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Deadly Attacks In Iraq; U.S. Troops Killed In Iraq; Ariel Sharon Gravely Ill; New Gadgets; Rebate Tips

Aired January 05, 2006 - 10:00   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: In Northern Virginia. Five people were taken to the hospital. Three cars of the train came off the track. The accident disrupted commuter rail service into Washington, as well as Amtrak routes.
President Bush is seeking broader opinion on Iraq. The president is meeting this hour with former secretaries of state and defense. The bipartisan group is also receiving a detailed briefing from the top U.S. commander in Iraq. We'll have a live report from the White House in a few minutes.

A 15-year-old Turkish girl died today of bird flu, four days after her brother also died from the virus. The siblings are the first known human deaths from the illness outside of China and Southeast Asia. Other members of the teens family are hospitalized with flu-like symptoms.

And good morning to you on this Thursday morning. I'm Daryn Kagan at CNN Center in Atlanta.

It has been a day of ghastly violence in Iraq where a series of explosions has killed more than a hundred people, including five U.S. soldiers on patrol. The first attack took place near two Shiite shrines in Karbala south of Baghdad. A suicide bomber there waded into the shopping area and detonated. More than 40 civilians were killed, 80 wounded. And that is not even the bloodiest attack of the day. CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr is gathering information on the deadly strike on the U.S. troops. We are, though, going to begin in Baghdad with CNN's Jennifer Eccleston.

Jennifer, hello.

JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn.

Well, the day's violence taking the greatest toll on Iraqi civilians. As you mentioned, this morning, in the holy city of Karbala, a suicide bomber detonates an explosive vest in a pedestrian square between two of the most revered shrines in Shia Islam. The death toll is rising, but so far police report that 45 pilgrims have been killed, over 80 are wounded. Among them, Iranian nationals.

The death toll was so high because of the large member of pilgrims in the square this Thursday. Thursday, of course, is the beginning of the weekend here and it is the day before the Muslim holy day of prayer. But it was northwest of Karbala in the Sunni stronghold of Ramadi where we saw the day's bloodiest attack. Another suicide bomber detonates an explosive vest at a police recruitment drive. Initial police estimates put the number of dead at about 68 with over 70 wounded. It was one of the biggest recruitment drives in the area. Some 600 men signing up during that drive. Ramadi's been the scene of numerous car bombs and suicide bombs, as well as skirmishes with U.S. forces.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Jennifer Eccleston live in Baghdad.

Now for more information on this morning's deadly attack on a U.S. patrol in Iraq, let's go to the Pentagon and Barbara Starr.

Barbara, hello.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, U.S. military commanders watching this dreadful day of violence in Iraq very closely. Indeed, five U.S. soldiers killed when their up armored Humvee struck one of those roadside bombs in Baghdad. Sources are confirming it was an armored Humvee. They are not able to tell us where the soldiers were inside or just outside the vehicle on foot patrol. But since the December 15th elections, now more than 20 U.S. troops killed by these improvised explosive devices just since then.

What commanders tell us is that they had every expectation that this violence would, in fact, upsurge again after the elections, after that strict election security had been pretty much taken away and things were coming back to what passes for normal in Iraq. That they did expect this upturn in violence.

But a lot of concern about it. They look at these attacks in Iraq that are killing so many Iraqi civilians, what they call the soft targets. The people that are unable to protect themselves against attackers and there is a good deal of concern about it. A lot of caution on the part of senior uniformed officers. As one officer told us earlier this morning, this insurgency is far from over. It remains very resilient.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Barbara Starr, live at the Pentagon, thank you.

Also from the Middle East today, we're following a developing story of a hotel collapse in Saudi Arabia. It happened in Mecca. That is Islam's holiest city and the center of this week's pilgrimage of millions of Muslims. We're told that at least 15 people were killed, about 39 others were wounded. Rescue workers are digging through the rubble in search of survivors. The hotel is near the grand mosque in Central Mecca where most of the hajj takes place.

And U.S. troops are on the scene of a suicide bombing in South Central Afghanistan. A government official says at least 10 Afghans were killed, 50 others injured in the attack. A short time ago, the Taliban claimed responsibility. The province has seen a string of roadside and suicide bombings in recent months.

