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Lou Dobbs Moneyline
Anthrax Scare Spreads; Major Indexes End Day Unchanged
Aired October 15, 2001 - 18:00 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.
LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, everyone.
American attacks on the Taliban and al Qaeda networks have intensified.
And the anthrax scare in the United States continues to spread. An anthrax-tainted letter arrived at Senator Tom Daschle's office this morning. Spores of the bacteria have been found in the Boca Raton post office. We'll have live reports for you.
We'll also be reporting on government efforts to build its stockpile of anthrax medicine.
Also, the air attacks on Afghanistan targets of the Taliban and al Qaeda networks entering the second week. U.S. warplanes continuing to bomb those targets. The air attacks setting up the use of ground forces. Tonight, we'll be joined by General David Grange on that phase of the mission.
We'll also have a live report for you on anti-American protests in Pakistan. Secretary of State Colin Powell is there. He is trying to shore up support for the assault against terrorism.
And we'll tell you why the banking industry is battling parts of the anti-terrorism bill.
And on Wall Street today, the major averages ended the day virtually unchanged, amid concerns about the spread of anthrax and corporate earnings.
Now, here are the latest developments in the war against terrorism. Reports of intense air attacks, including possibly, helicopter and fire over Kandahar, Afghanistan this evening. Today, the Pentagon called claims by the Taliban that 200 civilians were killed by the U.S. attacks -- Pentagon calling those statements "ridiculous."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: We know of certain knowledge that the Taliban leadership and al Qaeda are accomplished liars, that they go on television and they say things that we know are absolutely not true.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOBBS: Joint Chiefs Chairman General Richard Myers showing video of some targets that were recently destroyed: the first, a terrorist training center; the second, a surface-to-air missile site. General Myers says both attacks were successful -- members of the al Qaeda terrorist group telling CNN's Nic Robertson that if Afghan homes are destroyed by U.S. bombing, there will be serious consequences. But there was no further elaboration.
In Washington, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi offered his country's support in the war against terrorism during a meeting with President Bush.
And in London, British Prime Minister Tony Blair discussed the establishment of a Palestinian state with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat -- Arafat and Blair also calling on Israel's prime minister to quickly return to the negotiating table, the strongest statements by the British government so far in support of a Palestinian state.
President Bush says there could be a link between Osama bin Laden and the anthrax scare now spreading across the United States. But Mr. Bush warns that there is no clear evidence of that connection yet.
Today, a letter containing anthrax was sent to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle. Aides in the senator's office were treated for possible exposure to the bacteria.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TOM DASCHLE (D), MAJORITY LEADER: Well, I'm concerned deeply for my staff and I feel so badly for each of them. They are innocent people caught up in a matter of which they have nothing to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOBBS: Letters containing anthrax have now shown up in Florida, New York, Nevada, Washington D.C., and possibly New Jersey. One man has died from exposure to anthrax in Florida. And an aide to NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw contracted the non-life-threatening form of the disease. That has prompted postal employees everywhere to take precautions, including wearing rubber gloves, checking for excessive or inadequate postage and looking for white powder in any mail item.
As we reported to you earlier, anthrax spores were discovered at a post office in Boca Raton, Florida today.
Ed Lavandera is in Boca Raton and has the latest for us -- Ed.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lou, a little while ago, postal officials, health officials and city officials here confirming that small trace of anthrax spores were found at a post office near the American Media building, where the confirmed cases here in Boca Raton, Florida were discovered a few weeks ago.
Now, we're told that -- again, it is a small trace of anthrax (AUDIO GAP)
DOBBS: We apologize, we lost that signal. We will try to get back to Ed Lavandera with the latest development from Boca Raton.
Well, right now, the government has enough anthrax medicine on hand to treat two million people for 60 days. President Bush wants to increase that capability six-fold.
Peter Viles now on the surging demand for the drugs that fight anthrax.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bayer, the maker of the anthrax-fighting, antibiotic Ciprofloxacin, telling MONEYLINE -- quote -- "There are developing shortages in some spots" -- one spot: New York, where sales of Cipro have tripled even before last week's anthrax scare at NBC.
IAN GINSBERG, BIGELOW PHARMACY: We've been filling prescriptions for it since the 11th, but not to the extent that we saw it on Friday. As soon as the news hit of NBC in the morning, it was pandemonium.
VILES: At the U.S. Senate today, another scare and another endorsement of Cipro.
DR. JOHN ISOLD, ATTENDING PHYSICIAN, U.S. CAPITOL: In the meantime, until we can identify whether or not it truly is an exposure and if people are positive for their testing, then, in the meantime, we will treat them with Cipro.
VILES: Government officials have repeatedly cautioned the public not to hoard Cipro. But it now appears the U.S. government itself will soon make a huge purchase of Cipro as well as other antibiotics.
TOMMY THOMPSON, SECRETARY, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: It's not only Ciprofloxacin. It's doxycycline and it's penicillin. All of these antibiotics have been very effective against the anthrax strains that we have seen so far.
