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CNN Live Today

Ballot Battles Across the U.S.; Bird Flu Fears; Operation Steel Curtain Enters Fourth Day

Aired November 08, 2005 - 10:30   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. I'm Daryn Kagan.
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KAGAN: Here in the U.S. from New England to the Pacific Coast, voters in several states and some of the nation's biggest cities are heading to the polls today. The results may offer an indication of the nation's mood.

A couple of governors posts to look at. In Virginia and New Jersey, they are up for grabs. And the biggest political prize among the cities, the mayor's office in New York is also being contested. Plus there are mayor's races in Boston, Detroit, Atlanta, Houston and San Diego.

In Virginia, the governor's race has been a bruising battle. Democratic Lieutenant Governor Tim Kaine and former state Attorney General Jerry Kilgore, the Republican nominee, have been running neck and neck. The race is so tight it's considered virtually tied, and it has gotten progressively nastier there.

It's pretty much the same story in the battle for New Jersey's highest office. Democratic Senator Jon Corzine faces Republican businessman Doug Forrester. The race between Corzine and Forrester is the most expensive in state history. Both men have spent a combined $70 million.

In the battle for the mayor of New York, the Republican incumbent Michael Bloomberg faces Democrat Fernando Ferrer. And polls show Bloomberg with a clear lead over his opponent, a former president of New York's Bronx burough.

To California, where you might call today's special election a referendum on how voters feel about Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He's been stumping for weeks. He is pushing for ballot initiatives he calls a reform package. Critics call it a power grab. Some controversial proposals are also on the ballot in several other states as well.

Our political analyst Carlos Watson checks in from California, from Mountain View, with the take on these ballot battles. Carlos, happy election day.

CARLOS WATSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Happy election day, Daryn Kagan. Good to see you. KAGAN: This is like a high holy day for a political junkie like you. Let's start in California. Now, these -- this election and these referendums that Arnold Schwarzenegger is pushing, this is his way of staying to the state legislature, you know what? Forget you. I'm taking what I want to do and how I run to run the state to the people.

WATSON: There are so many movie analogies, given in Governor Schwarzenegger's career, that you could use here. But no two ways about it. A big deal here in California and a big deal nationally, Daryn. Because you know that California often kicks off policy movements, and now they're talking about how you hire your teachers, how you draw political lines to elect members of Congress, even how or whether or not teenagers can secure abortions.

It's a big deal. A quarter of a billion dollars spent. And as of this weekend, almost all of the polls, Daryn, suggested that all four of Governor Schwarzenegger's proposals were going to lose. But I've got news for you, Daryn.

KAGAN: What is that?

WATSON: The rain here in northern California may lead to an upset surprise or two, because you may have lower turnout among traditional Democrats, particularly up here in the Bay Area. And consequently, given all the effort Governor Schwarzenegger's put in to having people vote early through absentee ballots, he may sneak through with a victory or two among the four packages.

KAGAN: So Democrats don't come out in the rain, but Republicans do, Carlos? What are you saying?

WATSON: In fact, that's what they're -- in fact, that's what their own pollsters say. As I spoke late last night, you heard lots of worry and lots of concern. And yes, Democrats who traditionally get more support from lower income voters are worried that the rain today in northern California could make a real difference. And up to two million people were voted early through absentee ballots, those voters tend to be disproportionately higher income, and tend to vote disproportionately for Republicans. And so that could help Governor Schwarzenegger indeed.

KAGAN: All right. Let's talk about some of the other special elections taking place around the country, including Texas.

WATSON: So there are a couple. As you said, seven states are voting on a total of 38 different ballot proposals. The three biggest states, California, Texas, New York, all have big issues.

What's interesting in Texas and Maine is that both of them are dealing with gay marriage issues or at least gay rights issues. In Texas, they are trying to define marriage as between a man and a woman. In Maine, there's an effort to repeal prohibition against discrimination, gay discrimination.

But maybe a bigger issue is what's going on in Ohio. Remember that battleground state from last year, Daryn, where we saw everybody focused. They're make a big decision on how they draw the redistricting lines and whether or not they take it out of the hands of legislators and instead give it to an independent commission. If that happens in Ohio, Daryn, it could spread to other places.

KAGAN: Well, and on that note, give me a big picture prediction here. What are you really watching for a trend for the 2006 elections?

WATSON: I think at least three things stand out, Daryn. One, it's clear to me that in 2006, we are going have a wide range and a large number of ballot initiatives on the ballot elections. In other words, not just candidates, but big issues like abortion, like prescription drugs. You're going to see that everywhere, and that could spike turn-out.

Number two, you're going to see a lot of money. Already a quarter of a billion dollars in California. You're going to see record amounts raised next year.

