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CNN Saturday Morning News

Bomber Attacks Funeral in Baghdad; Bush: No Early Withdrawal from Iraq; Katrina Victims Still Waiting for Insurance Payments; Children with Tourette's Live Difficult Lives

Aired November 19, 2005 - 11:00   ET

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

ROB MARCIANO, CO-HOST: Another day of violence and bloodshed in Iraq with a series of bombings killing more than two dozen people. This as a debate rages here in the U.S. and on the opposite side of the globe: should the troops stay or leave Iraq?
Good morning. It's Saturday, November 19, 2005. Live from the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Rob Marciano in for Tony Harris.

BETTY NGUYEN, CO-HOST: Glad to have you.

And I'm Betty Nguyen. We want to thank you for starting your day with us.

MARCIANO: Let's have a look at what's happening right now in the news.

The coast of western Indonesia has been hit by a strong earthquake just minutes ago. The quake measured 6.5 in magnitude and hit near the Aceh province, where an earthquake last December triggered a massive tsunami. Officials so far there say there are no plans to issue any tsunami warnings.

Meanwhile, the disputed border between Pakistan and India opens for the first time in 58 years. It's a temporary love that allows divided families to check in on each other after last month's deadly earthquake. This as dozens of governments and financial institutions discuss an aid donor conference in Pakistan. That meeting has brought the total amount pledged for the region to more than $5 billion.

Meanwhile, Canadian health officials are conducting more tests on a duck at a commercial farm there in order to find out if it is, indeed, carrying the avian bird flu. Last night they confirmed it had tested positive for a bird flu type virus. That commercial poultry farm has since been quarantined. Farms within three miles of the site are also being investigated.

And South Florida may be in the path of Tropical Storm Gamma by Monday afternoon. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center, and they're good, they say the longer term forecast is uncertain. Right now Gamma is lingering off the Central American coast. South Florida is still trying to overcome the impact from last month's Hurricane Wilma in the same spot. It may be hit again.

Stay with CNN, your hurricane headquarters, for frequent updates on Tropical Storm Gamma. NGUYEN: Another bloody day in Iraq while arguments for and against the U.S. military involvement there rages across the globe.

In Washington the House voted on a measure calling for a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq. Now the resolution was defeated.

In South Korea, President Bush vows there would be no early U.S. troop pullout.

And in Baghdad new attacks kill a dozen more people.

We have two reports. We begin now with CNN's Nic Robertson, live in Baghdad, where we're just getting reports of another car bomb.

What can you tell us about that one, Nic?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Betty, this car bomb occurred right at dusk. It was a suicide car bomb, and he drove his car into a tent where people were commemorating a funeral. Eighteen people were killed, 20 were wounded.

It's traditional here for funeral services, if you will, for commemorations to be held in a tent outside the person's home. That's what was happening, and at dusk the suicide bomber drove into that tent full of family, friends and relatives, detonating the explosives. Twenty people wounded, 18 killed.

Earlier in the day a crowded market was the target of another bomber at 10:30 in the morning on the southeast side of Baghdad. A bomber detonated his explosives there, killing 11 people, wounding 20.

And just a little while after, in the center of Baghdad, a bomber targeted a police patrol. He did wound four policemen, but as with so many of the bomb attacks here, it is not the targets who end up worse off. There was one civilian passerby killed and another six civilian passersby caught up in that blast, as well, Betty.

NGUYEN: Nic, as you've heard, Representative Murtha set off a war of words with his call for troop withdrawal. Are you seeing any signs of that pressure there on the ground in Iraq?

ROBERTSON: I think certainly it's going to add to the atmosphere of tension that's been developing this week in the lead up to the elections. The tension here has escalated over the discovery of a ministry of interior detention facility where people are being tortured.

This is opening up the division between the Sunni and Shia community here. There are many in the Sunni community who said that they want U.S. troops to leave before they'll get involved in politics. Many in the Shia community see that it's useful to have the U.S. troops here.

So the notion that this issue can be debated with a potentially immediate effect here is certainly going to raise people's fears, suspicions, worries, concerns and tension in advance of the elections, Betty.

NGUYEN: Nic Robertson on the ground in Baghdad. Nic, thank you.

MARCIANO: President Bush is in Beijing right now, but before leaving for China he told U.S. troops stationed in South Korea America will stay in Iraq until the mission is accomplished.