VILES: The Bush administration wants $1.5 billion to fight bioterrorism, including $643 million to expand the nation's drug stockpile.
SEN. BILL FRIST (R), TENNESSEE: A concern to me remains, if there was a large bioweapons attack occurring in several parts of the United States of America, would we be prepared? We'd be prepared but underprepared.
VILES: The federal government now has in storage enough anthrax drugs to treat two million people for 60 days. The new spending aims to increase that stockpile to treat 12 million people, although it is not clear how long the government would take to buy all those drugs.
(END VIDEOTAPE) VILES: The government also rushing to vastly increase its stockpile of smallpox vaccine. It has on hand 15 million doses of the vaccine -- has ordered another 40 million doses for delivery some time next year -- Lou.
DOBBS: That's interesting in terms of the time table for the smallpox vaccine. Of course, at this point, that's a hypothetical. What is not, of course, is anthrax. How soon would the additional dosages be available there?
VILES: This is something the government hasn't said yet: how quickly that it would. And that will go to cost. If you wanted to buy all the drugs right away, you could spend more than a billion dollars. You could spend several billion dollars on Cipro alone.
So we would suspect it would be phased in over some period of time. And it would not be all Cipro -- that there would be some penicillin in there, which is much less expensive.
DOBBS: And other antibiotics.
All right, Pete, thank you very much.
Well, we want to return to Ed Lavandera in Boca Raton, Florida, where anthrax spores have been discovered -- discovered today in a post office there -- Ed, back to you.
LAVANDERA: All right, Lou. Sorry about that.
As we mentioned that -- anthrax spores, a small trace of anthrax spores were found at a post office near the American Media building, where there have been three cases of exposure through the anthrax disease.
One of those cases was deadly. Employees, 31 employees who work at the post office, have been tested. None of those people have been infected.
The CDC says those 31 employees have been given antibiotics. They recommend no further testing for these people. One postal employee says that they had seen Ernesto Blanco make his daily mail runs to that post office. Ernesto Blanco was one the three people who was exposed to the anthrax virus. And they -- he was seen making daily delivery runs and picking up mail and bringing it here to the American Media building.
Now, as I mentioned, the employees have been given their antibiotics. And they are stressing here that there is no need for public fear and that there's no threat because of this to public safety. The post office will be decontaminated overnight and it will be operating as normal starting at 4:00 a.m. Eastern time.
Now, one other note to mention here for the employees of American Media Incorporated, a second round of blood tests have been scheduled. That is a standard procedure in these cases. And those blood tests are scheduled to begin on Wednesday just to double-check all of the data and all the tests that had been done in the last couple of weeks here, and just to make sure that there aren't any additional cases of people being exposed to anthrax -- so far, only three exposed.
There had been some reports that five more people had been found with a mild trace of antibodies that indicate that there might be a little bit of anthrax in the system, but all of that is very preliminary at this moment. And the best information that we have as to -- that there are only three cases so far at this point. But more tests are scheduled for later on this week -- Lou.
DOBBS: And that's one of the lessons we're learning here isn't it, Ed, that these initial tests may not be ultimately determined as to whether or not anthrax has or has not been exposed to the victim?
LAVANDERA: There are a lot of complicated -- these are high-tech medical tests that are being done throughout the country. And a lot of these tests -- it's standard in these cases, we're told, to take two blood tests, because they're compared back and forth.
And based on the antibodies that the body develops in fighting this disease, that's how medical doctors are able to get their opinion as to whether or not there are traces of anthrax in the system. So, again, a lot of these -- it's scary for people to hear about the blood test and that sort of thing, but health officials here stressing that that is just common procedure in these cases.
DOBBS: Ed, thank you very much. Ed Lavandera from Boca Raton.
While the United States and Britain continue to pound terrorist targets in Afghanistan tonight, an anti-American protest continued across Pakistan. Secretary of State Colin Powell is in Pakistan trying to build support for the raids against the terrorists.
John Vause joins us now from Islamabad with more -- John.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Lou, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell arrived here shortly after nightfall. He will meet with President Musharraf in a few hours from now. One of his missions here is to defuse tensions between India and Pakistan over the disputed Kashmir region. That job just got a lot harder after a few hours ago: Indian forces launched an attack on Pakistani forces on the border. There was something like 11 Pakistani posts were hit by the Indian forces using artillery, grenades, machine gun fire.
There are reports of up to 36 casualties in those two distinct regions which were hit. We're told Pakistani forces have retaliated. In fact, in many ways, they were caught completely by surprise by this attack by Indian forces.
His other mission here is to try and secure Pakistan's role in this anti-terrorism coalition. He'll be talking with President Musharraf about how long these airstrikes will last. Mr. Musharraf is very keen to get details about that, because he is facing increasing hostility at home. We've seen demonstrations yesterday in Karachi. Five demonstrators were injured. The Islamic clerics here called for a day of strikes to protest the arrival of the secretary of state, Colin Powell. There was a national strike, which was pretty much a fizzle. Most businesses opened. Some did close because of concerns of scenes like this, that they may be targeted by protesters. But by and large, these protests are still small, albeit violent and very vocal. The rhetoric seems to be ratcheting up as these days go by, as the airstrikes continue, calling for Musharraf's resignation and calling for a revolution.
