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CNN SATURDAY NIGHT

Terror in New Delhi

Aired October 29, 2005 - 22:00   ET

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

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN SATURDAY NIGHT. Terror in New Delhi. Three bomb blasts, the latest ahead.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Rusty Dornin in South Florida. Next, we'll tell you about a hero who's helping tens of thousands of people who are very vulnerable to life without power. Coming up.

LIN: And defensive maneuvers in D.C. Attorneys for former White House aide Scooter Libby move into action, while the spotlight turns to the president's top adviser, Karl Rove.

These stories and a lot more next on CNN SATURDAY NIGHT.

Good evening, I'm Carol Lin from the CNN Center in Atlanta. Up first tonight, one woman's fight for life. Her own. She is lying in a hospital burn unit right now. And a judge played a role in putting her there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LIN (voice-over): It was exactly what Yvette Cade feared. Her family says her husband, Roger Hardgrave, had physically abused her and continued to harass her.

She got this court order barring him from contacting her. He took her to court to challenge it. And Cade's family says the actions of the judge who heard the case were unconscionable.

In this audio from the proceeding, Cade speaks to Judge Richard Palumbo.

YVETTE CADE, WIFE: He's still contacting me. Um. He's intimidating my daughter. And um, he's vandalizing other people's properties. I want an immediate and absolute divorce.

JUDGE PALUMBO: Well, I'd like to be six-foot-five, but that's not what we do here. You have to go to divorce court for that.

LIN: Palumbo said he would reject Hardgrave's request to lift the restraining order. But he granted it. Nearly a month later, Hardgrave found his ex-wife working at a T-Mobile store. He doused her with gasoline and set her on fire. Now he's charged with attempted murder.

She's in critical condition with burns covering 60 percent of her body. Judge Palumbo did not return CNN's calls. His attorney issued a brief statement saying Palumbo had "intended to keep the protective order in place." And that the dismissal was a "clerical error."

Palumbo has been reassigned to administrative duty. But Yvette Cade's family says that is not enough.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: So the legal wheels are turning, which as you know, are slow and methodical, but not as difficult as the agonizing recovery for the young woman who suffered this preventable attack.

A short time ago, I spoke with Yvette Cade's sister and her cousin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Shereen, let begin with you. How is Yvette doing?

SHEREEN JACKSON, YVETTE CADE'S SISTER: This past surgery, surgery number eight, she's rebounded much better than other surgeries. They took the tube out of her mouth pretty quickly. And she's just requesting food.

LIN: Yes, thank God. She's a survivor, isn't she, a survivor, a strong woman?

JACKSON: Oh, yes, she is. She's strong. But there is a tremendous amount of pain that's still going on.

LIN: Dr. Haynesworth, did anybody have any idea that her estranged husband would react this way?

MICHAEL HAYNESWORTH, YVETTE CADE'S COUSIN: No. We had no idea that he would -- could go to this extreme. That caught everybody offguard.

LIN: But there was a restraining order. If Judge Palumbo had left the restraining order in place, do you think it would have stopped this attack?

HAYNESWORTH: Yes, I believe it would have, only because the -- during the night prior to the attack, the police would have had reason to arrest him, or actually went out to search for him.

And so, there was -- it could have prevented this, yes.

LIN: He would have made a difference?

HAYNESWORTH: Yes.

LIN: Shereen, what was the family's reaction when you heard that the judge had been suspended, taken off the bench?

JACKSON: We're elated that hopefully he'll remain off and someone else can survive and be treated with decency. LIN: Mm-hmm. What do you think his motivation was, if any? I mean, what do you think his reasons were?

JACKSON: For?

LIN: For not reissuing the restraining order?

JACKSON: As he said on the tape, go get counseling. But he didn't know -- he doesn't know Hardgrave and the fact that I've been on the phone with the verbal abuse. I've seen the verbal abuse almost erupt into violence. And he should have heeded my sister's pleas and ignored an abuser.

LIN: Right.

JACKSON: Of course, he's going to want it dropped.

LIN: Dr. Haynesworth, you were laughing when I asked that question of Shereen -- why?

HAYNESWORTH: Well, the thing is is with in regards to the judge, his motivation, it -- he has come up out several -- on several occasions as very sexist, very demeaning, and have no regard for women or humanity.

