Return to Transcripts main page
The Situation Room
Will Harriet Miers Separate Church From State?; Interview with Syrian President; Government Warns of High Energy Bills; Pakistan Earthquake Details
Aired October 12, 2005 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kyra Phillips. And you're in THE SITUATION ROOM, where new pictures and information are arriving all the time. Standing by, CNN reporters across the U.S. and around the globe to bring you the day's top stories.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Ali Velshi.
Happening now, it's 3:00 p.m. here in Washington, where the president suggests he picked Harriet Miers in part because of her religious beliefs. If she makes it to the Supreme Court, will she be able to separate church and state?
PHILLIPS: In Damascus, where it's 9:00 p.m., Syria's president says he had nothing to do with the assassination of a top Lebanese leader. He tells the U.S. it's achieved nothing in Iraq. CNN's Christiane Amanpour has an exclusive interview with President Bashar al-Assad.
VELSHI: And, across the country, the government is warning of a huge rise in heating bills. Will you have anything left after paying those bills?
You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. Thanks for joining us. Wolf is off today.
Through winks and whispers, is the White House letting conservatives know how Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers may vote on issues like abortion?
PHILLIPS: That's what Democrats are saying, especially after Focus on the Family founder James Dobson said he discussed Miers' religious views with presidential aide Karl Rove.
Now the president seems to be saying that Miers' religious beliefs were indeed a factor in her nomination.
Let's go to our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux. Suzanne?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, Democrats are certainly saying that they have a whiff of hypocrisy in the air here and they're pointing directly at President Bush.
President Bush today came out fighting, however, defending his administration's campaign here to use Harriet Miers' religious beliefs and to reach out to conservatives to try to convince them to support her nomination. Now, President Bush also insisting, however, that he is not using her faith as a litmus test to see how she would vote when it comes to Roe v. Wade and other hot-button social issues, like abortion, gay marriage, and the role of religion.
But clearly, there is a controversy that is brewing. And President Bush is trying to say that his administration is indeed being consistent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: People are interested to know why I picked Harriet Miers. They want to know Harriet Miers' background. They want to know as much as they possibly can before they form opinions.
And part of Harriet Miers' life is her religion. Part of it has to do with the fact that she was a pioneer woman and a trailblazer in the law in Texas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: But, quite frankly, Democrats aren't buying it.
The back-story here is that, two days before President Bush nominated Miers, it was his top political adviser, Karl Rove, who was quietly lobbying Christian conservative James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family.
Dobson, in his radio program today, said he did not get assurances from Rove about Roe v. Wade and other issues that she might rule on, on the Supreme Court. But he did go ahead and say that he was told that she was an evangelical Christian from a very conservative church, almost universally pro-life.
Now, this is why Democrats are speaking out. We heard today from the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Patrick Leahy, saying Dr. Dobson earlier seemed confident that he had all the assurances he needed about how she would vote as a justice on issues that are his litmus test.
Now, more than a week later, he has offered an explanation for his earlier cryptic remarks: "The rest of America, including the Senate, deserve to know what he and the White House know. We don't confirm justices of the Supreme Court on a wink and a nod. And a litmus test is no less a litmus test by using whispers and signals."
Clearly, what this indicates, Kyra, is the measures that the White House is going through at this time to try to push forward Harriet Miers, clearly indicating as well the need to reach out to those conservatives' level of concern that they have here in the administration.
Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Suzanne Malveaux, live from the White House, thanks. VELSHI: And we will take a closer look at Harriet Miers' religion in the next hour, when we talk to the man who was key in her becoming a born-again, Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht.
PHILLIPS: Now major new developments in that case of the bloody beating by New Orleans Police that was all caught on videotape.
VELSHI: The victim was in court today. And the attorney for the three suspended officers is now telling their side of the story.
CNN's Lisa Sylvester is live for us in New Orleans with the details. Hello, Lisa.
LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kyra and Ali.
Now yesterday, you will recall that we heard the version of Robert Davis. He went before the media and gave his version of what happened. Today, it was the officers' turn. They did not talk to the media, but their attorney did. And their version of the story is, that night in question, that Robert Davis was extremely intoxicated, that he was stumbling around, and an officer went to help him for his own safety. At that point, he became quite belligerent and was screaming profanities. And they say that the cameras caught only one side of the story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANK DESALVO, ATTORNEY FOR NEW ORLEANS POLICE OFFICERS: What are they supposed to do when somebody resists arrest tomorrow? Just say, OK, you can go? What happens when somebody doesn't want to get cuffed? Do they say, OK, you can go?
