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CNN Saturday Morning News

A Report on Bernard Kerik's Decision to Withdraw; A report on Alleged Mistreatment of a U.S. Soldier

Aired December 11, 2004 - 07:00   ET

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

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


BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, good morning, everybody.
From the CNN Center right here in Atlanta, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

It is December 11, almost half way through the month. Can you believe it?

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm trying to figure out how many shopping days are left. Not many, right?

NGUYEN: Not many, yes.

HARRIS: OK. All right.

NGUYEN: Thanks for waking up with us.

It's 4:00 a.m. out West.

Good morning.

I'm Betty Nguyen.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris.

Thanks for being with us.

NGUYEN: Now in the news, Bernard Kerik has stunned Washington by announcing he's withdrawing as nominee for homeland security secretary. The former New York City police commissioner was President Bush's choice for that post, but Kerik pulled out after discovering that a housekeeper he employed had questionable immigration status.

Authorities in Pakistan are grilling a suspect in the kidnapping of three U.N. aid workers. The three were held for nearly a month in Afghanistan before being released on November 23. Pakistani officials say their suspects is the leader of a Taliban splinter group and he was arrested in Karachi.

Army Staff Sergeant Johnny Horne, Jr. has been sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to killing a severely wounded Iraqi civilian. Horne will also get a dishonorable discharge. An investigator said the wounded civilian was in a burning truck and he was shot to "put him out of his misery."

Also in the news this morning, no breakfast for President Bush. He leaves the White House shortly for the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland and his annual physical examination. The president usually gets the physical in August. The White House says it was delayed this year because of scheduling conflicts.

HARRIS: And here's what's ahead this Saturday morning. Buried alive in the Philippines -- more than a week later, the grandmother and three small children who were pulled from their earthly tomb. We'll have a live report.

Also ahead, mad as hell and not going to take it anymore. We'll speak to a Florida mother who has a simple message for her two children -- I am not your maid!

And in sports, sneakers continue to drop in that ugly incident between players and fans. Rick Horrow examines the lingering fallout in "Beyond The Game."

NGUYEN: Now to our top story this morning, the scramble at the White House to find a new candidate for homeland security secretary. Former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik dropped a bomb last night by withdrawing abruptly as President Bush's nominee for the cabinet post. In a letter to President Bush, Kerik said he "cannot continue forward in the confirmation process." The former top cop at the NYPD said, "I am convinced that for personal reasons, moving forward would not be in the best interests of your administration, the Department of Homeland Security or the American people."

Kerik says he has discovered problems with the immigration status of a personal he employed.

We'll have more on this story now from CNN's Elaine Quijano, who is in Washington on the phone -- good morning, Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Betty.

This certainly is surprising, to put it mildly. White House officials all day yesterday, both on the record and on background, had been saying they were quite confident that the confirmation process would go on for Bernard Kerik. They said that the process in place was there to identify any problems, that their own vetting process, they felt, had been thorough.

Now, questions had been raised yesterday because of Bernard Kerik's involvement with Taser International, the stun gun manufacturer, through which he made millions of dollars. Those questions have been answered publicly, though, by White House officials, by saying well, he is in the process of getting together all of the financial disclosure statements. But we ourselves here at the White House have looked at this issue and we are quite confident that this is just part of the normal process. And they were looking forward to him completing those forms, his ethics agreements and then moving on to the Senate for the confirmation process.

And they noted that he had gotten the warm responses of Democrats. They felt very much that his confirmation was not in jeopardy, at least some of the officials I talked to. In fact, they said Kerik had already gone above and beyond the legal requirements and the ethics laws by moving forward and devastating his potentially conflicting stock holdings. And they said that he did that because he was committed both the letter and the spirit of the ethics laws.

So this announcement last night certainly a shock -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Absolutely.

Elaine, any rumblings as of yet as to who may be next in line now that Kerik has stepped down?

QUIJANO: Well, I think at this point it's just too early to say. This news is just still, as you can imagine, rippling through Washington. But at this particular point, Bernard Kerik had been the person. In fact, the president, as you know, was working basically on putting the final touches on his cabinet, wanting to move on. The White House very anxious to get ahead and try and get their team in place so that he could move forward on his second term agenda. At this point, no word on who another nominee might be -- Betty.

NGUYEN: But Tom Ridge will stay on until a replacement is named.

All right, CNN's Elaine Quijano this morning in Washington.

Thank you, Elaine -- Tony.

HARRIS: Kerik says he discovered the questionable immigration status of a housekeeper and nanny he employed. But as you just heard from Elaine, there could be other reasons, as well, for his withdrawal before Senate confirmation hearings were held.

Jeanne Meserve is our homeland security correspondent.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Though in the end, Bernard Kerik blamed a nanny problem for his withdrawal, it was only one of many questions about his style, experience, ethics and finances.

MELANIE SLOAN, CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY: The American people have a right to expect their public officials to be people of integrity and to be above reproach.

MESERVE: Though Kerik had supporters who applauded his brash style, in Iraq, where he trained police, a senior administration official described Kerik as a loose cannon who lacked judgment. In a Saudi Arabian hospital, where Kerik headed security investigations in the 1980s, some employees said he was a bully. While police commissioner in New York, he was fined $2,500 for using off duty detectives to research his autobiography. And when Kerik's publisher, Judith Regan, thought her cell phone and jewelry had been stolen at Fox News, four homicide detectives were dispatched to I guess.

Kerik's lawyer says the detectives were sent, but not by Kerik.

JOSEPH TACOPINA, KERIK'S LAWYER: There was an investigation. He was cleared, I might add, Jeanne, of that.

MESERVE: And then there are Kerik's finances. Once a bankrupt street cop, Kerik recently made more than $6 million from the sale of stock options in Taser International, where he has been on the board of directors. Perfectly legal, but it raised concerns about possible future conflicts of interest.

At 4:30 Friday, Kerik's lawyer was belittling the criticism.

TACOPINA: Look, if this is as good as it gets for the detractors of Bernie Kerik, you know, he'll be sitting on the Hill very shortly.

MESERVE: At 8:30, four hours later, Kerik called the White House to withdraw.

Jean Meserve, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

NGUYEN: U.S. soldiers going into battle in Iraq will have more armored Humvees to protect them. Armor Holdings plans to increase production of its armored vehicles from 450 to 550 a month. But the company says it probably won't reach that level until February at the earliest. The Army made a deal with Armor Holdings after a National Guardsman raised concerns with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in Kuwait Wednesday. The Guardsman asked why soldiers must search landfills for scrap metal to retrofit their vehicles.

And that brings us to our E-Mail Question. What would you ask Donald Rumsfeld about the war in Iraq? Send your responses to wam@cnn.com and we will read those throughout the morning.

HARRIS: The family of a soldier wounded in Iraq says he should have been hailed as a hero by the military, but instead, they argue, he was treated like a common debtor.

CNN's Ed Lavandera reports.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN DALLAS BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Last February, Army Specialist Robert Loria was helping rescue a fellow soldier, who had just been injured by a roadside bomb north of Baghdad. Loria and a group of soldiers drove in, loaded the soldier's body in a Humvee. But as Loria started driving away, a second bomb detonated. Loria looked down and saw his left arm mangled and shrapnel wounds along the left side of his body.

SPC. ROBERT LORIA, WOUNDED SOLDIER: When they got me out of there, fully out of the vehicle and laid me on the ground, the first things I said to them, I said, I told them my wife was going to be pissed at me because I told her a long time ago that I would be back all right and I wouldn't get hurt. And I felt like I lied to her.

LAVANDERA: Specialist Loria is getting used to life with part of an arm. Nerve damage has left him without feeling in his left foot. But as Loria prepared to discharge from the military after serving five years, he was told that he owed the Army more than $6,000 for pay the Army says he shouldn't have received and for travel expenses to get treatment. The bill also included $310 for equipment that Loria didn't bring back from Iraq, like a sleeping bag, suspenders and a rucksack, among other things.

R. LORIA: I didn't have anything to say to them. I didn't know what to say to them. I was pretty much in shock, you know? Like, you know, they're like, hey, screw you, bye.

LAVANDERA: The Army even took his last paycheck and applied it to the debt. After that, he still owed almost $2,000. Loria and his wife started to worry. The 27-year-old specialist had no idea how he would afford to get back home to New York. Unsure what to do, Christine Loria started calling her local congressmen, a couple of U.S. senators and their hometown newspaper.

CHRISTINE LORIA, WIFE OF SPC. ROBERT LORIA: He signed up for this because he wanted to serve his country. He wanted to do something he could be proud of. And they're making it very hard for him to feel proud by trying to take more from him. What more do they want? What?

LAVANDERA: Right now the Army wants to get out of the spotlight on this one, so they're making the debt disappear. An Army spokesman says: "These actions clearly demonstrate that once the command leadership is involved, the Army does its utmost to correct and satisfy the needs of the soldiers and their families."

