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Roberts Confirmed; California Wildfire; Ann Arbor High School Evacuated for Second Time This Week

Aired September 29, 2005 - 11:59   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's got to the White House live. Here is the White House spokesperson Scott McClellan speaking.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECY.: ... watch, with White House staff, the vote in the Roosevelt Room. The president was wrapping up a meeting in the Oval Office and he stepped outside of the Oval Office at the beginning of the vote to catch a little bit of the vote in the Oval Office.

And then, after seeing some of the initial votes taking place, he went over to the Roosevelt Room, joined Judge Roberts, Senator Thompson and other White House staff that was there -- and I think all of the counsel office or most of the counsel's office was in there as well, probably about 25 to 30 White House staffers -- and proceeded to continue watching the vote.

When the vote went over 50 senators, the whole room in the Roosevelt Room broke out into applause for Judge Roberts, who nodded and expressed his appreciation in a very humble way.

And then the president shook his hand and congratulated him and they watched a few more votes. But then they went over to the Oval Office, along with Senator Thompson and a few others, and they've been visiting the Oval Office.

Judge Roberts and Mrs. Roberts will join the president and Mrs. Bush for lunch over in the residence here shortly.

Oh and, by the way, one moment of levity that was in the Roosevelt Room was when everybody broke out into a long, extended applause for Judge Roberts, someone reminded them that the gavel had not gone down yet and that it wasn't official. So everybody broke out into a little bit of laughter at the moment there.

Chief Justice Roberts is someone that the American people will be proud of for many years to come. He is someone of the highest intellect and integrity, with a judicial temperament and modesty that will make him an exceptional chief justice.

MCCLELLAN: And the president looks forward to the swearing-in ceremony later today.

I expect that a number of members of the Cabinet will be present, a number of senators. I think everyone on the Supreme Court will be there, with the exception of Justice Scalia, who had a previously scheduled commitment that he is attending to.

Also joining the Supreme Court justices will be Mrs. Marshall, the widow of Justice Thurgood Marshall, and Mrs. Stewart, the widow of Justice Potter Stewart.

And joining Judge Roberts will be his wife, Mrs. Roberts, and his kids, Jack and Josie, as well as his mother and father and several other family members who will be present as well.

And with that, I am glad to go to your questions.

QUESTION: Looking ahead, what are the political considerations that the president is taking into consideration as he looks at his potential nominee to replace Sandra Day O'Connor?

MCCLELLAN: Well, I think, first we ought to step back and recognize what a historic day this is.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

(LAUGHTER)

MCCLELLAN: And celebrate the swearing in of the 17th chief justice of the United States, and that's what we're focused on today.

The president continues to move forward on a very thorough and deliberate process for naming the nominee for the vacancy that exists. We have consulted with over 70 United States senators. That matches the level of consultation that we held for the first vacancy. The level of consultation that we engaged in was unprecedented. We have now matched that.

We continue to reach out to some additional senators. And we will keep you updated on that as that comes to a conclusion, but it is essentially wrapping up at this point.

The president is going to nominate someone who he feels is the best person for the position. He will nominate someone that will make the American people proud, just like Judge Roberts has. And he will nominate someone who is highly qualified, who has the experience and expertise and temperament to represent the American people well on the Supreme Court.

KAGAN: It's all about the Supreme Court in the daily press briefing right now at the White House. Spokesman Scott McClellan there.

A couple interesting things on John Roberts, that he watched the vote take place at the Senate of his confirmation at the White House. And he will be sworn in there later today, in about three hours in the East Room. Justice Stephens will be doing those honors, and President Bush will be there to see that take place, as John Roberts will become the 17th chief justice of the United States.

Let's go to our Joe Johns, who has been watching the vote take place. And more news on that. I thought that was interesting that Justice Stephens will be the one who will be swearing in the future chief justice.

JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is, but the truth is, just anybody on the court could swear in the next chief justice. It turns out John Paul Stephens will be doing it. He is the elder statesman on the court, the longest serving since the death of Justice Rehnquist.

When you watched the vote today in the Senate, there were no surprises. It was an overwhelming vote, 78-22. A number of Democrats joining the Republicans in the confirmation of Judge Roberts to become the next chief justice. The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Arlen Specter, talked about the vote shortly after it occurred.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (R-PA), CHAIRMAN, JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Judge Roberts, soon to be Chief Justice Roberts, got half of the Democrats and Senator Jeffords to come away with 78 votes. Considering where the Senate was in such contentious places earlier this year, I think is really remarkable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: So the focus now turning very quickly to the remaining open seat, if you will, on the United States Supreme Court, the seat that is being vacated by Sandra Day O'Connor. The question, when will the president name someone to replace her?

What will be the timetable? Will that person be a moderate? Will that person be a conservative?