I mean, this leaves them with the burden of not knowing what to do or how to do it, because there might be some cameras around that will catch a snapshot of what happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Now a third police officer has also been roped into that and brought into that, because, as you can see in the pictures, he's accused of manhandling an AP producer. They say that the AP producer essentially shoved the credentials into the face of this officer and that's why he reacted the way that he did.
There are now several investigations into this, including the Orleans DA is looking whether or not to file state charges, in addition to the city charges that have already been filed against the police officers. So, this is going to be one of those stories that continues on as we go on.
Davis -- he appeared in court today. He denies that he was drunk in any way. In fact -- as a matter of fact, he said that he gave up drinking 25 years ago.
Kyra and Ali.
PHILLIPS: Thank you, Lisa. And of course, we are going to talk to Davis coming up...
VELSHI: Yes.
PHILLIPS: ... in the 5:00 hour, right?
VELSHI: Yes. That's quite a story, especially because so much was caught on tape on that one.
Well, four days after a massive earthquake rattled the region, Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf calls it a test for the nation. He says 23,000 people are reported dead. Another 50,000 are injured. And hundreds of thousands are homeless.
PHILLIPS: But a story of survival is boosting morale. Russian rescuers today pulled a 5-year-old girl from that rubble. She had been trapped for nearly 100 hours. A day earlier, neighbors removed the bodies of her father and two sisters. Her mother and two more sisters survived.
VELSHI: CNN's Matthew Chance is in the capital of Pakistani- controlled Kashmir. He joins us now on the phone. Matthew?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed. I am in the city of Muzzafarabad, where at least half of that death toll in Pakistan, some 11,000 people in this city have died, it's believed, according to officials as the result of that devastating quake that struck this entire region on Saturday morning, local time. As you mentioned, ever since then, there's been a -- a -- a -- you know, a number of glimmers of hope as a result of the international aid effort that has been -- been launched here.
Rescue teams from around the world, from Turkey, from Britain, from the Russian Federation, from other countries as well, have been deployed in some considerable force to assist the Pakistan military. But, even so, it's still a vast area that's been affected by this earthquake. And there are still outlying areas, Ali and Kyra, that have not yet been reached, even by these international teams.
VELSHI: Matthew Chance in Muzzafarabad in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir. Thanks, Matthews.
PHILLIPS: Time now for the "Cafferty File."
VELSHI: Jack Cafferty has a question for this hour. Good afternoon, Jack.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, Ali and Kyra.
Religion and politics making for a powerful cocktail in Washington this afternoon. As we heard a couple minutes ago in Suzanne Malveaux's report, President Bush said that Harriet Miers' religious beliefs played a part in his decision to nominate her to the Supreme Court of the United States. And then there was evangelical leader James Dobson, who said on his radio show that Karl Rove assured him that Miers is a conservative evangelical Christian and the member of a church that is almost universally pro-life. Here's the question for this hour. Should Harriet Miers' religious beliefs have mattered to President Bush? What is that separation of church and state? I remember that from about the fifth grade or something. CaffertyFile - one word -- @CNN.com. Or it says here you can go to CNN.com/CaffertyFile. I have no idea what the hell that means. But, if you can't do one, I guess try the other one. I don't -- that's new to me. I don't know what -- I don't know what that -- I don't know what that is about.
VELSHI: You know what it could be, Jack? The expected response to a question like this might just be that much bigger that they don't want to cram up your e-mail. Do you find that when it -- when it becomes a political question like this, you get more responses?
CAFFERTY: It depends what the political -- what the political question is. My hunch is, they did that just to confuse me.
(LAUGHTER)
CAFFERTY: And -- and it worked.
VELSHI: I don't know. Well, we will see what -- what comes out of it. We will make sure we check that Web site. Jack Cafferty with the "Cafferty File" in New York.
PHILLIPS: Well, coming up, an assassination and a so-called suicide. Christiane Amanpour takes you inside Syria for an exclusive interview.
VELSHI: Plus, heating bill blues. Grab your pocketbook. They are about to hit the roof. Find out if -- if natural gas prices will be the Grinch that steals Christmas.
PHILLIPS: And bombed-out Smurfs. UNICEF takes the cartoon to an extreme to teach about the horrors of war.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: As Iraqis prepare to go to the polls, there's been a last-minute political compromise, but the violence rages on.
VELSHI: Ruling Shiites and Kurds announce concessions that would modify the draft constitution. They have the support of a key Sunni group, but a number of Sunni parties remain opposed.
PHILLIPS: And there's no compromise from Iraq's insurgents. They killed and wounded dozens of people today. Car bombs exploded in Baghdad and Baquba. But the bloodiest attack was once again in the northern town of Tal Afar, where a suicide bomber blew himself up, killing at least 30 people.