But the Lorias are left wondering why it was so hard to make this happen.

C. LORIA: Everyone should be shaking my husband's hand and saying "What can I do for you because of all you gave for me," not the reverse.

LAVANDERA: In a couple of days, Specialist Robert Loria will jump in his car and start driving home to New York. The best part of all is he'll be home for Christmas and have some money to spend on gifts.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: If you've had a tough time keeping up with the world around you this week, that's what we're here for.

Time now to "Rewind" the top stories of the week.

Monday, nine people were killed in a well coordinated attack on the U.S. consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. A fierce gun battle began after the attackers entered the compound behind a consulate vehicle. Four of the five gunmen were among the dead. The Saudi wing of al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attack. Tuesday, parts of a Pentagon study are released on allegations of sexual assault at the Air Force Academy. It faults eight commanders for failing to respond to complaints once they were filed. The inquiry looked at reported assaults over a 10 year span, ending in 2003.

After passage in the House earlier this week, the Senate voted 89-2 Wednesday in favor of a far reaching intelligence reform bill. The measure passed after a two week impasse. President Bush says he will sign it into law.

On Thursday, President Bush pledged that he won't raise payroll taxes to help reform the Social Security system. But the president once again voiced support for a plan giving younger workers the option to invest some of their payroll taxes to pay for retirement. Experts say it will cost between $1 trillion and $2 trillion to reform the system.

And tomorrow we will "Fast Forward" to the week ahead and tell you which stories will grab the spotlight.

NGUYEN: Well, does protecting the nation also mean this mom can't drive her kids to school anymore? Tougher standards could be on the way for many people who say they would make very unlikely terrorists.

HARRIS: Shape up or ship out takes on a whole new meaning for some Florida parents. We'll tell you what they hope to achieve by camping out.

NGUYEN: And good morning, Philadelphia. Look at this shot. You are looking at a live city -- a live look, that is, over the city and a bridge there. A beautiful morning.

We will have the complete forecast in about 10 minutes, when CNN SATURDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: A U.S. soldier flees to Canada to avoid serving in Iraq. And now his fate as a refugee rests in the hands of a Canadian immigration board. We'll dissect the case next hour on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm Orelon Sidney with a look first at your cold and flu report through December the 4th. Still looking at some sporadic activity across much of the nation, but we do have locally heavy pockets of activity through South Carolina, parts of the Blue Ridge and then continuing up into Minnesota. Also, some regional activity for New York and parts of Alaska.

That's a look at your flu report for today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And welcome back to CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm Tony Harris checking our top stories.

President Bush is once again looking for a new homeland security secretary. Bernard Kerik, the man Mr. Bush nominated last week, has withdrawn his name from consideration. Kerik discovered that a nanny he employed had a questionable immigration status.

The president is scheduled for his annual physical in about 20 minutes from now. After the exam at Bethesda Naval Medical Center, Mr. Bush plans to visit wounded soldiers and Marines there.

And Pakistan has arrested the alleged mastermind of a kidnapping of three U.N. workers in Afghanistan. The suspect now being questioned by intelligence agents is the leader of a Taliban splinter group. The hostages were freed last month.

After hundreds of people died in landslides in the Philippines, a miraculous find gives rescuers new hope. Just ahead, we'll update you on those efforts.

NGUYEN: But right now, you've probably heard about the parents on strike. The Florida couple, fed up with their kids not helping out around the house, well, the parents are living in a tent in their driveway as they try to drive home a lesson to their kids.

And Cat Barnard has taken time out from her sit-out to talk with us this morning.

Good morning to you.

CAT BARNARD, STRIKING AGAINST KIDS: Good morning.

NGUYEN: We appreciate you being with us.

All right, let's get to the chase. First of all, what drove you to this point?

BARNARD: I don't think it was any one thing. It was a slow boil. But Friday before we decided to come up with all this, this glorious idea, I had had a bad drug reaction. I had had a tremendous amount of radiation to my jaw area. I had had a tumor in the past. So I was having a bad jaw -- drug reaction to the medication, where I was cramped up and the doctor said you really need to take it easy.

But this had been slowly building. The grass was growing up to my knees and, you know, I just looked at it...

NGUYEN: So you had to take it easy, but your children weren't helping you with that.

BARNARD: Oh, yes.

NGUYEN: They weren't taking on the added responsibility.

BARNARD: Oh, yes. And, you know, I had let it slide for a while. But for some reason it just hit me the wrong way. So I went outside, started pulling weeds, was doubled over, sweat just pouring off me, running a fever. And my son comes home from school. And it was almost as if he was stepping over the body to go in the house and decides it's more important to mail that letter to the girlfriend in Virginia, not that she isn't a darling girl.

NGUYEN: Oh, my.

BARNARD: She as cute as you can be and sweet as you can be.

But it just hit me the wrong way that day.

NGUYEN: Now, had you tried other things in the past to get them to shape up?

BARNARD: We've tried forward psychology, reverse psychology, taking everything away until they're like in a prison room of nothing on the walls, nothing on the floor but bare mattress and box springs. You name it.

NGUYEN: Oh, my.

BARNARD: And it wasn't effective, believe me.

NGUYEN: All right. So you were apparently at your wits end. You're in the driveway with your husband. Some people watching may think well, shouldn't this be the other way around? Shouldn't the kids be in the driveway?

BARNARD: You know, we have heard that so many times and, you know, the cops were on our door before we could say boo hoo, that we had abandoned our children, had left the home. And I said yes, we're three feet in front of our garage. So, you know...

NGUYEN: Well, how are they eating? Are they getting food?

BARNARD: That's why mommy buys...

NGUYEN: Have you been in the house at least to shower?

BARNARD: ... the Healthy Choice dinners and puts them in the freezer. And it absolves you of all parental guilt, believe me.

NGUYEN: So as you venture into the house to shower and whatnot, what does the place look like since you've been in the driveway?

BARNARD: Last night, because we refuse to do any dishes, so last night we had run out of silverware and I couldn't remember where I had the plastic ware. So I had to go into the sink. So if you see newspaper articles with me going, it was from the stench coming from the sink.

NGUYEN: Oh, no.

BARNARD: It was bad. It was really bad.

NGUYEN: So, OK, that being the case, is this making a difference at all?

BARNARD: A huge difference because people think that we're trying to embarrass our children, as if we're hanging out wet bed sheets. We are not. We are putting them in a court of the highest regard, a court of their peers. They're having to go to school with children whose parents are single parents, are working moms working 14, 18 hours a day to put a roof over their head and food in their bellies. And they're saying what is wrong with you? I have to do this, why don't you? Do you realize what parents you have? You have two loving, concerned parents. You have a huge, beautiful home and you can't see what's around you?

So that is being put in a court of their own peers and believe me...

NGUYEN: Cat, but the dishes still aren't being done.

BARNARD: No, but oh, my, I can see daughter's floor now. She's saying yes, ma'am, and no ma'am.

NGUYEN: OK. Well, good.

BARNARD: Oh, my, yes.

NGUYEN: Quickly, though, we're out of time.

How long do you plan on staying out there in the driveway?

BARNARD: Until we have the first dusting of snow, if need be. They said Deltona had a dusting of snow 20 years ago. And I don't care if hell freezes over, we're going to be there until we feel it and sense it in our parental heart and mother radar that there is a change taking place.

NGUYEN: All right, serious business.

Cat Barnard, we thank you for your time.

BARNARD: Thank you.

NGUYEN: And hopefully it will work after all.

BARNARD: I believe it's already starting to work, but we remain cautiously optimistic.

Thank you so much.

NGUYEN: Cautiously optimistic.

Thank you.

BARNARD: OK.

NGUYEN: And we'll be right back.

HARRIS: We're going to take a break and come right back with more CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: I feel like I'm in church.

HARRIS: How nice the singing.

NGUYEN: Yes, beautiful singing there.

You're looking at a live picture of Philadelphia near Independence Hall, where today one of the oldest and most renowned musical institutions in the world, the Vienna Boys Choir, will perform its annual Matinee Concert at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.

HARRIS: Orelon Sidney is in for Rob Marciano this weekend -- and Orelon, you know, we're looking at shots of Philadelphia, but we're really concerned about our friend Cat in Florida, Deltona.

SIDNEY: Well...

NGUYEN: Yes, is it going to snow there? She wants to know.

HARRIS: Yes.

SIDNEY: You know what? I think my dog can answer that question. No.

NGUYEN: No.

HARRIS: No. Exactly.

NGUYEN: Yes.

SIDNEY: She's not going to have to worry about it. But it is cool, as a matter of fact. In fact, if I have a chance, I'll run over and take a look at the very latest observations.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Well, one of the provisions of the new intelligence bill calls for certain uniform national standards for drivers licenses. But some states are taking on another concern, drivers licenses for illegal immigrants -- will that leave some people out in the cold?

Our Maria Hinojosa explains.