At four minutes past the hour, now the latest for you on Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. He has been a constant in the shifting sands of Middle East politics. But this morning, a massive stroke has left his life in peril and his country's politics in limbo. Mr. Sharon is in serious, but stable condition this morning after nine hours of surgery to stop bleeding in his brain. The prime minister's powers have been transferred to his deputy and his efforts to broker peace with the Palestinians may be as fragile as his health is today.

Let's check in with CNN's Guy Raz. He has the latest from Jerusalem.

Guy, hello.

GUY RAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Daryn.

A lot of rumors circulating outside this hospital on the condition of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Just a few hours ago, the director general of Hadassah Hospital came out to dispel some of those rumors. Nevertheless, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon remains in serious condition. He's breathing with the aid of a respirator. And, as we speak, he's clinging to life.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAZ, (voice over): As the hours tick on, doctors say the prognosis doesn't look good. Israel's legendary survivor, Ariel Sharon, may finally have met his match. Early Thursday, the prime minister underwent a second surgery to drain blood from his brain at the Hadassah Medical Centre in Jerusalem. Neurologists say the likelihood he'll emerge the same is low. His chances of dying are high. But though deeply infirm, the 77-year-old man clings to life as doctors say.

DR. SHLOMO MOR-YOSEF, HADASSAH MEDICAL CENTRE: All the vital signs and all the measurements are according to what is expected after such a long surgery and after hemorrhagic stroke. As part of the treatment, Prime Minister Sharon is under anesthesia and he is ventilated, at least for the next 24 hours.

RAZ: Elsewhere in Jerusalem, the machinery of government continues to function. At least that's the impression Mr. Sharon's leaderless cabinet wants to give. The man in charge now, Ehud Olmert, Israel's deputy prime minister and Sharon's close confidant.

This is a difficult situation, Olmert conceded, but the country will withstand the upheaval.

It's not just a national upheaval, but a regional one. Palestinian leaders are monitoring the ailing prime minister's condition as well, knowing that Sharon's demise may complicate efforts to resolve the conflict.

AHMED QOREI, PALESTINIAN PRIME MINISTER: For us, the Palestinian, what concerns us, we hope that he will recover. And, second, we are looking all of the time for leaders in Israel to be in favor of peace, to be ready to sit with the Palestinians to start a very serious and (INAUDIBLE) in negotiation.

RAZ: No one's publicly talking about life without Sharon yet, but everyone is thinking about it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RAZ: And, Daryn, tonight, everybody in Israel is closely watching this hospital ward, waiting. Some of them are praying that their prime minister, really the last living historic leader in this region, pulls through.

Daryn.

KAGAN: And as you were mentioning, Guy, this comes at such a pivotal time in Israeli politics. Shortly after Ariel Sharon had left the Likud Party to start Kadima, the new party. What's happening behind the scenes? Is the political jockeying already beginning for power?

RAZ: There's no question that it's already beginning for power. But, of course, a lot of consternation among the members of that party that Ariel Sharon founded called Kadima. Essentially a centrist party of the consensus. And many senior members of Mr. Sharon's old party, the Likud Party, left that movement to join Mr. Sharon's party Kadima. Essentially a one-man party. Ariel Sharon himself, it's estimated, was worth about a third of the seats in the Israeli parliament. Now it's unclear whether that party will survive without Ariel Sharon at the helm.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Guy Raz, live from Jerusalem, thank you.

Later this hour, I will talk with an expert on strokes and their danger and what this situation could mean for you at home as well.

Also, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice recently this morning speaking about Ariel Sharon and the stroke that he has suffered. Let's listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: I've not had an opportunity personally to join with the many around the world. And, of course, the Israeli people in prayers and thoughts for Prime Minister Sharon in hopes for his recovery. Our prayers, our concerns are with his family and also with the Israeli government and people at this very difficult time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: The uncertainty ripples well beyond the Middle East concerning Ariel Sharon. There are large questions also looming at the White House today. The White House a major partner in the region's peace efforts. Let's get the latest from there and White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.

Suzanne, good morning.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

Well, I just got off the phone with a U.S. source who has high- level Israeli ties who explains it this way. He says that Sharon is alive, but it is almost impossible that he'll resume the prime minister ship. He goes on to say, that he is being sedated over the last 24 hours. That there's likely permanent damage. That the odds of resuming work are extreme.