But once again, I must stress must these protests are very small and are not indicative of the great majority, which President Musharraf still insists supports his stance and his role in this anti- terrorism coalition -- Lou.
DOBBS: John, earlier reports today from some sources in Afghanistan, suggesting to some at least that there might be the possibility of U.S. helicopters in Afghanistan. Any further word or confirmation of those early sketchy reports?
VAUSE: Still sketchy reports. Still no confirmation. What they're basically saying, our sources inside Kandahar, they told CNN that what they heard, it sounded like helicopters. They also heard the sound of small arms fire and automatic weapons fire.
Obviously, that would sound very different to anti-aircraft fire, and would indicate that there is some kind of shooting going on at targets close to the city. They said they heard the helicopters above the city. They didn't actually see it. They heard it. So we're still waiting for confirmation.
DOBBS: OK. Thank you very much, John Vause, from Islamabad.
Well, these air attacks are just the setup for the ground attacks that should likely follow in Afghanistan.
Retired U.S. Army General David Grange has been in charge of special ground operations during his 30-year career. He has run tours of duty in the Middle East, the Gulf War, Vietnam, Bosnia, South America. General Grange is with us tonight. General, good to have you with us.
RET. GEN. DAVID GRANGE, U.S. ARMY: Good evening, Lou.
DOBBS: You've just heard John Vause report on those early sketchy reports that set off some concern and curiosity coming out of Kandahar. What is your best take on those early reports?
GRANGE: Well, I think they're sketchy at best. My service, in the military, I always suspected the first report anyway. And until we get another report, I doubt if it's true. If it is, there may be some combat search and rescue, or it could be a raid going on by any of the coalition forces. Could be British, American, but I really doubt that that's happening right now.
DOBBS: General, let's turn to where we are now, after now in the second week of attacks against the Taliban and al Qaeda network in Afghanistan. Your best assessment is to how things are going?
GRANGE: Well, I know there's a lot of speculation and desire to see things moving a little faster. And I think what we're watching right now is a balanced momentum. And momentum is either fast or slow, depending on the tempo of the operation you're trying to set conditions for the success of your force. And so that's what we're seeing right now.
What's happening also is you have the terrorist organization like al Qaeda and some of the hardcore Taliban taking advantage of information -- disinformation on collateral damage and some loss of life. And I don't think it's as bad as what's being broadcast.
DOBBS: Well, the secretary of defense termed those reports of 200 civilian casualties as simply ridiculous. But it should come as no surprise to anyone, should it, that there would be civilian casualties in the bombing, particularly of the intensity that this apparently this has taken on?
GRANGE: Yes. We can't expect any conflict, any war, to take place without any civilian casualties on the battlefield. It has to be expected. It's just the way it is during a fight. But I'm sure they're blown out of proportion.
What we have to do right now, however, is to counter this disinformation. We have to have a better information warfare campaign to subdue this propaganda that's being put out by al Qaeda.
DOBBS: And at this point, in terms of a counter campaign, the fact is we have very limited ability to report this war. John Vause just reporting from Islamabad, some 100 miles from the border of Afghanistan, relying on sources within Afghanistan: secondary sources and hearsay at best. So it's very difficult to give the public, our viewers, the picture that all of us would like to of what is going on there.
GRANGE: Yes. I think you can see, though, how bin Laden and other terrorist leaders are trying to incite Islamic peoples to come up in rebellion against this effort. And with their disinformation they'll be successful on this. It's going to take more than leaflet drops, though effective -- we need to do leaflet drops. We also should drop in these miniaturized, hand-generated radios to get the truth out to the people, the Afghan people, and also maybe even miniaturized televisions, so that people can see the image. You have to do sight, you have to do sound to convince people the truth.
And by the United States, our coalition, we can't be successful by just telling the truth. You just have to communicate. You have to get the word out.
DOBBS: Well, let's look at the prospects here of a ground operation by the United States. Arguably, at this point -- each of us is theorizing here -- but a special operations group effort, limited ground warfare, is that the way you see it?
GRANGE: Yes, I don't see us occupying or holding terrain for any long period of time. I think that would be a disadvantage to us as we transition to a role of the people, of the nation of Afghanistan.
I think that you'll see limited strikes with the coalition forces, holding key terrain for limited periods of time in order to be able to reach the interior of Afghanistan, some of -- maybe the objective sights.
You're going to see, I think, more than of the Northern Alliance, and this alliance of the different tribes, some kind of drive with them. I mean, it's their land. They have to accomplish the mission themselves, with our help, with the coalition force help of course. But I think you'll see more of a Northern Alliance drive.
DOBBS: And do you believe that we have sufficient firepower in the region? When one casts back to the Persian Gulf War, the tremendous firepower that was arrayed there, a far different situation admittedly. But this is limited firepower really compared to the forces that were arrayed there.