And so...

LIN: I mean, are you saying that out of emotion? Because I know that you're angry. I know that it's frustrating. I know this is horrible to see this happen to Yvette, but on what basis are you making these claims?

HAYNESWORTH: Well, I've happened to -- since this have started, I've had several -- people have contacted me. I've listened to other transcripts and proceedings that he has had. He's had a case where a lady had a broken windpipe because of her, I believe it was her husband. And she was in court before Palumbo. And as she was before the judge, he was -- she could barely talk.

LIN: So what happened?

HAYNESWORTH: Well, he -- his words to her was, "You need to speak up. I can't read lips."

So it would explain to him that she had a broken windpipe because of her...

LIN: So you're saying he was insensitive?

HAYNESWORTH: Very insensitive.

JACKSON: On numerous occasions.

LIN: Mm-hmm.

HAYNESWORTH: Yes, on numerous occasions, but for -- I mean, just degrading. It seems that when it comes to the victim, he is quick to turn and say well, you know, women, they come -- and I will give a quote from Judge Palumbo, you know, he was addressing a man. He said, listen, women they're like buses. They come by every five minutes. You'll finally get one.

LIN: Oh.

HAYNESWORTH: So he...

LIN: That's hard to believe. That's disgusting and hard to believe if that's in fact what he said.

Shereen, if you could talk to this judge, or on behalf of Yvette, what would you say to him?

JACKSON: It's time to step down. Come forth to my family and a segment of the population and express your extreme remorse over your remarks. And step down. Let someone else more qualified to deal with domestic violence cases take over.

LIN: All right, thank you very much, the two of you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Now we invited Judge Palumbo to give us his side of the awful events in the Yvette Cade assault, but through his attorney, he declined.

A statement from the judge's lawyer reads, "Judge Palumbo is not allowed to comment on pending cases. We have no public statements. It's a pending case, and it would be proper for him to comment publicly."

Now this case, this horrible attack and the judge who gave an abusive husband the freedom to do it, it is the subject of our rap sheet later in this program.

And you are going to be surprised at the history of questionable behavior on this judge's record. So stay with CNN SATURDAY NIGHT.

Now right now, we want to look abroad to India, where dawn is breaking on the aftermath of a horribly tragic day. Two cities, two very different tragedies.

Early morning, a passenger train derailed in the country's flooded southeast. At last report, more than 100 people are dead. Then later in the day, three massive explosions shook a neighborhood and two marketplaces in the capitol New Delhi.

Indian officials say the bombs bear the trademarks of the terrorist attack. Dozens of people, at least 55, were killed. Our New Delhi bureau chief Sander Bindra has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SATINDER BINDRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The aftermath of three powerful blasts that ripped through India's capitol Saturday evening. Two of the explosions in crowded marketplaces, where thousands were shopping just on the eve of the Indian festival of lights known as "Dewalhi."

But on Saturday, their merriment quickly turned to disbelief.

"We don't know how the blast happened," he says, "There was smoke all around for two or three minutes. Everyone was shaken."

Bystanders tried to help. In this marketplace alone, they pulled dozens of bodies from under the rubble. Most of the wounded were women and children, some whose limbs were torn from their bodies by the force of the explosion.

Eyewitnesses here say they saw a suspicious looking bag just before the blast. Gas cylinders stored in shops then ignited a huge blaze. Dozens more were injured in the stampede that followed.

(on camera): Indian authorities are describing this as a terrorist attack. They're also warning tens of thousands of petrified residents in New Delhi to stay away from crowded areas and to try to remain calm.

(voice-over): Hours after the tragedy, Sonia Gandhi, who heads India's ruling coalition, offered her sympathies.

SONIA GANDHI, UNITED PROGRESSIVE ALLIANCE: I'm really expressing my pain and anguish at what has happened. And I want to pay my last -- extend my condolences to all the families who have lost their dear ones.

BINDRA: Just two days before Dewalhi, when millions of Indians decorate their homes with candles and lamps, many are now trying to come to terms with what happened, saying their thoughts are with those who'll be preparing, not for celebrations, but funerals and cremations over the weekend.

Satinder Bindra, CNN, New Delhi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Here we are five days after Hurricane Wilma blew across South Florida. And there are still lines in gas stations. Florida Power and Light says repair crews restored service to 60 percent of the people who were affected by the storm.

