Sniper Take Stand Against Partner; Rival Factions War in Gaza
KYRA PHILLIPS, HOST: Face to face, two snipers together in the same room. This time one's a witness for the prosecution. Getting out in a hurry. New Orleans tries its new evacuation plans with little over a week to go until hurricane season. And this desperate redhead suffers like many of you do. Now she helps migraine patients find relief. Oh, and we will ask her about that nail-biting "Housewives" finale, too. Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips. One sniper turns against another. A courtroom drama in Maryland 3 1/2 years after a series of shootings that terrorized millions of people. CNN's Kathleen Koch was in the court -- or courtroom, rather, when Lee Boyd Malvo took the stand today as a witness for the prosecution of John Allen Muhammad. Tell us about those moments.</s>KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Very dramatic when Lee Boyd Malvo came into the courtroom, the first time these two men have been face to face since Muhammad was on trial in Virginia back in October of 2003. First Lee Boyd Malvo talked to the judge and said, yes, that he had an intention of pleading guilty to the six murders with which -- for which these two men are charged here in Montgomery County, Maryland. And, then he launched into a chilling description of the murders as they committed them. And made a very dramatic pronouncement about what their initial plans had been. Initially, he said the two men planned to simply terrorize this entire area, conduct six murders a day for an entire month. And then after that, they would move on to a phase two, where they used improvised explosives packed with ball bearings and nails. And then they would hit schools, school buses, children's hospitals in order to just create maximum damage. As he went through these -- these murders today, he described how they scouted locations. He made sure there was no surveillance cameras, very few witnesses, a quick escape route. And he said each and every time it was Muhammad who pulled the trigger. He would tell him, quote, "I told him he had to go, and he took the shot." It was chilling in the courtroom today, Kyra.</s>PHILLIPS: Were victims' families in the courtroom, as well?</s>KOCH: They were. And it was very painful to see them sit through this, this very cool, calm, methodical plan of how their loved ones were murdered. And tears were rolling down their cheeks. You could hear them sniffling in the courtroom. And at one point the family of Perm (ph) Walker, the taxi driver who was the third victim killed, one of them just disintegrated into tears. And Malvo continued testifying. But he slowed down as the crying woman was taken out of the courtroom. And he did have some difficulty continuing his, again, his very clear and precise description of how each person was killed.</s>PHILLIPS: Kathleen, what about the chemistry between Muhammad and Malvo? Obviously, it was a volatile relationship from the start.</s>KOCH: In the courtroom when he first came in, John Allen Muhammad really did stare very intently at Malvo, and Malvo didn't look at him. Now, as he was testifying Malvo really directed his comments to the prosecuting attorney. And Kate Winfrey, who's really not looked at Muhammad much. Muhammad has watched very intently, watching Malvo every second, often with his hands on his chin staring at him. And Malvo described how Muhammad was the father he never had. How he really didn't have a loving relationship with his own father. How he told Muhammad that he loved him. Muhammad told him that he loved him, as well. And he told the prosecutor, quote, "I absorbed everything he taught. I trusted him. And I believed him" -- Kyra.</s>PHILLIPS: Kathleen Koch, continue to follow up with you today. Thank you so much. Well, could be another bad hurricane season. Is New Orleans ready? The next two days could tell us, New Orleans and Baton Rouge, as they hold a two-day evacuation drill just ahead of a mock Category Three disaster. This is what everybody wants to avoid, the confusion, misery and utter chaos witnessed by the world after Hurricane Katrina. Some of the searing images from Katrina were the pets abandoned, deserted, neglected, often by necessity. That prompted action in Congress, and the House of Representatives has now passed a bill requiring states and cities to consider pets when they make evacuation plans. If they don't they wouldn't qualify for FEMA grants. A lot of Katrina victims refused to leave their homes when they couldn't take their pets with them. And estimated 600,000 animals died or were left without shelter. The stakes are high, but expectations are pretty low. Americans and Israelis alike are downplaying the likelihood of drama or breakthroughs as Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert visits the U.S. It's his first trip here since he was elected to replace an ailing Ariel Sharon, and two pressing issues will likely come up when Olmert sits down with President Bush today: Iran's alleged nuclear threat and stalled Mideast peace process. Olmert has already vowed to define Israel's permanent borders in the next four years, with or without Palestinian talks. Many European and Arab allies are opposed to unilateral action, and Mr. Bush is expected to urge a more moderate approach. That meeting due to take place around 3 p.m. Eastern. We're going to keep in the loop. Well, many people wonder how peace can exist between Israelis and Palestinians when there's no peace among Palestinians. In Gaza, forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas are facing off with a pro- Hamas militia. CNN's John Vause has the latest.</s>JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is one of the main intersections in Gaza city. These men are loyal to the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas. They are the regular police service here in the Gaza Strip. Now, just across the road a member of the new Hamas militia in the trademark camouflage trousers and also the black T-shirt. It is like this throughout the Gaza Strip: thousands of heavily armed men facing off amid escalating tension. Occasionally, that tension erupts in gunfire like it did on Monday. Caught and killed in that crossfire, a member of the Jordanian embassy, a driver for the Jordanian ambassador here. His body has now been taken back to Israel for the return to Jordan, where the government there is demanding an official investigation. Overnight Egyptian officials held urgent talks between both sides to try and defuse this crisis, but so far they've had little success. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will meet with the Hamas prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh, on Thursday. But there are fears if those talks fail, Gaza will move closer to civil war. John Vause, CNN, Gaza City.</s>PHILLIPS: Air Force General Michael Hayden could take a big step closer to the CIA this afternoon. The Senate Intelligence Committee is expected to confirm his nomination for CIA director in a closed- door session. The Bush administration hopes for a vote in the full Senate right before Memorial Day. Talk about your border crossings. Mexican President Vicente Fox is due to arrive shortly in Utah. He's also visiting Washington state and California this week. The trip comes amid a heated immigration reform battle across the U.S. Utah's biggest minority group is Hispanic, but there's growing frustration over illegal immigrants coming into the state. The Minutemen Project, which wants to get tougher on illegal immigrants, plans protests during Fox's visit. Well, the issue is still front and center on Capitol Hill, where debate has resumed on immigration reform bill. That measure still has its critics, but even they acknowledge it's on track for passage this week. The bill would toughen the borders but also provide an eventual chance at citizenship for most of the illegal immigrants already in the U.S. It would still have to be reconciled with a much tougher House bill. And we're waiting for the White House briefing this afternoon. As soon as Tony Snow steps up to the podium, we'll take it live. The news keeps coming. We'll keep bringing it to you. More LIVE FROM coming up next.