NGUYEN: Plus, the continuing controversy of baseball and steroids -- will all the attention have any effect on America's pastime? We go "Beyond The Game" when CNN SATURDAY MORNING returns.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Gunter Thielen is putting German media giant Bertelsmann back on track after his predecessor nearly derailed the company by pushing to make it public. At the helm for more than two years now, Thielen is refocusing the firm on its established businesses, like Random House, the world's biggest publisher.

Last year, he merged Bertelsmann's BMG unit with Sony Music Entertainment, creating the world's second largest recording label. This year, aided by Bill Clinton's memoirs and top music acts, Bertelsmann tripled its half year profits.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Welcome back on this Saturday morning.

I'm Betty Nguyen.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris.

More news now, as we check the morning headlines.

President Bush has to look for a new nominee for homeland security secretary just a week after tapping Bernard Kerik for the job. The former New York City police commissioner is backing out. Kerik withdrew amid questions over the immigration status of a nanny who works in his house.

In London this morning, remembering Margaret Hassan. A funeral mass is being held for the aid worker. It's believed she was killed by insurgents who kidnapped her in Iraq. Hassan's body still hasn't been found, so a picture of her will be used for the mass.

Back in the States, will it be life behind bars or death for Scott Peterson? No answer yet. The jury that convicted him of killing his pregnant wife hasn't decided on his punishment after two days of deliberations. Jurors are off for the weekend. They'll resume their work on Monday.

NGUYEN: In our weekly "Security Watch," some states are looking into tougher immigration measures after 9/11. They're aimed at keeping terrorists from passing themselves off as U.S. citizens. But some fear they could also break up immigrant families.

Our Maria Hinojosa has more from Newburgh, New York.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Like a lot of mothers, Fidirina Perez (ph) drives her daughter to school to keep her safe.

FIDIRINA PEREZ: I bring my daughter every day because I hear in the news a lot of drugs.

HINOJOSA: But 14-year-old Nancy, who wants to be a doctor, has a new worry. Her mother is an illegal immigrant and New York is about to take away the driver's license she got using a fake Social Security number.

NANCY PEREZ: It's just hard because the thought of having to leave here if they lose their job or anything, I don't want to.

HINOJOSA: Nancy and her sisters were born here, U.S. citizens. They're afraid that if their mother gets stopped driving without a license, their parents will be deported to Mexico, which they left 20 years ago.

MARIA PEREZ, DAUGHTER OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION: I know that if they get deported to Mexico, we're never going to come back, because they don't have their papers yet and we can come back, of course, because we were born here and we're -- but I don't want to leave my parents to that, because that's going to make me like so sad.

HINOJOSA: Fidirina says she uses her license to chauffeur disabled people and to get to her job as a domestic, not to commit acts of terrorism like the 9/11 hijackers. They legally entered the United States and then obtained 63 drivers licenses around the country. "We are decent people," Fidirina says, "tranquil. We would never think of wanting to hurt anyone."

But Brian Decell, who lost his son-in-law on September 11, says without immigration reform, terrorists can use a driver's license to board planes, rent cars and open bank accounts.

BRIAN DECELL, SON-IN-LAW DIED ON 9/11: Somebody who is undocumented, it's a person that you don't know who they are, gets a driver's license, that gives them the keys to the city. That was the terrorists' favorite tool.

HINOJOSA: In New York State alone, an estimated half million people have legal drivers licenses but are suspected of having entered this country illegally. This taxi driver is one of them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm driving very stressed. I can't concentrate any more because I'm very worried.

HINOJOSA: They drive trucks and taxis, care for children and clean homes. I asked some of them how the U.S. can protect its borders if it provides them with a valid I.D. even when they entered this country illegally. "This country definitely has to control its borders because it's dangerous to not know who's coming in," this man told me. "But by giving us an I.D. or license, then they would have a lot more control over who we are and what we do."

ROSALIND KENNEDY LEWIS, ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION EMPLOYER: How are you?

HINOJOSA: Rosalind Kennedy Lewis employs Fidirina to care for her family home. She says she can't afford a legal worker.

KENNEDY LEWIS: I understand that they're illegal, but they should take into consideration how they've lived their life, what they've accomplished with their life and what their children are like. And it should be done on a case by case basis. Those people that are motivated do belong here. That's what America is about.

HINOJOSA: Losing their licenses means these workers will fade completely into the underground economy. "We're not terrorists," this man said to me. "Many people say we'll use these licenses to do harm and we aren't going to use them to do that. We're using them to work." Then he said, "In the same way a lot of people from here died in those towers on September 11, many immigrants died in those towers, as well."

Maria Hinojosa, CNN, Newburgh, New York.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

NGUYEN: So, how much do you know about the recently passed intelligence reforms? You might be surprised about what you don't know. As part of our continuing "Security Watch," we will fill you in on the intelligence reform bill. That is at 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Eastern time.

HARRIS: Time now to update you on the week's major developments in the war on terror.

A judge has awarded $156 million to the parents of an American teenager gunned down by Hamas militants in the West Bank. It is one of the first jury awards against U.S.-based organizations accused of supporting terrorism. The suit was filed against three Islamic charity organizations and another group accused of raising money for Hamas.

And, Minnesota will begin issuing a unique driver's license designed to stop counterfeiters. The licenses have a reflective image that appears to float above and below the card when it is tilted. Since the 9/11 attacks, the practice of making fake licenses has received much greater scrutiny. That's because counterfeit I.D. cards made it possible for the hijackers to board commercial flights.

NGUYEN: The search for survivors continues in the flood ravaged Philippines. Rescue crews are in place, but what is keeping more people from being helped? We'll get a live report from the region when CNN SATURDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, good morning to you.

Turning now to the Philippines and the grim task of recovering the bodies of victims killed by a pair of huge storms two weeks ago. Incredibly, a 49-year-old woman and three children were found alive beneath tons of dirt that had swallowed them up to 10 days earlier.

CNN's Aneesh Raman joins us now from Manila with an update on the situation there -- good morning to you, Aneesh.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Betty, good morning to you.

Just a few hours ago, we returned from the ground zero of this relief effort, the eastern province of Quezon. It's about 40 miles outside of Manila. There we visited the two hardest hit towns of Infanta and Real. And, as you can tell, the people there are quite literally still digging their way out. It's now been about two weeks since that last storm passed through, but they're only now emerging and coming to grips with what lies ahead.

We spoke with a lot of residents there and they really were of different minds. Some were in complete and utter shock. The implications of this storm for their lives are enormous -- houses destroyed, families separated. They're just now realizing what staying alive through the ordeal means for them. Others quite jovial, especially the kids, assuming, perhaps correctly, that the worst is behind them and that now they can go moving on with their lives.

The third group, though, are still in that survival mode. We met a man who was racing against a raging river in a makeshift raft, clinging to two water buffalo, telling us that that's literally all he had left and all he had saved, trying to desperately find his wife.

So incredible stories, some of survival, as you mentioned earlier. But those are unlikely to continue as time goes on. The death toll now hovering close to a thousand, the number of missing near 800. So as time goes on and those rescue efforts are suspended, it's really now all about relief. The enormous priority for the near 500,000 people in this affected area without clean water and without food as we speak.

Now, we went out with -- there's some 600 U.S. Marines, we should mentioned, who have arrived from Japan, part of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade. They're joining the Philippine Air Force in providing air lifts and supply dumps. We went out with them today and realized really what is the next hurdle for the relief effort, which continues to be the cause, the weather. The roads are completely flooded, the bridges are destroyed, the only way in and out of these areas is by helicopter. The minute clouds and rain come, so goes the visibility and so goes the ability to drop supplies into these areas. So today, for example, those helicopters did not arrive. And so that's a problem that'll come in the future.

NGUYEN: What a desperate situation there.

Aneesh, let's be clear on this, though, the search for those still missing, that has been halted. They don't believe that they'll find any more still alive, even after this woman and her children were found 10 days after the flooding there?

RAMAN: Well, quite obviously, publicly, they're yet to be at the stage where they'll say that that search is completely over. But when you look at the resources and when you look at what little they have on the ground and also the hurdles that they have in terms of the weather, it's quite unrealistic for them to be putting too much effort toward finding these miracles stories. While they may be out there, there are plenty of volunteers. That story you mentioned, they were found by 40 miners who were just passing through the area, digging and heard the cries. So a lot of the volunteers are trying to help in that effort. But in terms of the official resources that they have, they're really putting those toward the relief effort, because the people that have survived are living day to day. And so getting them the water and food is critical.

NGUYEN: Absolutely. That aid is very necessary at this time.

Aneesh Raman in Manila for us this morning.

Thank you, Aneesh -- Tony.

HARRIS: Feeling left out? With five college football teams undefeated, why is it that only two get to play for the national championship?

We go "Beyond The Game" with Rick Horrow, when CNN SATURDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Chestnuts roasting on an open fire.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

HARRIS: That's everybody's favorite Christmas song. "The Christmas Song," Karen Carpenter.