GRANGE: Well, the size of the enemy forces are quite different from the Gulf War. But with what's assembled, in the Arabian Sea, the Persian Gulf and elsewhere in the region -- both American and British as an example -- is quite a lot of firepower to accomplish any mission.
DOBBS: General Grange, good to have you with us.
GRANGE: Thank you.
DOBBS: General David Grange.
Well, coming up next here, we'll take a look at the economies of countries all around the world that sponsor terrorism. They are among the poorest in the world, and the reason is rather direct. We'll be telling you all about it.
We'll also be reporting on our country's borders and why they are not secure.
We'll also have a report on how those living and working in high- rise buildings are boosting their own sense of security. All of that, ahead, on MONEYLINE.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Congress is expected to come up with a compromised anti- terrorism bill, possibly this week. That legislation would give the government more power to investigate people who are suspected of terrorist activities.
But banks have a number of objections. They want all money laundering provisions withdrawn from that bill.
Tim O'Brien has the report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) TIM O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Democrats and Republicans are close to a compromise on money-laundering legislation that nearly everyone can accept, even Phil Gramm, the ranking Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, who's blocked previous money laundering measures he felt were unfair.
SEN. PHIL GRAMM (R), TEXAS: I believe if somebody's going to take your property, they ought to have to present findings which you could later go into court and contest.
O'BRIEN: The legislation, now being considered, does allow such challenges.
It also has provisions to prevent shell banks, set up to simply funnel money, from entering the U.S. banking system. It requires banks to gather more information about their depositors. And it allows sanctions against overseas banks that fail to cooperate, a big selling point with U.S. bankers.
EDWARD YINGLING, AMERICAN BANKERS ASSOCIATION: This bill gives the administration some tools, basically, to say, "Listen, if you're not going to participate, if you're not going to be helpful, we can limit your access to the U.S. financial system."
O'BRIEN: There are skeptics who say what Congress is considering violates privacy rights, that it could do more harm than good.
BERT ELY, ELY & COMPANY: It may create a false sense of confidence in people that: Wow, if we can track all this money, we can cut off the terrorists' money, then we can breathe easier.
O'BRIEN: Ely says the new legislation would not have stopped last month's hijackers, who had been wired an estimated $500,000 over several months, a pittance in a financial system where trillions of dollars change hands daily.
And money-laundering laws may often be frustrated by using trusted surrogates who are willing to transfer money around the world with no obvious paper trail.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Money laundering has usually meant taking money obtained illegally and cleaning it up for use in legitimate business.
With terrorism, it's often quite the opposite -- using money lawfully obtained for an illegal purpose. It's sort of like money laundering in reverse and all the more difficult to detect -- Lou.
DOBBS: And making it, perhaps, all the more important to cast as wide a net as possible.
O'BRIEN: Indeed.
DOBBS: All right, Tim, thanks. Tim O'Brien from Washington.
It has become accepted theory that aid would counteract the poverty that some believe breeds terrorism.
Yet a number of studies conclude that terrorism is responsible for worsening poverty in the states that harbor it. Kitty Pilgrim looks at some compelling studies on the correlation between freedom and prosperity.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The poverty of Afghanistan has been a shock to the world as the pictures emerge. But for scholars, it is no surprise. There is a direct correlation between economic freedom and economic well-being.
The Heritage Foundation, in their economic freedom index, finds the Middle East one of the most economically repressed regions in the world. And many Muslims countries have fared poorly as their societies have closed off. Terrorist economies fair the worst.
GERALD O'DRISCOLL, THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION: The states that harbor terrorists, Afghanistan, Sudan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, are really repressed economies. They aren't -- they don't have a vibrant market economy. And consequently, they have very little economic growth.
PILGRIM: Many of the world's Muslim countries, disrupted by radical elements, have suffered economically in the last decade.
DAVID WURMSER, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: What we've seen over the last decade has been a serious decline in the economic power, both in terms of consumption and development, in the Arab world and Muslim world, more largely with respect to the West.
PILGRIM: A good measure: GDP per capita -- compare the GDP per capita of the United States, France to Syria and Iran, for example.
The Middle East attracted about 10 percent of the world's foreign investment in the 1980's. But that has fallen to about one percent by the end of the '90s.
In addition to worries about terrorists disrupting trade, population growth has out paced economic growth, leading to less prosperity and consumption. That, in turn, creates less incentive for overseas companies to invest.
IAN KINNIBURGH, UNITED NATIONS: This is accelerating the ongoing decline in the world economy, to the detriment of many of these developing countries.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: The relationship between a free-market society and prosperity is absolute. Now, as the world has seen, after September 11, there can be no doubt that the climate of terrorism is deeply harmful to any economy, even to those who hope to benefit from it -- Lou.
DOBBS: Perhaps, especially, to those who would hope to benefit. PILGRIM: One would think so from the numbers we saw today.
DOBBS: Kitty, thank you very much -- Kitty Pilgrim.