VELSHI: Now to a CNN exclusive. Syria's president denies that he had anything to do with this year's assassination of a top Lebanese leader. And he tells the United States it has accomplished nothing in Iraq. PHILLIPS: President Bashar Assad spoke exclusively with our chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour. And, in a rare move, he spoke in English.
Christiane joins us live now from Damascus. Christiane?
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, that's exactly right. He did speak in English.
It was his first interview, major television interview, since he became president more than five years ago. And, of course, it comes at a time of heightened tension here between Syria and, frankly, the whole rest of the world.
Just shortly after our interview, it was announced here that a key minister, Syria's interior minister, Ghazi Kenaan, had committed suicide.
Earlier, we had talked to President Bashar Assad about all the implications around some Syrian officials, regarding the investigation into the murder of the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Now, Ghazi Kenaan had, a few week ago, been questioned by the special U.N. investigation about this assassination. We don't know the results of that questioning. But, when we talked to President Assad, he was very clear.
Of course, as usual, he denied that Syria had anything to do with it. But he said this about what would happen if any Syrian officials were, in fact, implicated when this report becomes public, October 25.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BASHAR AL-ASSAD, PRESIDENT OF SYRIA: This is against our principle and my principle. And I would never do such a thing in my life.
What -- what do we achieve? What do we -- what do we achieve? I think what happened targeted Syria. That will affect our relation with the Lebanese people and with most of the countries. So, we wouldn't do it for -- because it's against our interests and it's against my principle. I would never do it. It's impossible.
AMANPOUR: If many Syrians are implicated, is it possible that such an act, such a crime, could have taken place by Syrian officials without your knowledge?
ASSAD: I wouldn't think so. As I said, if it -- that happened, this is treason.
AMANPOUR: Treason?
ASSAD: Tre -- treason. This is treason.
AMANPOUR: How did you first hear about the assassination?
ASSAD: Through the news. I was in my office.
AMANPOUR: As you know, because you've read it, and we've read it, there are witnesses who have said that during one of Mr. Hariri's last visits to Damascus, he was threatened by you, unless you -- unless he supported the extension of the mandate of the current president, Emile Lahoud, who's friendly to -- to Syria.
Did you threaten him, sir?
ASSAD: This is another illegal presumption.
First of all, it's not my nature to threaten anybody. It's -- I'm a very quiet person. I'm very frank. But I wouldn't threaten.
Second, as you -- you said, threaten him for the extension -- and they say threaten him, then the Syrian killed him. So, why to kill him if he did what Syria wants, if he didn't do anything against Syria, if he wanted the extension? He helped Syria achieving the extension or making -- making the extension. So, why to harm him or to kill him? I mean, there's no logic. But I didn't, and I would never do it.
AMANPOUR: You know Mr. Hariri's son, Saad Hariri, led a victorious democratic coalition to victory in the last elections in Lebanon. And, yet, he is now living in Paris. And he has said that he fears an assassination plot against him.
Does Mr. Saad Hariri or any people, even those who speaks out against Syria in Lebanon, journalists, others, do they have anything to fear from you?
ASSAD: No, not from...
AMANPOUR: From the Syrian regime?
ASSAD: Definitely no, not -- not from Syria. Never. We don't have this history of assassinations in Syria. So, they don't have to worry from that.
AMANPOUR: There are some people, sir, who say that you're the president, but maybe you're not fully in charge of those aspects. Maybe you're not in the loop.
ASSAD: Yes.
AMANPOUR: Is that possible?
ASSAD: But, at the same time, they say that I'm a dictator. So, they should choose. You cannot be a dictator and not in control. If you're a dictator, you're in full control. And if you're not a dictator or -- or if you're not in control, you cannot be a dictator. Actually, I'm not the first one. I'm not the second one.
I have my authority by the constitution, by the Syrian constitution. But at the same time, it's not enough to have the authority. It's very important to make dialogue with the widest circle of people you can to take your decision. And this is the way I work. (END VIDEOTAPE)
AMANPOUR: Now, what President Assad did also say, which was really the news element, was that he said that, if any Syrian official was implicated in this upcoming U.N. report, then he would consider that an act of treason, a treachery, and that that individual would be dealt with. He said, on -- on persistent questioning -- that he would hand them over, either to an international tribunal or to be punished here in Syria.
The full interview can be seen on the CNN broadband service, Pipeline, and also on CNN.com, for the full transcript. But what was interesting was he spoke in English. And unlike many of the dictators and strongmen that we have seen and interviewed over the years in this part of the world or others, from Slobodan Milosevic to Saddam Hussein, he had a much different way of talking. He actually directly answered questions and spoke, you know, in a much more Western style of speech, rather than this dramatic circumlocution...