Good morning, Boston. You're getting a little piece of New York today when the Radio City Rockettes come to Beantown to perform their Christmas spectacular with a special guest appearance from the man himself, Santa. Your forecast coming up with Orelon Sidney in just about 10 minutes.

NGUYEN: We're looking forward to that.

But right now we want to check the top stories.

President Bush's pick to head up the Homeland Security Department has withdrawn his name from consideration. Bernard Kerik says he stepped aside after uncovering some questions about the immigration status of his nanny.

The leader of a Taliban splinter group has been arrested in Pakistan. Officials say he's a suspect in the kidnapping of these three U.N. aid workers in Afghanistan. They were later released unharmed.

And troops in Iraq are going to get more armored vehicles to protect them in battle. A company that outfits Humvees with armor says it will increase production as soon as possible. The issue made headlines this week when a National Guardsman voiced concern about vehicle armor to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld at a town hall style meeting. So, what would you ask your boss's boss's boss if you had the chance? A member of the National Guard did just that. Now it's your turn. Stay close. We're going to find out what you'd ask Donald Rumsfeld if you had the chance to do so.

Keep those e-mails coming. It's at wam@cnn.com.

HARRIS: Well, for the second year in a row, a worthy, well deserving team is left on the outside peeking through the window when it comes to a chance to play in college football's championship Bowl series. Last year, you'll remember, southern California had to watch LSU and Oklahoma battle it out in the Sugar Bowl title game. This season, it's undefeated Auburn that will never know if it could have beaten the number one ranked team in the nation. In fact, there are five undefeated teams that could claim the right to play for the national title in the Orange Bowl on January 4. Three of those teams remain on the outside looking in.

So why no real play-off system, the topic this morning as we take you "Beyond The Game."

Five undefeated teams in the top 10 this year, yet only two will get the chance to play for the national championship.

There's only one person who can sort of all of this madness out. He is the author of "When the Game Is On the Line." He is also our very own impartial college football referee, Rick Horrow -- Rick, good morning.

RICK HORROW, CNN SPORTS BUSINESS ANALYST: Hey, man, I thought you were going to sing during that segue in Christmas songs. Thank god we had no time, right?

HARRIS: Well, there's been a mandate.

HORROW: I hope so.

HARRIS: There's been a mandate.

HORROW: I hope so.

HARRIS: Hey, you know, I saw you holding up some money. That means you're finally going to pay me for that butt whipping I put on you a couple of weeks ago on the golf course?

HORROW: No. It means...

HARRIS: Is that why you were holding that up?

HORROW: No, it means I'm going to answer your question about why the Bowl series is entrenched.

HARRIS: Well, why is that?

HORROW: Well, here's the deal. You know, we always have had split national champions. It's not new. Since 1954, 11 times we've ended the season with some debate. But America wants finality and in '92 we tried to combine them. We had the Bowl coalition, the Bowl alliance and then the BCS for the last few years.

But there are $930 million of these, by the way, of why the system ain't going to change that much. That's ABC's payment to the colleges through this system. Now, Fox has another $400 million they're paying through 2010. Then ABC gets the Rose Bowl after that through '14. Now, to have conferences, those six founding conferences get a lion's share of those dollars, about $600 million. And the smaller conferences, like the Western Athletic, get about $500,000 per school. Utah changes that a little bit. The WAC champion playing in the Fiesta Bowl this year. But it's a very little bit and that's why the system is entrenched.

HARRIS: OK, but we feel unsatisfied by this system. Year in and year out, we get to the situation at the end of the college football season and we feel unsatisfied.

So will there be some changes?

HORROW: Well, I know the world is trying to pander to your satisfaction, but it's a lot larger than that. It's tradition. You know, remember when we were growing up, the Rose Bowl would be the time where New Year's Day when you'd play football, you'd probably beat up your neighborhood friends.

HARRIS: Sure, sure.

HORROW: And you'd go watch the PAC 10 and the big 10 play. That's changed. So if that changes, we may be able to change some other things. There are hearings congressionally the last couple of years, by the way, California, senators and legislators, because USC was shut out last year. Look for Alabama legislators maybe this year, because Auburn took it.

The bottom line is there is some tweaking that always happens. This year there's talk about publicizing the coaches' votes because people want to know who voted where, and, also, maybe a game after the game for a national championship.

Look, college football is a $5 billion business. No play-off, but with the money at stake, there may be a way to figure it out.

HARRIS: OK, let's move on to your fair ball of the week.

HORROW: Well, the fair ball is maybe a back handed foul, but it's basically baseball. There's a survey that just said that 41 percent of the athletes, baseball players, rank highest in image over every other sport. All that means is there may be room to improve their image if they solve the steroid issue very quickly. And look how deep it is. If you're a minor league baseball player, by the way, your first offense, it's a 15-game suspension. Your fifth offense, you're out for life.

Major leagues, your first offense, counseling; your fifth offense, a $100,000 fine. And these are guys, by the way, Tony, that make $2 million a year. So obviously it has no effect.

If they act quickly, decisively and comprehensively, there's enough room to save the image of the game.

HARRIS: OK, and your foul ball?

HORROW: Well, we've been talking about the NBA basket brawl for the last three weeks and now, on one level, for example, there are these criminal indictments, five players, seven fans. The other level, David Stern has laid down 140 games of suspensions and very positive about that quick action. And now it hits in the corporate boardrooms. A new study of Fortune 1000 companies are saying that they may endorse race car drivers, musicians and actors, no more NBA players.

And, by the way, the only people that may be endorsable less than NBA players, according to that survey, corporate CEOs. Take that, Jack Welch.

HARRIS: I see.

All right, Rick, good stuff. Good stuff.

All right, you're in on Tuesday, right? Is that when I see you, on Tuesday?

HORROW: No. We're in on Thursday.

HARRIS: It's Thursday?

HORROW: And we're going to -- yes. And we're going to figure out if you have enough time to get some of that money back.

HARRIS: Settle some old scores.

Rick Horrow, good to see you.

Thank you.

See you this week -- Betty.

NGUYEN: You two keep going at it.

All right, well, check this out. Ooh, la-la, a cool new twist at the Eiffel Tower. That story when CNN SATURDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: See that (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?

NGUYEN: Not yet.

HARRIS: Oh, that's a good movie. Ooh, that's good stuff. Now, you want "Wows of the Week?" Check out this litterbug near Manteca, California. It turns out it was bank robbers dumping their loot with the cops in hot pursuit. Nearly all of the money was recovered. In Riverside County, fortune smiles on a couple of good Samaritans. They won $27 million in the California Super Lotto. The couple is known for providing funerals for abandoned dead infants.

In the NBA, this is why it ain't over until it's over. Just a minute remained and Houston was down by, I guess about 10 or 12 points against San Antonio. Then Tracy McGrady went off, went off. When the dust settled, the Rockets had scored the biggest come from behind win in team history.

NGUYEN: Wow, look at that!

HARRIS: Went off.

NGUYEN: How do you spell that?

HARRIS: And in Paris, now you can skate up the Eiffel Tower. The ice rink has been installed on the first floor deck. Among those voicing approval was the great grandson of Gustav Eiffel, who designed the world famous landmark in 1889.

NGUYEN: All right, let's get back to those robbers just for a second.

HARRIS: Yes.

NGUYEN: They're going to rob a bank and then throw the money out the window.

HARRIS: You know, it seemed like...

NGUYEN: What was the purpose in it all?

HARRIS: It seemed like a good idea at the time, but uh-oh.

NGUYEN: Never mind.

HARRIS: Never mind. Look at this.

NGUYEN: There's the video again. And they recovered all the money, so good for them.

HARRIS: Yes.

NGUYEN: Not the way to handle it, huh, Orelon?

HARRIS: No.

SIDNEY: Well, I guess, and this is just me guessing, but I guess they thought well, if we don't have the money, then there's no evidence.

HARRIS: That's it. That's it.

NGUYEN: But you have it on tape.

HARRIS: That's it. Yes.

SIDNEY: Forget it, you know?

NGUYEN: They forgot about those police cameras.

HARRIS: Right.

SIDNEY: Well, you know, this is the whole thing, the whole UFO abduction thing. The same thing, you know? If they saw it on tape, it doesn't really matter.

HARRIS: Exactly.

NGUYEN: Exactly.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Let us get to the E-mail Question of the Day. Here it is. What would you ask Donald Rumsfeld about the war in Iraq? We've got some good e-mails this morning.

NGUYEN: Yes, Albert from Jacksonville, Florida writes: "I would ask Donald Rumsfeld if he personally expected the war to last this long, even after the president called an end to major combat operations almost two years ago."

HARRIS: And how about this one from Jessie: "I would ask Donald Rumsfeld for his resignation."

Thank you for the e-mails and we want to ask you to continue to send those to us at wam@cnn.com and we'll read those e-mail responses to you throughout the morning.