Now he also goes on to say that no one is writing him off yet. He has got to wake up. But he says that people are very pessimistic as to his future. Today is simply a day of assessment to figure out what to do next.

And we do know that President Bush, however, is keeping updated on the situation on his condition. It was just yesterday he released a statement saying that, "Laura and I share the concerns of the Israeli people about Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's health, and we are praying for his recovery. Prime Minister Sharon is a man of courage and peace. On behalf of all Americans, we send our best wishes and hopes to the prime minister and his family."

The White House being very cautious about what they say, of course. They do not want to get ahead of the story. They understand that the situation, however, is grave. And in terms of their relationships and where this moves forward, it was back in March of 2001 when President Bush first hosted him at the White House. But it was after September 11th when the two leaders really forged a very strong, personal and political ties. Essentially their vision to go after terrorists and, of course, that move to sideline, to marginalis the late Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat.

Sharon's historic move essentially to withdraw Israeli settlers from the West Bank, as well as parts of Gaza really catapulted President Bush's vision. That, of course, two states peacefully living side by side, Israel and Palestine. There are people, of course, who are concerned when they look at the future of that, that that may be in limbo.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Suzanne, tell us about this meeting taking place today between President Bush and these former secretaries of state and former secretaries of defense. It sounds fascinating.

MALVEAUX: It really is quite incredible when you think about it, because this is really just intellectual, historical firepower that's in the Roosevelt Room at this hour. We're talking about the president, the vice president, the secretary of state, but also more than a dozen former and current secretaries of state, as well as defense. They are all here brought together. Essentially part of this effort that the White House says to broaden its outreach, to explain the situation in Iraq. To hear some of their concerns, but also to be updated on what is happening there.

A couple of people that we have seen, very interested group here. Former secretaries of state, Colin Powell is here, Madeleine Albright, Lawrence Eagleburger. And then former secretaries of defense, William Cohen, William Perry and Robert McNamara. So we expect -- or at least hope that they'll go to the stake out camera to ask them a couple of questions.

KAGAN: You'll be watching that for us. Suzanne Malveaux at the White House.

Suzanne, thank you.

One other note here about Ariel Sharon. Just getting this statement from Palestinian Leader Mahmoud Abbas. He says he is following Ariel Sharon's condition with "great worry."

Much more from that region as the news develops.

Meanwhile, closure beginning as we turn to the mining tragedy. Closure beginning for some residents in Upshur County, West Virginia, in the mining community there. Dozens of people gathered outside the Sago Baptist Church last night to remember the dozen men killed this week in a mine accident. The candlelight vigil was organized by a fellow miner.

Doctors say the sole survivor of the mine is showing "slight improvement." Twenty-six-year-old Randy McCloy, Jr., remains in critical condition after suffering from severe dehydration and a collapsed lung in his 41-hour ordeal. Doctors are still worried about possible brain and neurological damage. But he has communicated with loved ones gathered at his bedside. Yesterday he squeezed his wife's hand. Last hour, we spoke to Randy McCloy's mother and stepfather.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIM FLINT, MCCLOY'S STEPFATHER: There are concerns with the heart, the liver, the kidneys. Also with the lack of oxygen or the quality of it. There are still concerns with brain activity. But, you know, the doctors are -- you know, they always have to, you know, to give you sort of the darker side of it and -- but from what I'm seeing up there, he's fighting and I think he's aware of what's going on. He's just fighting every second to get stronger so he can get up and see his kids.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: McCloy's mother says that while much of her energy is focused on her son's recovery, her heart goes out to the families of the miners who didn't survive. Later this hour, we'll get reports from Tallmansville and the hospital as well.

And we have much more ahead on the tragedy of the Sago Mine on CNN LIVE TODAY. We'll get a live report from the hospital where Randy McCloy is being treated. We will get the latest on his condition. Also, the day after receiving the terrible news that 12 miners died. A live report from Tallmansville, West Virginia, to see how the town is coping.