(LAUGHTER)
AMANPOUR: ... that, often, one can't even understand when one is talking to these kind of -- of -- of -- of world leaders.
Back to you.
VELSHI: Christiane, when Rafik Hariri of Lebanon was assassinated and it led to that popular uprising, one of the things that I think was unusual to those of us in the West is -- is what that relationship between Syria and -- and -- and Lebanon was. I think a lot of people just thought Lebanon was its own country, without the interference of another country.
How would you describe the relationship between Syria and...
(CROSSTALK)
AMANPOUR: ... I'm having...
VELSHI: ... Lebanon?
AMANPOUR: ... an awfully hard time hearing you properly, because it's a rather distorted signal all the way from the USA to here.
But there's been quite a lot of tension between Lebanon and Syria over the years. And, of course, the assassination of Rafik Hariri did force Syria into a humiliating withdrawal from Lebanon and all the fallout that has come since.
And the isolation of Syria could end up being much, much more increased if this report does actually implicate Syria and high-level Syrian officials. And it also comes at a time when Syria is on very bad terms with the United States. The U.S. -- all sorts of talk about regime change is coming out of the U.S. right now, because the U.S. is angry that Syria, they say, is not preventing insurgents going into Iraq. And we will have more of that later on in your program, THE SITUATION ROOM.
Ali.
VELSHI: Thank you, Christiane Amanpour.
And, as Christiane said, she will join us again in the 5:00 Eastern hour with more from that exclusive interview.
We are going to talk a little bit about whether Syria is doing enough to stem the flow of insurgents into Iraq.
PHILLIPS: Meanwhile, straight ahead, deadly flooding, a search for the missing under way and now more rain, a bad situation getting a lot worse. We are going to have a live update.
VELSHI: Plus, why high heating costs may leave some Americans with very little to celebrate this holiday season. How those costs could impact the entire economy -- coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Well, all eyes on Iraq preparing for a watershed event. The vote on this weekend -- the vote this weekend on the country's proposed constitution.
PHILLIPS: Our Internet reporter, Jacki Schechner, has some online resources to help us understand what's at stake. Jacki?
JACKI SCHECHNER, CNN INTERNET CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, there is something online at CNN.com, a special section to help you understand the Iraqi constitution and the negotiations currently taking place. That is called "Transition of Power," again, a special section at CNN.com.
And as part of the section, they have an interactive timeline. I'm going to try to pull this up here and see if you can see how it works. There you go. If you roll over the dates, it will give you an idea of what's going on. For example, on Saturday, they're going to vote for a draft of the constitution. If that goes through, then, by December 15, that is when they are going to vote on their new permanent government. If you're interested in learning more, what you can do is go to the actual Web site of the interim Iraqi government. And that is online at IraqiGovernment.org.
Now, it's in Arabic right there. But there is actually a section in the top left-hand corner where you can click on it. It will give you a version in English right there. And then, on the left-hand side as well, there's also a link called "Constitution." And what that will take you to is the 29-page draft of the constitution.
That's the one they're going to vote on, on Saturday. You have to get your reading done now, Kyra, if you're prepared in time for Saturday. It is exactly 29 pages -- again, at IraqiGovernment.org.
PHILLIPS: Well, that's not too...
VELSHI: Momentous...
PHILLIPS: ... bad.
VELSHI: ... as it is, I -- I can't imagine, but this is no -- constitution -- unless I were somehow being paid to read it.
(LAUGHTER)
VELSHI: The -- the timeline is very interesting, because this is the kind of thing that you lose track of. We know they've been talking about this for a long time. So, it's actually kind of neat to see how it all lays out.
PHILLIPS: And talking about the Sunnis and the Shiites and the Kurds, and yesterday finally coming to a...
VELSHI: I don't think we can manage that on one timeline.
PHILLIPS: .... type of agreement.
VELSHI: That's a...
PHILLIPS: I know. It's back and forth.
VELSHI: That's an interactive Flash-based Web site that you need for that.
PHILLIPS: Jacki, thank you.
Well, it's exactly what they don't need -- more rain in New Hampshire, where flooding has already killed at least three people and even more people are missing.
VELSHI: CNN's Chris Huntington is there live for us. He joins us now on the phone from Alstead, New Hampshire. Hey, Chris.
CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They're getting a break in the weather, which is a very welcome occurrence here because, indeed, the forecast, as you well know, is for heavy rain in -- in the day ahead.
It was raining this morning, raining pretty heavily, actually. It has stopped and -- and been rain-free for a couple of hours. That's the good news.