It's all up to the president. But the forces are gathering now. And we do expect a fight, whenever the president gets started with this, if Democrats don't think this is the person who should be on the court.

Back to you, Daryn.

KAGAN: Daryn, yes.

JOHNS: I'm sorry.

KAGAN: I know. It's been a long couple of days. That's all right.

JOHNS: You bet.

KAGAN: And in anticipation of the next nominee to come before the Senate, you did get a sense that some Democrats trying to send a message with their vote today, Joe?

JOHNS: Certainly, the "no" votes may very well have been a reflection of that. Although, if you talk to a lot of senators, I'm sure you'll hear many say that this is a personal vote and that political considerations were not the main thing in focus.

Liberal groups on the outside did go to the Democrats, particularly the top Democrat of the United States Senate, Harry Reid, and say, we need a strong vote against John Roberts to send a message to the White House about the next nominee. And apparently some Democrats very concerned about who will be that next nominee. Will that be a person who they believe is in the mold of Sandra Day O'Connor, who you can argue on -- certainly on swing votes has from time to time been a moderate voice, at least on the issue of abortion -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Joe Johns on Capitol Hill. Joe, thank you for that.

Other political news today. A federal challenge to Oregon's death with dignity law will be among the first case taken up by the Supreme Court next week. Oregon is the only state that does allow terminally ill patients to receive lethal doses of medicine from their doctors. A dying man weighs in his opinion later this hour.

Also, on the West Coast, a wildfire still burning through southern California today. It consumed several thousands acres overnight. Hundreds of firefighter are working to contain the blaze. A highway was closed, and buildings in Los Angeles and Ventura County were threatened.

Dan Simon is in Los Angeles County with the latest.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, firefighters tell me this is going to be a very long day. If you look behind me, you can see the smoke there in the mountains. And that actually might be a bit deceiving, because you are only seeing smoke. But let me tell you, there are some serious flames back there.

And we are here at a staging point. And there are lots of evacuees here. And I'm here with one of them.

This is Priscilla Weens (ph).

And, Priscilla, you were told to evacuate your home at 2:00 in the morning last night? Tell me about that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They came knocking on the door, pounding on the door, told us we had five minutes to get out of the canyon and grab everything that we could, and our livestock and our family, and get.

SIMON: You were told you had five minutes to gather up your belongings. I mean, what do you take in that period of time?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Besides your family and a little bit of clothes and your animals, not a whole lot. Just basically what you can grab.

SIMON: And so you are down here, you're hanging out with the media, trying to get the latest information. I mean, what's going through your mind? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm terrified if I still have a house left or not, if I have any livestock left or not. Because I was -- I unfortunately had to leave some livestock up there.

SIMON: I know you have a lot of livestock. You have some horses, and you said you have some goats?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I've got 22 goats that are still up there, along with chickens and my neighbor's geese. And little things like that.

SIMON: OK. Well, thank you so much for talking to us. OK?

Once again, firefighters trying to get a handle on this place. A thousand firefighters out here. Helicopters are going to be making water drops all day long. And hopefully, we'll have some good information to pass along. We'll have the very latest here in southern California.

Back to you.

KAGAN: Dan Simon, live in southern California.

Now we want to go to a developing story very close to Ann Arbor, Michigan. A high school there, Saline High School, being evacuated for the second time in a week because of a mystery illness.

On the phone with us right now is Betty Rosen-Leacher. She is with Saline High School.

And thank you for joining us, Betty. What can you tell us?

BETTY ROSEN-LEACHER, SALINE HIGH SCHOOL: I can tell you that today we had two students who fell ill, complaining of similar symptoms as students earlier this week. At 11:15 this morning, the Pittsfield Fire Department did evacuate our students and staff from the building.

We are in the process of getting all of our students home. Those students who travel by bus to school are on the buses, headed home for the day. Our students who drive will be following after the buses, and then we'll be allowing parents back into the campus area to pick up the rest of their children who are currently being housed over at the football stadium.

KAGAN: Betty, let me just jump in here a second.

ROSEN-LEACHER: Sure.

KAGAN: Take me back earlier this week on Tuesday. What happened?

ROSEN-LEACHER: We had five students who were complaining they were feeling nauseous and dizzy. They were transported to the local hospital but were fine and released later that afternoon with no indication of what perhaps caused this. Since then, we've had an environmental control company in monitoring the air quality of the schools. They've discovered nothing at this time. So when we say mystery, it really at this point is a mystery.

KAGAN: Yes. Were all the kids in the same classroom? I mean, five kids out of a high school sick doesn't seem unusual. But is it that their symptoms were so severe and that they were at the same place?