NGUYEN: But right now, the next hour of CNN begins, you guessed it, right now.

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


Aired December 11, 2004 - 07:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, good morning, everybody.
From the CNN Center right here in Atlanta, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

It is December 11, almost half way through the month. Can you believe it?

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm trying to figure out how many shopping days are left. Not many, right?

NGUYEN: Not many, yes.

HARRIS: OK. All right.

NGUYEN: Thanks for waking up with us.

It's 4:00 a.m. out West.

Good morning.

I'm Betty Nguyen.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris.

Thanks for being with us.

NGUYEN: Now in the news, Bernard Kerik has stunned Washington by announcing he's withdrawing as nominee for homeland security secretary. The former New York City police commissioner was President Bush's choice for that post, but Kerik pulled out after discovering that a housekeeper he employed had questionable immigration status.

Authorities in Pakistan are grilling a suspect in the kidnapping of three U.N. aid workers. The three were held for nearly a month in Afghanistan before being released on November 23. Pakistani officials say their suspects is the leader of a Taliban splinter group and he was arrested in Karachi.

Army Staff Sergeant Johnny Horne, Jr. has been sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to killing a severely wounded Iraqi civilian. Horne will also get a dishonorable discharge. An investigator said the wounded civilian was in a burning truck and he was shot to "put him out of his misery."

Also in the news this morning, no breakfast for President Bush. He leaves the White House shortly for the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland and his annual physical examination. The president usually gets the physical in August. The White House says it was delayed this year because of scheduling conflicts.

HARRIS: And here's what's ahead this Saturday morning. Buried alive in the Philippines -- more than a week later, the grandmother and three small children who were pulled from their earthly tomb. We'll have a live report.

Also ahead, mad as hell and not going to take it anymore. We'll speak to a Florida mother who has a simple message for her two children -- I am not your maid!

And in sports, sneakers continue to drop in that ugly incident between players and fans. Rick Horrow examines the lingering fallout in "Beyond The Game."

NGUYEN: Now to our top story this morning, the scramble at the White House to find a new candidate for homeland security secretary. Former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik dropped a bomb last night by withdrawing abruptly as President Bush's nominee for the cabinet post. In a letter to President Bush, Kerik said he "cannot continue forward in the confirmation process." The former top cop at the NYPD said, "I am convinced that for personal reasons, moving forward would not be in the best interests of your administration, the Department of Homeland Security or the American people."

Kerik says he has discovered problems with the immigration status of a personal he employed.

We'll have more on this story now from CNN's Elaine Quijano, who is in Washington on the phone -- good morning, Elaine.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Betty.

This certainly is surprising, to put it mildly. White House officials all day yesterday, both on the record and on background, had been saying they were quite confident that the confirmation process would go on for Bernard Kerik. They said that the process in place was there to identify any problems, that their own vetting process, they felt, had been thorough.

Now, questions had been raised yesterday because of Bernard Kerik's involvement with Taser International, the stun gun manufacturer, through which he made millions of dollars. Those questions have been answered publicly, though, by White House officials, by saying well, he is in the process of getting together all of the financial disclosure statements. But we ourselves here at the White House have looked at this issue and we are quite confident that this is just part of the normal process. And they were looking forward to him completing those forms, his ethics agreements and then moving on to the Senate for the confirmation process.

And they noted that he had gotten the warm responses of Democrats. They felt very much that his confirmation was not in jeopardy, at least some of the officials I talked to. In fact, they said Kerik had already gone above and beyond the legal requirements and the ethics laws by moving forward and devastating his potentially conflicting stock holdings. And they said that he did that because he was committed both the letter and the spirit of the ethics laws.

So this announcement last night certainly a shock -- Betty.

NGUYEN: Absolutely.

Elaine, any rumblings as of yet as to who may be next in line now that Kerik has stepped down?

QUIJANO: Well, I think at this point it's just too early to say. This news is just still, as you can imagine, rippling through Washington. But at this particular point, Bernard Kerik had been the person. In fact, the president, as you know, was working basically on putting the final touches on his cabinet, wanting to move on. The White House very anxious to get ahead and try and get their team in place so that he could move forward on his second term agenda. At this point, no word on who another nominee might be -- Betty.

NGUYEN: But Tom Ridge will stay on until a replacement is named.

All right, CNN's Elaine Quijano this morning in Washington.

Thank you, Elaine -- Tony.

HARRIS: Kerik says he discovered the questionable immigration status of a housekeeper and nanny he employed. But as you just heard from Elaine, there could be other reasons, as well, for his withdrawal before Senate confirmation hearings were held.

Jeanne Meserve is our homeland security correspondent.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Though in the end, Bernard Kerik blamed a nanny problem for his withdrawal, it was only one of many questions about his style, experience, ethics and finances.

MELANIE SLOAN, CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBILITY: The American people have a right to expect their public officials to be people of integrity and to be above reproach.

MESERVE: Though Kerik had supporters who applauded his brash style, in Iraq, where he trained police, a senior administration official described Kerik as a loose cannon who lacked judgment. In a Saudi Arabian hospital, where Kerik headed security investigations in the 1980s, some employees said he was a bully. While police commissioner in New York, he was fined $2,500 for using off duty detectives to research his autobiography. And when Kerik's publisher, Judith Regan, thought her cell phone and jewelry had been stolen at Fox News, four homicide detectives were dispatched to I guess.

Kerik's lawyer says the detectives were sent, but not by Kerik.

JOSEPH TACOPINA, KERIK'S LAWYER: There was an investigation. He was cleared, I might add, Jeanne, of that.

MESERVE: And then there are Kerik's finances. Once a bankrupt street cop, Kerik recently made more than $6 million from the sale of stock options in Taser International, where he has been on the board of directors. Perfectly legal, but it raised concerns about possible future conflicts of interest.

At 4:30 Friday, Kerik's lawyer was belittling the criticism.

TACOPINA: Look, if this is as good as it gets for the detractors of Bernie Kerik, you know, he'll be sitting on the Hill very shortly.

MESERVE: At 8:30, four hours later, Kerik called the White House to withdraw.

Jean Meserve, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

NGUYEN: U.S. soldiers going into battle in Iraq will have more armored Humvees to protect them. Armor Holdings plans to increase production of its armored vehicles from 450 to 550 a month. But the company says it probably won't reach that level until February at the earliest. The Army made a deal with Armor Holdings after a National Guardsman raised concerns with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in Kuwait Wednesday. The Guardsman asked why soldiers must search landfills for scrap metal to retrofit their vehicles.

And that brings us to our E-Mail Question. What would you ask Donald Rumsfeld about the war in Iraq? Send your responses to wam@cnn.com and we will read those throughout the morning.

HARRIS: The family of a soldier wounded in Iraq says he should have been hailed as a hero by the military, but instead, they argue, he was treated like a common debtor.

CNN's Ed Lavandera reports.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN DALLAS BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Last February, Army Specialist Robert Loria was helping rescue a fellow soldier, who had just been injured by a roadside bomb north of Baghdad. Loria and a group of soldiers drove in, loaded the soldier's body in a Humvee. But as Loria started driving away, a second bomb detonated. Loria looked down and saw his left arm mangled and shrapnel wounds along the left side of his body.

SPC. ROBERT LORIA, WOUNDED SOLDIER: When they got me out of there, fully out of the vehicle and laid me on the ground, the first things I said to them, I said, I told them my wife was going to be pissed at me because I told her a long time ago that I would be back all right and I wouldn't get hurt. And I felt like I lied to her.

LAVANDERA: Specialist Loria is getting used to life with part of an arm. Nerve damage has left him without feeling in his left foot. But as Loria prepared to discharge from the military after serving five years, he was told that he owed the Army more than $6,000 for pay the Army says he shouldn't have received and for travel expenses to get treatment. The bill also included $310 for equipment that Loria didn't bring back from Iraq, like a sleeping bag, suspenders and a rucksack, among other things.

R. LORIA: I didn't have anything to say to them. I didn't know what to say to them. I was pretty much in shock, you know? Like, you know, they're like, hey, screw you, bye.

LAVANDERA: The Army even took his last paycheck and applied it to the debt. After that, he still owed almost $2,000. Loria and his wife started to worry. The 27-year-old specialist had no idea how he would afford to get back home to New York. Unsure what to do, Christine Loria started calling her local congressmen, a couple of U.S. senators and their hometown newspaper.

CHRISTINE LORIA, WIFE OF SPC. ROBERT LORIA: He signed up for this because he wanted to serve his country. He wanted to do something he could be proud of. And they're making it very hard for him to feel proud by trying to take more from him. What more do they want? What?

LAVANDERA: Right now the Army wants to get out of the spotlight on this one, so they're making the debt disappear. An Army spokesman says: "These actions clearly demonstrate that once the command leadership is involved, the Army does its utmost to correct and satisfy the needs of the soldiers and their families."

But the Lorias are left wondering why it was so hard to make this happen.