The bad news is that, while the situation here is stable, it's very precarious. And they, frankly, are -- are not looking forward to the prediction of upwards of six inches of rain between now and Friday. So, they're keeping a close eye, particularly, on the dams upriver from where I am -- a dam in Alstead, a dam that had been topped on Sunday and led to the big surge that came down here and wiped out the riverbanks, knocked several houses in, and destroyed several businesses, as well as -- and of course, contributed to the deaths of three people in the area. Ali.
VELSHI: Chris, what -- what sort of preparations? I mean, a lot of that area is rural. What are people doing for themselves? Is it -- is it -- those people who are in danger, are they just leaving or are people sort of doing things at their own properties?
HUNTINGTON: A little bit of both, Ali. The community here, as you can imagine, a tightly-knit, rural, New England community, these are stoic, tough people. They are really pulling together. There is a Red Cross operation that has sprung up here at a local church. But frankly, it's mostly local people that are driving around to make sure that their neighbors are safe. They're passing out any kind of -- of help that is needed, whether it's food, water.
We have been spending the day with a man who is trying to keep his house from teetering into the Cold River. Half of it overhangs the deeply eroded river bank. And they've been shoring up under his house. Frankly, the -- the building inspector just came by to put an official stamp on what everybody already knew, that his house, at the moment, at least, is unlivable. But they are trying to save it as we speak.
PHILLIPS: Chris Huntington, live from Alstead, New Hampshire. We will continue to check in with you. Thank you.
VELSHI: Well, straight ahead on THE SITUATION ROOM, the heating bill blues -- why more Americans are going to be singing them loud and strong this winter, prices now heading even higher than previously thought.
Plus, unveiled just hours ago, the much-anticipated new iPod -- Ali's favorite story. What's different about it? We are going to show you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, we knew it was going to be bad, but now it's looking worse than ever.
VELSHI: We are talking about your home heat heating bills this winter.
CNN's Brian Todd joins us to show why we would all start -- better start bracing ourselves. Hey, Brian.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Ali. Now, Americans have already felt the tangible effects of the two Gulf Coast hurricanes in their wallets at the gas pumps. We know that. But get ready. That's a pittance compared to how you may feel it this winter.
With the storms shutting down most of the region's energy production and refining capability, coupled with the fact that demand for natural gas has been growing a lot faster than production for a long time anyway, there's really no way to soften the blow of this.
Here's the bad news from the Department of Energy. Heating bills for most Americans will go up by at least a third, and that's if we get typical winter weather.
Now, forecasters are being very cagey about whether this will actually be a colder or warmer winter than normal. But in any case, folks who use natural gas to heat their homes -- and that is about three-quarters of us here in the United States -- are in for some real sticker shock.
The Department of Energy says it expects the costs of heating by natural gas to go up nearly 50 percent in typical weather to just under $1,100 for the whole winter. If the weather's colder than normal, natural gas users may see their bills go up more than two- thirds. The projected cost there, $1,242 for the winter -- Ali?
VELSHI: Brian, thanks for that.
This is a lot of extra money coming out of people's pockets, Kyra. And that money that's being spent on energy is money that many Americans don't have to spare. The average American now has very little left after paying their monthly bills. So if energy bills get higher than they are now, something's got to give.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI (voice-over): Christmas before Halloween even gets here. The rule of thumb: for every extra dollar spent on higher energy costs, 50 cents comes out of consumer discretionary spending. That's things like electronics, clothes, vacations -- the very things America's retailers need you to start spending money on now as the busiest shopping season of the year gets started.
JAN HATZIUS, GOLDMAN SACHS: You're looking at a fairly sizable hit from energy prices at a time when, you know, the saving rate is already very low.
VELSHI: One retail analyst says spending on clothes is the first thing to go. Investment bank Goldman Sachs says stores like The Gap face the greatest risk. For a family feeling the pinch, men's clothing purchases drop off the list first, then kids', then women's. Accessories are next. And finally, cosmetics.
Electronic sales could suffer as well. Apple has just announced a new video iPod, but fewer regular iPods sold last quarter than many analysts expected.
And while portable DVDs were expected to be big sellers this season, do you buy one of those or use the money for gas on the trip home for Thanksgiving?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Of course, much will depend on how severe the weather is this winter. We've been talking about that all afternoon. The government now has its official forecast out.
VELSHI: And our Internet reporter Abbi Tatton has been checking the situation out online. I know this has been a little more complicated than it first appeared, Abbi.
ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Ali. This is from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, that's noaa.gov, where you can find today their just-released winter outlook. This is predicting the temperatures this winter compared to the last 30 years between December and February coming up.
On first glance, the headline is that there are going to be warmer than normal temperatures during this period, during this winter. However, it's not quite that simple. If you look at their map here, across much of the United States they are predicting these warmer than normal temperatures. However, in certain areas, the all- important Midwest where they're using natural gas for home heating, and also the Northeast where they use heating oil, they're saying that there are equal chances of warmer, cooler or near normal temperatures.