Well, still ahead here on MONEYLINE: Homeland security is a top priority. The security of our borders, however, is deeply in question.
The technology to secure those borders exist. But the Immigration and Naturalization Service is not using it. We'll tell you why.
Then, people in high-rise buildings around the country are buying parachutes in the wake of the terrorist attacks against the United States. That story is also coming up.
And we'll tell you about the latest trend in advertising. It is new and it is improved.
It's all ahead on MONEYLINE.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: About half of the terrorists who were responsible for last month's attacks were in this country illegally. Stopping illegal entry into the United States is the responsibility of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Each year, 4,800 agents conduct more than half-a-billion inspections at this country's points of entry. And they do it all without a lot of support and certainly without the latest in technology.
Casey Wian reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): San Ysidro, California, squeezed between San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico, is the world's busiest land border crossing. Agents of the Immigration and Naturalization Service and Customs check cars, bags and people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And how did you become a U.S. citizen, sir?
WIAN: Sixty million people cross the border here each year, or did. Those crossings are down sharply.
(on-camera): Since September 11, the INS says both vehicle and pedestrian traffic across the San Ysidro border has decreased by about 30 to 40 percent. But because of tighter security measures, delays across the border have increased dramatically.
(voice-over): Pedestrian crossers now must pass through metal detectors while their bags are X-rayed. That may hinder weapons and contraband, but catching potential terrorists requires more sophistication and better technology, which critics say the INS lacks. STEVEN CAMAROTA, CENTER FOR IMMIGRATION STUDIES: The INS made some decisions early on, actually, not to automate back in the 1970's and 80's in order to preserve low-level clerical jobs.
And as a consequence, they've been paying a heavy price for that ever since. Their computer systems are among the most outdated, unfortunately, in the entire federal government.
WIAN: Even those systems which are state of the art are lacking. Take, for example, the new laser I.D. card the INS began requiring Mexican border crossers to have this month.
The cards are nearly counterfeit proof and contain a digitally- encoded picture and fingerprint, plus a wealth of personal information. But that doesn't help agents at the border because the INS hasn't bought the matching card readers.
Drexler Technologies makes the cards and readers and says the cost would only be about $7 million.
RICHARD HADDOCK, PRESIDENT, DREXLER TECHNOLOGIES: The INS has tried, for the past few years, to get the budget funding to put the readers on the border, but from the previous administration, has never been funded due to other budget priorities.
WIAN: The INS is also integrating its databases with those of the FBI and other federal agencies, but that job won't be finished for at least two years. The INS now finds itself on the defensive, scrambling to quickly fixed decades old problems in a time of national crisis.
Casey Wian, CNN Financial News, San Ysidro, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DOBBS: And tomorrow night, we'll be reporting to you on the number of immigration and naturalization service agents who are still required to provided security, and who simply are not on the job.
Well, some people trapped in the World Trade Center towers on September 11 faced a horrific choice between death by fire and death by jumping. Companies are now rushing to some of the people who work in high rise office parachutes.
Steve Young has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEVE YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): No one who watched will ever forget the horror of seeing dozens or more people jump from the World Trade Center catastrophe, which is why a Michigan company is racing to ship an $800 last ditch skyscraper parachute.
The chute opens much faster than sports parachutes. It's more stable, but can't be steered, which means you couldn't slam into the skyscraper you just fled or another nearby. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This line's attached to the building or wherever you're dropping from and...
YOUNG: The design work started before September 11, with modification of a chute used by aerobatic pilots. But it wasn't clear if there was a big enough market.
Orders are now pouring in. And other companies are racing to catch up to ExecutiveChute, whose product and training video became available this week.
JOHN RIVERS, EXECUTIVECHUTE: This is an option of last resort. It's kind of like putting on a life preserver if you're on a cruise ship. It's something you hope you never have to use.
YOUNG: ExecutiveChute was first urged to develop its device by lawyer John Larkin. His company insures high rise buildings. He works in the Chicago skyscraper.
JOHN LARKIN, EXECUTIVECHUTE CUSTOMER: I will keep it on the back of my door. And you know, God forbid, I hope I never have to use it. And I don't think I will.
YOUNG: Is it sensible or reckless? One member of the Parachute Industry Association says diving out of the skyscraper is at least as risky as the dangerous sport of so-called base jumping from the top of buildings, bridges and cliffs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
YOUNG: But the association's president says would I give chutes to my mom and dad if they were in burning skyscraper with no other escape? You bet -- Lou.
DOBBS: Steve, thank you very much. Steve Young.
Well coming up next here, the latest developments in America's war against terrorism. And we'll have more for you on the anthrax scare that has arrived in the nation's capital. Plus, advertisers looking to tap in to the current desire for all things patriotic. We'll have a snapshot of the new trend in advertising.
And stocks fall early in the session, pressured by downgrades in the chip sector. A late session rally pulls stocks off session lows. We'll have report for you as well, as MONEYLINE continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: These are the latest developments in the war against terrorism. CNN sources in Kandahar, Afghanistan reporting heavy gunfire over that city. And there are some early special reports that helicopters may be in the area.