C. LORIA: Everyone should be shaking my husband's hand and saying "What can I do for you because of all you gave for me," not the reverse.

LAVANDERA: In a couple of days, Specialist Robert Loria will jump in his car and start driving home to New York. The best part of all is he'll be home for Christmas and have some money to spend on gifts.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: If you've had a tough time keeping up with the world around you this week, that's what we're here for.

Time now to "Rewind" the top stories of the week.

Monday, nine people were killed in a well coordinated attack on the U.S. consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. A fierce gun battle began after the attackers entered the compound behind a consulate vehicle. Four of the five gunmen were among the dead. The Saudi wing of al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the attack. Tuesday, parts of a Pentagon study are released on allegations of sexual assault at the Air Force Academy. It faults eight commanders for failing to respond to complaints once they were filed. The inquiry looked at reported assaults over a 10 year span, ending in 2003.

After passage in the House earlier this week, the Senate voted 89-2 Wednesday in favor of a far reaching intelligence reform bill. The measure passed after a two week impasse. President Bush says he will sign it into law.

On Thursday, President Bush pledged that he won't raise payroll taxes to help reform the Social Security system. But the president once again voiced support for a plan giving younger workers the option to invest some of their payroll taxes to pay for retirement. Experts say it will cost between $1 trillion and $2 trillion to reform the system.

And tomorrow we will "Fast Forward" to the week ahead and tell you which stories will grab the spotlight.

NGUYEN: Well, does protecting the nation also mean this mom can't drive her kids to school anymore? Tougher standards could be on the way for many people who say they would make very unlikely terrorists.

HARRIS: Shape up or ship out takes on a whole new meaning for some Florida parents. We'll tell you what they hope to achieve by camping out.

NGUYEN: And good morning, Philadelphia. Look at this shot. You are looking at a live city -- a live look, that is, over the city and a bridge there. A beautiful morning.

We will have the complete forecast in about 10 minutes, when CNN SATURDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: A U.S. soldier flees to Canada to avoid serving in Iraq. And now his fate as a refugee rests in the hands of a Canadian immigration board. We'll dissect the case next hour on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

ORELON SIDNEY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I'm Orelon Sidney with a look first at your cold and flu report through December the 4th. Still looking at some sporadic activity across much of the nation, but we do have locally heavy pockets of activity through South Carolina, parts of the Blue Ridge and then continuing up into Minnesota. Also, some regional activity for New York and parts of Alaska.

That's a look at your flu report for today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And welcome back to CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm Tony Harris checking our top stories.

President Bush is once again looking for a new homeland security secretary. Bernard Kerik, the man Mr. Bush nominated last week, has withdrawn his name from consideration. Kerik discovered that a nanny he employed had a questionable immigration status.

The president is scheduled for his annual physical in about 20 minutes from now. After the exam at Bethesda Naval Medical Center, Mr. Bush plans to visit wounded soldiers and Marines there.

And Pakistan has arrested the alleged mastermind of a kidnapping of three U.N. workers in Afghanistan. The suspect now being questioned by intelligence agents is the leader of a Taliban splinter group. The hostages were freed last month.

After hundreds of people died in landslides in the Philippines, a miraculous find gives rescuers new hope. Just ahead, we'll update you on those efforts.

NGUYEN: But right now, you've probably heard about the parents on strike. The Florida couple, fed up with their kids not helping out around the house, well, the parents are living in a tent in their driveway as they try to drive home a lesson to their kids.

And Cat Barnard has taken time out from her sit-out to talk with us this morning.

Good morning to you.

CAT BARNARD, STRIKING AGAINST KIDS: Good morning.

NGUYEN: We appreciate you being with us.

All right, let's get to the chase. First of all, what drove you to this point?

BARNARD: I don't think it was any one thing. It was a slow boil. But Friday before we decided to come up with all this, this glorious idea, I had had a bad drug reaction. I had had a tremendous amount of radiation to my jaw area. I had had a tumor in the past. So I was having a bad jaw -- drug reaction to the medication, where I was cramped up and the doctor said you really need to take it easy.

But this had been slowly building. The grass was growing up to my knees and, you know, I just looked at it...

NGUYEN: So you had to take it easy, but your children weren't helping you with that.

BARNARD: Oh, yes.

NGUYEN: They weren't taking on the added responsibility.

BARNARD: Oh, yes. And, you know, I had let it slide for a while. But for some reason it just hit me the wrong way. So I went outside, started pulling weeds, was doubled over, sweat just pouring off me, running a fever. And my son comes home from school. And it was almost as if he was stepping over the body to go in the house and decides it's more important to mail that letter to the girlfriend in Virginia, not that she isn't a darling girl.

NGUYEN: Oh, my.

BARNARD: She as cute as you can be and sweet as you can be.

But it just hit me the wrong way that day.

NGUYEN: Now, had you tried other things in the past to get them to shape up?

BARNARD: We've tried forward psychology, reverse psychology, taking everything away until they're like in a prison room of nothing on the walls, nothing on the floor but bare mattress and box springs. You name it.

NGUYEN: Oh, my.

BARNARD: And it wasn't effective, believe me.

NGUYEN: All right. So you were apparently at your wits end. You're in the driveway with your husband. Some people watching may think well, shouldn't this be the other way around? Shouldn't the kids be in the driveway?

BARNARD: You know, we have heard that so many times and, you know, the cops were on our door before we could say boo hoo, that we had abandoned our children, had left the home. And I said yes, we're three feet in front of our garage. So, you know...

NGUYEN: Well, how are they eating? Are they getting food?

BARNARD: That's why mommy buys...

NGUYEN: Have you been in the house at least to shower?

BARNARD: ... the Healthy Choice dinners and puts them in the freezer. And it absolves you of all parental guilt, believe me.

NGUYEN: So as you venture into the house to shower and whatnot, what does the place look like since you've been in the driveway?

BARNARD: Last night, because we refuse to do any dishes, so last night we had run out of silverware and I couldn't remember where I had the plastic ware. So I had to go into the sink. So if you see newspaper articles with me going, it was from the stench coming from the sink.

NGUYEN: Oh, no.

BARNARD: It was bad. It was really bad.

NGUYEN: So, OK, that being the case, is this making a difference at all?

BARNARD: A huge difference because people think that we're trying to embarrass our children, as if we're hanging out wet bed sheets. We are not. We are putting them in a court of the highest regard, a court of their peers. They're having to go to school with children whose parents are single parents, are working moms working 14, 18 hours a day to put a roof over their head and food in their bellies. And they're saying what is wrong with you? I have to do this, why don't you? Do you realize what parents you have? You have two loving, concerned parents. You have a huge, beautiful home and you can't see what's around you?

So that is being put in a court of their own peers and believe me...

NGUYEN: Cat, but the dishes still aren't being done.

BARNARD: No, but oh, my, I can see daughter's floor now. She's saying yes, ma'am, and no ma'am.

NGUYEN: OK. Well, good.

BARNARD: Oh, my, yes.

NGUYEN: Quickly, though, we're out of time.

How long do you plan on staying out there in the driveway?

BARNARD: Until we have the first dusting of snow, if need be. They said Deltona had a dusting of snow 20 years ago. And I don't care if hell freezes over, we're going to be there until we feel it and sense it in our parental heart and mother radar that there is a change taking place.

NGUYEN: All right, serious business.

Cat Barnard, we thank you for your time.

BARNARD: Thank you.

NGUYEN: And hopefully it will work after all.

BARNARD: I believe it's already starting to work, but we remain cautiously optimistic.

Thank you so much.

NGUYEN: Cautiously optimistic.

Thank you.

BARNARD: OK.

NGUYEN: And we'll be right back.

HARRIS: We're going to take a break and come right back with more CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: I feel like I'm in church.

HARRIS: How nice the singing.

NGUYEN: Yes, beautiful singing there.

You're looking at a live picture of Philadelphia near Independence Hall, where today one of the oldest and most renowned musical institutions in the world, the Vienna Boys Choir, will perform its annual Matinee Concert at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.

HARRIS: Orelon Sidney is in for Rob Marciano this weekend -- and Orelon, you know, we're looking at shots of Philadelphia, but we're really concerned about our friend Cat in Florida, Deltona.

SIDNEY: Well...

NGUYEN: Yes, is it going to snow there? She wants to know.

HARRIS: Yes.

SIDNEY: You know what? I think my dog can answer that question. No.

NGUYEN: No.

HARRIS: No. Exactly.

NGUYEN: Yes.

SIDNEY: She's not going to have to worry about it. But it is cool, as a matter of fact. In fact, if I have a chance, I'll run over and take a look at the very latest observations.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Well, one of the provisions of the new intelligence bill calls for certain uniform national standards for drivers licenses. But some states are taking on another concern, drivers licenses for illegal immigrants -- will that leave some people out in the cold?

Our Maria Hinojosa explains.