But that still leaves about 1.3 million customers in the dark. Rusty Dornin has been checking on some of them.

Rusty, what are you finding?

DORNIN: Well, Carol, this is a very common scene throughout South Florida. And this is right across the street from the CNN bureau in Miami.

Now north of here are a number of retirement communities. These communities are very large. Some 20,000 people in each one of them. We came across a man who is struggling to help the seniors in these communities, making sure that those people are not forgotten.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IRV SCHLOSSBERG: Anybody in there?

DORNIN (voice-over): Searching for elderly shut-ins. No power and no way of getting food.

SCHLOSSBERG: It's Representative Schlossberg.

DORNIN: A man with a mission, Irv Schlossberg, has barely slept or showered in days.

SCHOLSSBERG: As soon as I get some food...

DORNIN: We caught up with him last Thursday at a senior community in Boca Raton. There he organized the first hot meals and ice for thousands of residents.

On Saturday, he's in nearby Deerfield Beach, another 20,000 seniors living without power, people who often can't fend for themselves.

SCHLOSSBERG: There's a lot of shut-ins. There's a lot of shut- ins.

I represent 133,000 seniors. And my average voter is 80-years old. That means if you take a look at those high rises over there on the fourth floor, the elevators aren't working. They can't get down here. So these people can get down here, but if you think about this village, there's probably 6,000 or 7,000 people who are stuck up there.

DORNIN: It was five days after Hurricane Wilma before food and ice trucks came here. Now local officials are giving assurances and aid. And neighbors are taking care of neighbors.

But many residents here know who made it all happen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love you, Abe.

SCHLOSSBERG: You made a lot of friends.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love you, Abe.

DORNIN: Were you guys getting any food or ice before the hurricane?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, this is the man.

DORNIN: The man who listens to every complaint.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why the heck don't they get the National Guard? SCHLOSSBERG: Unfortunately, there wasn't a good plan for our seniors.

DORNIN: It's been frustrating and frightening for many here. Sometimes he can only offer comfort to people like Lucille Robins.

LUCILLE ROBINS, RESIDENT: Do you know that 90 percent of our roof is open? And my windows plus the whole thing, the framework, is gone. And you're telling me ice and food? I don't care about that. There's going to be rain on Tuesday. And half the people are frightened...

SCHLOSSBERG: I'm trying my best.

ROBINS: I know.

DORNIN: Robins isn't the only one who lost her roof.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: See that piece of roof?

SCHLOSSBERG: Yes, I see.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the piece that was over my house.

DORNIN: For Schlossberg, these people are not just his constituents. They're a national treasure.

SCHLOSSBERG: The battle of the bulge? If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have this great country. And I'm really sorry that this had to happen, but we're going to -- we're tough people. And we're resilient.

DORNIN: There are many heroes in the aftermath of Hurricane Wilma. This is one man fighting for the greatest generation, fighting to make sure no one is forgotten.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DORNIN: He's been doing a very good job. We've just seen what he's been doing the last few days. As I said, we saw him a couple days ago. We saw him at the community center over there in Deerfield Beach.

But it's a critical situation for these people. I can't imagine how these communities of 20,000 people are going to be getting along in the next two to three weeks if they don't get power. As I said, local officials have come into many of these areas.

And also, the neighbors are really taking care of each other. They're trying to walk the floors, along with the other volunteers, and make sure that these shut-ins are taken care of -- Carol?

LIN: Yes, but Rusty, it's just crazy that these elderly people don't have any power. Why can't Florida Power and Light make them a priority? DORNIN: I -- well, it's the way they get the grid up. I mean, if the substations are so damaged in some particular areas, there's just not a way they can really do it. It's just -- Carol, it's so amazing to drive through South Florida. The immensity of it. You know, how many people are out of power is just amazing.

And of course, even across the street from here, there's no power here and across the street.

LIN: Yes.

DORNIN: All those shops are lit up and the restaurants are open. So it's so sporadic. But they're trying to get it up as fast as they can.

LIN: Yes. Yes. It's just heartbreaking to see Americans standing in line, elderly, senior citizens just for ice. Anyway, Rusty Dornin, thank you very much.