Some of his critics in Congress disagree. They want a quick pull out.

More now from CNN's Suzanne Malveaux from Osan Air Base in South Korea.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our nation is grateful for your service, your service for freedom and peace.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Bush at the Osan Air Base in South Korea, promoting his global agenda but also continuing to strike back at those who have been calling for an immediate pullout of U.S. troops in Iraq.

BUSH: In Washington there are some who say that the sacrifice is too great. And they urge us to set a date for withdrawal before we have completed our mission. Those who are in the fight know better.

MALVEAUX: Eager to prove that point, in Washington, House Republicans introduced a resolution for the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops to try to force Democrats to take stand on a quick exit from Iraq.

REP. DUNCAN HUNTER (R), CALIFORNIA: We do not support a precipitous pullout from Iraq.

MALVEAUX: Democrats denounced the move as a stunt and joined the GOP in rejecting the resolution outright.

The White House used the failed measure to argue Congress was on the president's side. In a statement released from South Korea, the press secretary said, "Congress in strong bipartisan fashion rejected the call to cut and run."

The Republican maneuver was prompted by a call made the day before from the powerful Democratic hawk, Congressman John Murtha, to withdraw troops within six months. The White House painted the decorated veteran as out of the mainstream.

BUSH: One of our top commanders in Iraq, Major General William Webster, says that setting a deadline for our withdrawal from Iraq would be, quote, "a recipe for disaster." General Webster is right.

MALVEAUX: But a senior defense official tells CNN a withdrawal plan for U.S. troops in Iraq has already been submitted to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld by the top U.S. commander there, General George Casey. The official said the plan has numerous options and recommends that brigades begin leaving Iraq by early 2006. The official says the plan has yet to be signed by Rumsfeld and is conditioned on whether certain milestones are met.

(on camera) One of those milestones will be elections in mid- December, when Iraqis transition to fully governing themselves.

Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, Osan Air Base, South Korea.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARCIANO: As Suzanne just mentioned, talk over an immediate troop pullout has drawn nasty words from both Democrats and Republicans. That includes the man who initially set off the debate, Democrat John Murtha, a 37-year Marine veteran.

Yesterday he said he's calling for an early pullout, not an immediate one. And that set off fireworks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN MURTHA (D), PENNSYLVANIA: When I introduced this resolution, I didn't introduce this as a partisan resolution. I go by Arlington Cemetery every day. And the vice president, he criticizes Democrats. Let me tell you, those grave stones don't say Democrat or Republican. They say American.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: Republican Duncan Hunter countered by saying the vote should, at the very least, encourage U.S. troops.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTER: I hope that the message that goes back to our troops in Iraq, and I know that the message that will go back to our troops in Iraq, is that we do not support a precipitous pullout from Iraq, and that will do more to restore their morale than anything else this Congress could do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: A Democratic push for a withdrawal timetable was also defeated in the Senate earlier this week.

NGUYEN: Taking a look at some stories across America today.

Calming winds are helping more than 1,200 firefighters beat back a wildfire raging north of Los Angeles. Look at these flames.

Fire officials say the blaze in Ventura County has charred more than 4,000 acres. About 200 families that live near the fire have evacuated, but no mandatory evacuations have been ordered.

MARCIANO: Santa Ana is nasty.

The annual Fannie Mae Foundation Help the Homeless walk-a-thon is under way this morning in Washington. The walk attracts thousands of participants and raises awareness about the more than 15,000 homeless people in the Washington metropolitan area. The walk also raises money for 178 local organizations that work to combat homelessness.

NGUYEN: A former president is among the dignitaries gathering in Louisville, Kentucky, home of the man known worldwide as the greatest. They are taking part tonight in a grand opening of the Muhammad Ali Center. The center is designed to promote the humanitarian ideas and boxing legacy of the three-time heavyweight boxing champion who first rose to prominence as Cassius Clay. Sixty-three-year-old Ali changed his name when he converted to Islam.

As you know, he is battling Parkinson's Disease and recently underwent back surgery.

MARCIANO: And a California cab driver says he didn't give much thought to a pouch under -- one of his passenger's pouch at the Los Angeles Airport. It was in his cab. But later, when he opened the bag, he discovered about 100 diamonds.

NGUYEN: Woo, wow!

MARCIANO: That's what I'm talking about. Worth about $350,000. That's a tip.