So in the Midwest, along the Eastern seaboard, they can't really tell you -- the government forecast is not predicting right now whether it is going to be warmer and colder.
However, you can go to noaa.gov, take a look at the map yourself, where you are in the country and see what those government forecasters are telling you for the winter ahead -- Ali?
VELSHI: All right. So I'm supposed to believe that they can't give us anything better than equal chance of warmer, cooler or the same, but yesterday you guys told us that you could tell us that there had been an earthquake in 1562 or something?
TATTON: Yes. It's the power of the Web. But this from noaa.gov. No, they're not giving out that information right now for the Eastern seaboard, Ali.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Abbi.
VELSHI: All right.
Up next, Islamabad in ruins. We'll take you to the city in desperation where bitter enemies have laid down arms to help stricken Pakistanis.
PHILLIPS: President Bush under more fire for the Supreme Court nomination of Harriet Miers. Is there a place for religion in his decision? We're going to talk about it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Here's a look at some of the hot shots coming in from the Associated Press, pictures likely to be in your newspaper tomorrow.
In Kashmir, desperate for aid. A young girl reaches out for food after her town was devastated by the 7.6 earthquake.
In Bali, Indonesia, bombing outrage. Angry demonstrators restrained. A fellow protester demanding the speedy execution of a convicted terrorist.
In Turkey, officials collect chickens to fight an outbreak of bird flu. Farmers in the quarantined area were ordered to turn over the animals or face jail time.
And in Daytona Beach, Florida, a rescued dog gets acquainted with her surroundings. The hurricane pet would have been euthanized but made the 15-hour trip to Florida instead. Now she'll be put up for adoption.
That's today's hot shots -- pictures worth a thousand words.
VELSHI: Did the dog make the trip itself?
(LAUGHTER)
PHILLIPS: All by itself.
VELSHI: It kind of gives you the impression that, that dog made the 15-hour trip.
PHILLIPS: Did the little hitchhike and you know. All right.
Well, there's been a break in the weather in the earthquake disaster zone, giving the relief operation a chance to move into high gear.
VELSHI: Now, hardest hit is Pakistan and the area that it controls in disputed Kashmir. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was there today promising more help.
Let's go now to CNN's Becky Anderson, who is in Islamabad. Becky?
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ali, this is fast becoming one of the world's biggest disasters, humanitarian disasters.
Rescue attempts are still going on here behind me at the -- a collapsed apartment block in Islamabad. But elsewhere, rescue has turned to relief. And it's turned to, effectively, the international relief effort that's going on to the north of here up in northern Pakistan and in the Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, where tens of thousands of people are still buried beneath the rubble but tens of thousands more are now homeless and need relief.
Now, India landed its first plane today. That was significant both politically and geographically. India, of course, very close geographically to this area. But politically, of course, India a rival, a nuclear rival of Pakistan.
Much hesitation by the Pakistani government about whether they would accept any aid from India. It's in, there's 25 tons of it. It's on its way up north.
And that's including the U.S., of course. The U.S. -- eight helicopters in here already, 26 Chinooks on their way. So the relief is getting in not necessarily to the remotest regions as of yet, but relief at least in the larger cities and towns up toward the north.
Ali.
PHILLIPS: Now, Becky -- it's Kyra here -- you brought us some amazing live pictures of these children being rescued from the rubble along with their parents. I mean, they're so heartwarming. Have you had a chance to talk with the rescue workers? It's got to be an amazing time for them when they do that, and also are they hanging in there? Are they getting worn out? I know they've been working around the clock.
ANDERSON: I've just spoken to them, Kyra, and this is the deal. They have been working for more than 80 hours at this point. And what they're saying, is they're vowing to carry on. In fact, they have just called for silence behind me once again. And what we know, from past experience here over the past 48 hours is this -- they are listening, they think they still may be able to bring out some of those 35 people who are still trapped in this apartment building. It is exhausting work. They're working alongside the Pakistani military. They say they still think there is time at this point.
There is a lot of pressure to get this site cleared. This is in the middle of Islamabad. It's a very, very affluent region. And the Pakistanis who are certainly embarrassed this happened in the middle of Pakistan's capital. As I say, they have called for silence. So, there is some hope at this site still. But elsewhere, of course, the picture is much, much bleaker.
PHILLIPS: Now, that's interesting, Becky. You say the call for silence and that they're listening. They have to no doubt be very careful as they're moving through this rubble because if there are, indeed, more survivors in there, they don't want to injure them in any way.
