying to convince the president for example, to engage in those multinational talks with North Korea. That, that was something that Powell had initiated, something that Rice supported, and ultimately something that the president backed.

KAGAN: Suzanne Malveaux at the White House. Suzanne, thank you.

And you can stay with CNN for the latest news on the cabinet moves. We'll have live coverage of President Bush's formal nomination of Condoleezza Rice, as the nation's next secretary of state. That is scheduled for 12:30 Eastern.

NGUYEN: On Capitol Hill today, Congress returns to session. And for many members it will be their last. But important decisions await this lame duck session, including infighting over committee assignments and the naming of new Democratic leadership.

CNN congressional correspondent Joe Johns joins us now from the Hill with more on all of this.

Good morning to you, Joe.

JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Betty. The Congress operating on a couple different tracks today. Obviously trying to tie off the loose ends from the last year, as well as some planning. Democrats trying to put in place Harry Reid as their new leader over on the Senate side. All of this as Capitol Hill gets organized for the new Congress that starts in January.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS (voice over): Seven Republican senators-elect, six of them current or former House members and one a former cabinet secretary, all determined to put a conservative stamp on the Congress. Representing a significant shift in the political center of gravity.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know our biggest problem in this country is people campaign on promises and then don't try to carry them out, let alone carry them out.

JOHNS: Of course, they won't even be sworn in until January, but their mere presence on Capitol Hill says something about the direction of the next Congress. All pledged bipartisanship but said Democrats will have to recognize the new political reality.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Messages have been sent. Lessons have been learned.

JOHNS: At the top of the freshman agenda: healthcare and Social Security reform, getting floor votes for conservative judges, cutting taxes and reining in government spending. However, this group will have to sit on the sidelines while the 108-Congress, in its last breath, wrestles with a mammoth spending bill and a bill to reform the nation's intelligence community.

After weeks of stalled talks, House Republicans Monday reporting progress on the intelligence bill, including the sticky issue of giving a new National Intelligence Director the power to handle the purse strings.

REP. PETE HOEKSTRA (R), MICHIGAN: I think on budget authority, budget control, we -- we may have an agreement on language.

JOHNS: Democrats are warning that failure to finish the entire bill now means that Congress will have to start all over again next year.

REP. JANE HARMAN (D-CA), SELECT INTELL. CMTE: The requirement is, within the next 24 hours, to come to agreement on a consensus product. If we don't get now and it dies this week, it won't be back in the next Congress.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS: The Congress also has to tackle raising the debt ceiling again. Democrats have pushed hard for a stand-alone vote on that. The Treasury Department says something has to be done, and soon. Betty, Mmm.

NGUYEN: Joe, let's talk a little bit about Arlen Specter. I understand he's meeting with Senate Republicans today. What's expected to come out of that?

JOHNS: Well, he's meeting with Senate Republicans and the Senate Republican leadership. Of course, there's been a lot of controversy about whether he ought to take over the reins of the Senate Judiciary Committee in January. This is his opportunity to make his case before those members of the United States Senate. He's come under fire from conservative groups who say he's simply not conservative enough. Of course he's long been considered a moderate in the United States Congress.

Just this morning, Senator Trent Lott telling us through his press secretary, he of course a very influential Republican on Capitol Hill, that he believes Senator Arlen Specter will be the next chairman of the Judiciary Committee -- Betty.

NGUYEN: All right, we'll see how that shakes out. Joe Johns on Capitol Hill today for us. Thank you, Joe.

KAGAN: As you can tell that doesn't mean the former insurgent stronghold is under complete coalition control just yet. Insurgent forces are intensifying their attacks elsewhere.

U.S. and Iraqi forces are advancing street by street in Fallujah. The insurgents have ignited new flashpoints elsewhere in the country, while that's taking place.

For all the latest on the fighting, let's go to the capital and CNN's Karl Penhaul.

Karl, hello.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Daryn. In Fallujah, as far as Fallujah is concerned, there has been sporadic fighting there in the course of day. But we do understand that the level of that fighting is much less than on previous days. It's still going to be a long time though, before civilians can think about returning to the city. Most of the population had left before this ground assault began. But we're told by coalition commanders that it could be days if not weeks, before the water and electricity is restored there. What we also know from attacks around other parts of Iraq, that the fighting in Fallujah has not crushed the resistance once and for all. The Iraq interior minister was talking about this in a press conference this afternoon. This is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FALAH AL NAKIB, INTERIOR MINISTER, IRAQ (through translator): The operation of Fallujah is not the end of everything. It is part of a long process; it's part of a series of operations. But the most important thing that their main stronghold in Fallujah has been destroyed. Now they are trying in Mosul, Diala and Baquba.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PENHAUL: Outside of Fallujah the heaviest clashes over the last few days have been in the northern city of Mosul. We're told, though, by the U.S. military today that things are a lot calmer than they were before. That the police stations that have been a focal point of insurgent attacks over the last few days, are all now back under control of the U.S. military or the Iraqi government. But the U.S. military does say that they will be fighting over the next few days against pockets of resistance there -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Well, and the military did say that they found fewer insurgents than originally expected in Fallujah. Those people had to go somewhere. Is there a sense that they went into Mosul and these other places? And this fight will just have to take place on a different battleground now?

PENHAUL: That could be a possibility. The coalition had initially estimated between three and 5,000 fighters could have been holed up in Fallujah. It's been very difficult to get a read on exactly how many insurgent fighters may have been killed, or captured inside of Fallujah. It's still early days. And obviously there's a lot of wreckage there to do a full body count.