The Pentagon saying plans for today do not include helicopters, but the Pentagon would not rule out possible special operations, neither confirming nor denying the presence of those helicopters. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld calling Taliban claims of 200 civilian casualties as a result of the air attacks ridiculous. The Defense Secretary confirmed that missiles have been fired into caves, resulting in explosions and fires that lasted up to four hours.
President Bush meeting today with the Italian prime minister at the White House. During their meeting, Prime Minister Berlusconi offered to do anything to help in the war against terrorism.
The anthrax scare has hit Washington, D.C., in particular, the office of Senate Majority leader Tom Daschle.
Kate Snow joins us now from Capitol Hill with the latest on this story -- Kate.
KATE SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lou, some say this proves that they are ready in Capitol Hill to deal with a biological threat, that this is certainly not how they would have liked to spend a Monday morning.
This morning at about 10:30 a.m. Eastern time, a member of Senator Tom Daschle's staff in his staff office opened a letter. And that letter contained a powder. That was tested twice locally on the scene and found to test positive for anthrax. It has since been sent on to another Army lab for further testing.
The letter at that point, the area was cordoned off. The letter was found in the office that you're looking right there. And about 40 or 50 people inside the office at the time were treated for potential exposure. No one has showed any signs of symptoms, but they were examined as a precaution.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN EISOLD, CAPITOL PHYSICIAN: The goal is to identify as many people as possible who could possibly have been exposed in the office. At that time, then we would test them with the nasal swab, which we will now incubate overnight and perhaps for the next couple of days. If perhaps within 24 hours a culture is positive, then certainly that would be consistent with our other findings.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNOW: Now those 40 or 50 people have been given antibiotics just as a precaution. Mail service to the House and Senate office buildings was suspended today. One congressional source telling CNN that it's likely mail service to the House any way, will be resumed tomorrow. And in the House mailroom, we're told by this source, a new system is in place as of Saturday, to better screen mail for biological and chemical threats -- Lou.
DOBBS: Kate, thank you very much. Kate Snow reporting from Capitol Hill. And this just into CNN, 90 offices of Planned Parenthood and at least 80 clinics of the National Abortion Federation have received envelopes, envelopes that contain unidentified powdery substances, as well as letters with threatening language, according to spokesman from both groups.
Both groups support abortion rights and provide abortions at some of their offices. The threats were received at locations nationwide. The letters have been sent to both groups with preprinted return addresses from the U.S. Marshal Service or the Secret Service.
Now that is, again, that's the extent of what we know at this point. 90 offices of Planned Parenthood and at least 80 clinics of the National Abortion Federation have received envelopes containing only what is described as an unidentified powdery substance. At this point, obviously with the atmosphere which we live now, those are being examined very carefully right now.
Well, let's turn to Wall Street, where stocks today at least were stable, stocks limited losses in Wall Street. Concerns over corporate earnings in the shadow of bioterrorism, all of that creating a market that did very little today. This week marking the busiest period for quarterly earnings reports. 180 of the S&P 500 companies will report this week.
For more now on the action from the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq, Christine Romans, Greg Clarkin -- Christine.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lou, it didn't look like much. Only three points on the upside for Dow, but traders are saying it was exemplary behavior. And this market continues to look resilient, even with all this bad news, even what they're calling now, the so-called Daschle anthrax letter.
But take a look, for three weeks now, you'd had things looking very good for stocks. Dow Industrials in the past two weeks, up almost 14 percent. The S&P 500, Dow transports and Russell 2000, all having strong gains, holding on to them again here today.
The Dow winners today included: IBM, Johnson and Johnson, 3M, and United Technologies, Lou. All of them, but 3M report their earnings tomorrow. And it doesn't look like Wall Street's concerned about that.
DOBBS: Christine, thank you very much. Christine Romans. Let's turn now to Greg Clarkin over at the Nasdaq marketsite -- Greg.
GREG CLARKIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And Lou, traders saying they were very impressed today how the Nasdaq kind of absorbed the news of the anthrax out of Washington. No dramatic sell off, hardly any movement at all in the Nasdaq about midday or so when those reports came out.
Now also, the semiconductors were a big focus today. They were under a lot of pressure. Lehman, as well as JP Morgan, coming out, downgrading various companies in the semiconductor space. That really held the Nasdaq back from posting a gain today.
But take a look at some of the big names today. Microsoft on the upside. We saw weakness in Cisco, Sun and Oracle. And a quick look at the chip stocks, which are really going to come with even more focus tomorrow when Intel reports after the close of trade. And you can see all those around the negative sides. So on the day, the Nasdaq was down 39 early, comes back, finishes with a seven point loss -- Lou.
DOBBS: Greg, thanks, Greg Clarkin over at the Nasdaq marketsite.
Well, of course, there's a fiscal stimulus package underway in Congress, that could pump as much as $75 billion into this slowing economy.