And number three, Daryn, we're going to see lots of surprise issues. Everything from illegal immigration in non-border states -- so places like places like Virginia -- to the stem cell issue, which we're seeing a lot in New Jersey, will become another hot issue. It will be a very wild and as you said, for political junkies, very interesting year next year in 2006.

KAGAN: I bet you're looking forward to it. Carlos, thank you. Carlos Watson from...

WATSON: Very good to see you.

KAGAN: ... Mountain View. Good to see you, too.

So are you going vote today? Most Americans, believe it or not, will not. Election turnout in odd years is historically lower than in federal elections. And compared to other democratic nations, U.S. voter turnout is low, even for presidential elections.

One group, appropriately named Why Tuesday, says it's the very day that we traditionally have elections. Here now are the facts.

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BETTY NGUYEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Federal law designated Tuesday as election day in 1845. There were a number of reasons. Among them, it was a convenient day for farmers.

Modern turnout in the United States is far less than many other democratic nations. Since 1945, average turnout in American elections is about 48 percent of the voting age population. That puts the U.S. behind 138 other democratic nations, according to the International Institute for Democracy.

Italy tops the list, with an average of 92 percent turnout. To be fair, some of the nations have only held one election in that time period, and others have penalties against citizens who don't vote.

To make it more convenient, several of those nations hold elections on weekends, including Germany, Switzerland and France. And two more recent additions, Afghanistan and Iraq.

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KAGAN: Live picture on Capitol Hill this hour. The House Energy and Commerce Committee is holding a hearing on the threat of bird flu. Specifically, lawmakers want to assess how prepared the U.S. is to combat a pandemic outbreak. Among those to testify is Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt.

Well, speaking of bird flu, health experts say the danger of bird flu will take a critical leap if it ever mutates to the point that it can be passed from one human to another. So, as we look at this story from Indonesia, it's no surprise that medical teams rushed into action when family members report similar flu-like symptoms.

Here now, Atika Shubert with a story of a father and a son.

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ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It started with a cough and a high fever. Then the neighborhood chickens started to die. Abdul Karir (ph) and his son rushed to the hospital with flu symptoms. Doctors took no chances.

DR. SANTOSO SAROSO, BIRD FLU SPECIALIST: With increasing number of (INAUDIBLE), we are thinking there are possibility of increasing human-to-human transmission. That is the possibility we have to take it into account.

SHUBERT: Sealed off from other patients in the hospital's isolation unit, Abdul Karir and his son are waiting for test results. Blood samples are sent to the World Health Organization for final confirmation of whether they are indeed infected with bird flu.

They have reason to worry. Their neighborhood has already seen several cases of bird flu, killing 30-year-old Kara Wati (ph). She died just three days after being admitted to hospital. The speed of the disease shocked her family.

"I kept praying and hoping that she would survive and could return home soon, but at about 4:30 there was a phone call saying that she died," her mother says. "I was beyond grief. You couldn't see my eyes that day because they were shut closed from crying."

Raising chickens is tradition in Indonesia and many parts of Asia. Kara Wati was planning to give them away as presents for the upcoming Muslim holidays, but now that tradition poses a danger. After Kara Wati's death, her family is urging neighbors to vaccinate their chickens and ducks or call them.

"Chicken diseases are not new. They've existed for a long time, but we never thought it would turn into this," Kara Wati's brother-in- law says. "We've learned that bird flu can be painful and very scary."

That's why something as simple as a cough is now rushed to the hospital. But this time there is good news. The test results are in. Qadir and his son are negative for bird flu. Good news for now, but doctors warn, bird flu is still a danger.

Atika Shubert, CNN.

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KAGAN: Parents and their HMO. They are locked in a fight while the health of a child hangs in the balance.

Also ahead, street by street, house by house and the search for insurgents in Iraq. A CNN producer is embedded with U.S. troops for Operation Steel Curtain. She'll join us live coming up next.

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KAGAN: And now to Iraq, where American troops and Iraqi forces are going street to street, house to house, as they work to flush out insurgents in Husayba, Iraq. Operation Steel Curtain is now in its fourth day. So far, one American marine has been killed and nine others wounded in the operation; 3,000 U.S. troops and 550 Iraqi troops are taking part in this campaign near the Syrian border. Military officials say at least 36 insurgents have been killed.

Our producer Arwa Damon is with the coalition forces in Husayba, and she joins us now with this CNN exclusive.

Hello.

ARWA DAMON, CNN PRODUCER: Hi, Daryn.

It is an ever-changing battlefield here. Now as I'm speaking to you, I can hear the call to prayer in the background, which is a small sign of normal in this is what is by all standards a very abnormal situation, and it is an ever-changing battlefield field here in Husayba.

Today, this morning, there was very little contact. It was actually eerily quiet. The Marines were pushing forth in Jenin to push east through the city, actually moving through an area that they believed would be heavily rigged with IEDs, so they were expecting to face fierce resistance. Now that did not materialize, although they did find a number of weapons caches and an IED factory.