Well, a much publicized investigation, an indictment, and deep suspicion at the threshold of the Oval Office. By anybody's standards, this has been a miserable few weeks for the Bush administration. But if the White House is shaken by these events, you can't see it on the surface.

Here's CNN's Elaine Quijano.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It had been a big source of anxiety for White House officials, but President Bush made no mention of the CIA leak investigation or Scooter Libby's indictment in his weekly radio address.

Instead, he turned to an issue that's actually dragged down his past approval ratings -- Iraq.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The progress we have made so far has involved great sacrifice. And the greatest burden has fallen on our military families.

QUIJANO: The White House is looking for a new beginning.

BUSH: We remain wholly focused on the many issues and opportunities facing this country.

QUIJANO: A chance to move from the bad news of recent days.

TARA SETMAYER, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: The Bush administration's second term's going to be unofficially Monday.

QUIJANO: But there are still unresolved questions. The fate of Karl Rove, the president's top political adviser, is unclear. Though not indicted, he remains under investigation.

And as Libby's case moves forward and the special counsel continues his work, there's a possibility top White House officials, including Vice President Cheney, might be called to testify.

JULIAN EPSTEIN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: But if the investigation continues, he will have inquiries going into senior White House staff. White House staff will all have to get attorneys. It will paralyze the White House.

The major question facing the White House right now is how quickly does this scandal go away?

QUIJANO: One issue that would grab the headlines, an announcement of a new Supreme Court nominee fresh off White House counsel Harrier Miers withdrawal from the process.

SETMAYER: It's going to be the Supreme Court nomination, that's going to knock the CIA leak investigation right off the map because that is something that affects the American people on a day to day basis.

QUIJANO: Critics say the president's political challenges are more deeply rooted.

EPSTEIN: He doesn't have a lot of public support for his agenda right now. His poll numbers are in the 40s. The public has lost faith in his ability to handle big things like the Iraq War and things like Katrina.

QUIJANO (on camera): For now, the president is focusing his attention on thins within his control, like that Supreme Court nomination. Aides say he could announce a decision within days. Also next week, the president is expected to discuss what his administration is doing to get ahead of a possible flu pandemic.

Elaine Quijano, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: And this note. Former Ambassador Joe Wilson will join Wolf Blitzer Monday on "The Situation Room." Wolf's show will air at a special time, 7:00 p.m. Eastern.

And that leads us to our last call question tonight. Has the CIA leak scandal changed your opinion of the White House? Give us a call at 1-800-807-2620. Tell us your first name and where you're calling from.

All right, what happens when a CIA operative's identity is revealed?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To have someone exposed deliberately, and on top of that, for a political reason, I think yes, it probably send a chill throughout the clandestine service.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: Well, we're going to tell you what was lost when the world learned about Valerie Plame's secret life.

Plus, they thought they were getting the flu vaccine, but they were wrong. You might be surprised to find out what was really in the syringes.

And still to come, how a Wisconsin house cat accidentally ended up in France. You're watching CNN SATURDAY NIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: We put a young woman's fight for life on tonight's rap sheet. Yvette Cade, 31-years old from suburban Washington, D.C. She's in a burn ward tonight in critical condition after it's reported her husband doused her with gasoline and set her on fire.

This man, a Prince Georges District Court judge, didn't attack her, but he lifted a restraining order from the man who allegedly did. He's Judge Richard Palumbo. And this is not the first time he's raised eyebrows in Maryland.

So let's bring in Anne Bremner. She's in Seattle tonight. She's an attorney. She's also defended judges who've been in trouble in the past.

Anne, you take a look at this guy, all right. In addition to this case, right, and he's now on administrative duty, he was cited for a speeding ticket that was voided.

ANNE BREMNER, ATTORNEY: Right.

LIN: He apparently crashed into someone's SUV. He was never cited for that accident. I mean, this judge sounds like he's a wild card.

BREMNER: Yes, he's the center of his own known universe, that's for sure, Carol. And he thinks, you know, women are like buses. They come along every five minutes. He probably objected you, a woman, and myself talking about this on CNN.

LIN: Well, can more be done then to punish him? I mean...

BREMNER: Yes.

LIN: ...what more can be done than to just put him on administrative leave?

BREMNER: Well, right now, they can remove him from the bench, but it has to go through appropriate channels. And it just takes time.