NGUYEN: Yes.

MARCIANO: Lucky for the New York jeweler who misplaced the diamonds, he also left his cell phone in the car, and the cabby, obviously, honest.

NGUYEN: Yay.

MARCIANO: He arranged to return the diamonds and claimed that he never even considered keeping the treasure.

NGUYEN: Well, hopefully he got a nice reward for that lost and found.

MARCIANO: That's right.

NGUYEN: Right?

MARCIANO: That is -- he should, at least.

NGUYEN: A diamond or two. I mean, come on.

MARCIANO: Not sure what she would do.

NGUYEN: Send them to me.

MARCIANO: Coming up next on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHEL LOMBARD, FLOOD VICTIM: I thought I was safe buying flood insurance, so I should be paid. It should be no question asked. I have flood insurance. I have a flood in my house. My house is destroyed, so just pay me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: Katrina victims with flood insurance. So why are they having trouble getting paid?

NGUYEN: That's a big question.

Plus, let the shopping frenzy begin. But if you're like most of us, you have no idea where to start. I got a list. We're going to have some of those ideas for you. That's going to help you really put a smile on a lot of people's faces this holiday season. That's ahead on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: This just in to CNN. A car bomb detonated during a funeral ceremony in Abu Saida, which is north of Baghdad. So far it has killed 18 people, wounded 20.

This was -- this car bomb was pulled up into a funeral ceremony, actually into a mourning tent in front of a house where mourners were reading verses from the Quran.

We are keeping a watch on this, because we have been told that the death toll could rise. So far, though, 18 people killed, 20 wounded. And a car bomb was detonated during a funeral ceremony in north Baghdad. We'll stay on top of that and bring you the latest.

Also, here are some other stories making news today.

President Bush says there will be no early U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq. At Osan Air Base in South Korea Mr. Bush told U.S. forces that the sober judgment of military commanders on the ground must prevail over calls to end the U.S. military mission in Iraq. Mr. Bush is now in China.

Meanwhile, though, emotions boiled in the House overnight as lawmakers rejected a Republican-sponsored resolution calling for the immediate pullout of U.S. troops from Iraq. Democrats denounced that measure. They called it a political stunt designed to prohibit thoughtful debate of the issue.

And more than 1,200 firefighters battling a wildfire north of Los Angeles are being helped by calmer winds. That's the good news. Fire officials say the blaze in Ventura County has charred more than 4,000 acres so far. That's the bad news. And about 200 families that live near the fire have voluntarily evacuated.

MARCIANO: Santa Ana winds blowing. Should be a little calmer, more calm today and tomorrow. Not weather related, but often the weather department gets asked for their expertise, and when it comes to an earthquake. And Bonnie, we had an earthquake in Indonesia just less than an hour or two ago. What do you know? BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, right now we have it registered at 6.2 on the Richter scale in western Indonesia. As we take a closer look, we can show you where it actually occurred right here near Simeulue, which is part of Sumatra, which is a coastal kind of barrier island here in western Indonesia.

And if you're wondering what does 6.2 earthquake mean? It means that you could have, certainly, difficulty to stand. People certainly felt this earthquake. It's not something that you didn't feel.

But what we can report from the Associated Press is that there's no reports of injuries or any reports of tsunami warnings. The quake struck near the Aceh province, where a 9.0 magnitude quake triggered a massive tsunami back on December 26 last year, killing over 110,000 people.

So good news so far, no injuries reported. But a very substantial earthquake in western Indonesia.

Switching gears to another part of the world, the tropics. We're watching very closely. Tropical Storm Gamma continues to churn. It will eventually make a turn to the northeast, but here's the latest track from the National Hurricane Center.

And notice, the storm does not make a strike directly on the Yucatan Peninsula. That's good news for them. A little bit less rain as a result.

The storm travels to the south of the Florida Peninsula but close enough to bring tropical storm force winds that will extend outward of 100 miles. So most of Florida will feel wind and rain from this storm, but it does not become a hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center.

So it looks like minimum strength there as far as storms go but still a powerful tropical storm.

Elsewhere across the country, we certainly are dealing with the cold in the northern plains, the upper Midwest. Not a bad day in the northeast. Actually, high pressure has pushed a little bit further to the east so a milder flow building into New York City. It will be more comfortable there today with high temperatures feeling like they're about 50 degrees.

