Cold Weather Across U.S.; Fire Causes Severe Damage in Manila; Greek Cruise Ship Sinks
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, HEADLINE NEWS, CNN CENTER, ATLANTA: I'm Veronica De La Cruz at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Here's what's making the news right now. Snow and frigid temperatures across parts of the country this Easter weekend. In Cleveland last night, the snow was so heavy, officials called off a baseball game between the Indians and the Seattle Mariners. A makeup double-header scheduled for today has also been postponed. A huge blaze in a poor section of the Philippine capital has left some 1,200 families homeless. Fire crews had difficulty reaching the flames as they tore through the shantytown, and residents with buckets were just no match for the fire. Its cause has not yet been determined. Well, the kids on board this train said it was cool - the adults, not so much. A passenger train goes headlong into a blazing wildfire in New Mexico. Railroad officials say the conductor was aware of the fire, but decided an emergency stop might leave the train right in the middle of those flames. Monica Goodling, an aide to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has quit her job. Goodling earlier caused controversy by refusing to testify before Congress about the firings of eight federal prosecutors. She invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self- incrimination. And new developments to tell you about in the sinking of a Greek cruise ship. The ship hit a reef near the island of Santorini Thursday, forcing all the passengers and most of the crew to be evacuated. The captain and five of his crew have been charged with negligence in the incident. Passengers are describing their dramatic exodus from the ship.</s>MARY HENDERSON, CRUISE SHIP PASSENGER: Well, when we were going through it, you really just didn't think, you know. We heard - we felt the ship move from side to side, and then it started to tilt to one side. And they just said, "Get your life jackets and go up on the deck." And that's what we did.</s>DE LA CRUZ: I'm Veronica De La Cruz at the CNN Center in Atlanta. I'll have more news for you at the top of the hour. LOU DOBBS begins right now.</s>KITTY PILGRIM, HOST, LOU DOBBS THIS WEEK: Tonight, political brinksmanship in Washington over the war in Iraq. President Bush and Democratic leaders face off over war funding. And what could be Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' biggest challenge. Gonzales prepares for a tough grilling by the Senate Judiciary Committee. All that and much more straight ahead tonight.</s>ANNOUNCER: This is LOU DOBBS THIS WEEK - news, debate and opinion for Saturday, April 7th. Sitting in for Lou Dobbs, Kitty Pilgrim.</s>PILGRIM: Good evening, everybody. President Bush and congressional Democrats are refusing to give any ground in their battle over war funding. President Bush says Democrats are, quote, irresponsible for passing emergency spending bills that call for the withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq. But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says it's time for the Iraqis to run their own country. Elaine Quijano reports from Crawford, Texas - Elaine.</s>ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, CRAWFORD, TEXAS: Kitty, both sides ratcheted up the rhetoric this past week in the debate over the war funding supplemental bill. President Bush once again underscored his threat to veto any legislation that includes timetables for U.S. troop withdrawals in Iraq. Now, the president, first in the Rose Garden blasting Democrats, calling them irresponsible, and the next day traveling to Fort Irwin, California, home of the Army's top desert training facility. The president met with the troops and reiterated his argument that the clock is ticking as he tried to increase political pressure on Democrats. But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is showing no signs of budging. In fact, Senator Reid is threatening that, if President Bush follows through on his veto threat, Senator Reid will back a bill to cut off funding for the war altogether. Bottom line here, Kitty, is that both sides are showing no signs of blinking and a political stalemate continues - Kitty.</s>PILGRIM: Elaine, the president is also trying to focus attention on immigration. And he's traveling on Monday to the border in Arizona. What can you tell us about that trip coming up?</s>QUIJANO: Yes. He's going to be traveling to the border at Yuma, Arizona. And you can expect him to continue to press Congress for what the administration calls a comprehensive immigration bill, one that includes, of course, a guest worker program, as we have heard, and also a path for citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants. Critics, of course, decry that as amnesty. On Monday, the president will take a tour of the border and emphasize the steps that the U.S. has taken to increase security there, including adding thousands of National Guard troops. The president is expected to try to make the case that the efforts the U.S. is undertaking right now are producing results. As for negotiations on Capitol Hill, Kitty, the president has tasked the commerce secretary, Carlos Gutierrez, as well as Michael Chertoff, the homeland security chief, to take the lead on those negotiations on Capitol Hill. President Bush has said, of course, that he would like to see a comprehensive immigration reform bill on his desk by August - Kitty.</s>PILGRIM: All right. Thanks very much, Elaine Quijano. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defied the White House and held talks with the Syrian president in Damascus. The United States says Syria is a state sponsor of terrorism. But Speaker Pelosi insists Congress has a responsibility to help find peace in the Middle East. Brent Sadler reports from Damascus.