So right now, even though he decided to dismiss a protective order, where someone was set on fire and requires 40 surgeries, that in and of itself can't get him removed from the bench until he has a hearing, because he has a right to due process, just like anybody else.

LIN: And who hears his case?

BREMNER: Well, in his circumstance, it would be heard there's a judicial disability board. And then it would be decided -- he could only be removed by the legislature and/or the governor.

The court of appeals could do it with consent through the disability board. It's pretty convoluted. Hard to get a judge removed from the bench, Carol.

LIN: So what can the family do legally?

BREMNER: Well, what they can do right now is they can -- I think it's wonderful they're investigating his background, because you can't have judges like this on the bench. This is such an -- justice is not efficiency.

In other words, just because he's trying to move a docket along doesn't mean he's allowed to do the types of things that he did in this case.

LIN: Right.

BREMNER: But they can't sue him.

LIN: They can't?

BREMNER: And judges are immune for the decisions they make. And that could change in time, but they cannot sue the judge for his claimed misdeeds, at least what they claim to be misdeeds in this case.

LIN: Yes. It's a horrifying case indeed.

Hey, I've got to ask you about Daniel Horowitz, you know, the TV commentator and very dear friend of yours. His wife was murdered. There's a teenage suspect who's accused in this case. Have you had a chance to talk with Daniel? And how is he doing?

BREMNER: I have, Carol. And he is the most positive person, one of the most positive people that I know. For example, he said, you know, look at Natalie Holloway's case and her mother. Her mother has no closure. I'm lucky that I had closure.

You know, I've said to you before on the air, Carol, he's just one of the most wonderful people that I've ever met. But this is horrible for him and something that is so surreal that he's commented on these cases. He was in the middle of a public murder trial when this happened. And now he's a victim of the most horrific crime that I've ever seen.

LIN: Yes.

BREMNER: I think the nation's seen.

LIN: And to find his wife's body. And you can just tell, Anne, looking at their photos together, they just adored each other. BREMNER: They absolutely loved each other. And I think Daniel knows he's had a wonderful life. And he's not going to let this young man, Dyleski, if he did it, ruin his life or his memories of the woman that he loved beyond reason.

LIN: Mm-hmm. Anne Bremner, good to have you. Thank you so much.

BREMNER: Thank you.

LIN: All right, could Scooter Libby be preparing to play let's make a deal. Coming up next, why Dick Cheney's former chief of staff might be looking for a plea bargain.

Plus, Valerie Plame may not be the only undercover agent hurt by the CIA leak scandal.

And still to come, the state where Rosa Parks took her historic stand pays its respects to the civil rights icon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: Taking a look at the headlines tonight and tomorrow. A bizarre killing rampage in southern California. Authorities say a 19- year old wearing a black cape, helmet, and a paintball mask and wielding a shotgun shot into houses and confronted people in the upscale Orange County neighborhood of Aliso Viejo. A man and his daughter are dead. The teenager apparently killed himself.

Double disasters in India. Three blasts in New Delhi killed at least 55 people and injured 155 more. No claim of responsibility, but India's Prime Minister blames terrorists.

The second disaster is a train derailment. Flood waters washed away the tracks. The death toll is more than 100 and climbing.

For about a million people in south Florida, there are still long gas lines, but no electricity. It's been five days since Hurricane Wilma hit the state. Florida Power and Light says it may be Thanksgiving before service is fully restored.

So who told reporters that Valerie Plame worked for the CIA? Was it, as the Democratic senator says, a case of revenge run amuck? Is it really a big deal?

National security correspondent David Ensor looks at the leak and the damage.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Forty-two year old Valerie Plame Wilson, who's husband has referred to her as Jane Bond, is clearly now the most famous female spy in America, exposing her as a CIA undercover officer did damage to U.S. intelligence, U.S. officials say. They refuse to be more specific. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To have someone exposed deliberately, and on top of that, for a political reason, I think yes, it probably sent a chill throughout the clandestine service.

ENSOR: What made it worse is that she was not just an undercover officer. She spent part of her 20 year career as a NOC, a spy with non-official cover, that is, without the protection of diplomatic status.

She was working, officials say, to recruit foreigners who knew about murky international deals involving weapons of mass destruction.