NGUYEN: Plus, the continuing controversy of baseball and steroids -- will all the attention have any effect on America's pastime? We go "Beyond The Game" when CNN SATURDAY MORNING returns.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Gunter Thielen is putting German media giant Bertelsmann back on track after his predecessor nearly derailed the company by pushing to make it public. At the helm for more than two years now, Thielen is refocusing the firm on its established businesses, like Random House, the world's biggest publisher.

Last year, he merged Bertelsmann's BMG unit with Sony Music Entertainment, creating the world's second largest recording label. This year, aided by Bill Clinton's memoirs and top music acts, Bertelsmann tripled its half year profits.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Welcome back on this Saturday morning.

I'm Betty Nguyen.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris.

More news now, as we check the morning headlines.

President Bush has to look for a new nominee for homeland security secretary just a week after tapping Bernard Kerik for the job. The former New York City police commissioner is backing out. Kerik withdrew amid questions over the immigration status of a nanny who works in his house.

In London this morning, remembering Margaret Hassan. A funeral mass is being held for the aid worker. It's believed she was killed by insurgents who kidnapped her in Iraq. Hassan's body still hasn't been found, so a picture of her will be used for the mass.

Back in the States, will it be life behind bars or death for Scott Peterson? No answer yet. The jury that convicted him of killing his pregnant wife hasn't decided on his punishment after two days of deliberations. Jurors are off for the weekend. They'll resume their work on Monday.

NGUYEN: In our weekly "Security Watch," some states are looking into tougher immigration measures after 9/11. They're aimed at keeping terrorists from passing themselves off as U.S. citizens. But some fear they could also break up immigrant families.

Our Maria Hinojosa has more from Newburgh, New York.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Like a lot of mothers, Fidirina Perez (ph) drives her daughter to school to keep her safe.

FIDIRINA PEREZ: I bring my daughter every day because I hear in the news a lot of drugs.

HINOJOSA: But 14-year-old Nancy, who wants to be a doctor, has a new worry. Her mother is an illegal immigrant and New York is about to take away the driver's license she got using a fake Social Security number.

NANCY PEREZ: It's just hard because the thought of having to leave here if they lose their job or anything, I don't want to.

HINOJOSA: Nancy and her sisters were born here, U.S. citizens. They're afraid that if their mother gets stopped driving without a license, their parents will be deported to Mexico, which they left 20 years ago.

MARIA PEREZ, DAUGHTER OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION: I know that if they get deported to Mexico, we're never going to come back, because they don't have their papers yet and we can come back, of course, because we were born here and we're -- but I don't want to leave my parents to that, because that's going to make me like so sad.

HINOJOSA: Fidirina says she uses her license to chauffeur disabled people and to get to her job as a domestic, not to commit acts of terrorism like the 9/11 hijackers. They legally entered the United States and then obtained 63 drivers licenses around the country. "We are decent people," Fidirina says, "tranquil. We would never think of wanting to hurt anyone."

But Brian Decell, who lost his son-in-law on September 11, says without immigration reform, terrorists can use a driver's license to board planes, rent cars and open bank accounts.

BRIAN DECELL, SON-IN-LAW DIED ON 9/11: Somebody who is undocumented, it's a person that you don't know who they are, gets a driver's license, that gives them the keys to the city. That was the terrorists' favorite tool.

HINOJOSA: In New York State alone, an estimated half million people have legal drivers licenses but are suspected of having entered this country illegally. This taxi driver is one of them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm driving very stressed. I can't concentrate any more because I'm very worried.

HINOJOSA: They drive trucks and taxis, care for children and clean homes. I asked some of them how the U.S. can protect its borders if it provides them with a valid I.D. even when they entered this country illegally. "This country definitely has to control its borders because it's dangerous to not know who's coming in," this man told me. "But by giving us an I.D. or license, then they would have a lot more control over who we are and what we do."

ROSALIND KENNEDY LEWIS, ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION EMPLOYER: How are you?

HINOJOSA: Rosalind Kennedy Lewis employs Fidirina to care for her family home. She says she can't afford a legal worker.

KENNEDY LEWIS: I understand that they're illegal, but they should take into consideration how they've lived their life, what they've accomplished with their life and what their children are like. And it should be done on a case by case basis. Those people that are motivated do belong here. That's what America is about.

HINOJOSA: Losing their licenses means these workers will fade completely into the underground economy. "We're not terrorists," this man said to me. "Many people say we'll use these licenses to do harm and we aren't going to use them to do that. We're using them to work." Then he said, "In the same way a lot of people from here died in those towers on September 11, many immigrants died in those towers, as well."

Maria Hinojosa, CNN, Newburgh, New York.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

NGUYEN: So, how much do you know about the recently passed intelligence reforms? You might be surprised about what you don't know. As part of our continuing "Security Watch," we will fill you in on the intelligence reform bill. That is at 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Eastern time.

HARRIS: Time now to update you on the week's major developments in the war on terror.

A judge has awarded $156 million to the parents of an American teenager gunned down by Hamas militants in the West Bank. It is one of the first jury awards against U.S.-based organizations accused of supporting terrorism. The suit was filed against three Islamic charity organizations and another group accused of raising money for Hamas.

And, Minnesota will begin issuing a unique driver's license designed to stop counterfeiters. The licenses have a reflective image that appears to float above and below the card when it is tilted. Since the 9/11 attacks, the practice of making fake licenses has received much greater scrutiny. That's because counterfeit I.D. cards made it possible for the hijackers to board commercial flights.

NGUYEN: The search for survivors continues in the flood ravaged Philippines. Rescue crews are in place, but what is keeping more people from being helped? We'll get a live report from the region when CNN SATURDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, good morning to you.

Turning now to the Philippines and the grim task of recovering the bodies of victims killed by a pair of huge storms two weeks ago. Incredibly, a 49-year-old woman and three children were found alive beneath tons of dirt that had swallowed them up to 10 days earlier.

CNN's Aneesh Raman joins us now from Manila with an update on the situation there -- good morning to you, Aneesh.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Betty, good morning to you.

Just a few hours ago, we returned from the ground zero of this relief effort, the eastern province of Quezon. It's about 40 miles outside of Manila. There we visited the two hardest hit towns of Infanta and Real. And, as you can tell, the people there are quite literally still digging their way out. It's now been about two weeks since that last storm passed through, but they're only now emerging and coming to grips with what lies ahead.

We spoke with a lot of residents there and they really were of different minds. Some were in complete and utter shock. The implications of this storm for their lives are enormous -- houses destroyed, families separated. They're just now realizing what staying alive through the ordeal means for them. Others quite jovial, especially the kids, assuming, perhaps correctly, that the worst is behind them and that now they can go moving on with their lives.

The third group, though, are still in that survival mode. We met a man who was racing against a raging river in a makeshift raft, clinging to two water buffalo, telling us that that's literally all he had left and all he had saved, trying to desperately find his wife.

So incredible stories, some of survival, as you mentioned earlier. But those are unlikely to continue as time goes on. The death toll now hovering close to a thousand, the number of missing near 800. So as time goes on and those rescue efforts are suspended, it's really now all about relief. The enormous priority for the near 500,000 people in this affected area without clean water and without food as we speak.

Now, we went out with -- there's some 600 U.S. Marines, we should mentioned, who have arrived from Japan, part of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade. They're joining the Philippine Air Force in providing air lifts and supply dumps. We went out with them today and realized really what is the next hurdle for the relief effort, which continues to be the cause, the weather. The roads are completely flooded, the bridges are destroyed, the only way in and out of these areas is by helicopter. The minute clouds and rain come, so goes the visibility and so goes the ability to drop supplies into these areas. So today, for example, those helicopters did not arrive. And so that's a problem that'll come in the future.

NGUYEN: What a desperate situation there.

Aneesh, let's be clear on this, though, the search for those still missing, that has been halted. They don't believe that they'll find any more still alive, even after this woman and her children were found 10 days after the flooding there?

RAMAN: Well, quite obviously, publicly, they're yet to be at the stage where they'll say that that search is completely over. But when you look at the resources and when you look at what little they have on the ground and also the hurdles that they have in terms of the weather, it's quite unrealistic for them to be putting too much effort toward finding these miracles stories. While they may be out there, there are plenty of volunteers. That story you mentioned, they were found by 40 miners who were just passing through the area, digging and heard the cries. So a lot of the volunteers are trying to help in that effort. But in terms of the official resources that they have, they're really putting those toward the relief effort, because the people that have survived are living day to day. And so getting them the water and food is critical.

NGUYEN: Absolutely. That aid is very necessary at this time.

Aneesh Raman in Manila for us this morning.

Thank you, Aneesh -- Tony.

HARRIS: Feeling left out? With five college football teams undefeated, why is it that only two get to play for the national championship?

We go "Beyond The Game" with Rick Horrow, when CNN SATURDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Chestnuts roasting on an open fire.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

HARRIS: That's everybody's favorite Christmas song. "The Christmas Song," Karen Carpenter.