However, the cold spot on the map, certainly Detroit, Cleveland. We're looking at temperatures -- it's going to be cold there. It will feel like it's in the 30s all day long.

NGUYEN: Below freezing. OK, Bonnie, thank you.

MARCIANO: Thanks, Bonnie.

Survivors of the hurricane this past season, the gulf storms, they're enduring yet another setback. FEMA has run out of money to cover flood insurance claims, and now Congress is stepping in. That means that survivors can't rebuild their homes and their lives in the meantime.

Rusty Dornin has one man's story from New Orleans.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LOMBARD: This was a den. So you can see the line of water. If you turn right here, you can see 2 1/2 feet of water.

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Michel Lombard knew his home was trashed by Katrina before he was even able to return to his New Orleans neighborhood. He had a $150,000 flood insurance policy, and he filed his claim less than a week after the storm.

(on camera) You filed it more than two months ago.

LOMBARD: Yes, yes.

DORNIN: And they have still not paid you any money at all?

LOMBARD: No, I have not received one penny from the flood insurance.

DORNIN (voice-over): Lombard has a flood insurance policy that is funded through a special FEMA program that FEMA says has run out of money. But this week the House of Representatives authorized FEMA to borrow an additional $5 billion to try to keep up with the claims, but the measure must still be passed by the Senate.

FEMA spokesman says, "Everybody who's filed a claim that has damage covered by their flood insurance policy will be paid. We have a moral and ethical obligation to make good on those contracts. No question there will be a delay. We don't know how long. We're only hoping another day or two."

But consumer advocates say any delays now are unfair.

DOUGLAS HELLER, CONSUMER ADVOCATE: It's Katrina survivors who are the losers. You've got people who have not just bought insurance they needed. They bought all the possible coverage that was available to them. They've got homeowner's insurance. They've got flood insurance, but they're not getting paid.

It's a tragedy for so many people who survived the worst disaster in American history to now have to fight to get the money that they are owed.

DORNIN: And fight is what Michel Lombard has been doing for two months.

LOMBARD: I thought I was safe, being -- buying flood insurance, so I should be paid. There should be no question asked. I have flood insurance. I have a flood in my house. My house is destroyed, so just pay me.

DORNIN: A cry that so far has fallen on deaf ears.

Rusty Dornin, CNN, New Orleans.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Well, the woman who came to symbolize the government's slow response in Hurricane Katrina's wake has been laid to rest, and now her son is speaking out.

Ninety-one-year-old Ethel Freeman's poncho-covered body was left outside of the New Orleans Convention Center for days. She was left in her wheelchair by her son, who was ordered onto a bus after he stayed with the body for four days.

Well, he left a piece of paper containing his name and phone number in her pocket, and finally, after two months, he told our Anderson Cooper last night that he has received word.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HERBERT FREEMAN JR., MOTHER DIED DURING HURRICANE KATRINA: I was confused. I was angry. I didn't know what to do. But I had prayed. And the spirit told me just to, you know, hold out a little longer, that my help was coming, you know?

So I just kept asking around, searching different help lines. And the last help line I got did help, like, to find the people that's living, or people that day. So it was Miss Sue Faulkner (ph) from Baton Rouge, and she had guaranteed me. She almost promised me on the phone that she would find my mother, and she did. She called, like, two or three days later and told me she found her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: That's just chilling. Herbert Freeman Jr. is now suing FEMA over his mother's death.

Well, the clock is ticking for many Hurricane Katrina and Rita evacuees. Thousands of people living in motels and hotels are about to lose their temporary housing and FEMA assistance. Coming up at noon Eastern, we hear one woman's story and look at what options are still available for people affected by the disaster.

MARCIANO: But straight ahead, it's known as an adult disease, but many children across America are suffering from Tourette's Syndrome. Two kids today talk honestly what it's like to grow up with that disorder. That touching story is coming up. You don't want to miss it. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: We want to warn you now that what you are about to see may be a little tough to watch. You're about to meet some kids with Tourette's Syndrome. It doesn't go away. Their body responses are involuntary. It's important that you know that for their sake.

CNN's Paula Zahn reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA ZAHN, HOST, "PAULA ZAHN NOW" (voice-over): Uncontrollable grunts. Bizarre outbursts. Seemingly violent tics. Tens of thousands of kids across America suffer from them daily.