But potential foreign agents, potential spies, have now seen a CIA officer apparently betrayed by officials in her own government.

JAMES MARCINKOWSKI, FORMER CIA OFFICER: The issue here is how are you going to tell that agent that their identity is going to be protected when this government can't even protect the home team?

ENSOR: And if any other CIA officers used the same cover as Plame, their work is in jeopardy, too. That cover was Brewster Jenning's associates of energy consulting firm, a front company that apparently had no real address.

NOCs are harder to train, can remain undercover longer than conventional spies, and can go places and meet people that other CIA officers cannot.

Some of them, like Plame, used loose cover, a false job. Others under deep cover use false names as well, complete fictional identities with forged documents, even disguises.

But NOCs are also much more vulnerable than regular spies. Intelligence sources developed by a CIA undercover officer are immediately in question if that officer is exposed.

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: The consequences for the U.S. government can range from embarrassment, to having to pull a source out of an area because they have become jeopardized by this knowledge.

ENSOR: After her name appeared in Robert Novak's newspaper column, at least two foreign governments reportedly assigned their spy catchers to figure out whether Plame had ever worked on their soil. And if so, what she'd done there.

(on camera): And that is where the most damage was likely done. Other nations, tracking down Valerie Plame Wilson's contacts and sources, and shutting them down.

David Ensor, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Now that we have considered the scandal's fallout at the CIA, let's turn to the political fallout for the Bush administration. For that, I'm going to turn to senior political analyst Bill Schneider.

All right, Bill, so you have a situation now where the chief of staff, to the most powerful vice president in U.S. history, is now indicted in this CIA leak case. What do you think is going to happen?

BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I think there would be a lot of pressure on him to go for a plea bargain. Not to have a trial.

If he goes on trial, his defense is very likely to have to call the vice president of the United States to testify on his behalf. That could be a very complicated situation.

Mr. Libby has spent a lot of his career protecting the vice president. One of the things the indictment alleges is that he lied to protect the vice president. And he may still want to protect the vice president by not forcing him to testify in a trial.

LIN: Well, is he willing to protect the vice president, Bill, for a plea bargain by naming other names?

SCHNEIDER: Well, that we don't know. I'm not sure -- remember, he was indicted for one thing and one thing only. For false statements and perjury in the course of the investigation.

No one was indicted for leaking the name of Valerie Wilson. That crime is as yet unpunished and unindicted.

LIN: Well, what if he -- what do you think is going through the mind of the president right now? I mean, what do you think the president needs to do at this moment?

SCHNEIDER: He needs a fresh start, just like Ronald Reagan did after Iran-Contra. He needs to create the sense that he has a new agenda, that he has house cleaning going on in the White House, which means some heads have got to roll, possibly including Karl Rover so that people have the sense of this is a new beginning for this president.

It would be interesting if he acknowledged mistakes. Ronald Reagan did that. This president doesn't have a history of doing that. And sometime between now and the state of the union in January, people want to know just what is on this president's agenda for the next three years.

LIN: So how does this whole situation affect who he chooses as his Supreme Court nominee?

SCHNEIDER: Well, I imagine he's a little fed up with the right, right now, which kind of went into rebellion against him. And he doesn't really have the political capital anymore for a big showdown with Democrats.

What he wants to do is name a Supreme Court choice who will unite the Republican party, which means a conservative, but not a radical.

He also wants to disarm the Democrats. All that means is another Roberts. That's a tough bill to fill, but I am told that there are some people out there who just might be able to measure up to that.

LIN: Right. So do you think that by naming this nominee, it's going to completely overshadow Scooter Libby's legal problems?

SCHNEIDER: Well, no, not entirely. But of course, depending on how much -- how controversial this nominee is, they'll be a lot of attention paid.

If he were to name someone even remotely equivalent to Roberts, with those kinds of qualifications and credentials, there'd be a lot of goodwill.

Remember all the goodwill generated by John Roberts? Well, that could happen again.

LIN: Well, it may need to happen again.

SCHNEIDER: It would -- it does.

LIN: Bill Schneider, thank you very much.

SCHNEIDER: OK.

LIN: All right, quick reminder. Former Ambassador Joe Wilson is going to join Wolf Blitzer Monday on "The Situation Room." Wolf's show will air at a special time that night, 7:00 p.m. Eastern.