And shifting gears quite a bit. Literally shifting gears. The future is now the technological gizmos and gadgets that you just might really want to have. We'll get a look at some of them live from the consumer electronics show. That's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: All right. Get ready to push some buttons. There are some cool, new gadgets out at this year's consumer electronics show. Our Technology Correspondent Daniel Sieberg joins us from Los Vegas to tell you about a few of them.

In hog heaven, I think, for you, my friend.

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, nerd nirvana we call it here at the Consumer Electronics Show where the sun is just coming up. In fact, coming in through a window just over my shoulder. It's very early here. The show does not officially open for another few hours. And 140,000 people expected this year. Lots of gadgets. It's tough to get a sense of all of them but we have a few here we can show you.

The first one we're going to talk about is from a company people might know iRobot. You might know of the Roomba, which is a vacuum that is meant to clean your floors. But this one is the Scooba. This is a sequel, in a sense. We've got some video of it in action. It is meant to wash your floors, not your carpets. You put some fluid, some cleaning solution in it, you push a few buttons and off it goes. If it hits something, it will go around it. It will also dry your floors once it's done.

Now we can show you what it looks like. Here we've got one on the table as well. Here is the Scooba. If I pop it open, you can sort of see the innards of it. The inside. There is a filter. You pour the fluids in, you let it go, and you entertain the cats and dogs in your house. On the bottom here, you can see the brushes and what it does to kind of clean up the water when you're done. About $300 available now on the iRobot Web site. Wider available in about a month or so.

The sun in your eyes, that's just the glint off all the technology here.

We're going to go to some digital camera stuff now. This is a camera that's being talked about here from Kodak. People know of the digital camera with a zoom. This one has two lenses and it has an ultrawide angle. So we're going to turn this around. And if you can see here, you get a much wider perspective, especially of the sun coming up over there.

And we can show you some pictures that illustrates this. This is going to be about $300. It's coming out this month. This is a picture that Kodak took using just a typical wide angle. Let me try and get out of the shadow here. And then this is the ultrawide angle. So you get a much wider perspective. You can also stitch pictures together to get a wider panoramic view is what they call it.

Now if you want to share those pictures, which a lot of people do, this is a product from a company called Ceiva. And if you can see it there, the pictures are slowly scrolling through. The idea being, you would give this $100 device to say, grandma. She would hook it up using a phone cable. You can see it hooked up here. No computer needed.

She would turn this on and remotely you, on your computer, would upload your digital pictures and grandma would wake up in the morning the next day it would automatically put the pictures in, up to 30, and she would think magically there are new pictures of the grandkids when she wakes up in the morning. This costs $100, as I pointed out, from a company called Ceiva. A little bit of setup time and a monthly fee of about $10.

The next one here. This is for any amateur astronomer out there. It's from a company called Celestron. It's the Skyscout. If I point it up anywhere inside or outside, in this case we're getting a little bit of glare, so I don't know if you can see what I'm doing. But if you push the button on the top here, that's a target anywhere in the sky, it will give you a readout and tell you exactly what you're looking at. In this case, it says we're looking at part of the Hercules constellation. It will also guide you to different stars.

And just quickly, the last thing here that's getting a lot of buzz. This is the Slingbox media device. It will allow you to see any of your pre-recorded Tivo shows or DVR shows while you're on the road. This device has been around for a while. They're announcing the port ability of it. This is pretty impressive. For $250 this device, not sure about the price yet for the mobile service, but this is getting a lot of buzz here at the show. I just wanted to point it out.

So it's pretty impressive stuff here, Daryn.

KAGAN: We enjoy the buzz. Daniel Sieberg, you have a great time out there in Las Vegas as the sun comes up.

SIEBERG: All right.

KAGAN: Thank you.

And speaking of technology, we here at CNN have something really cool to show you. Have you checked out Pipeline? It's live, streaming video on the Internet. We're going to show you how it works ahead.

But first, you know those big ticket items that offer great rebates, that's an incentive to buy, but will you actually follow through on getting your money back? Gerri Willis is here to get us to do that.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Daryn, good to see you. You know, the check may not be in the mail when it comes to rebates. We'll show you how to navigate these tricky waters. "Five Tips" is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Let's go ahead and check out the markets that have been open close to an hour. You can see the Dow is slowly moving up. Well, kind of hanging around the 20, 19-point mark in positive territory. The Nasdaq is also up. It is up just over 11 points.