</s>BRENT SADLER, CNN BEIRUT BUREAU CHIEF, DAMASCUS, SYRIA (voice- over): House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calls on Syria's top leaders to help the United States fight terror and wants to help Israel and Syria resume peace talks, infuriating the White House by opening a dialogue with a regime that's been isolated.</s>REP. NANCY PELOSI, D-CALIFORNIA, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: We came in friendship. We came with hope. We came determined that the road to Damascus would be a path to peace.</s>SADLER: If withering White House criticism of the Pelosi visit here, including a strong rebuke from the U.S. president himself, was supposed to make the House speaker think twice about meeting President Bashar al-Assad, it failed. A relaxed and at times smiling Syrian leader greeted the delegation, speaking English. Syria was ready for serious dialogue with the United States," President Assad argued, even if the George Bush White House ignored his regime.</s>PELOSI: We expressed our concerns about Syria's connection to Hezbollah and Hamas, and the importance of Syria's role with Hamas in promoting peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis.</s>SADLER: But another black mark was Syria's conduct towards Iraq.</s>PELOSI: We called to the attention of the president our concerns about fighters crossing the Iraq-Syria border to the detriment of the Iraqi people and our soldiers.</s>SADLER: These meetings, though, weren't about solving the Mideast's raging problems, but to discuss them and break down barriers. Speaker Pelosi made no direct comments about the political heat back home, stressing instead the responsibility of Congress to explore every remedy and opportunity to find peace in the Middle East. Brent Sadler, CNN, Damascus.</s>PILGRIM: Syria says it played a key role in the release of 15 British troops taken hostage by Iran. Now, the troops returned to Britain after nearly two weeks in captivity in Iran. The sailors and marines said they faced overwhelming Iranian firepower and they would have lost a fight with the Iranians. The U.S. Navy says it's confident that our troops would resist any attempt to take them hostage in the Persian Gulf. The chief of naval operations, Admiral Michael Mullen, told CNN our troops have the right to open fire without asking permission first.</s>ADMIRAL MICHAEL MULLEN, CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS: We've got procedures in place, which are very much designed to carry out the mission and protect the sailors who are there. And I would not expect any sailors to be able to be seized by the Iranian navy or the Iranian Republican Guard navy.</s>PILGRIM: Now, Admiral Mullen also said it's very important that diplomacy, not military action, is used to solve disputes with Iran. Turning now to the political battle in Washington over the abrupt firing of eight U.S. attorneys. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is scheduled to give testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee April 17th. The attorney general is already preparing for what is likely to be an intense grilling. Brian Todd reports from Washington.</s>BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT, WASHINGTON (voice-over): He's about to face Democratic senators who want to tear him down, and Alberto Gonzales is preparing like it's a heavyweight title fight. Justice Department officials tell CNN he's staying behind closed doors, canceling a family vacation and will go through mock grilling sessions, possibly with outside legal advisers.</s>DAVID WINSTON, GOP CONSULTANT: It's now gotten to the point where the credibility of the attorney general is really coming into play, and he - and this has all been self-inflicted.</s>TODD: By conflicting statements, critics say, between Gonzales and his former chief of staff about the firings of eight U.S. attorneys.</s>ALBERTO GONZALES, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Was not involved in seeing any memos, was not involved in any discussions about what was going on.</s>KYLE SAMPSON, FORMER GONZALES CHIEF OF STAFF: I don't think the attorney general's statement that he was not involved in any discussions about U.S. attorney removals is accurate.</s>TODD: Gonzales will have to answer for that to this man, Senate Judiciary chairman, Patrick Leahy. In a letter to Gonzales, the Democrat seems to warn him of the pressure he'll face in an April 17th hearing - repeatedly scolding Gonzales for "not responding in a timely manner" to the committee's inquiries, instructing the attorney general to include in his written testimony "all the specifics of your role" in the firings. Justice officials tell CNN that Gonzales has started to reach out to at least a dozen members of Congress to try to smooth the way, the vast majority of them fellow Republicans.</s>RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: So, he starts this kind of isolated, even among Republicans. And what he really needs to do, if he is going to keep this job, is to reassure Republicans enough to the extent that they feel comfortable defending the president's decision to keep him on.</s>TODD (on camera): In fact, several GOP consultants - who asked for anonymity, because they were speaking about Gonzales' future - tell CNN that what he says in these hearings and how it's received will be crucial to his support in Congress. One of them said, quote, he has a tall order. It has to be a compelling presentation - Kitty.</s>PILGRIM: Thanks very much, Brian Todd. Still to come, what could be the most important espionage case in a generation. We'll have a special report. Also, could tainted pet food ingredients from Communist China enter the human food chain? And $28 million. Is that too much for four months' work by a CEO who is laying off thousands of employees?