In world news, Pakistan and India agree to open five border crossings in the disputed region of Kashmir in an effort to get aid to earthquake victims. The U.N. says 200,000 people haven't gotten any assistance three weeks after the 7.6 magnitude quake.

In Iraq, a truck bomb killed 25 people in a Shiite village near Baquba. Police say the bomb went off in a crowded marketplace.

And the Secretaries of State and Defense welcomed their counterparts from Japan today in Washington. They made a big announcement. The number of U.S. Marines on Okinawa will be cut in half in the next six years.

He was one of the thousands of senior citizens flown out of harm's way. But even after he escaped from hurricanes, life was not easy. But this man is really an inspiration. Wait 'until you meet him.

And still to come, one cat becomes an accidental tourist. How did a Wisconsin feline end up in France? You're going to find out.

And don't forget our last call question. Has the CIA leak scandal changed your opinion of the White House? You're watching CNN SATURDAY NIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: In Baton Rouge, union leaders and the Reverend Jesse Jackson rallied to demand that local workers be given priority for jobs rebuilding areas hit by the hurricane. Some say out of state firms have taken business away from local contractors.

Hurricane Katrina has been a testing time for all of those who had the misfortune to be in its path. And that is especially true for hundreds of the elderly and the infirmed.

They escaped the horrors of Katrina, only to end up at hospitals and nursing homes far from home. Enough to break anyone's spirit, but not for a remarkable evacuee I met in an Atlanta nursing home.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LIN (voice-over): One elderly patient said it was like entering the belly of the beast. More than 2,000 nursing home evacuees from Texas and Louisiana loaded on stretchers and stacked along the walls of a giant military cargo jet on a flight to the unknown.

74-year old Charles Ruiz was one of them.

CHARLES RUIZ, HURRICANE EVACUEE: It was the biggest plane I'd ever been in.

LIN: Charles and the others eventually landed in Atlanta and were moved to a nursing home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just doing some squats for strengthening.

RUIZ: OK.

LIN: He was born with a bad heart and grew up extremely poor. He felt almost doomed when he was hospitalized with a raging fever right before Hurricane Katrina hit.

After the storm, doctors packed him in ice and evacuated him to the New Orleans Airport, where he says someone stole the shoes right off his feet.

RUIZ: ...the next thing somebody take my shoes off with my socks. I said, "What the hell's going on?" And she walked away.

LIN: Throughout his journey, Charles Ruiz had no idea his family survived. Yet as he recuperates at an Atlanta nursing home, Charles Ruiz spends most of his time making people laugh.

RUIZ: Don't make me too cute because I came in here single. I want to leave single.

LIN: He kids with his friends when he loses at chess.

Do you think that you're, in some ways, tougher than you look? Are you tougher than you look?

RUIZ: I think since I've been here and since I've gone through all the illness, I think I have gotten tougher.

LIN: A volunteer group called Second Wind Dreams, which grants wishes for the elderly, visits him and the other evacuees on a regular basis.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Another bag of goodies. Let's see if these will...

RUIZ: Oh, my goodness, is that pretty.

LIN: So it turns out that while the staff and volunteers thought they were the ones helping, the courage of these elderly is actually helping them.

TERRY WASHINGTON, SOCIAL WORKER: These people had nothing. And they still, to be able to smile now, it's just a blessing. It is.

LIN: Terry Washington is a social worker who's father taught him to serve the needy. Volunteer Patricia Harris is still grieving the death of her grandmother.

PATRICIA HARRIS, VOLUNTEER CAREGIVER: I feel the love. I want to be loved just like anyone else. I guess I'm getting that from them. I'm getting appreciation. I'm getting the love. I'm getting the verification that I have done something right.

LIN: And for Charles Ruiz, something has gone very right. They helped him find his scattered family.

RUIZ: I got a message from my family. For God's sake before you come home, please shave.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, you're driving.

LIN: And there was another thing that went right. Turns out his family survived Katrina. And most of his family will need to live with him.

So as they head back home, the man who grew up so poor, has the most to give.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: He is such a sweetheart. I asked him what was going to be the first thing that he wants to do when he got back to New Orleans. And he said he wanted to go gambling. And you know what? He's betting that it's going to be a good life from here on out.