ROSEN-LEACHER: They were not necessarily in the same location. The students on the first day were actually in two different locations. Yesterday the students that fell ill, we did not need to evacuate yesterday, but they fill ill. They were in one classroom which we had closed -- we had closed that classroom down completely.

And again, today it's a different location of the building. So we're just trying to put all of the pieces together.

KAGAN: And the students that went home earlier this week, once they left school and were treated, are they doing better?

ROSEN-LEACHER: They are doing fine, yes.

KAGAN: Big mystery. So school is out for the rest of today. We wish you well...

ROSEN-LEACHER: Great.

KAGAN: ... in getting your students and staff well and figuring out what the problem is there.

That's Betty Rosen-Leacher with Saline High School in Pittsfield Township in Michigan. A mystery illness at that high school.

We want to transfer here now down to New Orleans. Our Drew Griffin is on the phone. He's been working on a series of stories about allegations that members of New Orleans Police Department were actually some of the looters that took things and ransacked that city in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Apparently an investigation has now been opened into those allegations, and Drew joins us on the phone right now -- Drew.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Daryn.

The attorney general of Louisiana told us yesterday that he is investigating two issues of police officers looting. And we just learned about 45 minutes ago that the New Orleans Police Department has now launched an internal investigation into what happened at the Amerihost Suites hotel on Canal Street.

That is where we have been reporting eight allegedly renegade police officers took over the 10th floor of that hotel. And according to the owner of the hotel and several witnesses, were going out on literally a looting spree by night and a drinking and eating binge by day, and threatening people inside that hotel. We have some video that we obtained showing one of the New Orleans police officers actually brandishing a gun and closing a door, trying to prevent a local TV news reporter from getting into that 10th floor of that hotel. That apparently has prompted now the New Orleans Police Department to launch its own internal investigation into what exactly happened on the 10th floor of that hotel.

We are expecting that announcement to be made officially with Kyra Phillips on LIVE FROM today. But we can confirm that this internal investigation has been launched.

KAGAN: Right. And Drew, when you first reported the story a few weeks ago, the New Orleans Police Department was pretty dismissive of the allegations.

GRIFFIN: They were completely dismissive and trying to tell us there was a misunderstanding. And that misunderstanding ended when we discovered the videotape.

Once that videotape was put into our hands, we brought it to the New Orleans Police Department. We said, "Is this a New Orleans police officer?" They confirmed indeed it is.

And, you know, from our sources here and from just taking a look at it, you can tell that this police officer was not acting as a police officer should be acting. And I think that, Daryn, is what prompted this internal investigation.

KAGAN: The other news of the week out of New Orleans Police Department is the departure of Eddie Compass, the former head of the -- soon to be former head of that department. Do you think his leaving and a new police chief coming in has anything to do with the change of how they are treating this case?

GRIFFIN: We have not been able to make any connection between the leaving of superintendent Eddie Compass and the rise of Warren Riley, the assistant superintendent. There's a lot of things going on with the police department right now and how the command staff handled itself in this crisis.

And there's a lot of politics that was reported last night by our colleague, Chris Lawrence. He did a big story on the politics of the mayor and the police chief and whether or not they've been getting along.

So I don't think you can draw any connection yet or any connection at all between this isolated incident of police looting on the 10th floor of this hotel to what happened with the command staff of the New Orleans Police.

KAGAN: All right. Still, a fascinating development. The New Orleans Police Department now saying it will look into allegations of police looting in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Drew Griffin, on the phone with us from New Orleans.

Drew, thank you.

And as Drew was mentioning, more details coming up in the next hour on LIVE FROM with Kyra Phillips.

Also from that region, best-selling author John Grisham is doing his part to help the victims of Katrina. Straight ahead on CNN LIVE TODAY, Grisham and his wife share their fondest memories of the now devastated Mississippi Gulf. They do that with our Anderson Cooper.

Also, pressing the American agenda in a tough crowd. Up next, U.S. special envoy Karen Hughes gets an earful during her whirlwind visit through the Mideast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: This just in to CNN. A serious bus crash.

This is on I-5 in Everett, Washington, north of Seattle. Apparently the drive of a Trailways bus seriously injured when the bus crashed into the median on I-5.

The Washington State Patrol is also reporting that five passengers have minor injuries, 12 other passengers on the bus are OK. The state patrol also saying that the bus went out of control on wet pavement this morning, crashing through a concrete barrier and a guardrail, coming to rest against the guardrail on the northbound side.

There is fighting this morning in western Iraq. CNN's Jennifer Eccleston is embedded with U.S. Marines in the region. She reports American and Iraqi forces are taking on insurgents in the region. The combined forces are trying to push the insurgents toward the Syrian border.

And in Iraq's capital, an improvised explosive device went off today, killing an Iraqi child. Local police say the device was apparently aimed at a U.S. military convoy. A car was also badly damaged in that blast.