MONEYLINE contributor, economist Lakshman Achuthan is with us tonight. Lakshman, let's start with that package. Do you think it's going to be enough to turn things?
LAKSHMAN ACHUTHAN, ECONOMIC CYCLE RESEARCH INST.: It will, as soon as the confidence sparks it.
DOBBS: What do you think is happening here in terms of this anthrax scare? We've got something in the order of 13 to 15 cases right now nationwide. We've seen some reaction to it. We certainly saw it Friday. And we saw a market that didn't react today. How's that playing into investor confidence?
ACHUTHAN: Well, I mean, investor confidence seems to be holding up. We saw today it was a little weaker in the morning and held in there, even some of the indexes finished with a gain. So far, so good. Investor confidence is hanging pretty well.
If we see consumer confidence kick in, all that stimulus can really start a nice upturn. Right now, it's not there yet. And I'd like to remind us, you know, we also have some good news.
DOBBS: We're all ready for good news.
ACHUTHAN: I want to point it out, because we shouldn't be worried about inflation. I mean, you see all the stimulus coming through. And people think, "Hey, that's inflationary."
DOBBS: Right.
ACHUTHAN: Immediately, let's start worrying about that. Absolutely wrong thing to be worrying about.
DOBBS: Well, you're anticipating -- it seems like a world with sufficient problems right now without anticipating them. I haven't actually been given a lot of thought to the possibility of inflation before we at least passed that stimulus bill, but you think it's a real concern?
ACHUTHAN: Well, I think some people, you hear about it in the bond market. Every once in a while, there's a little bit of -- this is going to cause a big trouble. Right now...
DOBBS: Well, you know, those negative bombs in bond market.
ACHUTHAN: Let it lie for now. We've got enough to worry about. Let's get some growth going. And we need to see confidence stabilize. And that'll do it.
DOBBS: Well, I thought that it was interesting to take a look at what the averages have done over the course of the past month. They've actually held up fairly well, a remarkable resilience in some quarters. People forget just how strong this economy is, how strong this country is and how resilient it is.
ACHUTHAN: No, without a doubt. Fundamentally, the resilience of this economy is bar none. We are having a cyclical downturn. And we've had some bad shocks. We will recover. We're in the process of setting those precursors in place.
What I would love to see is confidence stabilize. Today's action, for example, is a good move in that direction.
DOBBS: OK, Lakshman, thanks as always.
ACHUTHAN: Thank you.
DOBBS: Coming up next here, a titan of American industry files for bankruptcy. We'll have that story for you. And advertisers with a new theme. That story is next. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DOBBS: Well, let's turn to the market at least briefly. Topping tonight's MONEYLINE movers, Fannie Mae adding more than a dollar a share. The Home Loan Financing Company beating estimates by a penny. A wave of mortgage repurchases and refinances, following the Fed's nine interest cuts this year.
And United Therapeutics tumbling more than $6.00 a share. It was, as you might expect, one of the biggest losers on the Nasdaq today. The biotechnology company saying preliminary trials for one of its drugs did not confirm early findings.
And Bank of America today, up $2.50 a share. The third largest bank posting more than a 50 percent decline in net income. They're still beating expectations. Bank of America stock has gained more than 20 percent so far this year, dramatically outperforming the S&P index of banks, which has declined 15 percent.
In other corporate news tonight, Bethlehem Steel filing bankruptcy, after efforts to find a merger partner failed. Bethlehem Steel attributing its troubles to the record level of steel imports and the slowing economy. The 100-year-old company is the largest steelmaker to file for bankruptcy.
German electronics firm Siemens saying it will close half its plants and fire a total of 7,000 workers, bringing the company's layoffs to a total of 15,000 this year. The move, part of a major restructuring plan Siemens announced several months ago.
And after less than a year, Brill Media and Primedia say they will end their partnership, called "Media Central." The original idea was to share stories and resources and content. Instead, Primedia will take back ownership of the media industry magazines, newsletters, and Web sites it had hired Brill to run, and will buy back Inside.com in particular. Brill and Brill's content, shut down as a result.
Handspring unveils Treo, its newest handheld computer, with a built-in cell phone and e-mail capability. The company beat out its rival Palm by bringing the computer cell phone device to market first. Shares of Handspring climbing more than 25 percent on the news.
Just ahead on MONEYLINE, corporate America's message during these difficult times: it's a new form of new and improved advertising. At the box office, violent crime or comedy. You may be surprised by the choice of the movie-going public made over the weekend. We'll have that story for you. Stay with us.
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DOBBS: Advertising has not been immune to the changes wrought over the past month. Whether in print or radio or television, advertisers are now sending a different kind of message and it's a big improvement.
Susan Lisovicz with the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Americans haven't been joy riding much lately, but Mitsubishi is running a campaign that shows just that. Madison Avenue responded to the horror of September 11 with a deluge of sympathy ads and patriotic messages, or pulling spots altogether that might seem inappropriate. Advertising executive Donny Deutsch says the next chapter of post attack ads is taking a page from Hollywood.