But what does seem likely as you suggest is that some of those fighters may have seeped away to other cities inside of Iraq. In fact, that's what insurgents were vowing to do, to launch a series of rear guard attacks around the rest of Iraq, to divert some of the military muscle away from Fallujah. This seems to be very much in the nature of guerrilla war, and it's what the U.S. military and Iraqi government are going to have to face in the weeks and months before the elections in January -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Karl Penhaul in Baghdad. Karl, thank you.

NGUYEN: A U.S. Marine commander says an investigation is under way into the fatal shooting of an Iraqi prisoner who was wounded and apparently unarmed. And it was caught on videotape.

CNN's senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre has that videotape. And we do want to warn you now that it does contain some disturbing images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(GUNFIRE)

JAIME MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On Friday, U.S. Marines stormed a Fallujah mosque after taking fire from insurgents inside. The Marines killed 10 fighters and wounded five others, who were given some medical treatment and left to be picked up later. The next day, last Saturday, a different Marine unit went back into the mosque in response to reports insurgents had returned. Gunfire could be heard as the Marine unit that had been there Friday, and an embedded television reporter, arrived at the mosque minutes later.

As they enter, three of the previous days' wounded lay dying, apparently shot again. It's unclear the Marines who were already there knew the wounded had been captured and disarmed the day before. One severely wounded man is then shot in the head by one of those Marines at point blank range.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's (BEEP) faking he's dead!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, he's breathing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's faking!

(GUNFIRE)

MCINTYRE: CNN has chosen not to show the actual killing due to the explicit nature of the video. Afterward, one man tells the television reporter in Arabic that he was among the prisoners captured on Friday.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happened?

MCINTYRE: And the TV reporter relays that to the Marine. He replies, "I didn't know, sir. I didn't know." That Marine, who is said to have suffered a gunshot wound to the face the day before, is now under investigation. If he knowingly shot a wounded captive, who did not pose a threat, it would be a war crime.

LT. COL. BOB MILLER, U.S. MARINE CORPS: They would have to be using force in self-defense, yes. Enemy wounded, and in this case, insurgents who don't pose a threat, would not be considered hostile generally. I think that's a fair statement.

MCINTYRE: The investigation will determine if the Marine violated any rules or should be charged with any crime. The Marines point out that in the fog of war, it's not always clear who is a threat.

In a separate incident the same day, a Marine was killed and five others wounded when they came across a dead body that was booby- trapped.

(on camera): U.S. commanders are worried about the impact of the video, which seems to show a prisoner being unjustly killed. They're worried that instead of surrendering, it could encourage the insurgents to fight on to the death.

Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: The ad was racy, and to some controversial. But more importantly, did it disclose the full truth? Still to come, the FDA yanks Viagra's "wild thing" ad. We will tell you why.

NGUYEN: Plus, they're usually packed with sugar and chocolate chips. But these cookies have one extra ingredient that's landed the baker in some hot water. We will explain.

KAGAN: And to a lemonade stand's touched people in her city, also nationwide. And although she's gone, Alek's dream is now a reality and it continues to grow. I'll have a chance to talk with her mom coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Want to take a look now at stories making news "Coast to Coast" today.

KAGAN: In Conway, New Hampshire, a 17-year-old high school student is accused of selling cookies bursting with flavor, chocolate chips; sounds good. And marijuana.

NGUYEN: What?

KAGAN: Yes. A teacher tipped off police and a drug-sniffing dog confirmed the suspicions. The teen is now charged with possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute in a school zone. Not a good thing there.

NGUYEN: All right. Take a look at this. In Delaware, Ohio, the pilot of this crashed plane was able to escape despite two broken legs. The plane, though, apparently clipped some power lines and slammed into a reservoir about three or four feet deep. Now, the pilot was able to drag himself the 25 yards to shore and was rescued a short time later.

KAGAN: To suburban Seattle, a 17-year-old girl is back home after recovering from surgery, after surviving eight days in her wrecked car. That car plunged 200 feet down a ravine and escaped notice from a number of police searches. That is -- get this, until a family friend said she followed vivid dreams to the crash site.

NGUYEN: Hmm.

KAGAN: The girl suffered severe facial injuries. She was dehydrated, but should recover completely.

NGUYEN: See all those dreams that we have? There's a reason for those.

KAGAN: Yes. JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I had weird dreams last night.

KAGAN: Any lost people out there that you can help?

NGUYEN: Find?

(LAUGHTER)

JERAS: We won't get into it.

KAGAN: Jacqui Jeras is here with a dream weathercast, hopefully.

NGUYEN: We hope.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: well, ever wonder what your neighborhood looked like in the '30s? What was that corner store? Was it always there? Well still to come, a look at the Big Apple during the Great Depression. And how 70 years later some things, well, they never change.

KAGAN: But first, one major retailer gives a big boost to the cause of a lemonade stand. It was once run by one very special little girl. Alek's story coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

NGUYEN: Well, still to come here on CNN LIVE TODAY, all packed up and ready to go, McGreevey heads out, as New Jersey's new governor takes his first day on the job.

KAGAN: But first, the first suspect in connection with the deadly Spain train bomb heads to trial today, and he's not even an adult. We'll take you live to Madrid for the latest on that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: We're coming up on the half hour. Welcome back. I'm Betty Nguyen.

KAGAN: And I'm Daryn Kagan. Here's what's happening now in the news.

Two hours from now, President Bush is expected to formally nominate Condoleezza Rice as his next secretary of state. Rice now serves as the president's national security adviser. She would succeed Colin Powell who announced his resignation yesterday.

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