The neurological disorder known as Tourette's Syndrome, which you might have thought of as an adult disease, can strike when kids are just toddlers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They, like, come all the time.

ZAHN: Colin has had Tourette's for as long as he can remember.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Actually, when I was born I came out, and I had my head shaking somehow. I don't know. That's what I was told, was that I was brought up my whole life I was shaking my head.

ZAHN: Home video shows Colin shaking his head as he takes some of his first steps. Then at age 3, as he opens presents.

By the time Colin is 6, he's shaking his head and coughing, classic indicators of Tourette's and tics he still has today at age 13, tics he's likely to have for the rest of his life.

Eleven-year-old William knows how Colin feels. He also has Tourette's. They both met with me to honestly talk about what it's like to grow up with this disorder.

(on camera) So, Colin, how old were you when you realized that your head was shaking like that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I guess I always realized it. It's just it was always just so natural for me that sometimes I can't even tell if I am or am not doing it if I'm at the most comfortable of comfortable situations.

ZAHN: You're pretty comfortable right now, on a beanbag chair. Do you know that you're shaking your head?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Yes.

ZAHN: Is it embarrassing at times?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like, you know those dreams where you have a dream where you're, like, walking in the school and you notice, "Oh, my God, I'm in my underwear"? When you're a new kid at school, it's almost exactly what it's like for most people with Tourette's Syndrome.

ZAHN (voice-over): Tourette's Syndrome generally appears in kids sometime between the ages of 2 and 15. Boys are three to four times more likely to have the disorder.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is involuntary. We can't help it. ZAHN: That sudden urge to do or say certain things can be overwhelming.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of my tics is, like -- like breathing through my nose but really quick and up my nose, do it quick. Or that kind of stuff, and I don't know. And blinking. I blink pretty fast.

ZAHN: Dr. Barbara Coffey is the director of the Institute for the Study of Tourette's and Movement Disorders. She says tics can sometimes be partially controlled, but in the long run it's uncomfortable for kids not to let them out.

DR. BARBARA COFFEY, INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF TOURETTE'S AND MOVEMENT DISORDERS: If you think of it like a sneeze, when you have a sneeze, the feeling builds up before you sneeze, and it goes away once you actually sneeze and release it. It's very similar to the tic. And many kids experience a very uncomfortable feeling of tension or pressure or discomfort inside of them before they have the tic.

ZAHN: In this video you can actually see a young girl struggling with her Tourette's. After holding it in all day, she finally lets out her tics.

Tragically, there's no cure for Tourette's Syndrome, although as some kids get older, it does become easier to control.

COFFEY: In general it's not necessarily a lifetime of the same degree of symptoms. In general, the symptoms improve in many, many children.

ZAHN: But adolescence, already a tough time for many, can be especially difficult for kids like Colin and William.

(on camera) Colin, what do you think is the hardest thing about having Tourette's?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It would have to be school. Substitutes. That whole area.

ZAHN: And how do they deal with you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just people that don't know. There are some people that don't get dealt the card, "Hey, this kid has Tourette's Syndrome." It's basically you're just sitting there and you're shaking your head. And eventually, you're going to be ticking and coughing and coughing and ticking and shaking your head and coughing. And she's just going to be like, "What is this? You go outside." So I usually do go outside. And then...

ZAHN: So no one has even bothered to explain to the substitute...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

ZAHN: ... that you have Tourette's?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

ZAHN (voice-over): It's that kind of ignorance and sensitivity that these young teens want to end. That is why both William and Colin, along with 21 other kids, participated in a new HBO documentary, "I Have Tourette's, But Tourette's Doesn't Have Me," a film showing the daily struggles of thousands of kids dealing with this heartbreaking syndrome. Every minute of the day, fighting to control the uncontrollable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want everyone who hears me right now to understand that it is not contagious. It is not a mental disability. Everyone with Tourette's is the same as you or anyone, really.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: One more thing to tell you about. The documentary Paula just mentioned, "I Have Tourette's, But Tourette's Doesn't Have Me," airs on the HBO Family Channel. You want to check your local listings.

HBO Family Channel is owned by Time Warner, the parent company of this network -- Rob.

MARCIANO: Betty, coming up, shopping for the perfect holiday gift maybe? About that time of year. Surprise them with some new hot gadgets. A list of must-haves is coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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