DONNY DEUTSCH, CHMN., CEO, DEUTSCH, INC.: You know after Kennedy was assassinated in '63, the two big movies the next two years were "Sound of Music" and "Mary Poppins." And I think you're going to see that same thing play out. People want messages that make them feel good, that are messages of hope.
LISOVICZ: This ad for the New York Stock Exchange is clear in its message, that it is open for business as usual. Others like Visa say the curtain will never go on down on Broadway, which had been hard hit by the falloff in tourism after the terrorist attacks in New York. This print ad for Newyorkmetro.com plays off the volunteer spirit of the crisis. But here, the volunteers are asked to resume their normal activities, and be New Yorkers again.
JERRY DELLA FEMINA, DELLA, FEMINA, ROTHCHILD, GEARY: We sell things. I mean, that's what advertising is. We sell things. And it's a pretty tough feeling to realize that while people died, you know, all we're going to do is sell things. So what are we going to do? We're going to sell confidence. We're going to sell people on feeling good.
(END VIDEOTAPE) LISOVICZ: It's pretty tough for Madison Avenue to feel good thought. A new study shows ad spending for the first six months of the year fell nearly six percent from a year earlier. Another survey shows advertisers intend to reduce their spending for the next two quarters by an average of 12 percent, as a direct result of September 11 and its aftermath -- Lou.
DOBBS: Well, the advertising, you have to love. And the second part that I found surprising, a couple of surveys showing that television viewers want advertisers on the air. And they do like the message, the public service message, the patriotic message.
LISOVICZ: And it's all part of being one big community. The delicate balance for them is not to get into it too heavily, you know, in terms of pitching the product.
DOBBS: Suddenly one nation. All right Susan, thanks, Susan Lisovicz.
Well, terrorism fears or bad movies or something else altogether kept fans away from movie theaters over the past weekend. Ticket sales all around the country down five percent, compared to a weekend ago.
MGM's "Bandits," for example, had a weaker-than-expected opening, especially in New York City. The bank robbery comedy with Bruce Willis grossed just over $13 million. That's just about half what the studio had expected.
Audiences preferred violent crime to comedy, believe it or not. Warner Brothers' "Training Day" held the top spot at the box office, taking in $13.5 million. That film starring Denzel Washington as a corrupt Los Angeles policeman has grossed $43 million after 10 days in the theaters.
Two comedies: Disney's "Corky Romano" and Miramax's "Serendipity" took third and fourth spots, followed by Fox's thriller "Don't Say a Word."
Well, "Wolf Blitzer Reports" begins here in just a few minutes. Let's go now to Wolf in Washington for a preview -- Wolf.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "WOLF BLITZER REPORTS": Thanks, Lou. First it was it was Florida, then New York, later Nevada. Now anthrax hits the nation's capitol. We'll have the latest on the anthrax investigations around the country. Also, CNN's Nic Robertson is just back from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, where he heard more threats from senior members al Qaeda. We'll have an exclusive report. That, and much more next -- Lou.
DOBBS: Looking forward to it, Wolf. Thank you. Still ahead here on MONEYLINE, we'll have your thoughts on the threat of bioterrorism. And we'll take a look at what's coming up tomorrow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) DOBBS: Looking ahead to tomorrow, we'll have a number of Dow components. They will be reporting their quarterly results. Caterpillar, Johnson & Johnson, United Technologies, IBM and Intel.
And in economic news, capacity utilization industrial production reports for the month of September will be released.
Now taking a look at some of your thoughts. Bioterrorism, as you might expect, dominating those thoughts. Susan Davis of Talent, Oregon, wrote in to say, "It seems to me that instead of worrying about the American population dying en masse from small pox or anthrax, that we all get vaccinated."
Well, if it were only that easy. Small pox, one of the bioterrorism threats, a 30 percent fatality rate and no known treatment. We stopped given small pox shots 25 years ago, after the disease was eradicated. Now, there's not enough vaccine to inoculate everyone. And without evidence of immediate small pox risk, experts are cautioning against vaccinations, which themselves can pose health risks. Nonetheless, those supplies of small pox vaccinations are being built up by drug companies.
Low supplies and harsh side effects, a concern with anthrax vaccine as well. Shots only being given to military personnel, up to a third of whom suffer, we're told, serious side effects. By the way, hundreds of soldiers have refused to accept their vaccine shots, because of those side effects, causing some of them, in point of fact, to be court-martialed.
The U.S. federal government saying it would expand the supply of Cipro today, used to treat anthrax, to enough to treat 12 million cases.
Meanwhile, a suggestion from Bud Rossi of Hamilton, Ohio, using e-mail. "If someone unknown wishes to send our family anything, they need to use the Internet. Unknown mail senders will have their mail discarded in the trash." Well, there goes the junk mail. Now if we could just think of something to do with those telemarketers.
Send us your comments at moneyline@cnn.com. That's MONEYLINE. Thanks for being with us. I'm Lou Dobbs. Good night from New York. "WOLF BLITZER REPORTS" begins right now.
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