Good morning, Boston. You're getting a little piece of New York today when the Radio City Rockettes come to Beantown to perform their Christmas spectacular with a special guest appearance from the man himself, Santa. Your forecast coming up with Orelon Sidney in just about 10 minutes.

NGUYEN: We're looking forward to that.

But right now we want to check the top stories.

President Bush's pick to head up the Homeland Security Department has withdrawn his name from consideration. Bernard Kerik says he stepped aside after uncovering some questions about the immigration status of his nanny.

The leader of a Taliban splinter group has been arrested in Pakistan. Officials say he's a suspect in the kidnapping of these three U.N. aid workers in Afghanistan. They were later released unharmed.

And troops in Iraq are going to get more armored vehicles to protect them in battle. A company that outfits Humvees with armor says it will increase production as soon as possible. The issue made headlines this week when a National Guardsman voiced concern about vehicle armor to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld at a town hall style meeting. So, what would you ask your boss's boss's boss if you had the chance? A member of the National Guard did just that. Now it's your turn. Stay close. We're going to find out what you'd ask Donald Rumsfeld if you had the chance to do so.

Keep those e-mails coming. It's at wam@cnn.com.

HARRIS: Well, for the second year in a row, a worthy, well deserving team is left on the outside peeking through the window when it comes to a chance to play in college football's championship Bowl series. Last year, you'll remember, southern California had to watch LSU and Oklahoma battle it out in the Sugar Bowl title game. This season, it's undefeated Auburn that will never know if it could have beaten the number one ranked team in the nation. In fact, there are five undefeated teams that could claim the right to play for the national title in the Orange Bowl on January 4. Three of those teams remain on the outside looking in.

So why no real play-off system, the topic this morning as we take you "Beyond The Game."

Five undefeated teams in the top 10 this year, yet only two will get the chance to play for the national championship.

There's only one person who can sort of all of this madness out. He is the author of "When the Game Is On the Line." He is also our very own impartial college football referee, Rick Horrow -- Rick, good morning.

RICK HORROW, CNN SPORTS BUSINESS ANALYST: Hey, man, I thought you were going to sing during that segue in Christmas songs. Thank god we had no time, right?

HARRIS: Well, there's been a mandate.

HORROW: I hope so.

HARRIS: There's been a mandate.

HORROW: I hope so.

HARRIS: Hey, you know, I saw you holding up some money. That means you're finally going to pay me for that butt whipping I put on you a couple of weeks ago on the golf course?

HORROW: No. It means...

HARRIS: Is that why you were holding that up?

HORROW: No, it means I'm going to answer your question about why the Bowl series is entrenched.

HARRIS: Well, why is that?

HORROW: Well, here's the deal. You know, we always have had split national champions. It's not new. Since 1954, 11 times we've ended the season with some debate. But America wants finality and in '92 we tried to combine them. We had the Bowl coalition, the Bowl alliance and then the BCS for the last few years.

But there are $930 million of these, by the way, of why the system ain't going to change that much. That's ABC's payment to the colleges through this system. Now, Fox has another $400 million they're paying through 2010. Then ABC gets the Rose Bowl after that through '14. Now, to have conferences, those six founding conferences get a lion's share of those dollars, about $600 million. And the smaller conferences, like the Western Athletic, get about $500,000 per school. Utah changes that a little bit. The WAC champion playing in the Fiesta Bowl this year. But it's a very little bit and that's why the system is entrenched.

HARRIS: OK, but we feel unsatisfied by this system. Year in and year out, we get to the situation at the end of the college football season and we feel unsatisfied.

So will there be some changes?

HORROW: Well, I know the world is trying to pander to your satisfaction, but it's a lot larger than that. It's tradition. You know, remember when we were growing up, the Rose Bowl would be the time where New Year's Day when you'd play football, you'd probably beat up your neighborhood friends.

HARRIS: Sure, sure.

HORROW: And you'd go watch the PAC 10 and the big 10 play. That's changed. So if that changes, we may be able to change some other things. There are hearings congressionally the last couple of years, by the way, California, senators and legislators, because USC was shut out last year. Look for Alabama legislators maybe this year, because Auburn took it.

The bottom line is there is some tweaking that always happens. This year there's talk about publicizing the coaches' votes because people want to know who voted where, and, also, maybe a game after the game for a national championship.

Look, college football is a $5 billion business. No play-off, but with the money at stake, there may be a way to figure it out.

HARRIS: OK, let's move on to your fair ball of the week.

HORROW: Well, the fair ball is maybe a back handed foul, but it's basically baseball. There's a survey that just said that 41 percent of the athletes, baseball players, rank highest in image over every other sport. All that means is there may be room to improve their image if they solve the steroid issue very quickly. And look how deep it is. If you're a minor league baseball player, by the way, your first offense, it's a 15-game suspension. Your fifth offense, you're out for life.

Major leagues, your first offense, counseling; your fifth offense, a $100,000 fine. And these are guys, by the way, Tony, that make $2 million a year. So obviously it has no effect.

If they act quickly, decisively and comprehensively, there's enough room to save the image of the game.

HARRIS: OK, and your foul ball?

HORROW: Well, we've been talking about the NBA basket brawl for the last three weeks and now, on one level, for example, there are these criminal indictments, five players, seven fans. The other level, David Stern has laid down 140 games of suspensions and very positive about that quick action. And now it hits in the corporate boardrooms. A new study of Fortune 1000 companies are saying that they may endorse race car drivers, musicians and actors, no more NBA players.

And, by the way, the only people that may be endorsable less than NBA players, according to that survey, corporate CEOs. Take that, Jack Welch.

HARRIS: I see.

All right, Rick, good stuff. Good stuff.

All right, you're in on Tuesday, right? Is that when I see you, on Tuesday?

HORROW: No. We're in on Thursday.

HARRIS: It's Thursday?

HORROW: And we're going to -- yes. And we're going to figure out if you have enough time to get some of that money back.

HARRIS: Settle some old scores.

Rick Horrow, good to see you.

Thank you.

See you this week -- Betty.

NGUYEN: You two keep going at it.

All right, well, check this out. Ooh, la-la, a cool new twist at the Eiffel Tower. That story when CNN SATURDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: See that (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?

NGUYEN: Not yet.

HARRIS: Oh, that's a good movie. Ooh, that's good stuff. Now, you want "Wows of the Week?" Check out this litterbug near Manteca, California. It turns out it was bank robbers dumping their loot with the cops in hot pursuit. Nearly all of the money was recovered. In Riverside County, fortune smiles on a couple of good Samaritans. They won $27 million in the California Super Lotto. The couple is known for providing funerals for abandoned dead infants.

In the NBA, this is why it ain't over until it's over. Just a minute remained and Houston was down by, I guess about 10 or 12 points against San Antonio. Then Tracy McGrady went off, went off. When the dust settled, the Rockets had scored the biggest come from behind win in team history.

NGUYEN: Wow, look at that!

HARRIS: Went off.

NGUYEN: How do you spell that?

HARRIS: And in Paris, now you can skate up the Eiffel Tower. The ice rink has been installed on the first floor deck. Among those voicing approval was the great grandson of Gustav Eiffel, who designed the world famous landmark in 1889.

NGUYEN: All right, let's get back to those robbers just for a second.

HARRIS: Yes.

NGUYEN: They're going to rob a bank and then throw the money out the window.

HARRIS: You know, it seemed like...

NGUYEN: What was the purpose in it all?

HARRIS: It seemed like a good idea at the time, but uh-oh.

NGUYEN: Never mind.

HARRIS: Never mind. Look at this.

NGUYEN: There's the video again. And they recovered all the money, so good for them.

HARRIS: Yes.

NGUYEN: Not the way to handle it, huh, Orelon?

HARRIS: No.

SIDNEY: Well, I guess, and this is just me guessing, but I guess they thought well, if we don't have the money, then there's no evidence.

HARRIS: That's it. That's it.

NGUYEN: But you have it on tape.

HARRIS: That's it. Yes.

SIDNEY: Forget it, you know?

NGUYEN: They forgot about those police cameras.

HARRIS: Right.

SIDNEY: Well, you know, this is the whole thing, the whole UFO abduction thing. The same thing, you know? If they saw it on tape, it doesn't really matter.

HARRIS: Exactly.

NGUYEN: Exactly.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Let us get to the E-mail Question of the Day. Here it is. What would you ask Donald Rumsfeld about the war in Iraq? We've got some good e-mails this morning.

NGUYEN: Yes, Albert from Jacksonville, Florida writes: "I would ask Donald Rumsfeld if he personally expected the war to last this long, even after the president called an end to major combat operations almost two years ago."

HARRIS: And how about this one from Jessie: "I would ask Donald Rumsfeld for his resignation."

Thank you for the e-mails and we want to ask you to continue to send those to us at wam@cnn.com and we'll read those e-mail responses to you throughout the morning.

NGUYEN: But right now, the next hour of CNN begins, you guessed it, right now.

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