The next 75 days could be critical in determining whether the U.S. can reduce the number of American troops in Iraq. That is according to the top U.S. military commander in Iraq. General George Casey testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee today and had this exchange with Senator John McCain over what will determine a U.S. draw-down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. GEORGE CASEY, U.S. ARMY: I mentioned in my opening testimony that what we were focused on is putting Iraqis in the lead as soon as they are capable. We fully recognize that Iraqi armed forces will not have an independent capability for some time, because they don't have the institutional base to support them. And so level one, as you'll recall from the slide, that one has got one battalion.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: It used to be three. CASEY: And it's going to be a long time...

MCCAIN: Now we've gone from three to one?

CASEY: Pardon me?

MCCAIN: It was three before. The previous report was you had three battalions. Now we are down to one battalion?

CASEY: Right. And things change in the battalions. I mean, we are making assessments on personnel, on leadership, on training.

MCCAIN: And you...

CASEY: I mean, there are a lot of variables that are involved here, Senator.

MCCAIN: And your response to Senator Levin was that you are not planning on troop withdrawals because you want to see what happens in the next 75 days. Is that -- was that a correct...

CASEY: Senator, that's not how I would characterize my response.

MCCAIN: OK.

CASEY: I said that condition-based reductions of coalition forces remains an integral part of our overall strategy. And I believe I did say to the senator that that still remains possible in 2006.

MCCAIN: Are you planning on troop withdrawals for next year?

CASEY: I just said that, Senator, yes. I mean...

MCCAIN: Yes or no?

CASEY: Yes, Senator. I do believe that the possibility for troop -- for condition-based reductions of coalition forces still exists in 2006.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: General Casey says he'll know more about possible troop withdrawals after Iraqi elections in October and December.

Karen Hughes was special adviser to President Bush. Now she has a new job, promoting American image around the world. Sometimes that is a tough gig. We'll get more on that from our Andrea Koppel just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: There's another effort under way to build support for administration policies and to improve the way other countries see the U.S. Karen Hughes is the third Bush aide to hold a State Department position designed to burnish America's image abroad. Andrea Koppel looks at her efforts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPT. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Like a political candidate on the campaign trail, Karen Hughes has been working the crowd, doing what she knows best: staying on message.

KAREN HUGHES, STATE DEPT. UNDERSECRETARY: I hope that most people want our policy to be support for a Palestinian state, for example.

KOPPEL: As one of President Bush's closest advisers, it's a formula that worked well for Hughes when she was selling Bush to the American people. But here on the Arab and Muslim street, her efforts to sell Bush's policies are proving much more difficult.

(on camera): Difficult because more than two-and-a-half years after the U.S. invaded Iraq, anti-American sentiment and a growing suspicion about a hidden U.S. agenda, even among close U.S. allies, have hit record highs. Here in Turkey, for instance, a book entitled "Metal Storm," in which U.S. troops invade Turkey, has become a bestseller.

(voice over): The only books on Hughes' agenda here, the ones she donated to a Turkish elementary school. While this event dedicated to discussing women's rights was supposed to help Hughes highlight U.S. solidarity with the Turkish people, instead, the women turned the tables on Hughes, venting their frustrations about the continued U.S. military presence in Iraq.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I believe that the United States should bear the responsibility of blocking the way that leads to violence and war. And we are very much prepared to cooperate with the United States for the welfare of women and humanity.

KOPPEL: Earlier this week in Saudi Arabia, Hughes lectured newspaper editors about inflammatory literature found in American mosques, while off camera, hundreds of young female college students and teachers lectured Hughes about imposing American values on them.

Because of her close relationship with President Bush, at every stop during this week's public diplomacy campaign, Hughes got the red carpet, meeting a king, a prime minister, and even the (INAUDIBLE) pope. Press reports in the region questioned her motives.

The pan-Arab newspaper "Al Hayat" said Hughes trip had "failed because she is simply carrying a fake message and mission." In Egypt, a government-run newspaper editorial called Hughes' trip, "American plastic surgery." "Egyptians, Saudis and Turks are not going to like America all of a sudden. Emotions might change, however, if the U.S. changes the way it deals with us."

HUGHES: A Turkish (INAUDIBLE) to take back to Texas and Washington. KOPPEL: A small souvenir to remember her whirlwind visit before heading home. The unanswered question: will the road ahead be a two- way street or another dead end?

Andrea Koppel, CNN, Istanbul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: One down, one to go. Chief Justice John Roberts has been confirmed. President Bush now looking to name a replacement for Sandra Day O'Connor. Up next, we'll take a look at the supreme legal landscape.

Also, scientists say the Arctic ice caps are melting at an alarming rate. We'll find out what it means for all of us straight ahead.

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