All right, remembering Rosa Parks. Up next, as the nation honors the civil rights icon, we look back at her courageous act that galvanized a nation. You're watching CNN SATURDAY NIGHT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: We begin our news across the nation in Baytown, Texas, where a health subcontractor has been arrested for allegedly giving 1,000 Exxon-Mobil workers fakes flu shots. Preliminary tests indicate the syringes were filled with purified water. So far, no one's gotten sick. Now a car once owned by Pope John Paul II has been auctioned in Las Vegas. The 1975 Ford Escort GL sold for $690,000. A Texas millionaire bought it. He already has a collection of about 600 vehicles. He says he bought this one because Pope John Paul was such a great human being.

In Montgomery, Alabama today, hundreds paid their respects to civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks. Parks died Monday at the age of 92. 50 years ago, she refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery city bus to a white man. And she made history. Now she's about to make history again.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LIN (voice-over): It's an honor typically reserved for lawmakers, military leaders, and presidents like Ronald Reagan. 50 years after she helped spark the civil rights movement by refusing to move to the back of the bus, Rosa Parks will lie in honor in the Capitol Rotunda, a civil rights pioneer making history again.

ROSA PARKS: I am expected to be a first class citizen. I want to be one. I have struggled hard.

LIN: After Parks died last week, Congress passed a resolution allowing her to lie in honor, "so that the citizens of the United States may pay their last respects to this great American."

The woman recognized around the world will be visited by crowds at the Capitol for two days. She will be the first woman and the only second African American ever to lie in the Rotunda, a final trail blazing event for a woman who helped transform the nation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIN: Rosa Parks' coffin will lie in honor tomorrow night from 6:30 p.m. until midnight. We are going to have live coverage as President Bush pays tribute to the civil rights icon.

The coffin will also be on display for three hours Monday morning, from 7:00 until 10:00. Her funeral is Wednesday in Detroit.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: This just in, Hurricane Beta, which is threatening Nicaragua right now, there's some new news about this. Meteorologist Bonnie Schneider at the CNN Weather Center with that right now -- Bonnie?

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Carol, Beta has intensified. Right now, we have maximum winds at 105 miles per hour. That now classifies this storm that already broke a record by even just getting to the Greek alphabet and being up to Beta, now we have maximum winds about 105 miles per hour. This is a Category 2 hurricane, as it bears down on Nicaragua's coast. LIN: Wow, all right. Sounds like a storm center right there in the weather center. Bonnie's just fine. It's just we had some trouble with the transmission.

Anyway, upgraded to a Category 2, is that right, Jen? Category 2, all right.

In the meantime, we are resetting our clocks in London. Big Ben is taking a break, though. Workers stopped the famous clock that's been on top of the Houses of Parliament since 1859 to give it a tune- up. They plan to have it up and running again tomorrow afternoon. Big Ben, take the nap.

And finally tonight, a stowaway cat is getting star treatment in France. Emily turned up in a cargo container of paper that had been shipped across the Atlantic. Workers heard her meows and were impressed with her coolness given the circumstances.

Now luckily, Emily was wearing a name tag. The company was able to contact her owners back in Wisconsin. They live near a paper warehouse and they say that she went missing a month ago. Now they're trying to figure out how to get Emily back home. Too bad the Concord isn't flying anymore.

All right. And up next, a check of the headlines and then "CNN PRESENTS: Voices from the Homefront." But right now, we're going to leave you tonight with your responses to our last call question. Has the CIA leak scandal changed your opinion of the White House? Here's what you had to say. Have a great night.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CALLER: I'm calling from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. And the CIA leak case has not changed my opinion of the White House. I've always had the opinion -- had something suspicious is happening anyways.

CALLER: Yes, I believe it does show that the White House is actually weak. And it shows poor judgment upon the president.

CALLER: My name is Jean. I'm calling from Bangore, Maine. And it has changed my opinion of the White House. It is even worse an opinion now than I had before.

CALLER: This is Pat. We knew that they were corrupt. We just didn't know to what extent. We have no confidence whatsoever in the presidency or the government that is running the country.

CALLER: My name is Bob. I'm calling from Harris, Texas. It has even further eroded my view of the White House, which is already deplorable.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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