ANDERSON: That's right. They've got heavy lifting gear here, and what they're doing is they're pushing towards areas that they believe people may be caught in. So the heavy lifting gear is demolishing the material that you can see behind me.
But what they're saying is this -- there are people that could be in stairwells effectively within the interior of the building and as long as they think that they are there, they will continue to carry on at this site. So it's an extremely delicate operation.
But they are using the heavy lifting gear at this point. They used sniffer dogs to begin with and then they put down probes, effectively, which have listening devices. If they hear anything they then call for silence. They switch off the heavy lifting gear and then they move in. They try to speak to people. They try to get some reaction from people as we said.
Yesterday two women came out, a 75-year-old and a 35-year-old. We've interviewed both those ladies and their grandchildren and great- grandchildren today at the hospital, and they are fine.
Let's hope that the others -- the Europeans, the Japanese, the Spanish, the Uruguayans, those who were working for the U.N. -- that used to live in the building who are still trapped can be brought out alive.
Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Becky Anderson, still talking about the miracles. Thanks, Becky.
VELSHI: That hope is well-grounded because even as many days we are away from this quake, there are still more amazing stories of survival from that zone.
PHILLIPS: CNN's senior international correspondent Matthew Chance shows us one young boy who escaped with his life where so many of his peers did not.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHANCE: Imagine being the only kid in class that survived. Friends, teachers, all buried beneath the rubble.
MOHAMMAD WASEEM, SCHOOL SURVIVOR (through translator): We were taking our exams when the whole building started to shake and collapse. I think a few on the ground floor scrambled out, but the students on the upper floors all died.
CHANCE: Crushed in a school turned concrete tomb, hundreds of its children. The remains are painful reminders of what could have been, the drum kit from the music class, a young scientist's microscope. In a few violent minutes, Waseem told me, this earthquake shattered far more than just buildings.
WASEEM (through translator): We were all hoping to be engineers or doctors, but now we can't even think about our futures. We have nothing left.
CHANCE (on camera): Children like Waseem are among the few who escaped this destruction all over this area. Hundreds of crowded schools like this have been laid to waste. And across this disaster zone, it seems almost an entire generation has been lost.
(voice-over): But survivors are now crucial to the recovery effort. Waseem guides rescue workers to where he last saw his classmates. So many days after the quake hit though, there's little hope.
WASEEM (through translator): If they had come on the first day to help, maybe they could have saved my friends. But they didn't come 'til now. And they can't even find their dead bodies.
CHANCE: It is a missed opportunity that may have cost more young lives, one Waseem says he'll never forget.
Matthew Chance, CNN, Muzaffarabad, Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: Zain Verjee joins us now from the CNN Center in Atlanta.
PHILLIPS: She's got a closer look at other stories making news. Hi, Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Kyra.
Palestinian security sources say an American and a Briton were abducted, held for several hours and then released today in Gaza. Both of those kidnapped are journalists. No one has claimed responsibility for the abductions, although the sources say it was a Palestinian group.
European Union veterinary experts say bird flu hasn't been found in Romania after all. Preliminary tests last week suggested that three ducks in a Danube delta village might have been infected, but more conclusive tests now show it was not the much-feared virus. The results confirm that the highly contagious disease has not made its way into Europe.
The ballots are being counted in Liberia's first post-war elections. Officials say initial results show that the former finance minister, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, and former soccer star George Weah as early frontrunners in the presidential race. Twenty-two candidates are seeking the presidency. Another 718 are running for Liberia's 30-seat Senate, and 64 seats in the House of Representatives. Final results are expected to take up to seven days.
China's second manned flight is aloft and orbiting the Earth. Two Chinese astronauts rocketed into space today. China broadcast the launch on live TV, a first for the country's space program. China's first manned mission went up in October of 2003. News reports say that this mission could last three to five days. China's only the third nation to successfully put a human into space on its own behind the United States and Russia.
Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right, Zain. Thanks.
VELSHI: Can I ask you something?
VERJEE: No.
VELSHI: Come on.
VERJEE: Go ahead.
VELSHI: This whole -- I don't -- you know, I'm going to China soon, so I'm just kind of grabbing some information. I don't know if Chinese are so obsessed with polls and surveys like we are here, because if this were the first or second time we had put someone into space, there would already be some poll released exclusively on CNN about how Americans feel about it, and stuff like that. Do we have some sense of Chinese public opinion about this? Do they care?
VERJEE: Well, yes, they do. I mean, a lot of Chinese watched this launch. A lot of children were in their classrooms watching it live on TV for the first time. There was a huge television screen put up at the main railway station in Beijing, and hundreds of people gathered there. But the sense from the people in China, Ali, is this is a really proud moment.