OK. Time to get to that to-do list. Perhaps you bought a new computer or maybe a cell phone, but are you going collect on that rebate? The company bets you will not. But we can help you get that cash back. Our Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis has today's "Top Five Tips."

Ger, I'm guilty.

WILLIS: Are you?

KAGAN: Purchased a camera, printer set-up thing.

WILLIS: Yes?

KAGAN: Paperwork's sitting on my desk.

WILLIS: That's not good.

KAGAN: I know.

WILLIS: Those deadlines can be really short. I want to show you exactly how to get this done and follow up on the process, make sure you get your money back. Look, 40 percent of all rebates never get redeemed because, like you, Daryn, either they fail to file the paperwork or the paperwork gets rejected. The devil's in the details here. You've really got to work hard to make sure you get the money you are owed and due. Make sure you get the application form in the first place. Sometimes it's not packaged with the product. You actually have to go to their Web site and print it out. So make sure you have a place to do that. But it's pretty darn tricky.

KAGAN: Yes, you have to be really -- you really have to follow their rule too.

WILLIS: Absolutely. Typically there are many rules about doing this. You've got to read the fine print. Sometimes they ask you to circle the sale date, sometimes the sales price when you turn it in. If your application form is messed up in some way, let's say the dog got a hold of it, they may reject you on that basis alone. Make sure when you're giving them a street address to send it back to you, that you don't give them a post office box number. They won't send it to that. So be sure you read the fine print.

KAGAN: And you're saying the windows are really short to turn these in. WILLIS: Some of these are as short as two weeks. Can you imagine? You've got to turn it around that fast. But they will give you the deadlines in the fine print. So that if you look at the application form very carefully, you can figure it out. Remember, they're bound by their own deadlines as well. So if they're not getting the money back to you in the prescribed time, they could be in trouble, too.

KAGAN: And so -- but you could track how your application is doing online.

WILLIS: Exactly. I love this. Go to myrebates.com to find out who's processing your rebate. Because sometimes, Daryn, what happens is, there are processing companies that take over this thing and you have to deal with them instead of the manufacturer. There's also rebatestatus.com that you want to check out to find out where your rebate is in the process.

One other thing to watch out for. When you get that money back, it can actually come in the form of a postcard. You may think it's just junk mail. You've got to really keep an eagle eye out to make sure that you get your money back.

And, Daryn, we're going to be talking about some interesting things this weekend on "Open House," 9:30 a.m. Eastern Saturday. We've got some great info on taking down the holiday decorations. That's got to happen, right?

KAGAN: I think you got ahead of yourself. You have one more tip.

WILLIS: Did I miss something?

KAGAN: Be a squeaky wheel.

WILLIS: Oh, well you know I love that, right?

KAGAN: Yes. Don't forget to be a squeaky wheel tip.

WILLIS: We definitely love being a squeaky wheel. If you have a problem, hey, go to bbb.org. That's the Better Business Bureau. Or tell the authorities. Go to naag.org. That's the attorney general's Web site. And I love the acronym naag.

KAGAN: Naag, perfect.

And we will look for you this weekend, Gerri.

WILLIS: Thank you very much.

KAGAN: Thank you.

Let's go ahead and take a look at what's happening right "Now in the News."

To Southern Germany. Crews have recovered a 15th body from the rubble of a collapsed skating rink. They believe it's the body of a 35-year-old mother, the final victim that was still being sought in the debris. On Monday, the roof of the skating rink buckled under the weight of heavy snows, but a more precise cause is under investigation.

Right now on the steps of New Orleans City Hall, a group is issuing a legal challenge of plans to tear down badly-damaged homes in the lower ninth ward. Resident want a judge to delay any demolition until the displaced resident have had a chance to assess their losses and consider their options.

A long-awaited ribbon cutting takes place at the top of the hour. Damage from Hurricane Katrina shut down the westbound lanes of I-10 between New Orleans and Slidell, Louisiana. Well, those lanes will reopen to traffic tomorrow morning. Governor Kathleen Blanco will be on hand for next hour's dedication.

And we are standing by. We're going to be going live to West Virginia. We'll get the latest on the status of the one miner that did survive that tragedy. Also, how is the town doing as they face this intense tragedy? We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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