But to compare that to yesterday. Yesterday's frontline of the battlefield was very intense. Towards the evening a major firefight broke out amongst the insurgents and the U.S. marines and the Iraqi security forces battling alongside them. They came under RPG and small-arms attacks.

They fired back with pretty much every single women weapon at their disposal, and it was a very intense scenario, especially because when we're talking about urban warfare, the street-to-street combat, as you said, house to house, when they receive fire from a certain location, they try to pinpoint that location, and they actually move towards that house.

They'll move one house to the next securing each home, each structure, as they move closer to where their suspected enemy me might be firing from, and it creates a very tense scenario. They're moving toward their enemy, and they're continuously strategizing as to what the best way to, as they put it, take down that location would be -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Thank you, Arwa Damon, with -- they're embedded with the U.S. military there along the Syrian board. Thank you for that report.

Coming up, we're going to look at business news, including how you can watch your favorite shows when you want and how you want. You just have to pay. We'll get the latest on that just ahead.

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KAGAN: Also ahead, we're going to tell you about a battle to save a little boy's life. It's pitting his parents against their HMO. It's a question so many patients face. Who should administer treatment and when? In this case, where should that happen?

Our Ted Rowlands has one family's story.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go!

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Four-year-old Jack Zembsch is way too busy having fun to know it, but he is caught in the middle of a fight that could save his life.

K. ZEMBSCH: We just feel like we get slapped in the face every time. It's like a knife being stabbed into us. We know where hope is for our child, and we can't get it.

You got it.

ROWLANDS: His parents say Jack always has a smile on his face, but he suffers from a very rare form of dwarfism called metatropic dysplasia. His organs are growing faster than his ribcage. His spine is slowly bending forward. Eventually, his lungs and heart will likely be crushed.

DR. WILLIAM MACKENZIE, ALFRED I. DUPONT HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN: And there is his chest.

ROWLANDS: Dr. William Mackenzie is the country's leading physician when it comes to treating this disease -- that's according to Jack's parents -- and his primary physician. Mackenzie has examined Jack. And he says he would like to treat it. MACKENZIE: I can help Jack. We have had a lot of experience treating these children. And we will do this with a combination of -- of surgery and bracing.

ROWLANDS: Jack's parents, Mark and Kim Zembsch, are convinced that Dr. Mackenzie represents Jack's best chance for survival. While Jack's pediatrician agrees, his HMO does not. A family request to Health Net incorporated to allow Jack to be treated by Dr. Mackenzie has been repeatedly denied.

MARK ZEMBSCH, FATHER OF 4-YEAR-OLD JACK: We have appealed now four times after the original submission. And what we get is responses that just make your blood curdle when you get them back.

ROWLANDS: Dr. Mackenzie is in Delaware. The Zembschs lives in Northern California. Health Net says there's a doctor in San Francisco who can do the job. The Zembschs disagree. This morning, their lawyer filed a lawsuit demanding that Dr. Mackenzie be Jack's physician.

ARNOLD LEVINSON, ATTORNEY FOR ZEMBSCHS: We're just saying that he has the experience and, therefore, the ability to make judgments that the doctors out here don't.

ROWLANDS (on camera): Today, Health Net released a statement saying it would still like Jack to be seen locally here in San Francisco. But it says it will allow an independent review board to decide this case. And, while a decision is being made, it will allow Jack to see Dr. Mackenzie for consultation.

(voice-over): Jack's parents say they have already made a decision.

M. ZEMBSCH: We will figure out how to pay for it. We have got credit cards. We're going to get out to see Dr. Mackenzie.

ROWLANDS: Ahead for Jack Zembsch is a lot of uncertainty is ahead. If all goes well, Jack could live well into his 30s. By then, his parents hope medical advances will keep him going longer.

M. ZEMBSCH: He's had physical challenges his whole life, but I think he's the happiest kid I have ever known.

K. ZEMBSCH: He is sunny side up. He was born that way. He's always been that way. That is who he is. He addresses challenges with an optimism that I am just astounded by.

He -- he may not be able to push a tricycle -- or ride a tricycle with his friends, but he will push it, so he's in the middle of the action and right in there with every kid. I know he will find ways to do that.

M. ZEMBSCH: He's like -- he's like the poster child for, you know, don't worry, be happy, because he is just always happy. He's a happy kid.

Ted Rowlands, CNN, San Francisco.

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KAGAN: Still ahead on CNN LIVE TODAY, analysts say this has been brewing for years. Are the riots in France a wake-up call for the government needing to initiate change?

Plus, tasers in school? It's a law -- or a controversy as close as your kid's classroom. The second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY begins right after a quick break.

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