A lot of the Chinese leaders are saying you know what? This is our opportunity to show the rest of the world what we are made of, that we are a technological power and we do have this kind of prowess. And they're hoping that abroad at least, it will win them some respect.
VELSHI: All right, Zain. We'll catch you later. Thank you.
PHILLIPS: You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. Up next, the United Nations makes heavy handed use of some beloved children's characters to make a point. The trouble with Smurfs in our next hour.
And, just ahead, a question of faith. Our Jack Cafferty fields your e-mail questions about the role of religion in Harriet Miers' nomination to the Supreme Court.
You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Jack Cafferty has been going through your e-mail on the question of this hour. I wonder if it holds up. Kyra, I wonder these were -- this was a popular question.
PHILLIPS: Live from New York, the "Cafferty File". Jack?
CAFFERTY: Thank you both. The question of the hour has to do with President Bush's revelation earlier today that Harriet Miers' religious beliefs played a part in her nomination to be a Supreme Court justice. The question is, should that have been the case? Should her religious beliefs have mattered to President Bush?
Eileen in Bend, Oregon, writes: "Harriet Miers' religious beliefs should only matter to President Bush if he's choosing someone to head his church. This administration places far too emphasis on religion and faith, and far too little attention is paid to whether those placed in positions of power are qualified."
Michael in Baltimore, Maryland: "It's frightening to think that religion played a part in the selection of this nominee. This from the president who said, during the debates in '04, that there would be, quote, 'no litmus test,' unquote, for potential judicial nominees. Well, apparently one's religious beliefs are a litmus test, and I guess those of us who don't share the evangelical worldview are left out."
Paul writes from Jacksonville, Florida: "Ruth Ginsberg's liberal and humanist views mattered to Bill Clinton. Why shouldn't Harriet Miers' religious beliefs matter to George W. Bush?"
Rule in Brownstone, Michigan: "Come on, Jack. We know both these Supreme Court nominees have been Bush cronies for one reason: so they'll have to recuse themselves when Bush and Cheney's administration shenanigans are brought before the court."
And Bonnie writes from Arnold, Maryland: "Of course the president should consider her religious beliefs, since he would be unable to evaluate her intellectually." That's harsh.
VELSHI: Ouch!
CAFFERTY: Yes, but funny.
VELSHI: It is. Jack, good to see you. Jack Cafferty in New York.
PHILLIPS: A lot more ahead on THE SITUATION ROOM.
VELSHI: Up next, will it be the apple of music lovers' eyes? The new iPod's out. Its maker is banking on it to boost the bottom line.
PHILLIPS: And presidential promise or urban legend? Harriet Miers isn't the kind of Supreme Court nominee many conservatives expected. Now we may have a better idea why.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: And it's almost time for the markets to close, and the closing bell. Ali?
VELSHI: Well, thank you, Kyra. I'm back to my normal spot for my business reports right now.
PHILLIPS: I'm seeing double right now.
VELSHI: Guess how many -- this is weird -- guess many iPods sold in the latest quarter? Well, nearly 6.5 million of them. That sounds staggering, but it is less than analysts had forecast.
Now, Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduced the latest incarnation of the iPod, that is the video iPod. I just paused there for effect. It's got a two-and-a-half inch screen. It's got up to 60 gigabytes of memory. That's more memory than a lot of laptops have. It's enough to hold about 15,000 songs, 25,000 photos, and about 150 hours of video. You can download video iTunes for $2. Other video content is available as well.
Steve Jobs, who is also the CEO of Pixar Animation -- those are the creators of "Toy Story" and "The Incredibles" and Mikey the little one-eyed monster -- you know that movie, right?
PHILLIPS: Of course.
VELSHI: The video iPod will play some of Pixar's movies. You can expect that to happen. And in a sign that Steve Jobs and Disney are mending fences after the whole Michael Eisner era, Jobs says the new iPod will make some ABC content available for purchase after broadcast for $1.99 a pop. ABC, of course, is owned by Disney. Now, the purchase price of this new iPod that does everything but pay your taxes is between $299 and about $399, depending on the amount of memory you want. That's typical of iPods.
In other news, away from iPods, we also learned today that billionaire investor and corporate raider Kirk Kerkorian has raised his stake in General Motors to almost 10 percent. Now, Kerkorian is known for his takeovers of MGM Studios in the nearly '90s, his takeover bid for Chrysler. He says he's not trying to buy General Motors -- although rumor has it, it's going cheap -- he's seeking a seat on the board to influence business decisions. General Motors has been suffering from slowing sales a bitter battle over benefits with its union employees and its retiree.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
PHILLIPS: And you know what that means. It's 4:00 p.m. in Washington, and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM, where new pictures and information from around the world are arriving all the time.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
